Purchasing Kindle in UK, now a good time?

[Ragnarak]

I was putting this off until Apple's announcement but while cool looking, the iPad isn't the kind of ebook reader that you can lie in bed reading for hours so I think I'm leaning towards buying a Kindle.

Is now a good time to buy one? As far as I an see, they're only available from Amazon.com but apart from needing a power adapter they work fine in the UK? Do I need an Amazon.com account as aswell as a .co.uk account to purchase books?

Are there any plans for model updates looming? Not really interested in the DX or "newspaper/magazine" models as want this to replace a bookcase or two of fiction books.

Any other advice/opinions would be welcome

Cheers

[seagull]

I say buy one. Your .co.uk account also works on .com, try it. You won't need a power adaptor if you have a USB port, you can charge it through that.

[HarryT]

Before buying the Kindle, I'd caution you that if reading "best sellers" is your primary reason, it may disappoint. Many books cannot be bought by people outside the USA. The situation is improving, but it's still considerably worse than for other reading devices.

[seagull]

Yes, check out the UK selection first on the Kindle Store.

[Mike L]

Ragnarak,

I'd put it this way. The longer you wait, the more likely it is that something better will come along, or the Kindle's price will drop, or it will become easier to buy in the UK, or .....

On other hand, the longer you wait, the longer it will be until you start enjoying the benefits of this excellent device.

I'd say go for it now.

[Ragnarak]

Thanks guys

I've seen people mention the "UK Kindle Store" but I see no Kindle stuff on amazon.co.uk, do they just mean the store on amazon.com when I have my country set as UK, or am I missing something?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Ragnarak

do they just mean the store on amazon.com when I have my country set as UK, or am I missing something?

Yes, that's exactly what's meant.

[Ragnarak]

Also regarding the following:

If you are outside the U.S., you can receive book samples wirelessly for free, but receiving books wirelessly is subject to an international fee. There is no charge for Kindle books transferred to your Kindle via USB. Select Transfer via Computer from the Deliver to menu when sending samples. You can then download the Kindle Edition to your computer and transfer to your USB connected Kindle.

Does that mean getting samples in the UK is free or not? The first sentence suggests it's free but then it advises you to "send samples" via transferring to computer...?

[Ea]

Originally Posted by Ragnarak

Also regarding the following:

If you are outside the U.S., you can receive book samples wirelessly for free, but receiving books wirelessly is subject to an international fee. There is no charge for Kindle books transferred to your Kindle via USB. Select Transfer via Computer from the Deliver to menu when sending samples. You can then download the Kindle Edition to your computer and transfer to your USB connected Kindle.

Does that mean getting samples in the UK is free or not? The first sentence suggests it's free but then it advises you to "send samples" via transferring to computer...?

The above is for American users registered with a USA address, but staying/residing in another country than USA. They have to pay for download when they're not 'at home'.

You get samples for free via Whispernet. Books are a bit more expensive 'over here' - Amazon hasn't stated it upfront, but it looks suspiciosly like $1.99(wireless fee) + VAT - but still, you don't pay a fee for downloading books via whispernet (you just pay more upfront) and you can download them as many times as you want.

If you go to the product page of the Kindle at Amazon.com, there's a dropdown menu with options and limitations for all countries.

[HarryT]

As I say, though, it's not the price that's the issue for me personally, but the fact that virtually every book I've wanted to buy has resulted in a "sorry, this book isn't available in your country" message. With my other reading devices, which mainly support the ePub format, I'm free to buy books anywhere I wish, and hence don't have that problem.

[Sischa]

Hmm i don't think this is true. I just came the days to 2 books i could not buy from amazon.com cause of my european residential.

But when i found them on diesel-ebooks.com and on booksonboard.com they were also not possible to buy for me.

After some searching i found an online store which doesn't seem to check my residential but hence it took me really some time. I don't think its an amazon.com issue its more a publisher issue ?

[Ea]

Originally Posted by Sischa

...

After some searching i found an online store which doesn't seem to check my residential but hence it took me really some time. I don't think its an amazon.com issue its more a publisher issue ?

You are right - it's the publishers who decide the so-called 'geographic restrictions' on books.

With Amazon, unless you de-DRM and perhaps convert ebooks, you are locked into Amazons shop with regards to DRM'd books. I think that is why Harry was warning you. Personally I haven't noticed there were a lot of books at Amazon I looked for and couldn't buy, but I haven't looked for the latest bestsellers though. Not that I buy that much at Amazon, but I take advantage of the free samples.

Geographic restrictions exist on epub books as well - but you are not locked into one shop as with the Kindle.

I've found that cyberread.com often have what I need and they have a 40% off a purchase up to nine books in reward for a book review - so at the moment, it makes them the cheapest for me.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Ea

Geographic restrictions exist on epub books as well - but you are not locked into one shop as with the Kindle.

Yes, that's precisely the point I was making. If I can't buy a "best seller" at Amazon, I'm stuck, as far as the Kindle is concerned. With my ePub devices, though, I can go to a bookstore in my own country, the UK, such as Waterstones or W.H. Smith's, and there are no restrictions for me there.

[Mike L]

Originally Posted by Ragnarak

Does that mean getting samples in the UK is free or not? The first sentence suggests it's free but then it advises you to "send samples" via transferring to computer...?

From the Kindle product information:

If you are outside the U.S., you can receive book samples wirelessly for free, but receiving books wirelessly is subject to an international fee. There is no charge for Kindle books transferred to your Kindle via USB.

So, the answer to your question is Yes: Samples are free, whether you get them wirelessly or via USB.

[LUW]

Originally Posted by HarryT

As I say, though, it's not the price that's the issue for me personally, but the fact that virtually every book I've wanted to buy has resulted in a "sorry, this book isn't available in your country" message. With my other reading devices, which mainly support the ePub format, I'm free to buy books anywhere I wish, and hence don't have that problem.

Why can´t you create an US account at Amazon? I'm in Brazil in that's what I did to get all the books I'll need (though to be honest, with my Brazilian account I haven't found a book that was not available to me - I have an US account just not to pay the $2 extra on each book).