Amazon’s new Kindle Unlimited offers new flat fee service

Seattle – Amazon.com is offering a new service, called Kindle Unlimited, aimed at consumers who do heavy book reading and/or listening. The service will work similar to Netflix in that users will pay a base monthly fee for unlimited access to a catalogue of content. Instead of movies and TV shows, however, Kindle Unlimited gives Kindle users access to more than 600,000 Kindle books (and thousands of Audible audiobooks) for a flat monthly rate of $9.99 a month.



Amazon customers will know which books are eligible for the program by locating the Kindle Unlimited logo on select titles and then clicking on the link, “read for free.”



Not all titles available on Amazon will be included in the Kindle Unlimited catalog, but some best sellers will be available such as The Hunger Games, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Lord of the Rings.



In addition, thousands of professionally narrated audiobooks from Audible will also be available. The service launched on July 18 and to get customers hooked during the summer reading season the company is offering a free 30 day trial period.



“With Kindle Unlimited, you won’t have to think twice before you try a new author or genre — you can just start reading and listening,” said Kindle SVP Russ Grandinetti. “In addition to offering over 600,000 eBooks, Kindle Unlimited is also by far the most cost-effective way to enjoy audiobooks and eBooks together. With thousands of Whispersync for Voice-enabled audiobooks to choose from, you can easily switch between reading and listening to a book, allowing the story to continue even when your eyes are busy.”