The U.S. State Department is considering a no-bid, $16.5 million contract with Amazon to provide Kindle Touches for its overseas language-education programs.
In a document justifying the no-bid contract, the State Department says its identified "the Amazon Kindle as the only e-Reader on the market that meets the Governments needs, and Amazon as the only company possessing the essential capabilities required by the Government." It has international 3G, text-to-speech features and a long battery life, which "other e-readers such as the Barnes and Noble Nook, the Sony Reader Daily and Kobe [sic] e-Reader cannot provide."
In a document justifying the no-bid contract, the State Department says its identified "the Amazon Kindle as the only e-Reader on the market that meets the Governments needs, and Amazon as the only company possessing the essential capabilities required by the Government." It has international 3G, text-to-speech features and a long battery life, which "other e-readers such as the Barnes and Noble Nook, the Sony Reader Daily and Kobe [sic] e-Reader cannot provide."