Not all Kindle content is priced equal, especially outside America
The international version content purchased from Amazon's Kindle store will be more expensive until Amazon secures a local wireless partner.
I pondered earlier this week what the global roaming nature of the Kindle’s international version meant for content pricing:
Whether this means international purchases will incur a surcharge to cover potential roaming fees is (again) unclear from Amazon’s statement.
John Einar Sandvand over at BetaTales claims that Amazon is ‘racking up prices’ on the international version, stating ‘Amazon promises “free 3G wireless” when downloading books and newspaper on the new international Kindle. But free it is not – as prices for book and newspapers are significantly higher outside USA.’
According to Sandvand, who has two Amazon accounts (one US-based, the other Norwegian), a subscription to the Washington Post costs US$9.99 per month in the States and US$23.99 for the international ‘version’. He cites other examples: The Financial Times $9.99 vs $27.99 internationally; The Times $9.99 vs $22.99 internationally.
As for books? They’re not immune either with an apparent US$2 surcharge applied to purchases by users of the international Kindle.
So I think we have our answer, which is that international version content will be more expensive until Amazon secures a local wireless partner. I wouldn’t be holding my breath, and for me it’s another reason why we need an Australia-based, open standards ebook store.