Can I buy a kindle from US to use in 3rd world countries?

fatboy123 · 12-22-2014, 12:16 PM

Dear Readers,

Thank you in advance for your time, I live in a third world country with VERY limited internet access, still using 56K dial up modem, in fact just registering and posting this message took me a good one hour.

I have a friend coming from America and I would really like him to bring me back a Kindle Paperwhite 2, primarily to start reading more books and have my children introduced to reading a bit more, and I would appreciate if you could answer these questions...

1- I've read here and there that the kindle needs a US bank account and address to function and since I have neither and I can not open a credit card or account, will I be able to use the kindle without any type of registration?

2- I'll be honest, as bad as this might sound, I have NO WAY of buying ebooks from the internet or amazon as I can not find a way to pay for it online in my country, so I'll just download the ebooks I want from the internet and have to transfer it to the kindle from my PC, probably using caliber to convert. Is this possible? will the latest Kindle PW2 be jail broken?

3- Since I will NOT be in Amazon eco system, should I opt for another device? like the kobo? or stick with the Kindle PW?

I thank you all in advance for your answers.

Bobak.

susan_cassidy · 12-22-2014, 01:27 PM

First you said you have no way of buying books via the Internet, then you said you'd just download the books you want from the Internet. Which is it? Are you talking about pirated books, or free, public domain books. I take it your country is not one Amazon is allowed to sell to. No one here is going to support pirating books. Otherwise, a credit card from your country would work fine.

Dr. Drib · 12-22-2014, 02:23 PM

Keep in mind that if you are talking about downloading copyrighted ebooks without paying for them (and when one has to pay for them to acquire them), then you will get absolutely no help from anyone on this forum.

Living in a third-world country is no excuse for stealing copyrighted works.

If I have misunderstood you, then my apologies.

Don
(Moderator)

Vroo · 12-22-2014, 03:26 PM

Hi Bobak,

1. You don't need an US address and bank account to use Kindle. You'd need a working card to pay if you order Kindle directly from US but it's not necessary if someone buys a Kindle for you.

2. Just put your e-books into "documents" folder or use calibre, you don't have to jailbreak Kindle

3. You may need an internet access to register Kindle - that means log in into Amazon account but you may use Kindle without registration. Some features like collections will be unavailable but you'll still be able to read without problems.

janrey · 12-22-2014, 05:47 PM

You don't need a credit card. Have your friend setup the account using an amazon gift card as form of payment, deciding how much. He could set it up with your name his address. As you need more credit send him money and have him get more amazon gift cards online and apply them to your account, that is if you trust him.

fatboy123 · 12-23-2014, 01:04 AM

Thank you all so much for your answers.

No I did not mean pirated books as that would not be setting a good example for my own children, fortunatly Amazon provides a lot of free ebooks and thats why I wanted to know if I could download the free ones without an acount. (I have made an account with Amazon but without US add or payment info)

Vroo, most of my questions are answered thank you. Unfortunatly I cant have my friend register it stateside ( friend of a friend thing)

Also project guttenburg have a lot of childrens books so that should be enough materials

So now just to decide between the kindle or KoBo Aura.

Thanks again.

Bobak

susan_cassidy · 12-23-2014, 01:14 AM

You can't get book's from Amazon without an account. But, if you have an account, why even ask that question.

itisbomb · 12-23-2014, 02:31 AM

One thing you might want to know. You can use Kindle out of the box. No wi-fi set-up needed. Of course, Kindle will ask you to register your account, but you can choose not to do it. The story is different with Kobo ereader. It is mandatory that you have to register your Kobo ereader, which you will definitely need a wi-fi access. If you don't register it, it will become a useless junk of electronic product.

In buying (free) ebooks from Amazon, you don't need a US account. Amazon offers to sell ebooks to international buyers also. (Well, not all ebooks are sold outside USA thanks to geo-restriction. But majority of them are). You should be able to download free ebooks via your non-US account. But in doing so I believe that your account need to have information about a credit card issued by a commercial bank of the country of your residence. But I never try to download a free ebook with my account not having credit card information, so I can be wrong. (But since you already have a non-US account with no payment info, why don't you try it out. It not going to cost you anyway.)

meeera · 12-23-2014, 02:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by itisbomb

One thing you might want to know. You can use Kindle out of the box. No wi-fi set-up needed. Of course, Kindle will ask you to register your account, but you can choose not to do it. The story is different with Kobo ereader. It is mandatory that you have to register your Kobo ereader, which you will definitely need a wi-fi access.

No, you can register it by connecting it to an internet-connected computer with the USB cable, and using Kobo Desktop. Wifi is recommended by many just because it's easier for most. There are also some relatively straightforward hacks to use it without registration.

fatboy123, which country are you in?

fatboy123 · 12-23-2014, 02:51 AM

Thank you so much guys, All my pressing questions have been answered.

I live in IRAN, and because of all these sanctions and political mayhem, it has left the general population in a very dire circumstances.

Appreciated all the valuable info.

Bobak.

Barbara1955 · 12-23-2014, 02:56 AM

Best thing about Amazon You Don't need a Cr Card to get ebooks from them Gift cards work great... Now about the WiFi problem or not consider a 3G model the only thing you can get is most likely the Amazon Store for quick downloads. You can side load Amazon ebooks thru the computer with out using Calibre Simply open an account then Download the Amazon App to your PC ... you will need that anyway even without Calibre. There are Tons of Legal web sites that tell whats temp a Freebie & Amazon also has lists of Freebies Daily on their site. Also Libraries in your area may have Kindle books you can borrow. Good Luck!

itisbomb · 12-23-2014, 03:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

No, you can register it by connecting it to an internet-connected computer with the USB cable, and using Kobo Desktop. Wifi is recommended by many just because it's easier for most. There are also some relatively straightforward hacks to use it without registration.

Thanks for correcting me. It was my bad. When I was typing my previous post, I actually thought about internet connection. But I get too accustomed to wi-fi. My mind automatically equated the internet with wi-fi. Sorry about that.

I didn’t know about the mentioned Kobo hack before. Good to know that. It might come in handy when I buy the next ereader.

Antoinekamel · 12-23-2014, 02:47 PM

To the OP:

Every country you know is third world.

eschwartz · 12-23-2014, 08:05 PM

You can "purchase" free ebooks from Amazon as long as you have registered a valid credit card or gift card.

So:

Get Kindle through friend.
Get cheapest possible Amazon gift card through friend.
Call amazon and have them manually register your Kindle to your free account.
Add gift card to amazon account.
Purchase free books on the Amazon website, and download them from http://amzn.com/manageyourkindle for your device.
Sideload the books via USB to your device.

If you want to get complicated, it should be possible to make use of the USBNetwork hack to tunnel the Kindle's internet connection over USB through your PC, so you can even connect the Kindle to the wired internet. Might be preferable anyway, since the Kindle does not download as much information to access the Kindle store as the main website takes up.

JohnRR · 12-23-2014, 08:56 PM

Actually I think it is not necessary to provide credit card or gift card info if you only download free books from Amazon. I bought my Kindle but only bought my first book after three months. Before that, I never provided any credit card or gift card info, but Amazon allowed me to download free books. I think he can try to download free books from Amazon once he gets his Kindle to see if the policy has changed or not.

12-22-2014, 12:16 PM	#1
fatboy123 Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kindle PW	Can I buy a kindle from US to use in 3rd world countries? Dear Readers, Thank you in advance for your time, I live in a third world country with VERY limited internet access, still using 56K dial up modem, in fact just registering and posting this message took me a good one hour. I have a friend coming from America and I would really like him to bring me back a Kindle Paperwhite 2, primarily to start reading more books and have my children introduced to reading a bit more, and I would appreciate if you could answer these questions... 1- I've read here and there that the kindle needs a US bank account and address to function and since I have neither and I can not open a credit card or account, will I be able to use the kindle without any type of registration? 2- I'll be honest, as bad as this might sound, I have NO WAY of buying ebooks from the internet or amazon as I can not find a way to pay for it online in my country, so I'll just download the ebooks I want from the internet and have to transfer it to the kindle from my PC, probably using caliber to convert. Is this possible? will the latest Kindle PW2 be jail broken? 3- Since I will NOT be in Amazon eco system, should I opt for another device? like the kobo? or stick with the Kindle PW? I thank you all in advance for your answers. Bobak. Last edited by fatboy123; 12-22-2014 at 12:32 PM.

12-23-2014, 02:31 AM	#8
itisbomb Evangelist Posts: 400 Karma: 1997754 Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Third planet from the sun Device: PaperWhite 4	One thing you might want to know. You can use Kindle out of the box. No wi-fi set-up needed. Of course, Kindle will ask you to register your account, but you can choose not to do it. The story is different with Kobo ereader. It is mandatory that you have to register your Kobo ereader, which you will definitely need a wi-fi access. If you don't register it, it will become a useless junk of electronic product. In buying (free) ebooks from Amazon, you don't need a US account. Amazon offers to sell ebooks to international buyers also. (Well, not all ebooks are sold outside USA thanks to geo-restriction. But majority of them are). You should be able to download free ebooks via your non-US account. But in doing so I believe that your account need to have information about a credit card issued by a commercial bank of the country of your residence. But I never try to download a free ebook with my account not having credit card information, so I can be wrong. (But since you already have a non-US account with no payment info, why don't you try it out. It not going to cost you anyway.) Last edited by itisbomb; 12-23-2014 at 02:48 AM.

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12-22-2014, 01:27 PM	#2
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	First you said you have no way of buying books via the Internet, then you said you'd just download the books you want from the Internet. Which is it? Are you talking about pirated books, or free, public domain books. I take it your country is not one Amazon is allowed to sell to. No one here is going to support pirating books. Otherwise, a credit card from your country would work fine.

12-22-2014, 02:23 PM	#3
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,391 Karma: 59504381 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	Keep in mind that if you are talking about downloading copyrighted ebooks without paying for them (and when one has to pay for them to acquire them), then you will get absolutely no help from anyone on this forum. Living in a third-world country is no excuse for stealing copyrighted works. If I have misunderstood you, then my apologies. Don (Moderator)

12-22-2014, 03:26 PM	#4
Vroo Zealot Posts: 115 Karma: 1005242 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Warsaw, Poland Device: a lot of Kindles, PocketBook HD3/InkpadX, inkBOOK, Kobo	Hi Bobak, 1. You don't need an US address and bank account to use Kindle. You'd need a working card to pay if you order Kindle directly from US but it's not necessary if someone buys a Kindle for you. 2. Just put your e-books into "documents" folder or use calibre, you don't have to jailbreak Kindle 3. You may need an internet access to register Kindle - that means log in into Amazon account but you may use Kindle without registration. Some features like collections will be unavailable but you'll still be able to read without problems.

12-22-2014, 05:47 PM	#5
janrey Groupie Posts: 163 Karma: 178100 Join Date: Aug 2011 Device: Kindle3, Voyage	You don't need a credit card. Have your friend setup the account using an amazon gift card as form of payment, deciding how much. He could set it up with your name his address. As you need more credit send him money and have him get more amazon gift cards online and apply them to your account, that is if you trust him.

12-23-2014, 01:04 AM	#6
fatboy123 Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kindle PW	Thank you all so much for your answers. No I did not mean pirated books as that would not be setting a good example for my own children, fortunatly Amazon provides a lot of free ebooks and thats why I wanted to know if I could download the free ones without an acount. (I have made an account with Amazon but without US add or payment info) Vroo, most of my questions are answered thank you. Unfortunatly I cant have my friend register it stateside ( friend of a friend thing) Also project guttenburg have a lot of childrens books so that should be enough materials So now just to decide between the kindle or KoBo Aura. Thanks again. Bobak

12-23-2014, 01:14 AM	#7
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	You can't get book's from Amazon without an account. But, if you have an account, why even ask that question.

12-23-2014, 02:51 AM	#10
fatboy123 Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Kindle PW	Thank you so much guys, All my pressing questions have been answered. I live in IRAN, and because of all these sanctions and political mayhem, it has left the general population in a very dire circumstances. Appreciated all the valuable info. Bobak.

12-23-2014, 02:56 AM	#11
Barbara1955 Non-Techy Posts: 4,455 Karma: 15499273 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: WV---USA Device: Samsung Cell Phone & Amazon Fires & Kobo eReaders	Best thing about Amazon You Don't need a Cr Card to get ebooks from them Gift cards work great... Now about the WiFi problem or not consider a 3G model the only thing you can get is most likely the Amazon Store for quick downloads. You can side load Amazon ebooks thru the computer with out using Calibre Simply open an account then Download the Amazon App to your PC ... you will need that anyway even without Calibre. There are Tons of Legal web sites that tell whats temp a Freebie & Amazon also has lists of Freebies Daily on their site. Also Libraries in your area may have Kindle books you can borrow. Good Luck!

12-23-2014, 02:47 PM	#13
Antoinekamel Addict Posts: 278 Karma: 2511467 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: ABC W p2	To the OP: Every country you know is third world.

12-23-2014, 08:05 PM	#14
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	You can "purchase" free ebooks from Amazon as long as you have registered a valid credit card or gift card. So: Get Kindle through friend. Get cheapest possible Amazon gift card through friend. Call amazon and have them manually register your Kindle to your free account. Add gift card to amazon account. Purchase free books on the Amazon website, and download them from http://amzn.com/manageyourkindle for your device. Sideload the books via USB to your device. If you want to get complicated, it should be possible to make use of the USBNetwork hack to tunnel the Kindle's internet connection over USB through your PC, so you can even connect the Kindle to the wired internet. Might be preferable anyway, since the Kindle does not download as much information to access the Kindle store as the main website takes up.

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12-23-2014, 08:56 PM	#15
JohnRR Connoisseur Posts: 61 Karma: 642334 Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Earth Device: None	Actually I think it is not necessary to provide credit card or gift card info if you only download free books from Amazon. I bought my Kindle but only bought my first book after three months. Before that, I never provided any credit card or gift card info, but Amazon allowed me to download free books. I think he can try to download free books from Amazon once he gets his Kindle to see if the policy has changed or not.