New International Kindle

Ghost Train

New International version of the Kindle to be released on october 19th. Only available from the US site at the moment, hopefully will makes it way to the UK site at some point. Good move from amazon I think

http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Reading-Display-International-Generation/dp/B0015T963C/ref=sr_tr_1?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1254902535&sr=1-1

Wonder how the wireless will work as regards being outside US, does say this

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

therecklessone

With a leather cover and estimated customs charges the cost is $410 which is around €280.

Ghost Train

therecklessone wrote: »

With a leather cover and estimated customs charges the cost is $410 which is around €280.

Was wondering about customs charges.

The thing I would love about the Kindle is the over the air network ability for downloads (like newspaper feeds), but since its AT&T I can't see them offering a free service like they do in america? Any of the links to the wireless coverage map don't seem to work
Here another feature along the same lines that looks like it won't work

Kindle's basic Web browser works well to read simple, text-centric Web sites such as Google and Wikipedia. Need to find a movie listing or look up a sports score? Now it's easier than ever to find the information you're looking for right from your Kindle. The experimental Web browser is not currently available for some customers outside the U.S

The other feature I like is the text reading which the sony readers don't have

therecklessone

Ghost Train wrote: »

The thing I would love about the Kindle is the over the air network ability for downloads (like newspaper feeds), but since its AT&T I can't see them offering a free service like they do in america? Any of the links to the wireless coverage map don't seem to work

That is confusing all right, they say:

Free 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle.

But then mention a $1.99 charge for US customers downloading content when roaming.

Perhaps that cost is absorbed into the book prices for international customers?

New York Times® Best Sellers and New Releases are $11.99 to $13.99 (prices include VAT), unless marked otherwise.

Kindle books usually retail for $9.99 in the US, right?

parsi

I'm tempted by it.

Wireless coverage map for Ireland looks fine.

The download will be free in your home country but will be charged if roaming as far as I can see.

Book prices appear to be slightly elevated to perhaps pay for the "free" downloading.

Ghost Train

Yep sorry couldn't acces the country option earlier

I suppose the problem is AT&T is an american operator, so that aspect of the device will suffer or there will an extra tax

A wifi version might have been better

Giggler

I was waiting for this one to come to ireland, but having had a look at what seems to be available for download on the books side of things, it seems to be severely limited, ie: no new dan brown, patricia cornwell etc. Just wondering if anyone else has noticed this??? The region is set as europe once you log in and i don't think you can change it to america.

If this is the case i don't think i will be bothering for the moment, as i wanted to almost replace my physical book buying, not have this in addition to it.

Branoic

The download roaming charge is only for US Kindle owners - the download feature is free on the International Kindle - meaning you could own one in Ireland and bring it to France and still download for free in France. The catch is that book downloads cost more for us - $11.99 for a book opposed to $9.99 for the same download for a US customer.

I'm really interested in this and am thinking of getting the missus to get me one for Christmas, so I've been reading up a fair bit on it.

The only thing is that the UK Amazon site says you can use your .co.uk account on the .com site to buy the Kindle, but when I try to log in to the .com site it won't let me

_Whimsical_

Are you confined to using books that are downloaded from amazon with the Kindle ? Can you view books that you download elsewhere with it at all?

robinph

Branoic wrote: »

The download roaming charge is only for US Kindle owners - the download feature is free on the International Kindle - meaning you could own one in Ireland and bring it to France and still download for free in France.

I got the impression that it was only free for your home country, although I guess it's all still a bit vague on the details so far.

Branoic wrote: »

The catch is that book downloads cost more for us - $11.99 for a book opposed to $9.99 for the same download for a US customer.

How come are they charging VAT on books, or do e-books not count as books?

brian__foley

Would the feeling be that the kindle is superior to other e-readers?

Branoic

chilly wrote: »

Are you confined to using books that are downloaded from amazon with the Kindle ? Can you view books that you download elsewhere with it at all?

Yes, you can transfer your own files / other ebooks to the kindle via USB or over the network, but network data charges from Amazon are insanely high so its USB all the way. It's Amazon's ebooks which can't be read on other readers due to the proprietary file type.

robinph wrote: »

I got the impression that it was only free for your home country, although I guess it's all still a bit vague on the details so far.

How come are they charging VAT on books, or do e-books not count as books?

Good point on the VAT - didn't think of that. Dunno about the roaming charges - guess that'll need to be confirmed.

brian__foley wrote: »

Would the feeling be that the kindle is superior to other e-readers?

Depends on who you talk to, whether Kindle is the best or Sony's alternative - they'd be the two main market leaders I think. The feature of the Kindle which sets it apart is its connectivity to the Amazon store - being able to access the store, browse for books, buy one and have it downloaded direct to the read in 60 seconds. Other ereaders require you to download the book to your computer and then manually transfer to the reader. Again though, it depends who you talk to as to whether the connection to Amazon is a good or bad thing.

conjon

My Kindle arrived yesterday, and so far so good. In relation to a previous post, I was charged USD 13 something for downloading a book via Amazon.com. Accessing the Kindle store on the kit, took about 10-15 seconds. The unit also comes with a basic web connection/Wikipedia access as has been mentioned.

One of the primary reasons I bought the Kindle was for a newspaper subscription. You can subscribe to the Irish Times for USD 23 per month. I've taken out a 2 week free trial on the NY Times. I appreciate that you do miss pictures and some of the other features from buying the newspaper, but in my opinion that's a small price to pay. The Kindle is quite easy to use in terms of getting around the different sections of the newspaper.

For those thinking of buying, I would note:

1. Amazon sent me an email this morning advising that they've reduced the price by USD20 and I would be getting a refund.
2. The unit doesn't have it's own internal light for night time reading which is a pain. You can invest in a light on Amazon which clicks on to the Kindle.
3. If like me the unit will get some wear and tear, stay well clear of buying a leather case.

If anyone has any specific questions, I'll do my best to answer them. It will be tomorrow before I'm back on Boards.

Conor.

parsi

I caved a few days ago and it arrived today. Shortly before it arrived I got the email telling me I was due a refund.

I think it's nicer than the Sony 505 that I had - its slimmer but wider. Screen contrast also seems better. The text to speech is interesting - it works well.

Branoic

Thanks for the updates guys - I'd be interested to hear any other thoughts you have on it when using it over the next few days! One question - do either of you read fantasy novels? Its probably the genre I read most, and I'm curious how the maps at the start of the books translate to the Kindle, or even if they do translate!

Ghost Train

any import duty to pay when you this guys?

parsi

RE: Import Duty - amazon take a chunk of money (around €44) for import duty in advance. There wasn't any bill with the package. I don't know if UPS are going to turn up subsequently looking for more.

RE: Fantasy novels - I don't read them. However if you have an amazon.com account you can browse the Kindle store (set it to europe) and if theres a Kindle edition of a particular book that you know has maps drop me a PM and I'll see if I can download a sample : all the samples I've downloaded so far have started from the end-papers.

robinph

Looks like you cannot get any of the free Kindle ebooks from the international versions of the Amazon Kindle stores, only from the US one.

Edit: After a bit of login in and out of the various international versions it seems that they do have the free stuff available for the international Kindle stores, just they cost $2.30. Now no form of VAT charges $2.30 on $0.00 so this claim of that being what the price difference is for other books, is clearly rubbish.

It is probably that they are charging $2.30 for the "free delivery via whispernet".

parsi

Yep. That's a bummer alright.

However (says he switching on optimsitic mode) this is probably going to change - after all only a month ago you couldn't download even the paid books.

I like the device, the purchase process is easy, I'm currently loading other ebooks onto it that I've accumulated and they gave us a 20 buck refund already so it sort of bodes well...

stevire

How does the Kindle 2 compare to the SONY - PRS600B??

Looking to buy an ebook reader in the next couple of days, both the above models seem pretty popular and around the same price.

Anyone have any experience with either or recommend another model/brand??

DirectEbooks

A couple of points on the Kindle:

• It looks great. Also works very well as a reading device. The wireless function is also great, albeit limited.
• Compared with the Sony's, I find the screen on the Kindle inferior for glare and clarity.
• You are restricted in what books you can buy on both devices. Many eBooks are restricted geographically in the Amazon store. The sony eBook store is not available for those outside the U.S.
• With the Kindle, you MUST buy your books through Amazon.com. While their selection is very good, there is no option to shop around and publishers/authors get a raw deal from this closed system.

Overall, I feel its a personal choice matter. Both readers have their pros and cons. I'll personally stick with my Sony as I'm really happy with it so far.

parsi

DirectEbooks wrote: »

[*]With the Kindle, you MUST buy your books through Amazon.com.

You can buy from Amazon or you can source them elsewhere

DirectEbooks

Hi Parsi.

You can only buy eBooks for the Kindle through Amazon. these are in their proprietry format topaz.
The kindle does support .mobi (mobipocket) format, but only unencrypted which are rare if not impossible for new commercial titles and unavailable in any other eBookstore.
It also supports unencrpted/drm-free pdf/doc but only after a conversion process. They also charge you to send such documents wirelessly to your device, although usb transfer is free.

I'm not anti-kindle. I think its a great device, but I have issues with Amazon attempting to control the marketplace. I think that is always a bad thing for consumers. Hopefully Amazon will change their stance in the near future.

parsi

I use Calibre to manage my ebooks. I used it for my Sony and now for the Kindle.

It happily and easily converts books to add to the Kindle. This works the same was as the Sony.

Both devices seem tied to a particular store - the Sony ebook store wasn't fully available in Ireland when I had my reader and getting drm'ed books onto it was a pain.

Most folk who are heavy into ebooks seem to be managing the whole thing through calibre.

My point (though longwinded) is that you can get way more than just Amazon books on your Kindle.

DirectEbooks

Calibre is a great tool allright. how do you find the quality?
I have been trying to create my own professional standard epubs recently and its not easy!

We also need to get more irish titles out there to encourage Ebooks in Ireland for all devices.