No Fire likely for Canada?

[Victoria]

Just posting a link to a G&M articles as to why we are unlikely to be able to purchase a Fire in Canada:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2186377/

I mostly agree with the author. However at that this price point, I wonder if some may feel it is worthwhile, just to read on the colour screen?

[wyndslash]

same here. i may just wait for an improved version when it comes out. i mostly will use it to read magazines and other books that require/look better with color :P

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Victoria

Just posting a link to a G&M articles as to why we are unlikely to be able to purchase a Fire in Canada:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2186377/

I mostly agree with the author. However at that this price point, I wonder if some may feel it is worthwhile, just to read on the colour screen?

Well, I've ordered one. I have a US Amazon account and a Canadian one - obviously, I used the US account for the order.

I expect to not be able to download video/music while I'm in Canada. But books? Not an issue - Amazon doesn't care where you are currently logging in from when you're buying books, only where your account is. And for magazines, newspapers, etc., which I'm also interested in, I suspect a bit of proxying should get around those restrictions. But generally that's not a great solution for video, so I'll only use the video services when I'm in the US. (Which is fine, that's really the only time I care. When I'm in Canada, I'm home and have a family and my TiVo. It's only when I'm in the US on business that I'm stuck in a hotel room and would like to be able to watch a movie, etc.)

[easterncoyote]

Hello, just wondering how you go about getting a U.S. account. Do you have to have a U.S. address? Thank you.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by easterncoyote

Hello, just wondering how you go about getting a U.S. account. Do you have to have a U.S. address? Thank you.

Yes, you'll need a US address. Getting one of those is trivially easy, there are plenty of places that specialize in helping Canadians buy stuff in the US.

Personally, I have a US bank account and CC, and a US shipping address. All of that can be done entirely from Canada. For bank accounts and credit cards, the easiest workaround for Canadians is RBC. You can set up an account through their US bank, including a CC, through your local RBC.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by PhillipA82

Why US always gets all the good gadges first..?

Because they're a HUGE market?

[carld]

Originally Posted by PhillipA82

Why US always gets all the good gadges first..?

I'm kind of jealous of the Asian markets. They get all the weird, funky gadgets for cheap that never even make it to the US.

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by carld

I'm kind of jealous of the Asian markets. They get all the weird, funky gadgets for cheap that never even make it to the US.

You are right. Do a search for the specs of a gadget you want, and the Chinese have it dirt cheap.

Why is there a problem getting a Kindle in Canada?

I have relatives up there, and they sometimes have me send them stuff from the States, but I thought it was a tax thing. They repay me in US dollars of course and they have accounts in the US from when they lived here. Sometimes I get mail for them too, and I just send it up the next time I mail something because they also get the info online and so know what it is and there is no hurry.

I do know about Canadian customs having been through many times, and I always eat my cheese before I go through either way. But what is the deal on the Kindle. I assume that I will be asked to send them one of the new ones unless they decide on something else.

[CRussel]

There is no legal impediment to bringing in a Kindle (any variety) to Canada, though if you are bringing it as a gift and declare it as such, it might be subject to duty, etc., at the border.

Mailing, same thing. They may well be hit with customs duties and GST/HST on the package.

That being said, once here, they will be able to use the Kindle just fine. EXCEPT that for the Kindle Fire, they will not be able to download and use videos, etc, from Amazon. Those are geo-restricted by IP address.

(Yes, there are proxy/vpn solutions that should allow them to work around the issue. Not something I've tried with streaming video, so I'm not sure how well they work. And not sure there are versions that will work on the Fire, since it is constrained by what apps it can run by what's in the Kindle store.)

[Pushka]

Originally Posted by CRussel

(Yes, there are proxy/vpn solutions that should allow them to work around the issue. Not something I've tried with streaming video, so I'm not sure how well they work. And not sure there are versions that will work on the Fire, since it is constrained by what apps it can run by what's in the Kindle store.)

Not sure that there is a VPN for the Fire but certainly works fine for streaming from the computer.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Pushka

Not sure that there is a VPN for the Fire but certainly works fine for streaming from the computer.

There appear to be, from perusing the Amazon Android market. If not, I know how to set up an internal RRAS server...

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by CRussel

There is no legal impediment to bringing in a Kindle (any variety) to Canada, though if you are bringing it as a gift and declare it as such, it might be subject to duty, etc., at the border.

Mailing, same thing. They may well be hit with customs duties and GST/HST on the package.

That being said, once here, they will be able to use the Kindle just fine. EXCEPT that for the Kindle Fire, they will not be able to download and use videos, etc, from Amazon. Those are geo-restricted by IP address.

(Yes, there are proxy/vpn solutions that should allow them to work around the issue. Not something I've tried with streaming video, so I'm not sure how well they work. And not sure there are versions that will work on the Fire, since it is constrained by what apps it can run by what's in the Kindle store.)

I've been told by the person that I send stuff to, that there is no "gift tax" or customs duty on gifts. On the other hand if it comes from a store, there is a duty. Anyway, I have never paid anything.

[RainingLemur]

Originally Posted by carld

I'm kind of jealous of the Asian markets. They get all the weird, funky gadgets for cheap that never even make it to the US.

And some of the insanely terrible knock-offs that are humorous to see.

[Pushka]

Originally Posted by CRussel

There appear to be, from perusing the Amazon Android market. If not, I know how to set up an internal RRAS server...

On an android? Cool, that will come in verrry handy then. I was using one for the App market on my PC and realised that on the android I have to log back into Amazon to download and install it. And the vpn thing I was using simply didnt work - cant remember the name but it was supposed to work on an Android.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Pushka

On an android? Cool, that will come in verrry handy then. I was using one for the App market on my PC and realised that on the android I have to log back into Amazon to download and install it. And the vpn thing I was using simply didnt work - cant remember the name but it was supposed to work on an Android.

I have no knowledge yet on how well the apps may or may not work. No android until I have the Fire. But meanwhile, I've set up a Hyper-V virtual machine running Windows Server 2008 R2 with Routing and Remote Access enabled. I'll run the VPN off of it and then make that my gateway for the wirless network that the Fire and my TiVos are on.