Amazon's 7-inch Kindle Fire, the tablet it lifted the lid on earlier today, isn't available in the UK, an Amazon spokesperson has confirmed to us.
"The Fire is only in the US today," they said, "but stay tuned for information about a UK launch." So that suggests it won't be too long before we are able to get our hands on one. Or so we hope.
The new Kindle Touch 3G also isn't available on these shores, according to the Amazon UK website, so it seems we'll have to wait for that too. The only one of the new line-up on the UK site is the keyboard-less device, known simply as Kindle, which can be yours for £89. But even that's a pre-order, with stock expected on 12 October. And it's a lot more than our American cousins will pay, because the US version will feature adverts.
It's quite frustrating that Amazon hasn't announced worldwide availability, particularly because the Kindle Fire looks like it could genuinely challenge the iPad 2. Let's hope Amazon doesn't decide to hike up that $200 price tag when it does get round to a UK launch.
The Fire runs a heavily modded version of Android, which was no great surprise, and comes with no camera, no microphone, and no 3G, which all help keep the price down.
The Kindle Touch 3G, meanwhile, is the company's first touchscreen e-reader, and the good news is you won't have to pay for 3G once you've bought it -- just download books straight to it, as long as you're in one of the 100 countries in which it works. The screen also uses infrared sensors, so you can poke it with anything you want, rather than just a non-gloved finger like on an iPad 2.
What do you think of Amazon leaving us out of most of the Kindle fun? Let us know, in your most elegiac prose, on our Facebook page.
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Comments 8
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John Firth 29 September, 2011 02:45
Cheers Amazon. Much appreciated. Just let Apple get an ever firmer grip on the UK market. I was wanting one of these too.
Mark R Walker 29 September, 2011 08:34
Wanted to get my Dad one for Christmas. Guess its the Playbook then.
anonymous 29 September, 2011 09:05
does this mean if i get a kindle touch imported i would be able to use it in the UK instead of waiting for it to be released over here?
anonymous 29 September, 2011 10:47
Playbook it is then. I was ever hopeful for this little beast.
To Anon, your problem being it will be connecting to the american store which will have limitations.
ciaran_belf 29 September, 2011 13:33
Not a surprise that the Fire isn't available in the UK considering its a loss leader, given that no Amazon App Store and no Amazon Instant in the UK no incentive for Amazon to sell it here.
anonymous 2 October, 2011 16:27
A lot of the hype about this Fire is the price. Let's be honest if there were more gadgets at reasonable prices we'd all have one (Take the 60GB PS3 a several years back that Sony crammed full of hardware and made a loss on each unit).
BUT, there is no doubt in my mind that when this Fire reaches our shores the price will be nothing special and we may find ourselves saying 'It costs £70 in the US but it costs £170 here. I may as well get a 2nd hand Galaxy Tab and go down the pub with the change.' Or another tablet to the same effect.
FC360 2 October, 2011 22:36
The kindle fire isn't available in USA yet? It's available for pre order and isn't being released until 15th November, these writers need to do their research, maybe visit amazon.com and have a look at the Kindle Fire release date which clearly says "Our all-new Kindle Fire will be released on November 15, 2011. Orders are prioritized on a first come, first served basis."
anonymous 14 October, 2011 01:33
FC360, the article is referring to the capability of ORDERING a Kindle Fire. In the US they can. In the UK we can't. And from what I've read we may never... although I have my doubts that will be the case. It will likely be a long while though.