MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Kindle International Edition: second thoughts

iMaculate · 10-07-2009, 12:54 PM

I ordered the Amazon Kindle this morning after hearing the news of the international edition (I live in Germany). I mainly read English books.

Now I am having second thoughts about my decision. First of all, I did a check and found out that the majority of the books (all English) that I purchased recently from Amazon are not available at all. These are not obscure books, mind you - many of them are not older than a couple of years. For example: American Prometheus - a biography of Robert Oppenheimer, is not available to international Kindle users, but can be purchased in the US. The same holds true for the latest Dan Brown novel (The Lost Symbol).

I know there are international rights issues involved but can someone tell me in clear words why I can legally buy the print versions of the above mentioned books and have them shipped to me here in Germany, but am unable to purchase the Kindle versions? Am I missing something here?

The same problem with magazines: the highly regarded weekly UK magazine "The Economist" is available as a Kindle version in the US but not in Germany. Why? I have been subscribing to the print edition since 10 years here. And if I do order, e.g., Technology Review, I would not be able to view any illustrations, it's text only (read in fine print "Newspapers and magazines delivered outside the US will not include photos and other images"). That really degrades the convenience of a digital edition. It's almost outrageous.

There are other limitations: I follow a number of blogs using my iPhone, but would be unable to read them using the Kindle here. And, of course, I am not able to order ANY German language books, which seems quite odd for someone living here.

So my initial euphoria has subsided a bit. I have recently been eyeing the Sony Reader, which is an open platform (ePub and PDF), compared with the Kindle. The many advatages of its wireless capabilities are stymied almost completely making the Sony Reader a viable option.

What do you think, should I retract my order?

10-07-2009, 12:54 PM	#1
iMaculate Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindle	Kindle International Edition: second thoughts I ordered the Amazon Kindle this morning after hearing the news of the international edition (I live in Germany). I mainly read English books. Now I am having second thoughts about my decision. First of all, I did a check and found out that the majority of the books (all English) that I purchased recently from Amazon are not available at all. These are not obscure books, mind you - many of them are not older than a couple of years. For example: American Prometheus - a biography of Robert Oppenheimer, is not available to international Kindle users, but can be purchased in the US. The same holds true for the latest Dan Brown novel (The Lost Symbol). I know there are international rights issues involved but can someone tell me in clear words why I can legally buy the print versions of the above mentioned books and have them shipped to me here in Germany, but am unable to purchase the Kindle versions? Am I missing something here? The same problem with magazines: the highly regarded weekly UK magazine "The Economist" is available as a Kindle version in the US but not in Germany. Why? I have been subscribing to the print edition since 10 years here. And if I do order, e.g., Technology Review, I would not be able to view any illustrations, it's text only (read in fine print "Newspapers and magazines delivered outside the US will not include photos and other images"). That really degrades the convenience of a digital edition. It's almost outrageous. There are other limitations: I follow a number of blogs using my iPhone, but would be unable to read them using the Kindle here. And, of course, I am not able to order ANY German language books, which seems quite odd for someone living here. So my initial euphoria has subsided a bit. I have recently been eyeing the Sony Reader, which is an open platform (ePub and PDF), compared with the Kindle. The many advatages of its wireless capabilities are stymied almost completely making the Sony Reader a viable option. What do you think, should I retract my order?