Report: Not one, but several Kindle successors in the works!

[RickyMaveety]

Well according to the Kindle forum, you can only register 6 Kindles to a single account. http://www.amazon.com/The-Amazon-Kin...sin=B000FI73MA

I have had absolutely no problem copying files between the two Kindles I currently have. This has been true regardless of whether they are DRM or not.

I have also been able to download to both Kindles from the Media Library for my account. So ..... I don't see a particular problem in managing six of them any more than two.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

I have also been able to download to both Kindles from the Media Library for my account. So ..... I don't see a particular problem in managing six of them any more than two.

So, when you d/l a file from Amazon to your PC and it asks you what Kindle it is for... that file works on either of your two Kindles?

BOb

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

So, when you d/l a file from Amazon to your PC and it asks you what Kindle it is for... that file works on either of your two Kindles?

BOb

Yes, it does in the sense that, for example, if I download a Kindle file to my computer, and then I copy that file to the Kindles that I have registered, it reads just fine on those Kindles.

If I download directly from the site, it allows me to download to each Kindle I have registered individually.

So, I have a backup of my books at the Kindle Media Library, and I also have a backup of my books on my PC.

I have not had any problems getting the books from either location on to more than one Kindle registered to my account.

I hope that's clear .... I'm still verbally a little fuzzy at the moment (words that are not related to what I am trying to express just keep popping into my head .... mental Tourette's without the filthy language).

Ricky

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Yes, it does in the sense that, for example, if I download a Kindle file to my computer, and then I copy that file to the Kindles that I have registered, it reads just fine on those Kindles.

That's curious. I don't understand then why they make you select which Kindle you are downloading for if that one file will work on all of your Kindles. Perhaps it is just bad UI.

BOb

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

That's curious. I don't understand then why they make you select which Kindle you are downloading for if that one file will work on all of your Kindles. Perhaps it is just bad UI.

BOb

Well, I'm certainly not the right person to explain it. I don't know how it works or why it works, but so far, that's how it's been working for me.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Well according to the Kindle forum, you can only register 6 Kindles to a single account. http://www.amazon.com/The-Amazon-Kin...sin=B000FI73MA

I have had absolutely no problem copying files between the two Kindles I currently have. This has been true regardless of whether they are DRM or not.

I have also been able to download to both Kindles from the Media Library for my account. So ..... I don't see a particular problem in managing six of them any more than two.

That FAQ is written by a forum user not Amazon staff.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Well, I'm certainly not the right person to explain it. I don't know how it works or why it works, but so far, that's how it's been working for me.

I certainly believe you. Thanks for the info.

BOb

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

That FAQ is written by a forum user not Amazon staff.

And I haven't been able to find anything written by Amazon staff. If you do, please let me know. You were going by Bob's old post, and I have no idea where he got that information. The only FAQ that I found was the one that I gave you the link to. Since I don't have six or more Kindles, I can't speak to the issue from personal experience.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

And I haven't been able to find anything written by Amazon staff. If you do, please let me know. You were going by Bob's old post, and I have no idea where he got that information. The only FAQ that I found was the one that I gave you the link to. Since I don't have six or more Kindles, I can't speak to the issue from personal experience.

Bob was responding to that same bit of text I quoted (I used it in another thread).

It doesn't make sense that Amazon would limit the number of Kindles a person or an institution could purchase and add to their accounts (why limit sales?). It does make sense that they have to restrict the number of Kindles that can share the same content. 100 Kindles sharing one $9.99 book would cause an uproar with publishers and authors or require special licensing. Having to purchase several copies of that same book to share seems to be a good compromise.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Bob was responding to that same bit of text I quoted (I used it in another thread).

It doesn't make sense that Amazon would limit the number of Kindles a person or an institution could purchase and add to their accounts (why limit sales?). It does make sense that they have to restrict the number of Kindles that can share the same content. 100 Kindles sharing one $9.99 book would cause an uproar with publishers and authors or require special licensing. Having to purchase several copies of that same book to share seems to be a good compromise.

Then again, it doesn't make much sense at all to allow unlimited Kindles on one account, but limit the books that can be shared to six. Amazon would have to keep track of two sets of numbers for every account, and would have to track how many books were out for each account .... they would also have to figure out a way to check the books in and out so that people on the same account could allow others to read a book once it was off of their Kindle.

I have found absolutely no credible information that provides that there can be an unlimited number of Kindles on the same account. The only information I have seen states that six Kindles may be registered to the same account, and that those six Kindles may share books.

To have the other setup, well, I don't see how it would work without having book management set up more like a library, which it isn't. Further, I can't imagine any institution purchasing 1,000s of Kindles on the same account. Keep in mind that the person who has the book would be able to purchase and download new books .... what institution is going to allow people to more or less run amok with the institutional credit card buying books for themselves?

No ... sorry, but that makes zero sense to me.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

I have found absolutely no credible information that provides that there can be an unlimited number of Kindles on the same account. The only information I have seen states that six Kindles may be registered to the same account, and that those six Kindles may share books.

You have seen information that says "digital content" maybe shared with up to six Kindles registered to an account (in the quote I posted previously). That is not the same as *only* being able to register 6 Kindles to an account. If you have found any official Amazon copy that says that, please link it.

[daffy4u]

I'm sending the following note to Kindle CS, to find out the correct answer.

There is some confusion as to the number of Kindles that may be registered to one account.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...1996411&sr=1-1

Digital Rights Management Issues

* Content from the Kindle Store: Most books and other non-subscription items you purchase from the Kindle store may be downloaded for your personal use on to up to six Kindles registered to your Amazon.com account. If you have exceeded your download limit, you must purchase an additional copy of the title. Subscription content can only be downloaded to one Kindle at a time, and only the seven most recent issues will be available for redownload in the Kindle Content Manager or from the Manage Your Kindle page.

I read the above to mean that I may only share content with no more than 6 Kindles registered to my account. I may have purchased and registered 12 Kindles to my account but only six at a time would be able to share a book.

Others believe that one may only have 6 Kindles total registered to one account and any number above that would have to be registered to another account.

Which is it? Is there some official documentation that can be cited clarifying this one way or the other. Thank you.

[RickyMaveety]

Well, here's what the official blurb is .... The Kindle Store currently carries more than 190,000 books plus newspapers, magazines, and blogs. For your convenience, you can shop the Kindle Store directly on Kindle or on your PC via Amazon.com. Either way, all titles are wirelessly delivered right to your Kindle for free. We pay for the wireless delivery charges so you don’t have to. Buy a book and we auto-deliver it to you wirelessly in one minute. You can download and view most books purchased from the Kindle Store for your personal use on up to six Kindles provided they are registered to your Amazon.com account. Newspapers, magazines, and blogs may only be downloaded to one Kindle.

However, I really cannot imagine why anyone would want to have more than the six that can share media on the same account. There doesn't seem to be any way to take a book off the Kindle (in a way that would release it to another Kindle that was authorized to that same account). In addition, the Kindle account only lets you purchase one copy of any book. If you try to purchase a second copy, it tells you that you already own a copy of that book and goes no further with the transaction.

So, if you had 12 Kindles on one account it does not seem that you would be able to purchase two copies of any one book to spread around all 12 Kindles. It would seem to be a freaking nightmare logistically if you were trying to manage this on a large institutional scale.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Well, here's what the official blurb is .... The Kindle Store currently carries more than 190,000 books plus newspapers, magazines, and blogs. For your convenience, you can shop the Kindle Store directly on Kindle or on your PC via Amazon.com. Either way, all titles are wirelessly delivered right to your Kindle for free. We pay for the wireless delivery charges so you don’t have to. Buy a book and we auto-deliver it to you wirelessly in one minute. You can download and view most books purchased from the Kindle Store for your personal use on up to six Kindles provided they are registered to your Amazon.com account. Newspapers, magazines, and blogs may only be downloaded to one Kindle.

However, I really cannot imagine why anyone would want to have more than the six that can share media on the same account. There doesn't seem to be any way to take a book off the Kindle (in a way that would release it to another Kindle that was authorized to that same account). In addition, the Kindle account only lets you purchase one copy of any book. If you try to purchase a second copy, it tells you that you already own a copy of that book and goes no further with the transaction.

So, if you had 12 Kindles on one account it does not seem that you would be able to purchase two copies of any one book to spread around all 12 Kindles. It would seem to be a freaking nightmare logistically if you were trying to manage this on a large institutional scale.

The "on up to six", to me, leaves room for the possibility that one might have more than 6.

I agree that it is very unlikely that there will that much sharing going on. For the most part, the Kindle buyers will be self limiting as very few people or families will probably buy more than a few. That still doesn't mean that Amazon is placing a limit on the number one can buy.

I just tried an experiment, I was going to try to put 12 Kindles in my shopping cart even though it is sold out. I was only allowed 5. This could support the 6 total Kindles view or it could mean a limit was placed due to the sold out status (and maybe the approach of 2.0).

I'll post when I hear back from CS.

[CCLady]

Originally Posted by mdibella

This does bring up a question though...and ain't THAT a kick in the DRM?

If I buy a new updated Kindle, how do I get my books moved from the old one to the new one? Do I have to redownload them all over again, and who pays for this (I expect it won't be a trivial cost if every Kindle owner needs to do it at once)? My current Kindle has 47 pages of books between its main memory and its SD card. Is Amazon going to provide a method for rekeying these books to the new Kindle so I can simply move them using USB?

Forgive me if this is just my ignorance, but couldn't you just move all of the books to the SD card and then move the card to the new Kindle?