Amazon Kindle for international use (and the secret of the success of iTunes)

A couple of weeks ago, I got myself a $260 Kindle from Amazon, after they’d announced its international availability.

I am very excited about this device and its associated services, but the price conditions outside of the US are not advantageous. Here are some observations after using the device a little bit — and my take on the secret behind the success of the iTunes Music Store.

This new version, staying away from the larger screen and increased abilities of the $490 Kindle DX, make it work in most countries in the world.

The first impression is positive: the machine is neat, light, and extremely intuitive. I had no problems getting started without reading more than the sticker covering the screen, and the instructions are very, very straightforward. Purchasing my first book (Milton’s Paradise Lost, no less…) directly from the Kindle was very easy.

However, this lands you immediately in international pricing questions. Reading is always free, but getting new content can be pretty costly outside of the US.

In the US, the cost model is clean and encourages massive consumption through affordable prices for both books and subscriptions. Comparison with the iTunes Music Store is obvious: digital sales can build up to quite large sums by aggregating frequent purchases of relatively cheap items. Simplicity is paramount: it’s because it’s so easy that people do it so often. But clear, stable pricing is a key part of the feeling of simplicity.

Whispernet is a great name for Amazon’s creative use of long-existing technologies. It stands for “I buy it (online or on the Kindle) and it gets loaded on my Kindle in moments, no matter what.”

The technologies it relies on (mobile phone data networks) have long been struggling to turn a dime, when carriers were pricing it punitively. I’m not sure flat-fee is making carriers rich now, but it definitely made way for much more prevalent mobile data usage.

And the difference between US domestic and international use could kill the Kindle before it gets adopted, internationally. When I use it here in Holland, I have to think about what will cost me. It takes away a certain feeling of comfort when operating the device, which I believe is crucial for its success (as you know, I don’t like to think).

Amazon is being very straightforward with the fees, and I imagine they are currently working to forge local agreements to get local pricing in other countries too. They’ll also develop local digital download catalogs — fewer books and magazines are available internationally than for US delivery. I suppose deals will get worked out first in existing Amazon countries (UK, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, China).

Also, the Kindle can be plugged in to your computer over USB, and purchases or personal documents transferred manually. Basically, I don’t actually have to incur any extra costs, and can access all US content at the regular price, if I give up on the wireless connection.

Right now, I switched off the mobile radio, to make sure I don’t incur any costs. Of course, it means I can’t receive my magazine subscriptions automatically, and I doubt that I’ll bother downloading them regularly — so I’ll probably unsubscribe.

With wireless turned off, the Kindle is no different from Sony’s e-reader, which I don’t believe is an interesting machine. It becomes PC-centric, tethered to your desktop. It’s fine, but it will remain a niche product, useful to the subset of PC users that feel comfortable enough adding an e-reader to their peripherals.

I believe that Whispernet is the Kindle’s killer feature, because it makes it a standalone device, with its own business ecosystem around it, an ecosystem that deals in books and written content. The PC is just a small part of that ecosystem (necessary only for signing up, only optional afterwards).

An important part of the pricing structure of iTunes and the US version of the Kindle, which relies on Whispernet, is that you pay for what you want: you don’t pay for stuff you don’t want (all infrastructure costs are factored in), and you get all of what you want (no doubt that it might not work). The genius here is that consumers get a very high level of confidence in the outcome, as well as a very easy, unclouded, “pure” purchase decision.

Controlling the whole delivery chain (browsing the content catalog, transaction, delivery, consumption) ensures that Amazon and Apple can guarantee the quality of the experience, and make it a one-stop sale. That, I believe, is the secret behind the success of those services.