US-based e-commerce company Amazon.com Inc today announced the launch of its premium e-book reader Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Fire range of tablets in the Indian market.
The company has also revised the prices of the basic Kindle e-reader, launched 10 months ago in India. The device is now availabe at Rs 5,999 on amazon.in, the e-commerce giant's Indian online platform, down from Rs 6,999 earlier.
The Wi-Fi only model of the Kindle Paperwhite will be available on amazon.in at Rs 10,999, while the Wi-Fi plus 3G varient will be priced at Rs 13,999. The Kindle Fire tablets, which are coming with custom 7 and 8.9-inch HD display screens, will be priced at Rs 15,999 and Rs 21,999, respectively. All devices will be available from June 27.
"Indian customers are passionate about books and reading, and we're very excited to make the best-selling e-readers in the world, Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite, available to our customers," said Amit Agarwal, vice-president and country manager, Amazon India.
The basic Kindle e-reader is the smallest and lightest tablet that allows readers to download and read books. Its best features are easy portability, weighing only 170 grams, and a six-inch electronic ink display that gives the impression of a real paper. It can be used on popular devices such as iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets and personal computers.
The Kindle Paperwhite claims to offer easy readibility, integrated light and wide range of e-book selection. The Paperwhite's built-in Wi-Fi allows users to purchase and download books from the Kindle store directly through the e-reader. It also uses the Whispersync technology, which synchronises a customer's last page read, notes, bookmarks, highlights and annotations across all of their devices, allowing them to pick up where they left off.
"Kindle Paperwhite is the most advanced e-reader ever created and we believe book lovers in India will love the display that reads like real paper," said Dave Limp, vice-president, Amazon Kindle.
Amazon also announced the launch of the India Kindle Store. "We're excited to make the Kindle Store available on amazon.in, making it easier for our customers to discover the largest e-bookstore in India," said Agarwal. The company claims that the store will offer over 1.7 million books priced in Indian rupees.
Amazon says Indian customers can enjoy over 600,000 books priced Rs 200 or less and over 1.2 million priced Rs 600 or less. Readers will also find over 325,000 Kindle-exclusive titles available to download and read on Kindle. It will also allow the Indian customer to download one best-selling Kindle Book each day for free for the next two weeks.
