Dick Smith to directly sell Kindles in Australia

[sabredog]

For those wanting a Kindle or want to see one in action before outlaying hard earned cash, there is some welcome news.

http://dicksmith.com.au/offer/kindle

the Aussie ereader market is beginning to hot up again, with DSE now selling the Kindle, Collins selling the Kobo and Sony coming out with a new model.

Looks good at this stage.

[TedJ]

The Kindle will also be stocked by Woolworths and Big W.

[Blue Tyson]

Supermarkets, or otherwise?

[viviena]

Woolworths and Big W and Dick Smith? Very impressive. I love that more ereaders are becoming available locally now.

[tech_au]

Well that will pretty much kill the epub reader market here in Oz.
I might be interesting in defecting if Amazon would make a Kindle without that moronic keyboard attached to the bottom. The virtual keyboard on the Sony readers works well enough for the odd time you need to enter a page number or look up a word in the dictionary

[RainingLemur]

My friend in the Aussie-land "tweeted" about this earlier. So, I sent her a pic of mine with a "neener neener" caption.

The last time she came back to the states to visit family and such, she contemplated getting a Kindle, but was afraid she wouldn't get it in time so she had to pass. But, now she'll be able to grab one.

[Solicitous]

Well this is interesting news. Good to see it is priced comparably to us buying from amazon plus postage. That was an issue I feel was with kobo, Australian price far higher than the us price.

Be interesting to see what will transpire if amazon release a new Ereader as some are claiming in the coming months. Given it is pre order I somehow doubt the k3 will be replaced fairly soon. Be a bit rough.

[sabredog]

It will probably mean the KT will be sold at Collins for less that the older models were in order to compete with the $159 Kindle price.

[TedJ]

I've seen some a story that suggest the KT will go on sale next month through Collins for ~$160 AUD.

The new Kobo Touch eInk eReader will be available for purchase in September from Collins bookstores and Collins online as well as other outlets. Retail pricing for the Kobo Touch is still being negotiated but Technology Spectator understands that it is likely to be less than $160.

http://technologyspectator.com.au/sm...h-eink-ereader

[jehane]

Originally Posted by viviena

Woolworths and Big W and Dick Smith? Very impressive. I love that more ereaders are becoming available locally now.

All three shops are part of the Woolworths group. So it's still only one retail group selling them, and it seems they're not sure what category ereaders fall into.

[amward]

I went into the local (new) Dick Smith yesterday where they tried to sell me a Kindle to use for library borrowing which is as far as I know not possible. However the Singapore library now has an option of registering a mobipocket device, is this a Kindle or something else?

[viviena]

Originally Posted by jehane

All three shops are part of the Woolworths group. So it's still only one retail group selling them, and it seems they're not sure what category ereaders fall into.

Was thinking more of brand visibility. It was very easy for people to not notice a Kobo if one wasn't in the habit of visiting Borders or A&R. Sony was somewhat better. However, considering the ubiquity of Woolworths stores in particular, let alone Big W and Dick Smith (I understand it may vary for one's location), I can see Kindles achieving a similar ubiquity in the public consciousness. If the speculation that TedJ linked to is valid though, I like also that EPUB-based ereaders might be forced to become more competitive too.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by viviena

Was thinking more of brand visibility. It was very easy for people to not notice a Kobo if one wasn't in the habit of visiting Borders or A&R. Sony was somewhat better. However, considering the ubiquity of Woolworths stores in particular, let alone Big W and Dick Smith (I understand it may vary for one's location), I can see Kindles achieving a similar ubiquity in the public consciousness. If the speculation that TedJ linked to is valid though, I like also that EPUB-based ereaders might be forced to become more competitive too.

Could not agree more. Kobo should choose another distributor for the Kobo in conjunction with running with Collins bookstores.

Simply selling their ereader in a bookstore with limited shop fronts does not expose the device to enough potential users.

As the Kindle will now exposed to a much bigger potential user base, Kobo will need to counter that to keep competitive.

Sony seem to run at their own pace and their own agenda so their policy of selling through their own stores (online and brick/mortar) and only through Myer will probably remain unchanged. I seriously do not believe they are too concerned at being overly competitive against the Kindle and Kobo.

[artig]

Dick Smith New Zealand now have the Kindle on their web site for pre-order with delivery late August. $209 for the wi-fi version and $289 for 3G. http://dicksmith.co.nz/offer/kindle

[molman]

Originally Posted by sabredog

Could not agree more. Kobo should choose another distributor for the Kobo in conjunction with running with Collins bookstores.

Simply selling their ereader in a bookstore with limited shop fronts does not expose the device to enough potential users.

As the Kindle will now exposed to a much bigger potential user base, Kobo will need to counter that to keep competitive.

Sony seem to run at their own pace and their own agenda so their policy of selling through their own stores (online and brick/mortar) and only through Myer will probably remain unchanged. I seriously do not believe they are too concerned at being overly competitive against the Kindle and Kobo.

Problem is I can't really think of a good candidate. Not many large bookstore chains around beyond Dymocks really left, and they seem to have their own ebook strategy (which is a bit of a mess - an android tablet that is as $ as an iPad 2, no eInk devices?). I don't feel like the Coles group properties like Kmart or Target would do it justice (non-existent product training/in-store sales support). Maybe a Myers? or a JBHIFI?

The University Co-Op bookstores could be an idea also? Nothing like trend setting uni students :-)

.. or just offer it to all the independents - Readings, Abbeys Bookshop, Kinokuniya, etc..