Kindle Unlimited launched in Canada and Mexico

[JoHunt]

Amazon have just launched Kindle Unlimited in their Canadian store:

"Enjoy unlimited reading from over 750,000 titles on any device for just CDN$ 9.99 a month."

That's just US$8 according to current rate of exchange.

Kindle Unlimited at Amazon Canada


Kindle Unlimited also launched in Mexico today for 129 pesos (US$8.60) a month.

Kindle Unlimited at Amazon Mexico


Venture Beat article

[DreamWriter]

I'm glad that Canada has Kindle Unlimited now.

[Byrdie]

But, do we have access to the same titles as the U.S. or will the stupidity that is geoblocking make a subscription mostly useless up here? That is the question.

[49Kat]

I'm wondering how it will work for those of us in Canada who have chosen to keep our libraries in Amazon.com, rather than transferring them over to Amazon.ca. I guess I'll find out when I get back to Canada, unless someone here tests it out sooner and posts back.

[conan50]

When you publish Independently, doesn't it ask you if you have 'world rights'? All the Independent titles should be available in Canada unless the author/publisher excludes it, which is unlikely. I think Independent books make up the bulk of KU.

[AlbertaCowboy]

I'm curious as to how this works. I glanced at the page, but from what I gather, it's impossible to read anything from here on a non Kindle ebook reader. (Not counting apps on various tablets, of course). For anyone who knows, am I correct in assuming that this is a cloud based service without actual downloads? If it's worthwhile, I'd consider investing in a Kindle, but as it stands for me, using a Sony 650, there's no way to utilize this.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by AlbertaCowboy

I'm curious as to how this works. I glanced at the page, but from what I gather, it's impossible to read anything from here on a non Kindle ebook reader. (Not counting apps on various tablets, of course). For anyone who knows, am I correct in assuming that this is a cloud based service without actual downloads? If it's worthwhile, I'd consider investing in a Kindle, but as it stands for me, using a Sony 650, there's no way to utilize this.

No, not cloud-based.
You get actual downloads.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=201550630

Kindles are on sale for Valentine's Day.
The paperwhite is a pretty good deal.

http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=amb_link...d_i=B00I15SB16

[trainboy]

Kindle Unlimited also launched in Mexico today.

http://venturebeat.com/2015/02/12/am...-third-market/

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by Byrdie

But, do we have access to the same titles as the U.S. or will the stupidity that is geoblocking make a subscription mostly useless up here? That is the question.

The collections seem pretty similar. I did a quick check of Kindle Unlimited books and there were 863,249 available at amazon.com, 846,814 at amazon.ca and 838,178 at amazon.co.uk.

[Croptop]

I signed up for the 30 day free trial. So far I'm disappointed to find that most of the authors whose work in familiar with aren't included in the Unlimited collection (At least not in the SciFi genre). But perhaps this will force me to broaden my horizons and try out some unknown (to me) authors.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by AlbertaCowboy

I'm curious as to how this works. I glanced at the page, but from what I gather, it's impossible to read anything from here on a non Kindle ebook reader. (Not counting apps on various tablets, of course). For anyone who knows, am I correct in assuming that this is a cloud based service without actual downloads? If it's worthwhile, I'd consider investing in a Kindle, but as it stands for me, using a Sony 650, there's no way to utilize this.

Kindle Unlimited books are just like any other kindle books, except in terms of how you pay for them and how long you get to read them.

Like a library loan or Kindle Owners Lending Library (Prime members) you can check out x books at a time and download+read on your device. Unlike KOLL, that is not restricted to branded devices, but includes the apps.

For obvious reasons, reading on your Sony would require DeDRM tools, but since you don't actually own the books, you shouldn't be doing that.

[AlbertaCowboy]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Kindle Unlimited books are just like any other kindle books, except in terms of how you pay for them and how long you get to read them.

Like a library loan or Kindle Owners Lending Library (Prime members) you can check out x books at a time and download+read on your device. Unlike KOLL, that is not restricted to branded devices, but includes the apps.

For obvious reasons, reading on your Sony would require DeDRM tools, but since you don't actually own the books, you shouldn't be doing that.

Yeah, same as library books, which are the only form of DRM in ebooks that I find acceptable. That's why I'd get a Kindle if I thought that the Unlimited program was worthwhile.
Thanks for the responses , guys.

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by 49Kat

I'm wondering how it will work for those of us in Canada who have chosen to keep our libraries in Amazon.com, rather than transferring them over to Amazon.ca. I guess I'll find out when I get back to Canada, unless someone here tests it out sooner and posts back.

I wondered that as well so I checked. You will have to transfer your Kindle account over to amazon.ca to take advantage of Kindle Unlimited in Canada. I get an error message saying the service is unavailable in my country when I click on Kindle Unlimited in my amazon.com account (with Canada as my country). On my amazon.ca account (not linked with my devices) I get an offer for a free trial.

I never moved my Kindle account over to amazon.ca since staying at amazon.com allows me to get reduced price matching whispersync audiobooks through Audible when I buy the Kindle ebook first. I'd rather get cheap Audible audiobooks than Kindle Unlimited so I'll stay put. I do have access to an excellent public library so subscription ebooks aren't that attractive to me.

[Croptop]

Two weeks in and I'm struggling to find enough books that I'm interested in reading to justify the subscription cost. I suspect that I will not be keeping Kindle Unlimited beyond the free trial period.