Watch out, Apple. Amazon will be bringing its Kindle Fire tablets to 170 new countries next month and to back that up its Appstore will also reach almost 200 new regions.
At the moment you can only buy a Kindle Fire or Kindle Fire HD in seven countries – the UK, US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Japan. You can now pre-order the Kindle Fire HD or Kindle Fire HD 8.9” from Amazon, with shipping starting June 13th.
These tablets of course need apps, and so Amazon is rolling out its Appstore to almost 200 new countries at the same time. Although available on the Kindle Fire HD tablets, Amazon’s Appstore has previously only been available on the web in the US.
The launch of a web-based Amazon Appstore means that those pre-ordering a Kindle Fire HD can browse Amazon’s catalogue of Android apps using a computer, buy them and have them sent to their new tablet instantly when it arrives. The system works much like Google’s web-based Play Store, which allows you to browse for apps, movies, music, books and more, make a purchase and send it to your mobile device wirelessly.
With the expansion Amazon will allow those based in Ireland and Gibraltar to order from Amazon.co.uk and those in Austria and Luxembourg to order from Amazon.de.
By opening pre-orders in so many new countries Amazon overtake Apple in terms of the number of regions it offers a tablet device and app ecosystem. The Kindle Fire HD tablets are much cheaper, too, retailing at £159 for the 16GB model and £179 for the 32GB.