Kindling e-book interest

Amazon's new Kindle 3, with a lower price, better contrast and global reach, will no doubt entice a few more Czechs to buy an e-book reader. Whereas the Russian market for e-books is estimated this year at up to $6m, the Czech paid market is still almost non-existent. Tomáš Zilvar of Vice magazine told LN that the main obstacles are international copyright fees and lack of a micropayment system. Patrick Zandl said that books in Czech might find a distribution channel outside the CR, because local publishers see digitization as a threat. Czechs seduced by Amazon's marketing should keep in mind that their language apparently still won't be supported on the Kindle. Another drawback is Amazon's pre-ordering system. Although Amazon says that VAT will be charged on the Kindle 3, the VAT doesn't appear on the payment page. Instead of the $139 list price, Czechs will apparently be surprised to have $192 deducted from their credit card. Amazon still has a few things to learn about international electronic commerce. [Czech Republic Amazon.com value-added tax Lidové noviny Lupa]