Amazon UK Makes Switch to Agency Terms with Three Publishers

Seems the big boys continue to insist on shooting themselves in the digital feet. theBookseller.com: "Amazon.co.uk has moved on to the agency model in the UK with publishers Hachette, HarperCollins and Penguin now setting their own e-book prices. Customers buying an e-book from the Kindle store from any of the three publishers are told: 'This price was set by the publisher.' A Penguin spokesperson said: 'I can confirm we are now on the agency model with Amazon as of today.' Penguin and HarperCollins have followed Hachette, which switched to agency pricing in September. Amazon is the first online e-bookseller to make the switch, with no Penguin or Hachette e-books yet available for sale on either Waterstones.com or W H Smith's website. ... "

With a Friend Like Hachette ...

Philip Jones, FutureBook: "[The Agency Model has] been badly implemented in the UK already. Maybe there are reasons for this, mostly legal for sure, but retailers we've spoken to appear to be unclear why Hachette set a fixed 'D-day' for some, but not—most noticeably for Amazon—others. Some retailers are unhappy that a measure brought in to fix Amazon has actually given the company a huge window of exclusivity at this key period. This is more than a problem of availability and the ugly messages that now appear on some retailers' websites when a Hachette title is picked, consumers planning their Christmas purchases are unlikely to plump for a device with such a demonstrably flakey back-end. If I'm Waterstone's I'm wondering why Hachette has just kicked me in the teeth, when I'm basically on-side with agency pricing."

Samsung E60 eBook Reader Goes on Sale at W.H. Smith Later This Week

But it doesn't stand a chance. Which? News: "According to Samsung the E60 is compatible with major ebook formats including ePub, PDF and TXT. The Samsung E60 can also playback MP3 music and audiobooks, and has a text-to-speech feature that can read out ebooks. ... The Samsung E60 doesn't have a 3G connection but instead connects via wi-fi for users to download ebooks from the WHSmith ebook store. Samsung's new eReader will cost £200 when launched - £90 more than the wi-fi-only version of its high-profile rival, the Amazon Kindle."

UK eBook Price Wars

Price Wars Escalate in the UK - mediabistro.com: GalleyCat: "The eBook price wars in the UK took a dramatic turn today as bookseller W H Smith slashed all eBook prices--selling all eBooks for half price. The astounding sale features Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer for 5.10 pounds and Play Dead by Harlan Coben for 2.72 pounds. Both prices represent a 66 percent savings off the original price of the eBook."

The iRiver Story/W.H. Smith Thing ... additional info

W.H. Smith will be using a new release of the iRiver Story which now has WiFi connectivity (good, though still not 3G) and an increased price tag of £250 (bad, with both the Nook WiFi and the Kindle selling for roughly half that in the UK). You get the picture. Deadsville. Get a few more details from SlashGear. Also GadgetVenue.

UK's W.H. Smith Mates with iRiver's "Story"

From Mobility Site:

One of the largest booksellers in the UK, W.H. Smith, has decided to stake more of a claim in the Ebook market by offering a special edition of the iRiver Story ebook reader in its shops. W.H. Smith currently sells Sony ebook readers and does have some ebooks available for download, but it can hardly be called a focus of their business. In fact, their website tends to be dominated by the traditional fare of a UK Newsagent, Filofaxes and diaries. Not exactly on the bleeding digital edge is our W.H. Smith…

The Story has, of course, thus far proved somewhat popular in Europe.