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Old 10-01-2010, 06:17 AM   #1
amurricanabroad
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Should I buy a Kindle 3 in the U.S. or from Europe?

I've searched the forums and found various threads dealing with international version Kindles, but a few were from almost a year ago and I'm hoping I can get some more up-to-date info before I make a purchase decision.

Here are the details about me:

1. I'm a U.S. citizen living in The Netherlands.
2. I have a valid U.S. address and a U.S. bank account/credit card.


Here's what I want to be able to do with my Kindle 3-WiFi only:

Download e-books from the U.S. store if I want and avoid the extra charge. I'll obviously be looking for free books and other available titles to upload to the Kindle, but if a new release comes out that I want, I want to be able to purchase it for the same price as a U.S. user. To be honest, I don't want to be charged extra for anything just because I'm over here.


My questions:
1. Should I purchase a U.S. version Kindle or go through the international page (which will cost more)?
2. If I'm just using wi-fi and not 3G, will Amazon charge me extra for accessing the free titles? I saw a post about someone being charged $2 for a free title even though he wasn't using the 3G. Seems ridiculous.
3. Does the U.S. Kindle 3 come with an AC adapter and a USB cord? Assuming I go for the U.S. version, I'll buy a European adapter for charging, but I may just stick with charging via USB at first assuming that is included.


I'm heading to America next month and I'm seriously considering buying a Kindle and having it arrive at my U.S. address in time to fly back with me, but these questions are holding me back. I'm also worried they're going to drop the price again on the wifi 3 in time for Christmas, which would seriously annoy me.

Thanks for your help!
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Old 10-01-2010, 07:21 AM   #2
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I got my kindle3 from the U.S. (to germany) so I try to answer your questions:
1: You'll pay taxes/toll anyway
2: No it won't charge you. It didn'T charge me anyway.
3. No comes ONLY with an USB cord. (works like a charm)
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Old 10-01-2010, 08:03 AM   #3
amurricanabroad
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Thanks, Zerodime!

I'm thinking it will be cheaper for me to buy a U.S. Kindle 3 and have it shipped to my U.S. address and just bring it back with me. When I entered everything on the international page just to see, the total was over $200, which included around $25 in international shipping fees and nearly $35 in import deposit fees. If I have it shipped to my U.S. address, where I'll be next month, I'll pay just $139 (assuming I go with Free Super Saver Shipping). I think the U.S. one is the cheapest, I just don't want to be screwed over and not be able to access certain books from over here.
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Old 10-01-2010, 08:37 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amurricanabroad View Post
Thanks, Zerodime!

I'm thinking it will be cheaper for me to buy a U.S. Kindle 3 and have it shipped to my U.S. address and just bring it back with me. When I entered everything on the international page just to see, the total was over $200, which included around $25 in international shipping fees and nearly $35 in import deposit fees. If I have it shipped to my U.S. address, where I'll be next month, I'll pay just $139 (assuming I go with Free Super Saver Shipping). I think the U.S. one is the cheapest, I just don't want to be screwed over and not be able to access certain books from over here.
I'm in kind of the same situation as you are, not a US citizen, but Dutch, living in the Netherlands, and currently on holidays in the States. What I did was pre-order a Kindle 3 from amazon.com and have it shipped to my US address. When I return home to Holland, I'll avoid the high international shipping fees and the import deposit fees (I'll definitely stay below the 300-something euros limit on importing stuff).

As far as I know, the answer to your questions:

1. just buy a US version. The international one probably cannot be shipped within the States, anyway.
2. free books via wifi should be free.
3. yes, it has both.
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Old 10-01-2010, 09:50 AM   #5
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There is no US version or International version of the K3. There is just the K3.

The K2I vs K2US exists only because when the K2 was first released, Amazon was using Sprint as the carrier in the US and they could not handle international 3G connections. When Amazon switched to AT&T they were able to work international 3G contracts and have steadily been adding countries where the Kindle is available because whispernet is available.

So the K2I had AT&T and the K2US had Sprint. You could not buy a K2US once the K2I was released. There is only a K3. Whispernet will work anywhere Amazon has a 3G contract. It does not matter where you buy your Kindle, it will work internationally.
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Old 10-01-2010, 01:53 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amurricanabroad View Post
Thanks, Zerodime!

I'm thinking it will be cheaper for me to buy a U.S. Kindle 3 and have it shipped to my U.S. address and just bring it back with me. When I entered everything on the international page just to see, the total was over $200, which included around $25 in international shipping fees and nearly $35 in import deposit fees. If I have it shipped to my U.S. address, where I'll be next month, I'll pay just $139 (assuming I go with Free Super Saver Shipping). I think the U.S. one is the cheapest, I just don't want to be screwed over and not be able to access certain books from over here.
I would buy it in the US, so you can have all the books + games, some of them for free, that we (Netherlands) aren't allowed to purchase because of the geo-restrictions.
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Old 10-01-2010, 02:03 PM   #7
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Where you buy it will not effect what you can have on the Kindle. Where you register it effects what she can have on the Kindle. If you are an American, you can register it to your US account and buy whatever you want. If you are not an America, there are ways of hiding that and gaining access to the US store. You have to look around the boards for instructions on how to do so.
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Old 10-01-2010, 02:05 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfCrash View Post
There is no US version or International version of the K3. There is just the K3.
Not quite. There are two versions of the K3 3G+WiFi and one version only of the K3 WiFi.

B006 = Kindle 3 3G+WiFi with a AT&T SIM
B008 = Kindle 3 WiFi
B00A = Kindle 3 3G+WiFi with a Vodafone SIM

In the US it is always the B006. In the UK it is always B00A. What you get elsewhere seems to differ based on your country but generally it is B00A.

Both have the same free 3G access anyway with the same country coverage. The difference seems to be roaming agreements. If Vodafone has a local presence then you get the B00A Kindle. Otherwise it is an AT&T model. I guess it saves Amazon some $$$?

In terms of end user impact, there doesn't seem to be any real difference between the two. All 3 types of K3 have had exactly the same firmware (so far). Coverage is the same. No differences in costs between the AT&T or Vodafone K3s. The restrictions on web access is linked to where your account is registered and not the Kindle type itself.
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Old 10-01-2010, 03:08 PM   #9
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I learn something new every day.

How does that work? If I bring my DXG purchased in the US to Europe, I don't get charged anything to use it in Europe. So Amazon foots the roaming charge for me.

As the end user, it doesn't matter which version I buy. My 3G is free no matter what. For Amazon it matters because of the roaming costs. Which means, that it doesn't matter where you buy the Kindle for the user, only for Amazon.

Last edited by ProfCrash; 10-01-2010 at 03:10 PM.
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Old 10-02-2010, 07:09 AM   #10
amurricanabroad
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Thanks everyone! Now if I could only solve the problem of figuring out if and when the K3 price will drop
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Old 10-08-2010, 06:38 PM   #11
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I am a US citizen living in New Zealand and I purchased a US K3 (3G+WiFi) using a US address and my New Zealand credit card. Until just recently, Kindles were not available in NZ. I've not had any trouble with it nor have I with it's predecessor the K2 I gave to my hubby.

On price though, I think it's actually a pretty decent price now. Consider it costs roughly $50 less here for a Kobo which is a joke compared to the Kindle...no functionality except to read...no downloading wirelessly, no dictionary, no highlighting or annotations, no web browser, no MP3 playback, no text-to-speech, etc., etc.... The K3 price is also in line with it's most equal competitor, the B&N Nook... Just my two cents. )
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Old 10-09-2010, 02:46 AM   #12
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I travel overseas and so I find these global posts interesting. It is always a challenge to sort out the complexities of how to use electronics with wireless access in a global world without incurring extra fees. I live in the US and have a Kindle 3 Wifi only. I have interpreted the Amazon support information to be that if I travel to Europe, for example, that I will be able to download books via Wifi free of charge. I will also be able to download books (free of charge and without a wireless connection required) if I purchase them through the Amazon.com website and then transfer them via the USB cable to my Kindle.

Your post implies that you are interested in the Wi-fi only model. Therefore, it seems as if the cheapest cost is to buy with your US Amazon account and have it shipped to your US address. Also, if you buy a Kindle shipped to your US address, then it will come with an AC adaptor. The adaptor is rated 100-240V and 50-60Hz so you should just need a simple US to European plug to use an electrical outlet. I have provided some links for you below of where you can find help info at Amazon.com.

I suggest you read through this help page on the Amazon.com website which is for "Using Kindle if You Live Outside the United States".
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=200505470

If you buy a Kindle shipped to your US address and register it to your US account, then I would hypothesize that means you will be treated similar to the "U.S. Customers Traveling with Kindle". There is some additional info on this help page.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=200505490

Also I suggest you look at the User's Guide on the Kindle Support page. Section 1.6 has some great information. You can find the User's Guide at this link.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=200317150

Best of luck, and I hope you enjoy your new purchase.
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Old 10-09-2010, 09:42 AM   #13
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Every little bit helps: on Manage Your Kindle I set my Personal Document Charge Limit to 0.00$, Amazon sends my documents to my ..........@kindle.com, but as my documents often are too big and my charge limit is 0,00$ they'll notify me and sent it to .............@free.kindle.com, without any charge (so far).

Last edited by desertblues; 10-09-2010 at 09:53 AM. Reason: darn: I typed ' my name'' before the mailadress and it linked through to me, therefore the .......
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Old 10-15-2010, 10:41 PM   #14
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Every little bit helps: on Manage Your Kindle I set my Personal Document Charge Limit to 0.00$, Amazon sends my documents to my ..........@kindle.com, but as my documents often are too big and my charge limit is 0,00$ they'll notify me and sent it to .............@free.kindle.com, without any charge (so far).
Bingo.

I found that out after some digging through the terms of service and the settings pages.

I cite this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...#pdocmaxcharge

Quote:
Your Personal Document Charge Limit

You can set the maximum charge allowed for a single personal document sent wirelessly to your Kindle. Any personal document exceeding this charge will be sent to your @free.kindle.com address and a notification will be sent to your Kindle. We will also attempt to send the document to your Kindle for free via Wi-Fi. To learn more, see Transferring, Downloading, and Sending Files to Kindle.
Setting your charge limit to $0.00 would seem to guarantee you will never be charged for data use on a 3G Kindle.

Last edited by cjottawa; 10-15-2010 at 10:47 PM.
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Old 10-16-2010, 12:09 AM   #15
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You could have just looked at you Manage My Kindle page and located the place to make that change.
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