Amazon Kindle goes international

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by queentess

Golly, I can read Sony ebooks on my computer! If I download the clunky software! That's so much better than having the store tied to one ereader!

Gee, that's a great excuse for protectionism.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Update 2: Thank Proxy, it's working again as usual.

Dude! Make up your mind, I'm getting dizzy here!

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Dude! Make up your mind, I'm getting dizzy here!

To summarise my eMails and some others:
In the past, you easily could purchase from Amazon US via gift cards and then upload to your Kindle via USB.
With the introduction of the international Kindle, that's not working anymore.
They cross-reference your actual location with the one in your account. My account is US, my location is Germany.
They give some options then: "Are you traveling?", "Did you move?".
I've sent them an email about me being on a business trip. Curiously waiting for their response.
But there's an easy workaround, just bought the newest "Dexter" by Jeff Lindsay.
I'm not using Whispernet. So they have to identify my location through the web. This of course easily can be circumvented. The last 30 minutes, I've spent virtually in the US. Now I'm in Amsterdam and then will be in Germany again.
Has been a bit of a hassle.
But one still has to admit: Brilliant move, Amazon! Kindle available in 100 locations/countries at once, and no one even has heard a rumor. Wow!

[geertm]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

New Update: Used an US proxy, working again.

It is of course nice that you can use workarounds to buy geographical restricted books (I do the same at Fictionwise), but most people buying an international Kindle will just register their Kindle for their own country and complain about all the books that are not available.
A lot of people probably will buy the Kindle because it is so easy to buy the books. I do not think that most Kindle buyers will be the kind of people that use the internet to keep up with all the workarounds needed to buy geographical restricted books.

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

available in 100 locations/countries at once, and no one even has heard a rumor

Well, if the wireless access is being done using AT&T as the 'home' network and treating 'international' Kindles as 'roaming' devices, on the one hand, there aren't going to be per-county contacts for Amazon to deal with but on the other, wireless usage is going to be really locked down. (I'm surprised that there's going to be any international browsing possible, but there are reports of some being said to be enabled...)

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by gwynevans

Well, if the wireless access is being done using AT&T as the 'home' network and treating 'international' Kindles as 'roaming' devices, on the one hand, there aren't going to be per-county contacts for Amazon to deal with but on the other, wireless usage is going to be really locked down. (I'm surprised that there's going to be any international browsing possible, but there are reports of some being said to be enabled...)

..and that's what's the genious about it, in my opinion. We've been discussing about rumors, Kindle might be available in UK for Christmas, but negotiations in Germany would have been terminated. And then: Bang. They've solved it.
One has to admire their business spirit. I'm curious about Sony's response with the "Daily Edition".

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by geertm

It is of course nice that you can use workarounds to buy geographical restricted books (I do the same at Fictionwise), but most people buying an international Kindle will just register their Kindle for their own country and complain about all the books that are not available.
A lot of people probably will buy the Kindle because it is so easy to buy the books. I do not think that most Kindle buyers will be the kind of people that use the internet to keep up with all the workarounds needed to buy geographical restricted books.

I totally agree. I wish we'd have the Federation of Planets. Or at least being real global. Same product, same price, same quality everywhere. At least, when only handling content without a physical product, this should be the goal.
And of course it's a joke, that Amazon and Apple (to name just 2) leave such huuuge backdoors. Obviously, the business model says: "We have to regulate because of license issues. But we're business people and eagerly look the other way". I've read somewhere, Apple makes way more revenue with US gift cards in Europe than the US itself...

[thomman]

about the international operators, I am willing to bet that Amazon didnt pick any of them. They must have just tied up with AT&T asking them to deal with international coverage. That also means that you can go to AT&T website and see who their partners are for your country. Try this link -http://www.wireless.att.com/travelguide/coverage/roaming/step1.jsp. Pick your country, select a phone (like iPhone3GS) that works in your country, and go all the way, click on "details" to see which operators, coverage, etc.

The $1.99 is more likely to pay for the roaming charges for the operator at the international location. I doubt it has anything to do with taxes.

[=X=]

Considering Canadian wireless rates are expensive I wouldn't be surprised if
That was the principal reason why Canada dose not have a kindle.

Bob I'm inclined to believe the Kindle will use sprint. I'd wager that the international has an extra wireless chip
To support GSM. That is would also explain the price increase of the inerational device.

This launch is not so polished. I'm wondering if SONY's latest
Effort has really put some pressure on the Kindle. SONY seems to have resurrected itself from the dead and caught amazon by surprise.

[fugazied]

Is the extra $1.99 a direct kickback to publishers to cover multiple licensing claims on the same book in different countries?

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by fugazied

Is the extra $1.99 a direct kickback to publishers to cover multiple licensing claims on the same book in different countries?

No, it is for Roaming charges. A kickback would be illegal and they would get sued by the dealers in the European countries, especially UK which forced this regional restriction thing on eBooks in the first place.

Dale

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by queentess

The Kindle isn't any more of a "store-dedicated device" than the Sony. Both devices are the only way to access the specific store content, but both will accept content from many other providers.

The Kindle will NOT accept content (with DRM) from anyone other than Amazon.

Sony will accept DRM ePub and DRM PDF (not recommended) from shops other then Sony and once Sony goes ePub, it'll be a very good thing for others with readers not from Sony as most do or will support ePub.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Looks like it's time for me to update the "Kindle Myths and Half-Truths" wiki. (It'll have to wait until next week )

Don't forget the MR thread too.

[sturgeon]

Originally Posted by jlick

I was very confused about the download fees, so I asked Amazon and got this reply:



So basically the way it will work is that you buy a Kindle International and register it to a particular country. If you register it in the US and travel outside the US you will pay an extra download fee. But if you register it in another country you don't pay any download fee either at home or abroad. However, it seems that books have an added $2 above US prices and less selection if your Kindle is registered outside the US, so you are essentially paying it anyways. Subscriptions are a bit higher but at least not $1.99 per day more.

My thoughts are that this is still a useful alternative to those with no US credit card to be able to participate in the ebook market. It beats paying almost $10 shipping to buy a physical book from amazon.com with 3-6 weeks international shipping. For me, I have a US credit card so I think I'll just stick to downloading on my computer for now and save the two bucks.

It also seems to be a bit strange that the international wireless surcharge is so high even in places where data plans are much cheaper than in the US. For example, I'm in Taiwan and pay about US$23 a month for unlimited 3G data plan without a voice plan (I pay per-usage for voice). That's compared to my friends in the US who typically pay at least $70 a month for data and voice.

So will US customers download outside th US via whispernet and will those customers pay an additional fee for that service?

If so, then all Kindle users having an US version wil be able to use whispernet? Still all unclear to me:::

[bbusybookworm]

Originally Posted by sturgeon

So will US customers download outside th US via whispernet and will those customers pay an additional fee for that service?

From looking at what amazon has on the page and the linked terms, its clear that US customers, with the International version of the Kindle will be able to download books outside the US over Wispernet but will pay an additional $1.99 fee per book or Subscription.

"Travel Internationally with Kindle

Travel internationally and still get books in under 60 seconds. Download books wirelessly in over 100 countries around the world."

and

"For U.S. customers traveling abroad, a $1.99 fee currently applies when downloading books or single issues of periodicals wirelessly from your Archived Items or the Kindle store while roaming internationally."

If so, then all Kindle users having an US version wil be able to use whispernet? Still all unclear to me:::

It does look like that the Original Kindle (US Wireless) and the DX only have wispernet coverage within the US. This is probably primary due to the fact that they use Sprint (CDMA) verses AT&T (GSM) used by the International version which is compatible with more phone systems around the world.