Amazon.co.uk reaches digital milestone less than a year after launch of UK Kindle Store

May 19, 2011:

Luxembourg, 19 May, 2011 – Amazon.co.uk today announced that customers are choosing Kindle books over hardcover books at a rate of more than 2 to 1, even as hardcover sales continue to grow. Since 1st April 2011, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.co.uk has sold, it has sold 242 Kindle books. This includes sales of hardcover books where there is no Kindle edition. Free Kindle books are excluded and, if included, would make the number even higher.

"Amazon.co.uk customers are choosing Kindle books more often than hardcovers at a rate of more than 2 to 1. This is truly astonishing when you consider that we've been selling hardcover books from Amazon.co.uk for over 13 years and Kindle books for only nine months," said Gordon Willoughby, European Director, Kindle.

Kindle customers have access to the largest selection of books of any e-bookstore in the UK. Over 650,000 books are now available to purchase from the UK Kindle Store. Over 1 million books are also available to download free of charge. Bestselling titles at the UK Kindle Store in 2011 have included 'the basement' by Stephen Leather, 'The Hanging Shed' by Gordon Ferris and 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' by Stieg Larsson. Free titles that have been in high demand have included 'Painless' by Derek Ciccone, 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen and 'William Walker's First Year of Marriage' by Matt Rudd.

Kindle's Whispersync technology saves and synchronises a customer's full library of books, bookmarks, last page read, highlights and annotations across Kindles and free "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" Kindle apps for iPad, iPhone, PC, Mac, Windows Phone, and Android-based devices, so a customer is never without their reading. For more information about Kindle "Buy Once, Read Everywhere" apps, customers can visit www.amazon.co.uk/kindleapps.

Kindle with built-in Wi-Fi is available for only £111. Kindle 3G which also features the convenience of free 3G wireless is only £152 with no monthly fees, annual contract or data plans. Customers can discover full details and order Kindle and Kindle 3G at www.amazon.co.uk/kindleWi-Fi and www.amazon.co.uk/kindle3G.

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For further information please contact the Amazon.co.uk Ltd press office on 020 8636 9280.

About Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk opened its virtual doors in October 1998 and strives to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavours to offer its customers the lowest possible prices.

Amazon.co.uk and other sellers offer millions of new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Baby, Books, Car & Motorbike, Clothing, DIY & Tools, DVD, Electronics & Photo, Grocery, Health & Beauty, Home & Garden, Jewellery, MP3, Music, Musical Instruments & DJ, Office, PC, Pet Supplies, Shoes, Software, Sports & Leisure, Toys & Games, Video Games and Watches.

Kindle and Kindle 3G are the revolutionary portable readers that wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high-resolution electronic ink display that looks and reads like real paper. Kindle 3G utilises the same 3G wireless technology as advanced mobile phones, so users never need to hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot. Kindle is the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon.com.

Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business.

Amazon.co.uk is a trading name for Amazon EU S.a.r.l, Amazon Services Europe S.a.r.l and Amazon Media EU S.a.r.l. All three are wholly owned subsidiaries of global online retailer Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), located in Seattle, Washington.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca and www.amazon.cn. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.