Online retail giant Amazon is bringing its touchscreen e-book reader to the UK, nearly six months after it launched in the United States.
The Kindle Touch, which comes in both Wi-Fi and 3G editions, is now available to pre-order from Amazon.co.uk. It's almost identical in functionality to the most recent edition of the regular Kindle, in that it doesn't come with a keyboard, with one exception -- the e-ink screen is touch-sensitive.
Tapping on one side of the screen turns the page forward -- whereas tapping on the other side turns it backward. A tap in the centre brings up the menu, and you can interact with the keyboard using the touchscreen, too.
Another nifty feature is the "X-Ray" mode, which lets readers see passages across the book that mention ideas, fictional characters, and historical places and topics. Those topics can then be looked up on Wikipedia and Amazon's own community-powered literary encyclopaedia "Shelfari".
One unfortunate note is that the unit will be subject to an eye-gouging markup over the six-month-old US version. In the States, the units cost $99 and $149 for the Wi-Fi and 3G editions, respectively. In the UK, however, the Kindle will cost £109 and £169 -- which is numerically more, even before currency conversions are taken into account.
We asked Amazon why on earth this is, and a spokesperson told Wired.co.uk: "The $99 Kindle Touch and $149 Kindle Touch 3G include special offers, which are screensavers and deals that are sponsored by a variety of companies. This option is only available in the US and without special offers, US customers will pay $139 for Kindle Touch and $189 for Kindle Touch 3G, plus local taxes and shipping costs."
The spokesperson added: "There are also different, and higher, taxes in Europe, as well as higher transport and other operating costs but we are always working to try and lower them."
If you want to pick one up, even at the inflated price, you can put in a pre-order at Amazon.co.uk. Shipping will begin on 27 April, 2012 and we'll have a full review in due course.
Thank You : www.wired.co.uk
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