Kindle Review – Kindle Fire Review, Kindle 4 Review

DigiTimes reports on a China Mobile, FoxConn jointly developed eReader  -

China Mobile plans to team up with Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) for the production of e-book readers, company chairman Wang Jianzhou said recently in Taipei.

… expects shipments of e-book devices will start in the first half of 2010 at the earliest.

Foxconn declined to comment on Wang’s remarks as well as the possible orders citing client confidentiality.

Not sure why FoxConn would decline to comment – these rumors have been swirling for a while and China Mobile’s Chairman has already confirmed them.

Isn’t FoxConn the company that manufactures Kindles?

Yes. They manufacture a ton of different consumer electronic devices including Kindles, Xboxes, Playstations, Wiis and more.

They’re basically the company of choice to have your devices manufactured.

So it wouldn’t be strange for them to manufacture an eReader in conjunction with China Mobile.

China Mobile?

Well, China Mobile is the world’s largest mobile provider and has the most mobile subscribers in the world. It has assets worth $54 billion.

Its currently building out a 3G network that encompasses all 31 Chinese provinces and is 70% owned by the Chinese government.

So it’s very well placed to introduce an eReader that leverages its own network to provide content and ebooks.

Kindle China might have little chance against China Mobile

The European telecom companies were the first to get the bright idea to develop an eReader themselves rather than help Amazon spread the reach of the Kindle. China Mobile seems to be thinking along the same lines.

China has been rather partial to home grown companies (Baidu for example) and it wouldn’t be a stretch to think that an eReader from China Mobile would get special privileges and incentives at the cost of competitors like Kindle China and Sony.

All the China Mobile-FoxConn joint eReader has to do to win China is show up.

Filed under: eBook Reader Devices Tagged: | china mobile, foxconn, kindle china