Rant: Paperwhite only available in the U.S.

[ixtab]

Topic says it all.

It seems like once more, all people are equal, but some are just a bit more equal than others.

Interestingly enough, the new Kindle Fire models are aggressively advertised on amazon.de - and the new "basic" Kindle as well. (The prices are too high compared with the US prices, but at least they're not as massively overpriced as in the past - something like 10% more or so.)

But the one model that I wanted to see? Nothing. Nada. Niente. No Paperwhite in sight in Europe. Not amused. At all

(Yes, I'm aware that the situation is even worse in many other parts of the world).

[twobob]

Yup. that's it in a nutshell.

Buy from US and pay for stupid fees (like I did for a DX) or just wait like a loser.

Hmm.. not very "World vision", just saying.

[Titano]

Eh... I'm not saying that the Paperwhite does not have a few things that I like but I think they made a huge mistake. Removing audio (even headphone jacks....), using smaller onboard memory (without external storage options), and removing the home button. I can understand the the smaller memory, they want more people to get the 3G, it's an okay business strategy. Besides that what are we gaining by removing these things? I guess my real question is are the new kindles worth it? Sure the touch screen is capacitive, but all that means to the end user is that if the screen cracks it still works AND it does not have a bezel. The higher contrast, a nice move and I totally agree. The front light, also a good idea and they had to do it. My question is why can't they add these onto the current design? I just feel that this was a bad move on amazons part. Oh well.... I still have my touch and hopefully amazon will learn from there mistakes.

P.S. - Counter arguments are welcome! I need to work on my debating skills .

[knc1]

It is a "front light" but otherwise agree.

I am serious about the "code name" - this one should be called the K9
regardless of what the firmware version numbering is.

[shanghaichica]

I know it's not fair. You'd think that as Amazon now have kindle stores in the UK and Germany that it would be available in Europe but apparently not!

[twobob]

Dogs bottoms. That's all I have to say on the matter.

[ixtab]

Personally: I don't care too much about the memory size. I never even got close to using 2GB with my current one. And if they only traded the 2 gigs for the display light + better resolution, I'd be happy. Then again, how much more do 4G cost Amazon in hardware (manufacturing) costs, vs 2G? Probably a dollar, if not less.

I can't tell about the 4 bit vs. 8 bit framebuffer - I'm not sure I'd notice it while reading books.

The one thing that bugs me is that they took away the sound, thus clearly cutting away one of the previous features.

And of course, stating it again: I'm pissed because only people in the US can (pre-)order it.

[twobob]

We are to be succoured with a kindle fire launch . cheap too...

well. there you go.

Dear Customers,

Today we are excited to introduce a whole new class of Kindles. Meet Kindle Fire HD, available for £159 in 16GB and £199 in 32GB - and the all-new Kindle Fire, now even better and only £129.


Kindle Fire HD is the world's most-advanced 7" tablet, with a stunning custom HD display, the fastest Wi-Fi, exclusive Dolby audio, powerful processor and graphics engine, 16 GB of storage, and 11 hours of battery life, all backed by the world's best content ecosystem. With Kindle Fire HD, you get instant access to over 22 million films, TV shows, songs, apps, games, books, and magazines.

We're also excited to bring you the new, latest-generation Kindle Fire—upgraded with a faster processor, twice the memory, and longer battery life than the original—all for only £129. We are thrilled to make it available to our customers in the UK for the first time ever.

Both Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD bring you Amazon's massive selection of digital content. With our Amazon Appstore, you'll find all your favourite apps and games such as Angry Birds Space, Skyscanner - All Flights! and Jamie's 20 Minute Meals. The Amazon MP3 Store has over 20 million songs, from bestselling international and British artists. Instantly stream thousands of popular films and TV shows, including Gnomeo & Juliet, Unknown, Desperate Housewives and 24 with a LOVEFiLM Instant subscription. Haven't experienced LOVEFiLM yet? We'll give you a one-month free trial to experience the service for yourself. And as always, you can choose from the over one million books from our Kindle Store.

Not only does Kindle Fire HD feature the most-advanced hardware, it's also a service. When combined with our enormous content ecosystem, unmatched cross-platform interoperability, and standard-setting customer service, we hope you will agree that Kindle Fire HD is the best 7" tablet available anywhere, at any price.

Happy reading, browsing, playing, watching,

Jeff Bezos
Founder & CEO

[NiLuJe]

Huh. Hadn't even noticed the K4.1 on amazon.fr... *sadface*.

On the other hand, we can enjoy a !New!Shiny! useless Android tablet with no content. Awesome! yay!' -_-". *sigh*

[shanghaichica]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

Huh. Hadn't even noticed the K4.1 on amazon.fr... *sadface*.

On the other hand, we can enjoy a !New!Shiny! useless Android tablet with no content. Awesome! yay!' -_-". *sigh*

There won't be any content? I thought would have access to Amazon's movies and tv shows?

[Dylan Tomorrow]

I am with you ixtab, why don't we get the one awesome amazing great device in Germany, only the ones I don't care about! Let alone the lovefilm streaming doesn't offer any good stuff.

Though you could order on amazon utilising one of these services (provided they have not been blacklisted by amazon): http://www.google.com/search?&q=ship+to+us+address

Or do they require an US credit card as well? But if the above exists for US addresses than maybe something similar exists to get/use an US credit card ...

[NiLuJe]

@shanghaichica: The VOD offering in France is laughable.

[ixtab]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

@shanghaichica: The VOD offering in France is laughable.

Still not sure if shanghaichica is actually trying to contribute or just ***beep: not allowed to say that word here, it would be classified as "name calling" by MR rules ***.

[shanghaichica]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

@shanghaichica: The VOD offering in France is laughable.

Oh I see. Over here we have love film and netflix.

[silver18]

Same here in Italy!
Today I woke up and I found a brand new mail from Amazon advertising the new kindle fire!
I bought my touch using one of those "ship to US address" service as the touch was not available in Italy (and, to be honest, I saved lots of money!).
Now it seems to be the same story!
I wonder if Amazon uses Europe to sell US surplus (apart from the fire, although we got it only now!).