Will Kindle take off overseas?

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Bill Radke: The latest chapter in the electronic-book business opens today. Amazon is launches it’s international version of the Kindle e-reader. In the U.S., Kindle sales are picking up. Analysts say they should be 3 million by Christmas. But what about the rest of the globe? Stephen Beard has more from London.

Stephen Beard: Amazon’s Kindle dominates the U.S. market. But as the company launches the device overseas, it faces growing competition. Around the world there are no fewer than 17 e-readers in development or already on sale. Some have bigger screens. One even has color. But the biggest question is this: Will standalone e-readers themselves soon become obsolete?

Steven Hartley is with Ovum Research. He says other devices like the iTouch are getting more and more versatile.

STEVEN HARTLEY: There’s no reason why you can’t have text on there. It won’t be as good an experience as a Kindle but the fact that you’ve got your music and your video on there as well would make it compelling.

But he concedes there’s no reason why the Kindle should not itself morph into an all-purpose device.

In London this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.