Best Buy Expands E-Reader Selection with Addition of Amazon Kindle, Prepares to Launch New In-Store E-Reader Displays

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY), the nation’s largest consumer electronics retailer, today announced that it will expand its in-store e-reader selection this fall with addition of the Amazon Kindle, the recommended e-reader of the country’s leading consumer reporting organization and numerous news organizations.

“We are excited that Best Buy will be offering the new generation Kindle to its customers”

Beginning this fall, Best Buy will make it even easier for consumers to compare all of the most popular reading devices by installing new end-caps that display its e-reader selection side-by-side, supported by helpful information about each device’s key features. Best Buy is the only retailer to carry all of the top e-reader brands in-store so consumers can conveniently compare and decide which is right for them.

Kindle wirelessly downloads books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high resolution electronic paper display that looks and reads like real paper. The all-new Kindle has a new electronic-ink screen with 50 percent better contrast, is 21 percent smaller and 15 percent lighter, boasts 20 percent faster page turns, up to one month of battery life with wireless off, double the storage to 3,500 books, and more. The Kindle Store now has more than 670,000 books, including New Releases and nearly all New York Times Best Sellers. Over 550,000 of these books are $9.99 or less, including 78 New York Times Best Sellers. Kindle lets you Buy Once, Read Everywhere—on Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle DX, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry and Android-based devices. Amazon’s Whispersync technology syncs your place across devices, so you can pick up where you left off.

The all-new Kindle with built-in Wi-Fi will retail for $139.99 and the Kindle 3G with free 3G wireless will retail for $189.99. Both will be available at all Best Buy stores this fall, with the 9.7-inch display Kindle DX joining Best Buy’s selection later in the season.

“We are excited that Best Buy will be offering the new generation Kindle to its customers,” said Steve Kessel, Senior Vice President, Amazon Kindle. “Best Buy will be offering its customers a great experience with Kindle—the ability to think of a book and be reading it in less than 60 seconds, read on a screen that is easy on the eyes even in bright sunlight, and carry thousands of books with them wherever they go in just 8.5 ounces.”

“There’s no question that e-readers have found their rightful place in today’s digital lifestyle,” said Chris Homeister, senior vice president and general manager of Home Entertainment for Best Buy. “Our goal is to help people choose the device that’s right for them by providing the broadest selection of popular e-readers of any retailer, in one convenient place that enables people to easily see, touch, try and buy.”

In addition to offering Kindle, Best Buy is the exclusive retail partner for the Barnes & Noble NOOK™ ebook Reader, and also carries the Sony Reader Touch, Pocket and Daily Editions. Each of these portable reading devices enables consumers to read electronic books on-the-go with content downloaded from various book stores, libraries and other sources.

About Best Buy Co., Inc.

With operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, China, Mexico and Turkey, Best Buy is a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services with a commitment to growth and innovation. The Best Buy family of brands and partnerships collectively generates more than $49 billion in annual revenue and includes brands such as Best Buy; Best Buy Mobile; Audiovisions; The Carphone Warehouse; Future Shop; Geek Squad, Jiangsu Five Star; Magnolia Audio Video; Napster; Pacific Sales; and The Phone House. Approximately 180,000 employees apply their talents to help bring the benefits of these brands to life for customers through retail locations, multiple call centers and Web sites, in-home solutions, product delivery and activities in our communities. Community partnership is central to the way we do business at Best Buy. In fiscal 2010, we donated a combined $25.2 million to improve the vitality of the communities where our employees and customers live and work. For more information about Best Buy, visit www.bestbuy.com

Amazon Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.