Amazon opens UK Kindle Store early

Bringing e-books to Blighty

Amazon has opened the UK branch of its Kindle e-book store weeks ahead of schedule.

Originally slated to throw open its doors on 27 August to coincide with the launch of the outfit's latest reader hardware, the UK Kindle Store popped up unexpectedly on Amazon's UK web site yesterday.

Of course, you don't have to own a Kindle in order to read one of Amazon's 400,000 e-book offerings, as the company has also provided free reader apps for just about every gadget on the face of the earth.

And it looks like demand for the latest Kindle 3 hardware has caught Amazon on the hop, as both the £109 wi-fi version and its £149 3G sibling are currently sold out.

Amazon is currently quoting a September 8th shipping date for orders placed today.