It’s interesting to note that the books in UK Kindle store turn out to be a bit cheaper than the very same ones in the U.S. store (using the latest exchange rate). The Kindle store for UK does seem to recognize customers’ location based on their IP (which is why we received the message in the above screen-shot).

It is exciting to see Amazon get more serious about its international plans. It has already run out of Kindle units to ship (starting in a couple of weeks), but Amazon has set the foundation for another successful end-of-the-year for its Kindle family. Amazon may not be interested in winning the hardware game (seems like it), but it has huge advantages over its competitors when it comes to content distribution.

It’d be interesting to see whether Amazon implements similar plans for other countries such as Canada. But first, it needs to get some of those Kindle units in stock and ready to go. Can Kindle competitors keep up? That remains to be seen.

Amazon Kindle has been around for a while now. While we shouldn’t forget about Sony and other companies that paved the way for Amazon, we must give credit where it is due. Amazon has single-handedly brought some new life to the e-book market. As popular as Kindle has been, it has taken Amazon a few years to finally make the device mainstream. For the first few months or the first year, a lot of people didn’t even bother to check Kindle. Fast forward a couple of years, and Amazon has already a huge feat by selling more e-books than paper books on Christmas day.

Here is what Amazon had to say about Kindle’s success this year (read the entire press release):

…Kindle has become the most gifted item in Amazon’s history. On Christmas Day, for the first time ever, customers purchased more Kindle books than physical books

That is certainly good news for all e-book fans. It’s not where Amazon wants to be, but this holiday season people have finally realized the potential that e-book readers have in cutting costs and making reading on the go more convenient. Nook may not post Kindle like numbers this year, but the device has been out of stock for a while now. So there has been real demand for the device. Let’s hope these companies can keep their products in stock when people want to pick them up.

So you finally decided to part ways with $360 of your hard earned money and buy an Amazon Kindle. Now what? Do you know where to find content for your Kindle? Even though there are 250,000 books available in Amazon Kindle store, people still complain about not having access to more content for the Kindle platform. In reality, there are plenty of places you can find books for your gadget.

Here are a few places that you can find content online (not counting P2P networks):

• AZW: the chances are you have already tried the Kindle store and are looking for another source of AZW content for your Kindle. You can always try manybooks.net for more books. They have over 20K titles for the platform and worth a try.
• PDF: there are many place you can find PDF works on the Web. I am not going to suggest any P2P methods here (torrents) as there are plenty of legal ways to get content for your gadget:
  • http://www.pdfbooks.co.za
  • http://www.worldlibrary.net
  • http://www.wowio.com
  • http://www.zinepal.com
  • http://www.munseys.com
• MOBI: I am not a fan of MOBI books, but these books are compatible with Kindle 1.0 and Kindle 2.0. Here are a few places to find .MOBI books:
  • http://www.fictionwise.com
  • http://www.mobipocket.com
  • http://www.freekindlebooks.org
• Text: you’d be surprised how many interesting books you find in this format. Here are a few places you can look for .TXT books:
  • http://www.fictionpress.com
  • http://www.gutenberg.org
• PRC: finally, if you are still looking for content after trying the above sites, you may want to look at:
  • http://www.webscriptions.net
  • http://www.mnybks.net
• Audio: it’s surprising how many people don’t use their Kindle for audio-books. But there are lots of good titles available for your Kindle:
  • http://www.audible.com
  • http://www.simplyaudiobooks.com
  • http://www.audiobooks.com/

There you have it. There are lots of other places that you can look for Kindle content, but the above sites are those that I have used in the past and have decent books available for download. Having said that, if you know any other place for Kindle content, please comment below.

If you haven’t been paying attention, Amazon seems to be juggling between multiple strategies to make the Kindle store more relevant. The Kindle store is great if you are a heavy Kindle user, but at the end of the day most people search for books on the normal Amazon store and not the Kindle store. Amazon seems to be introducing Kindle books sooner or at the same time (as they are doing with Brisingr) as paperback books to encourage people to pick them up from the Kindle store. I think releasing books earlier to the Kindle platform would be brilliant strategy to boost Kindle sales. After all, if you can skip the shipping process, and get books 2 weeks earlier than you would at bookstores, all of a sudden Kindle doesn’t look that expensive. We shall see if this strategy works out for Amazon but it’s certainly not that risky.

What are your thoughts on this strategy? Would you consider buying a Kindle if it meant you getting books 2-3 weeks earlier than most people?

Today I checked the same books, and it seems that Amazon is now matches the prices of both editions for these books. While still unreasonable, at least Amazon is paying attention. In my book, Amazon Kindle books should be prices at least 20-30% lower than their paperbook counterparts. Some say that all books should be in $0.99 – $4.99 range, but I can’t see that happening for $100 college books.

I am interested to hear your thoughts on this. Should Amazon charge the same for a paperback book and its Kindle version? Would you consider paying more for Kindle books?

Amazon.com has released the following books for Amazon Kindle today:

• The Powers to Lead  by Joseph S. Nye
• Tribology on the Small Scale: A Bottom Up Approach to Friction, Lubrication, and Wear  by C. Mathew Mate
•   Homeric Hmyn To Demeter by Homer
•  Burn Zone  by James O. Born

Amazon.com has released the following books today. Check them out:

•  Shotoku: Ethnicity, Ritual and Violence in the Japanese Buddhist Tradition
•  At The Back of the Black Man’s Mind
• Casting Down Crowns (Erotic Feast) by Desiree Davidson
• The Cutting Season by Arthur Rosenfeld
• Joe Wikert’s Publishing 2020 Blog 2005 by Joe Wikert
• The New Solution Selling by Keith M. Eades
• Slip of the Knife  by Denise Mina (Kindle Edition – Feb 13, 2008)

Amazon has released a few new books for the Kindle today. Here are the top ones:

1. Annuities for Dummies

2. Biting the Bullet

3. Boink

4. Ravens in the storm

5. Death of a Gentle Lady

Read on!

Abraham Lincoln and the Union by Nathaniel W. Stephenson
Adieu by Honore de Balzac (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008) – Kindle Book
Albert Savarus by Honore de Balzac
The Alkahest by Honore de Balzac (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008) – Kindle Book
All That Glitters by Heather Ames (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008) – Kindle Book
Analytical Studies: The Physiology of Marriage and Petty Troubles of Married Life Anchor’s Away:Chain Of Command by Shara Azod
Another Study of Woman by Honore de Balzac
At the Sign of the Cat and Racket by Honore de Balzac
Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie by Andrew Carnegie and John van Dyke
The Ball at Sceaux by Honore de Balzac
Beatrix by Honore de Balzac
The Black Rose by Skyler Grey
The Book of Three Hundred Anecdotes by Various
Break Free (One of Many Times) by Joshua Easterly (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008)
The Brotherhood of Consolation by Honore de Balzac
Bureaucracy by Honore de Balzac (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008) – Kindle Book
Catherine de Medici by Honore de Balzac
The Celibates by Honore de Balzac
The Ceremonies of the Holy-Week At Rome by Rev. Monsignor Baggs
The Chouans by Honore de Balzac
The Common People of Ancient Rome by Frank Frost Abbott
Contes Merveilleux Tomes I & II by Hans Christian Andersen
Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley
The Defeat of Youth and Other Poems by Aldous Huxley
DRAGON STAR by Stephanie Burke
The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay
Fixed Mobile Convergence by Alex Shneyderman and Alessio Casati
Het Portret van Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
How to Create A Secret Cottage Garden in Your Own Backyard by Kristin Falzon
Humbug by Tigra-Luna LeMar
Le Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas
Lord Kilmore by Tara Greenbaum
McGraw-Hill’s Conquering ACT English, Reading, and Writing by Steven Dulan Mr. Angel by Beth Henderson (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008) – Kindle Book
My Cheri Amour by Shara Azod (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008) – Kindle Book
My Weeping Willow by Sarah Rainwater Tanner (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008) – Ménage à Valentine by RaeLynn Blue and Shara Azod
Notre Dame de Paris – 1482 by Victor Hugo (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008)
O Pioneers! (Girlebooks Classics) by Willa Cather
The Path To Rome by Hillaire Belloc (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008)
The Red Fighter Pilot – the Autobiography of the Red Baron by Manfred Von Richthofen and J. Ellis Barker
The Religion of Ancient Rome by Cyril Bailey (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008) The
The Religion of Numa by Jesse Benedict Carter (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008)
Ring In The New by Beth Henderson (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008)
Roads From Rome by Anne C. E. Allinson (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008)
Santa, Sam’s Been Bad by Tigra-Luna LeMar (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008)
A Sigh Of Love by Bess McBride (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008)
A Tangled Web by Skyler Grey (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008)
A Treatise of Taxes and Contributions by William Petty
Triple Bow by Shara Azod and RaeLynn Blue
Unnatural Sights by Joe Jeney
A Valentine’s Gift for Tori by Zenobia Renquist
THE WAR WITH GERMANY-A STATISTICAL SUMMARY by LEONARD P. AYRES What Is Property by P. J. Proudhon (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008)
Wicked Pleasures by Tambra Kendall (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008)A Wife For Big John by Lauri Robinson (Kindle Edition – Feb 8, 2008)