E-books abroad

       While e-books have certainly taken off in the US and UK, there are still many markets where they are just beginning to be widely available.
       In The Hindu Anuj Srivas reports that Penguin launches e-books (with the other major English-language Indian publishers soon to follow suit, no doubt).
       Interestingly:

While Indian readers will presently have to buy from international retailers, thereby paying a higher price, Penguin Books India hopes that will change soon.

       Amazing that buyers still have to go through foreign retailers -- they're e-books, for god's sake; anyone can sell them, anywhere .....
       Meanwhile, at Reuters Jeremy Wagstaff and Mari Saito report that Rakuten, Japan's Amazon, steals a march on its nemesis, as Rakuten is launching "its Kobo e-reader and e-book service in Japan on Thursday" -- yes, Japan is another market that has seen only limited e-book retailing.
       They report:

Rakuten's secret ? Print publishers, analysts say, may be afraid of losing a lucrative business, but they're even more afraid of Amazon. And, says Mikitani, "although we are an aggressive company by Japanese standards, we are still a Japanese company."

       Ah, nationalism .....