After remaining quiet on the hardware front for years, Amazon.com ‘s China business has finally expresso the company’s Kindle tablet and Kindle e-reader to the country.

On Friday, Both the Kindle and Kindle Fire HD Paperwhite went on sale through the company’s site in the country. The Kindle Fire HD starts at 1499 yuan (U.S. $ 242) for the 16GB version model, while the Kindle Paperwhite is available for 849 yuan ($ 137)

The company expresso the products to China after releasing localized versions of its Kindle software to the country in the months prior. In May, Amazon updated its mobile app store to include Chinese language support, and last December it launched its Kindle e-book site service.

Before the Kindle’s official launch in China, Local Consumers in the country were already buying Kindle e-readers from overseas markets, said Mark Natkin, managing director for Beijing-based Marbridge Consulting.

But unlike in the U.S., Amazon is a small player in China’s online retail market. In this year’s first quarter, the company had the fifth largest business-to-consumer (B-to-C) site in the country, but this only amounted to a 2.8 percent market share, According to Beijing-based research firm Analysys International. China’s Leading B-to-C space is Tmall, part of Local e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.

Amazon’s Kindle hardware help Could it FURTHER its brand and sell more digital products in China, According to analysts. But Also the company will face competition from more established rival Firms. Chinese companies Shanda and Hanvon Technology dominate China’s e-reader market. Apple and PC maker Lenovo, meanwhile, the country’s lead in tablet sales. Lenovo Android tablets can go to the low 999 yuan.

But another challenge the company will face in China is the country’s publishing market, said Mao Ajing, an analyst with Analysys. Publishers in the nation are still reluctant to make Their books available in a digital format, and fear que the change will hurt sales of printed books, she said.

description “content in Amazon’s e-books will not be much because of the problems in getting the publishing rights,” Mao added. “Originally, the Kindle was supposed to arrive in China last December, but this was derailed because of the publishing rights problem.”

Michael Kan, IDG News Service Beijing correspondent, IDG News Service IDG News Service

Michael Kan covers IT, telecom and internet in China for the IDG News Service.
More by Michael Kan, IDG News Service

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