Amazon launched an online store selling electronic books and an application for reading with smartphone and iPad yesterday on its Chinese website, a move seen as a prelude for the long-awaited Kindle e-book reader's entry into China.
Amazon China officially started providing Kindle services and related free application, which allows users to pay and download e-books in China. At present, the website provides more than 22,000 online books, with 800 of them being free.
Buying e-books is 30 to 80 percent cheaper compared with real books also sold in Amazon. Most Chinese-language e-books charge below 10 yuan (US$1.6) each. Some e-books, including an English version about Steve Jobs, cost 40 yuan, only half of the paper book's price sold in Amazon China.
Customers now can purchase and download the books through the new application for Android and Apple devices, including iPhone and iPad.
Amazon China was not available to comment yesterday.
Amazon also faces domestic rivals like Dangdang and Shanda, which sell both e-books and readers with localized services.
Amazon's Chinese website previously sold paper books and other goods but not Kindle devices and services.
Amazon is the world's biggest e-book reader vendor and No. 1 online book store. But neither Kindle e-book reader nor the e-book store was foremerly available domestically.
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