The Amazon Kindle Unlimited program has just launched in India today for an introductory rate of 99 rupees until the end of the month and then it will increase to 199 rupees in October.
Kindle Unlimited is launching with thousands of e-book titles by indie authors and small publishing companies. Sadly, many of the worlds top publishers have yet to embrace what Amazon is selling, so you won’t find any of the New York Times perennial bestsellers.
Making Kindle Unlimited available in India also taps into a market with a lot of growth potential. According to Digital Book World, e-books currently account for just 2% of the country’s $2 billion market, but that amount is expected to grow as smartphones and tablets come down in price.
“India is a very important market for us. Readers here are reading books across genres of literature, fiction, health, productivity, business and economics, biographies and children books on their Kindle devices and app,” said Amazon Kindle Director Sanjeev Jha.
“For less than the average price of one hardcover bestseller, we’ve made the best digital library in the world available to every corner of India. Whether it is thrillers, romance novels, Sci-Fi or children’s books, with Kindle Unlimited everyone will have the chance to discover not only well-established but also new authors of every genre,” he said.
This is the first time Unlimited has expanded into the Asian market and many people are lobbying for it to come to Japan and South Korea.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.