Amazon has revealed that its first ever touchscreen eReader, the Kindle Touch, will go on sale in the UK on April 27th.
The online retailer announced the Kindle Touch last year along with its first ever tablet, the Kindle Fire, and until now both have only been sold in the U.S, but at long last the company has decided to bring one of the gadgets across the pond. Both Wi-Fi and 3G versions of the Kindle Touch will be available to buy from Amazon.co.uk on Friday, April 27th.
Keen Kindle fans can pre-order both models now from Amazon to ensure they will get one on release day, or just order one on the day. The Wi-Fi Kindle Touch costs £109, while the Kindle Touch 3G variant will set you back £169.
Both are identical in looks and features when compared to the models that are currently being sold in the U.S, although Amazon has confirmed it will be addressing some minor software problems in time for the UK release, so it looks like we’re getting a better deal in some respects. So, with the Kindle Touch you’ll be getting the brilliantly easy to read 6-inch e-Ink screen with added multi-touch – this Kindle has no buttons!
The Kindle Touch boasts a cool new feature that other Kindles don’t have – X-Ray. This feature lets you tap on areas of a digital book and view additional, detailed information in a pop-up box. X-Ray is perfect for reading a little bit more about a particular character in a book – be it fictional or historical. Amazon has incorporated both Wikipedia and Shelfari (Amazon’s community-powered knowledge base on books) into X-Ray to give you all the information you need.
If you opt for the Kindle Touch 3G you’ll be able to download your eBooks wherever you are thanks to a connection to the Vodafone network. You won’t need to mess around with a SIM card or top it up either, as Amazon has factored the cost of the 3G usage into the price of the reader, which is £169.
Unfortunately Amazon hasn’t mentioned any plans to bring its other U.S-only product, the Kindle Fire tablet, to the UK.
You can pre-order now from amazon.co.uk. Is the Kindle Touch for you, or do you prefer the older Kindle Keyboard?
Let us know your thoughts on our comments below or via our @Gadget_Helpline Twitter page or Official Facebook group.