Amazon accidentally leaks info on Kindle Unlimited subscription service

17 Jul 2014

Amazon accidentally leaked the first indication it is to launch a monthly subscription service called Kindle Unlimited that will give unlimited access to Kindle books and audiobooks.

Kindle forum users first noticed a series of test pages posted on Amazon’s site. The pages explained the service would give subscribers access to more than 600,000 titles, as well as a few thousand audio books, and is priced at US$9.99 (€7.39) per month.

According to Gigaom, the pages were quickly taken down from the site, but by that stage screenshots of the pages had been shown online.

The service has been rumoured for the last number of months but this marks the first chance to see the pricing and what types of titles are available. Google Cache pages show familiar book series, including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and the Hunger Games.

The option of selecting audiobooks is interesting, given Amazon’s current ownership of Audible, one of the largest digital audiobook catalogues on the internet, which charges US$14.95 per month.

While there is yet to be confirmation as to whether this will be for US users only or whether international users can subscribe, the fact most Irish users use the American store to purchase e-books means it could be available in Ireland and, possibly, not through the UK store.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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