Amazon Kindle Fire Official Demo

Daragh O Brien
I'm confused why you are differentiating between UK and EU privacy laws. The UK is a member state of the EU. The UK Data Protection Act 1998 is based on EU Directive 95/46/EC, as is the law in each of the 27 EU member states.
While there are local variations in enforcement, the core principles of the legislation remain the same. One of the latest developments in EU Privacy rules is the revised ePrivacy directive which places restrictions on how cookies can be used on "subscriber terminal devices" (i.e. any device connected to a telecomms network of any kind). Depending on how Amazon's new browser handles cookies and handles privacy settings etc. this might have an influence.
Also if the amazon browser architecture requires personal data to be passed outside the EU27 countries there are additional requirements Amazon would have to meet to be fully compliant.
Reply · 8 · · September 29 at 10:27pm

Ciarán Norris · Top Commenter · Dublin, Ireland
"While there are local variations in enforcement"

But those differences are vast, as you'll know if you've been following the roll-out of the cookie laws. The UK takes a very pragmatic approach, favouring web businesses, other parts of the EU... not so much.
Reply · 1 · · September 30 at 7:38am

Daragh O Brien
Ciarán Norris I know the differences are enormous, particularly with regard to the ePrivacy Regulations where the ICO has given a 'sunrise' period. Irish DPC is going for an enforcement from 1st July but a collaborative approach. Differences also exist in relation to the enforcement fo the core DP Directive across the EU27, but the core obligations are the same. And the differences in enforcement are likely to become less so with the forthcoming revised Directive.
Reply · · September 30 at 7:59am

Devin Coldewey · Top Commenter
What I mean is that surely the UK has laws relating to privacy that are not applicable in Germany, and vice versa.
Reply · · September 30 at 10:54am

Donnacha Mac Gloinn · Top Commenter · Owner at WordSkill.com
There is no mystery here.

Fire was a rush release to (barely) catch holiday season buying. They simply don't have the manufacturing capacity to attempt an international release and will stagger the release country-by-country, just as they have for every other Kindle.

Most electronics manufacturers release complex devices in their home territory first in order to better assess demand and manage supply.
Reply · 6 · · September 29 at 6:50pm

Nick Pendrell · Hurghada
Exactly - why the great mystery here? There's less than three months until Christmas, the product was rush-released to get it into the US market in time and they simply aren't going to have the stock available to launch it in any more markets. I am sure it will appear everywhere else during the course of 2012.
Reply · 1 · · September 29 at 7:07pm

Devin Coldewey · Top Commenter
i hear you, and i've added that possibility to the end, but amazon did order four million of these things, and they're not exactly made of rare components.
Reply · 2 · · September 29 at 7:28pm

Thomas Wiehe
Donnacha, a comment: I live in Norway and was not allowed to order the Kindle Fire, but I WAS offered the new Kindle 6" (w/o touchscreen).
Reply · 1 · · September 29 at 11:57pm
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Stefano Alinovi · Account Manager at Adpeople
FYI UK is part of the EU..
Reply · 6 · · September 29 at 11:03pm

Devin Coldewey · Top Commenter
yes, but also treated as a totally separate market for tech launches
Reply · · September 30 at 10:55am

Ciarán Norris · Top Commenter · Dublin, Ireland
Whatever the reason for Fire & Touch not being released, what's for sure is that UK buyers are being shafted again (Amazon really are learning from Apple).

Basic Kindle in the US is $79, or about £50 at current rates. In the UK? £89.

Nice.
Reply · 2 · · September 30 at 7:37am
mariojfduarte (signed in using Yahoo)
You have to realize that the $79 is before taxes. Still too expensive though, I agree.
Reply · · September 30 at 9:02am

Zac Williamson · Durham University
As I understand it, the US version is to have Ads incorporates, while the UK version will not - hence the US version is less expensive as it is subsidised by advertising revenue.
Reply · 1 · · September 30 at 1:59pm

Darrin Lim
My theory is supply chain... production is not yet at a level where they can support world-wide distribution. They don't want to risk it selling out in the first few days, particularly during the holiday season. Could cause frustration and PR backlash against Amazon?
Reply · 1 · · September 29 at 6:35pm

Michael A. Robson · Top Commenter · Shanghai, China
Well close. It's because they're launching a new product and have no idea if it will be successful or not. Best 'petrie dish' is to launch in the US and see what he market does. As you may know, Android tablets haven't done well. Better to launch in a single market with lots of purchasing power, then if you get any appreciable market-share against apple, expand out to other countries. I'm just talking about the Fire. The Kindle touch is not a real mystery...most of Amazon's competitors already have touch devices.
Reply · · September 30 at 12:40am

Max Girkins · Eton College
got an email from amazon saying that it is coming out before march 28th because that is when they extended my giftcard to when I said I wanted to preorder the kindle fire.
Reply · 1 · · September 30 at 11:43am

Emil Sarnogoev
Gotta love journalists. You have to actually try to run some small biz someday to understand why so many things can go wrong.

IMHO a typical, real company always operates at a 95-110% of its resources just to handle the status quo. It can be more difficult for dinosaurs pulling big, multi-front (hardware&software&content) releases that require coordination of multi-thousand divisions and countless supply partners.

Companies like Apple and Amazon have to demonstrate insane operational jiujitsu for a long time on a daily basis to actually release something. Let alone meet release dates. Let alone get it right and satisfy customers. Let alone persistently build reputation for decades. I would call these companies and their management anomalies. It’s in human nature to suck.

Start an eatery and you’ll be pulling your hair off in no time.
Reply · · October 1 at 6:27am

Gary Adkins · University of Leeds
As I see it the main reason for no ROW launch is that the business model for Amazon is to sell a reduced margin interface but make money on the content - basically provide a easier way for all of us to part with our money! If the infrastructure to provide the content is not ready in the EU then the business model doesn't work.
Reply · · Monday at 2:20am

David Nguyen · Top Commenter
I actually pre ordered the Fire and Touch and will cancel the Fire if it gets poor reviews. I mean the idea of a 200 dollar tablet that plays amazon's content is exciting but there's no volume button (this could be annoying) and since it's not made by the original Kindle team and just a "hold over device" according to Ryan Block's source then I'll be really disappointed.
Reply · · September 29 at 10:06pm

Muhammad Aseen · Iqra University
The Amazon Tablet Leave Be Filled With Magazines So Umpteen. Amazon’s Enkindle Tablet, or something equivalent it will be launched September 28 at a media event in Manhattan. eWEEK present be there for sum and photos.

http://numznews.com/technology/amazon-tablet/2889.html
Reply · · September 29 at 7:21pm

Thomas Steiner · Vienna, Austria
I have just ordered the Kindle Touch from Amazon.com using Borderlinx.com. They give you a US shipping address and forward the order to Europe. I will give their service a try (it is a DHL subsidiary). Obviously customs and shipping cost will apply.
Reply · · September 30 at 11:14am

Abhiroop Basu · Top Commenter
Point 3 is the reason why the original Kindle (up to Kindle 3) is/was limited to a few countries. I had a friend buy it for me and ship it to Singapore and now I buy books from 3rd party sites so the overall experience isn't exactly stellar. Nevertheless, a Kindle doesn't require constant connectivity so once I got all my books loaded it was great.
Reply · · September 29 at 8:15pm

Norman Ma
Supply chain issues? There might just not be enough supply available for Amazon to feel confident about releasing the devices in the EU as well. (From memory, the Asus Transformers also had supply constraints to begin with...)

And if 2) was an issue, wouldn't Opera Mini run afoul of the same regulations?
Reply · · September 29 at 6:36pm

Geo James
I wonder if Amazon is truely a global company? There are so many services they don't offer outside the USA:
Prime Instant Video, Kindle book lending (!), Cloud Drive, Android app store. If you live in the UK they are basically still an online shop.
Reply · · September 30 at 12:55am

Mike Belcher · Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
+ 1 with Mr Lim. I'd say it's supply chain or production. Christmas is coming, the new Kindles are all expected to be so they just want to be sure enough stocks are available for US. Next consideration is content. Probably are combination of both.
Reply · · September 29 at 6:43pm

Usman Bashir · Technology Mananger at Deltatre
I might also disagree on the Kindle Touch though as it would be offering the same kind of contents offered by the other kindles available in UK/Euro. So it is simply supply chain issue and holiday season.
Reply · · September 30 at 1:26am

Ryan Xiao
I think kindle touch will come sooner or later, and I agree with you on kindle fire. There might be a massive stock of old kindle left within EU which amazon wants to get rid of first.
Reply · · September 30 at 3:46am

Lee Gibbons · London, Ontario
I'd guess its more of a rights issue. Its not available in Canada either. They don't sell music or stream movies in Canada either.
Reply · · September 30 at 11:37am

Joe Tweets · Top Commenter · Redmond, Washington
So basically it's a US-only tablet just like nearly every other entertainment service... Oh well – I guess I still have TPB & my iPad! ;)
Reply · · September 29 at 6:48pm

Bernard San Gil
If it's sold at a loss, chances are that it's deemed illegal by EU competition laws and regulations.
Reply · · September 30 at 6:15am

David Abraham · Top Commenter · Works at DFMedia Studios
It's a new product they want to refine all potential issues first then expand to new markets.
Reply · · September 29 at 6:38pm

Flavio Alves Filho · Socio Fundador at Phi Innovations
Vamos ver como a netflix vai se sair por aqui...
Reply · · September 29 at 7:58pm

Ani Oko · CEO & Founder at Ziliot
Waiting for it, please come soon.
Reply · · September 30 at 9:04am

Zsolt Vasvari · Top Commenter · Owner at AnMoney Pte Ltd
How hard is it to just buy it from the US?
Reply · · September 29 at 6:33pm

Ben AMortal Artist Pri · CEO & Founder at AMortal Artist
Import fees?
Reply · · September 29 at 8:48pm

Jenni Brown · Top Commenter · Uni. Nottingham
The import fees will be cheaper than the final Amazon price in £ when it makes it over here.
Reply · · September 30 at 2:01am

Stevie Ward · St Columba's High School, Gourock
Simple enough but the infrastructure makes it pointless. We cannot access the Amazon cloud or netflix from the UK so a large part of its functionality is gone.
Reply · · September 30 at 2:45am
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Nicholas Black · Top Commenter
Cause theyre Broke.
Reply · · September 29 at 9:15pm