Kindle Arrives In Best Buy Stores This Fall (With On-Device Registration?)
Best Buy has announced that, as of this fall, they will be offering Amazon's WiFi and 3G Kindle ereaders in stores. Priced at the same $139 for the WiFi-only Kindle and $189 for its WiFi+3G sibling, they'll be joined by the Kindle DX later in the season.
Interestingly, the news follows Amazon's limited release of a test firmware build for the third-generation Kindle earlier today, the primary purpose of which is to enable on-device registration for Amazon accounts. At the time, we speculated that Amazon's intention might be to make in-store purchases of the ereader more straightforward for those without access to a computer, and it seems like that is indeed their approach.
The Kindle joins the B&N nook together with Sony's Reader Touch, Pocket and Daily Editions on Best Buy shelves.
Press Release:
Best Buy Expands E-Reader Selection with Addition of Amazon Kindle, Prepares to Launch New In-Store E-Reader DisplaysNew generation Kindle joins exceptional collection of popular portable reading devices only at Best Buy
MINNEAPOLIS, Sep 09, 2010 — Best Buy Co. Inc., the nation's largest consumer electronics retailer, today announced that it will expand its in-store e-reader selection this fall with addition of the Amazon Kindle, the recommended e-reader of the country's leading consumer reporting organization and numerous news organizations.
Beginning this fall, Best Buy will make it even easier for consumers to compare all of the most popular reading devices by installing new end-caps that display its e-reader selection side-by-side, supported by helpful information about each device's key features. Best Buy is the only retailer to carry all of the top e-reader brands in-store so consumers can conveniently compare and decide which is right for them.
Kindle wirelessly downloads books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high resolution electronic paper display that looks and reads like real paper. The all-new Kindle has a new electronic-ink screen with 50 percent better contrast, is 21 percent smaller and 15 percent lighter, boasts 20 percent faster page turns, up to one month of battery life with wireless off, double the storage to 3,500 books, and more. The Kindle Store now has more than 670,000 books, including New Releases and nearly all New York Times Best Sellers. Over 550,000 of these books are $9.99 or less, including 78 New York Times Best Sellers. Kindle lets you Buy Once, Read Everywhere–on Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle DX, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry and Android-based devices. Amazon's Whispersync technology syncs your place across devices, so you can pick up where you left off.
The all-new Kindle with built-in Wi-Fi will retail for $139.99 and the Kindle 3G with free 3G wireless will retail for $189.99. Both will be available at all Best Buy stores this fall, with the 9.7-inch display Kindle DX joining Best Buy's selection later in the season.
"We are excited that Best Buy will be offering the new generation Kindle to its customers," said Steve Kessel, Senior Vice President, Amazon Kindle. "Best Buy will be offering its customers a great experience with Kindle–the ability to think of a book and be reading it in less than 60 seconds, read on a screen that is easy on the eyes even in bright sunlight, and carry thousands of books with them wherever they go in just 8.5 ounces."
"There's no question that e-readers have found their rightful place in today's digital lifestyle," said Chris Homeister, senior vice president and general manager of Home Entertainment for Best Buy. "Our goal is to help people choose the device that's right for them by providing the broadest selection of popular e-readers of any retailer, in one convenient place that enables people to easily see, touch, try and buy."
In addition to offering Kindle, Best Buy is the exclusive retail partner for the Barnes & Noble NOOK(TM) ebook Reader, and also carries the Sony Reader Touch, Pocket and Daily Editions. Each of these portable reading devices enables consumers to read electronic books on-the-go with content downloaded from various book stores, libraries and other sources.