India is unlikely to be a volume market for Amazon's Kindle reader in the short term, according to analysts. Estimates of the number of these devices sold in India since October, when Amazon starte
d shipping the device to the country, range from a few hundred to about 1,000 units. That is low for a country that had over 506 million mobile subscribers at the end of November last year, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The comparison may however be inappropriate, said Arpan Gupta, an analyst at research firm, IDC India. While communications is seen as a necessity in India, the ability to download books and read them from a device is not, he said. The Indian market for the Kindle is not very big currently and is also expected to remain sluggish this year, said Gupta, who however declined to estimate the number of Kindle devices sold in India so far. Amazon does not disclose the number of units of the Kindle shipped, a spokeswoman for the company said. The company said on Wednesday that it is selling its Kindle DX with Global Wireless device, with a 9.7 inch display, in over 100 countries outside the U.S. The device, priced at US$489, has been available for pre-order since Wednesday, with actual shipments scheduled for Jan. 19.
For Further: www.pcworld.com/article/186337/amazons_kindle_yet_to_make_an_impact_in_india.html
d shipping the device to the country, range from a few hundred to about 1,000 units. That is low for a country that had over 506 million mobile subscribers at the end of November last year, according to data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The comparison may however be inappropriate, said Arpan Gupta, an analyst at research firm, IDC India. While communications is seen as a necessity in India, the ability to download books and read them from a device is not, he said. The Indian market for the Kindle is not very big currently and is also expected to remain sluggish this year, said Gupta, who however declined to estimate the number of Kindle devices sold in India so far. Amazon does not disclose the number of units of the Kindle shipped, a spokeswoman for the company said. The company said on Wednesday that it is selling its Kindle DX with Global Wireless device, with a 9.7 inch display, in over 100 countries outside the U.S. The device, priced at US$489, has been available for pre-order since Wednesday, with actual shipments scheduled for Jan. 19.For Further: www.pcworld.com/article/186337/amazons_kindle_yet_to_make_an_impact_in_india.html
