“Kindle’s Anticipated Arrival in Germany: What to Expect”
There have been repeated rumors, but concrete information has been extremely scarce. Now, however, it seems certain: The Kindle is coming to Germany (and likely to Austria and Switzerland as well).
However, this has not been officially confirmed through a press release, but rather through job postings. Since December 29, 2010, Amazon has had an open position for “Head of Content Acquisition Kindle DE.”
That was the good news. Now for the less encouraging bit: It’s unclear how far Amazon has gone in preparing for a market launch. The job posting for the main role responsible for Kindle content suggests that they are just starting to position themselves and a European launch may not happen within a few weeks.
When it does happen, one can be especially curious about the impact of the market entry. So far, Sony likely holds the majority of the German eBook reader market. However, this could change if the Kindle can score points with a user-friendly shop system and (presumably) a lower initial purchase price. We can only hope that Amazon doesn’t forget the current Kindle owners who have imported devices and grants them access to German content.
