Should I buy a Kindle 3 in the U.S. or from Europe?

[koland]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Depends what "international" you're talking about. If you buy a Kindle in the UK, for example, it is supplied with a wall charger.

Not that it really matters; it's just a standard USB wall charger, and they can be picked up for peanuts.

The issue would be if it would work in your country. The one from the US only works here and a few other countries; I'm not sure where the UK plug works (other than "not here").

Since the OP is in the EU, he/she probably can't use the plug from either country, the one shipped to Europe is no doubt fine (and the only one possible to order, without having a US edition reshipped from a US address). It did look like the UK model has better coverage in some northern European regions - but it can't be ordered in the EU.

Once received, though, the registered address will determine the books seen and prices paid; for that, the OP may be best off using a US address and credit card.

[Somethingorother]

Hi folks,

I can't get my US-purchased Kindle 3G to access the Internet in Germany, where I live. I just posted a comment on an older thread explaining the situation.

I apologize for the double post, but I see that this thread is more appropriate. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...97#post1802197

Hi folks,

I purchased a Kindle 3G in the US in September. I live in Germany.

The Internet worked fine in the US and in Canada, but it doesn’t work in Germany or Austria (the two European countries in which I’ve tried it). The 3G symbol appears, and I can access the Kindle store, but not the Internet.

I’ve spoken with Amazon US’s customer service, and they couldn’t explain why it doesn’t work. They told me to contact amazon.de’s customer service, which informed me that only the Kindle store and Wikipedia are accessible via 3G in Germany. They also pointed me to a link from amazon.co.uk that lists the countries in which Internet surfing is possible: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/cust...wsingcountries

As you can see, most of Western Europe is not on the list.

I haven’t been able to find an equivalent page on amazon.com’s website.

So my questions....

1. Can anyone confirm whether changing the registration of a US Kindle to a country that is not on that list permit Internet use in that country?

2. I don't understand how some folks on this thread have been able to use a Kindle 3G to surf the Internet in Germany when I can't and when amazon.de says you can't. Explanations?

Thanks.

[Somethingorother]

Further to question 1....

I've changed my country of registration to Germany, and I still can't get onto the Internet with the 3G. I didn't deregister and reregister the Kindle. I only changed my country setting through Amazon's website.

[10basetom]

Looks like I'm a bit late to this thread, but there is a HUGE world of difference between the Kindle 3G US model (B006) and International model (B00A) in terms of free 3G coverage. This article covers it well:

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/02/03/...-of-the-world/

If you don't believe me, then compare the coverage map for yourself...

US 3G coverage: http://client0.cellmaps.com/viewer.html?cov=1
International 3G coverage: http://client0.cellmaps.com/viewer.html?cov=2&view=intl

For example, I live in Singapore and travel to Vietnam every month, and I would've been better off with the International model because the US model offers only EDGE support in Singapore and _no_ coverage at all in Vietnam. If you live in Australia then you would be better off getting the US model because AT&T provides superior coverage to Vodafone in Australia.

[carls2]

Originally Posted by Somethingorother

...

2. I don't understand how some folks on this thread have been able to use a Kindle 3G to surf the Internet in Germany when I can't and when amazon.de says you can't. Explanations?

Thanks.

This is not tested or tried by me, but I have just been surfing on the same issue (for mobile phones) and have read that SIM cards must be registered in Germany (for identification purposes). At least for mobile phones.

If there's some truth to this, it would explain why some are finding it so difficult to get 3G in Germany. Perhaps an address change will suffice for the Kindle, but it looks like an administrative hoop to jump through...

[HarryT]

This is a 2-year-old thread and the information in it is long outdated. There's very little point in resurrecting such "ancient history".