Publishing Perspectives reports that later this year, Amazon is going to introduce its Kindle into the Brazilian market at a price of R$199 (US$115)—significantly cheaper than any other e-reader on the market. Anonymous sources “familiar with the negotiations” suggest Amazon may even go as low as R$149 (US$87) to gain market share.

(Of course, those prices are on par with what the device sells for in the US, but I suspect Brazil may have a higher salary and cost of living base than the US, thus making it remarkably cheap for there.)

Not only is this well below the R$799 (US$466) charged for Brazil’s native Positivo Alfa e-reader, it’s also below the US$255 it currently costs a Brazilian to get the cheapest US Kindle after import duties. It would give Amazon the cheapest e-reader available in the Brazilian market.

Currently, the number of e-books available in Brazil’s native Portugese is a relatively low11,000 e-book titles. However, if Amazon brings a cheap e-reader to the market, it could stimulate publishers to put more effort into converting backlist titles to digital and give a boost to the overall e-book market in the country.

If that’s the case, then Amazon’s raw commercialism might just have some benefits for Brazillian readers.

2 COMMENTS

  1. It’s not cheap for Brasil either – only in Brasil all goods made in other countries are subject to very high taxes — thus Nike shoes, Apple products, etc. are EXTREMELY expensive for the average Brasilian. — It’s not that Brasilians make more money or spend more money on other things, just that foreign goods are more of a luxury,

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