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Old 04-19-2009, 01:35 PM   #1
sbworld
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Amazon Reader outside USA

I live outside the US, however travel back a few times a year. I was thinking about purchasing the Amazon Kindle just due to the amount of books available, but am unsure of how it works when it has to be used with a computer? Is it even worth purchasing when its use will be mostly outside the USA? Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance.
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Old 04-19-2009, 02:22 PM   #2
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I think the key element here is if you have a U.S. credit card. If you have an Amazon Kindle outside of Sprint cell phone range (which would include outside of the U.S.), then you have to buy and download the books via the web using a PC as intermediary. That means mostly you're no worse off than most eBook readers, with the exception of a few that have wi-fi. But that said, Amazon takes only U.S. credit cards, so you'd have to have access to one of those to make it work. Probably not hard to get, if you travel to the US.
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Old 04-19-2009, 10:27 PM   #3
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It is doable... but there are a few hoops you have to jump through. Why not get a reader that doesn't require the jumping?

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Old 04-20-2009, 12:07 AM   #4
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It is doable... but there are a few hoops you have to jump through. Why not get a reader that doesn't require the jumping?

BOb
I probably could have framed my question a little better. I'm not inquiring about how to purchase items (I'm a US citizen with a US credit card). It is the benefits of maybe some of the other devices vs the kindle. When I'm back in the US I could obviously use the built in EVO connection on the Kindle, however when I'm out of the country 10 months out of the year, the Kindle is just like all the rest of the Ereaders in the $350 range as none of them seam to support WIFI which is what I'd love to have b/c 16 out of 24 hours each day (office and night) I'm 100% in a wifi spot.

So all this being said, I'm curious if maybe the Sony Ereader which has to be used with a computer would be a better experience as opposed to the Kindle which probably would be better if I was in the USA? Just looking for overall opinions on the experience of purchasing books outside the USA using wifi or connected to a computer.. All opinions and thoughts welcome.
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Old 04-20-2009, 09:50 AM   #5
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I always buy Kindle ebooks from a PC using a web browser, but I know many Kindle owners like to use the sample option (which is only available via whispernet). With this approach you download the sample and if you like it you can buy and download the entire ebook from the Kindle. This is only available via Whispernet and so only available in the US. Newspapers are also less convenient without Whispernet.

However, no other current ebook reader has anything like whispernet (with the possible exception of the iLiad, which as WiFi but has never exploited this fully). The Kindle Store is worth paying extra for, even without whispernet. It is without doubt the best single source for ebooks, but its downside is that it is the only source for DRMed ebooks for the Kindle. It is why I am keeping my Kindle 1 even though I do most of my reading on a Hanlin. If you have an iPhone you can get access to the Kindle store without a Kindle but for this to be useful on another EInk device you have to be willing to circumvent the DRM.
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Old 04-20-2009, 10:32 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sbworld View Post

So all this being said, I'm curious if maybe the Sony Ereader which has to be used with a computer would be a better experience as opposed to the Kindle which probably would be better if I was in the USA? Just looking for overall opinions on the experience of purchasing books outside the USA using wifi or connected to a computer.. All opinions and thoughts welcome.
I think it would depend on the features you feel are most important to you. Which Sony? The 505 or the 700?
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Old 04-20-2009, 04:00 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sbworld View Post
I probably could have framed my question a little better. I'm not inquiring about how to purchase items (I'm a US citizen with a US credit card). It is the benefits of maybe some of the other devices vs the kindle. When I'm back in the US I could obviously use the built in EVO connection on the Kindle, however when I'm out of the country 10 months out of the year, the Kindle is just like all the rest of the Ereaders in the $350 range as none of them seam to support WIFI which is what I'd love to have b/c 16 out of 24 hours each day (office and night) I'm 100% in a wifi spot.

So all this being said, I'm curious if maybe the Sony Ereader which has to be used with a computer would be a better experience as opposed to the Kindle which probably would be better if I was in the USA? Just looking for overall opinions on the experience of purchasing books outside the USA using wifi or connected to a computer.. All opinions and thoughts welcome.
Amazon has the largest list of eBooks if this is important to you. Sony is probably a distant second. If free eBooks are your thing then it doesn't matter.

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Old 04-22-2009, 02:11 PM   #8
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I think it would depend on the features you feel are most important to you. Which Sony? The 505 or the 700?
Decent selection of material both book & newspaper, easy to download and purchase using a computer, easy on the eyes.

The device is used for reading so I'm just interested in getting the material and reading it, so I don't know if a touch screen is better or would that just create smudges. Backlight might be nice, but generally speaking one is always available.

I've not had the chance to play around with any ebook reader yet, hence my questions. It almost seems like the Kindle gets the best reviews if you look at them across the internet but that's just my gut feel.
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Old 04-22-2009, 06:44 PM   #9
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Decent selection of material both book & newspaper, easy to download and purchase using a computer, easy on the eyes.

The device is used for reading so I'm just interested in getting the material and reading it, so I don't know if a touch screen is better or would that just create smudges. Backlight might be nice, but generally speaking one is always available.

I've not had the chance to play around with any ebook reader yet, hence my questions. It almost seems like the Kindle gets the best reviews if you look at them across the internet but that's just my gut feel.
Well as DaleDe has written, Amazon has the largest selection of *current* content with the best pricing. Sony now has grown in current content but now has the largest selection of Public Domain titles in their partnership with Google Books (with varying degrees of quality).

Free book sample chapters that would ordinarily be available from Amazon through Whispernet can usually be found at Amazon owned MobiPocket.com. The samples do not have DRM and will work on the Kindle. Just don't try to buy books from them because they will have DRM that doesn't work on the Kindle. I am not aware of any avenues for book samples for the Sony Readers.

Neither the Kindle or the Sony are back lit. E-ink screens are opaque and can't be back lit. The Sony 700 has side lights, which work best in a very dark environment. The Sony 505 has a cover with a light screen from LightWedge that rests on top of the 505. The M-Edge cover for the Kindle will come with an adjustable book light that attaches to the cover seamlessly (new version available later this month).

The Sony 700 is better for PDF reading. Fro the Kindle, uncomplicated PDFs can be converted to mobi books with free software. For more complicated PDFs, software like PDFRead or the Kindle 2 hack called Savory, would be need to make them readable on th Kindle 2 (it also works the ePub books without DRM).

The Sony 700 has a touch screen, the 505 does not. The Kindle has dictionary look-up, neither of the Sony Readers do.

The Kindle had a physical keyboard for searches and note taking. The Sony 700 has a virtual keyboard for the same. The 505 as far as I understand has not search or note taking feature.

The Kindle and the Sony 700 weight nearly the same but the Kindle is longer (due to the keyboard).

The DRM for books purchased from Amazon can be removed (may be illegal but whose to know), so that they can be read on other devices. Books purchased from the Sony store in .LRX format are locked as no one has found away to remove their DRM.

Amazon has a lot of newspapers, magazines and blogs available for subscription. Sony does not. However, both the Kindle and the Sony Readers can take advantage of the free software called Calibre for news content (and ebook management). Calibre is able to turn RSS feeds into your own personalized "newspaper". It can updated daily on your computer and you just transfer it with your USB cable (when in the U.S., you can have it automatically emailed to your Kindle via Whispernet).

There, I've given you more information to make your head spin. I tried to stick to the features that don't require Whispernet pr but have a work-around.

Last edited by daffy4u; 04-22-2009 at 10:44 PM.
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Old 04-22-2009, 10:41 PM   #10
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I appreciate everyone's feedback.. Probably in a couple months when I'm back I'll pick something up so I'll have to make my decision!
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