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Amazon Kindle Fire heading to the UK in January?

Reports have surfaced suggesting that Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet could be making its way to the UK, in just a few weeks.

Luke Westaway Senior editor
Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.
Luke Westaway
2 min read

The Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet could be making its way to the UK in just a few weeks, according to Know Your Mobile.

The phone site says sources "close to the launch" have confirmed the literary tablet will be coming to Blighty in January 2012.

Thus far the Fire has been a treat reserved for those lucky enough to live in the US, offering our buddies across the Atlantic a stripped-down tablet experience that gives Apple's iPad reason to be fearful.

Amazon has already found huge success with its E-Ink based Kindle ebook readers. While the ability to read books in direct sunlight and download new titles straight to the device are appealing qualities, we suspect the key to the Kindle's success is the low, low price -- the cheapest model on sale here costs a quid under £90.

In the US, the 7-inch Fire tablet costs $200, which equates to about £130. If Amazon were to launch the Fire over here with a price that low, we reckon it could do very well.

There are potential problems with bringing the Fire here, though -- the tablet makes great use of Amazon's video and music services, and we don't get all of those here in the UK.

Amazon could always release the Fire without access to those great services, but it would make the Fire much less useful than it is in the US.

Still, it would be better than nothing, so here's hoping we get a lick of Amazon's fiery flames in January.

Are you keen on the Kindle? Do you think it'll light a fire under Apple? Tell us down in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.