Amazon Kindle Goes International

In the past few weeks, many Amazon customers wondered whether Amazon was ready to give its e-book readers a boost for the holiday season. Last night’s announcement on the latest Kindle price drop and the introduction of the Kindle – International certainly qualifies as a strong push by Amazon to sell even more units in the upcoming months. The fact that you can now receive your content and stay connected in over 100 countries around the world makes Amazon Kindle the undisputed king of e-book readers for the time being.

So how does Amazon provide you coverage all around the world and in the U.S. on your Kindle International? If you take a look at Amazon’s device specification, one thing stands out. It seems Amazon Whispernet on your Kindle -International includes AT&T’s data network.

Connectivity: HSDPA modem (3G) with a fallback to EDGE/GPRS; utilizes Amazon Whispernet to provide wireless coverage via AT&T’s 3G high-speed data network in the U.S. and partner networks outside of the U.S.

Comparing that to the specifications of Kindle 2.0 – US indicates what has changed.

Connectivity: EVDO modem with fallback to 1xRTT; utilizes Amazon Whispernet to provide U.S wireless coverage via Sprint’s 3G high-speed data network.

Since the international edition of Kindle is not out yet (to be released on October 19th), I can’t tell how well the international wireless service works. But it’s nice to have the option to go online and download books all around the world. Let’s hope this is not the only Amazon announcement for the upcoming holiday season. Something tells me we might get a discount on Kindle DX as well.

Your take: would you be interested in purchasing the international version of Kindle DX (not available yet )?