Amazon CFO Tom Szkutak talks about whether the Kindle could be released outside the US

On the Call: Amazon CFO Tom Szkutak

Though Amazon.com Inc. calls the Kindle its best-selling product, the online retailer has repeatedly declined to say how many of the e-reader it has sold since introducing it nearly two years ago.

One of the most recent signs that consumer interest in the product is rising: early Thursday, Amazon lowered the price of its international version of the Kindle by $20, to $259, matching the cost of a U.S.-only version it is discontinuing.

Now all standard-sized Kindles will have wireless access that works around the world. The company also sells a larger-screen Kindle called the DX in the U.S. for $489.

In a conference call with analysts on Thursday to discuss the company’s third-quarter results, Chief Financial Officer Tom Szkutak discussed the possibility that Amazon might give specific details on sales of the device in the future.

QUESTION: Is there a level of sales above which you would start breaking out Kindle sales so we can gauge the product’s success?

ANSWER: “In terms of breaking out Kindle, certainly as you get to a certain size, as we have done in the past, we have broken out various countries. And we would follow whatever is required to do so. Obviously, in the results that we give we try to be as helpful as we can.”