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Kindle - Wow!


Simon-the-censored
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I suppose the thing to do then is buy your books elswhere. I presume you can upload from your computer via a USB lead? There are also places where you can buy/get free books sent straight to you Kindle no matter where you live. I like SciFi and use THIS site. Click on any of the titles for a description. If you want it click on send to my Kindle. Of course you will not get the full colour front cover to books or the pictures in downloadable magazines.

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[quote user="Jay"]I suppose the thing to do then is buy your books elswhere. I presume you can upload from your computer via a USB lead? There are also places where you can buy/get free books sent straight to you Kindle no matter where you live. I like SciFi and use THIS site. Click on any of the titles for a description. If you want it click on send to my Kindle. Of course you will not get the full colour front cover to books or the pictures in downloadable magazines.
[/quote]

 

Jay - words of wisdom at last! Although I've never had a problem with my UK registered Kindle - I don't solely download books from Amazon. As you correctly state - it comes with a USB connector.

Strewth - never seen so many knickers in a twist - back on boxing day I only wanted to share my view of this great and practical 'toy'. 300 posts and nearly 11,000 views later I'm not so sure it was a good idea !

Simon :-)

...on second thoughts it was a GREAT idea!!!! :-)

....heck, you don't think I'll be sent to the Bastille do you for 'cheating' the Kindle system ? Never been.....

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Simon,

The Kindle is a marvellous device if used for its primary function. Furthermore, it is a convenient way to access the WWW using free wifi hotspots if, like us, you have no internet access on the mobile. The problem is that Amazon are less than wholly transparent on their selling to account holders overseas.

If one opts for the .co.uk system then all is fine unless you need to order from abroad via wifi.

If one does not have a US address but has a .com account (as those who live in France should according to the Ts&Cs) the price of ebooks is inflated from the US price.

These factors appear nowhere in Amazon's promotional literature which I think is a little disingenuous - particularly as they make great play of downloading on the move.

As for the free ebooks - there are some splendid works available but also a lot of esoteric material of extremely limited appeal. I suspect that the majority of users will want the latest Lee Child, Iain Banks or whatever rather than the Dream or Just William. Which is not to dismiss the freebies, merely to allude to their limited appeal.

There's a useful website which you can use to get notified of price drops for Kindle books:

http://www.ereaderiq.co.uk/pricewatch/
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JK - Thank you for highlighting the problem that I had too.  What happened to you is exactly what happened to me.

Simon - Just because you have had no problems downloading books in France doesn't mean that others haven't.  I do believe that readers on the Forum should have a balanced view and be made aware of the problems of having a Kindle in France.  Part of my purchase process for ordering my Kindle was taking into account your superlative comments extolling its virtues.  I am glad that you created this thread because I am enjoying my Kindle but others must be warned of its shortcomings for downloading in France.

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 I did the research for Mr RH and just told him which one I wanted.[:)].....I even sent the link.......this time next week I should be the happy owner of a kindle - the only thing is I'd like to work out how to share or pass books on........

My friend who has one says she is far more tempted by new releases on the kindle than she was with actual books....

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Best tip I got was to look at thi site from time to time:

http://www.ereaderiq.co.uk/pricewatch/

If you are careful you can save a few pounds by waiting for a price drop (assuming you have enough other books to read in the meanwhile).
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[quote user="Russethouse"]

 I did the research for Mr RH and just told him which one I wanted.[:)].....I even sent the link.......this time next week I should be the happy owner of a kindle - the only thing is I'd like to work out how to share or pass books on........

My friend who has one says she is far more tempted by new releases on the kindle than she was with actual books....

[/quote]

Save it to your computer and email it to them is probably the easiest way.

All you do is hook it up to your pc via the usb cable and navigate to where the books are stored on the kindle. There's a few directories, I can't remember which one it is, but you'll know when you've hit the right one because your books will be there. On the nook it's my documents, not sure what the kindle is.

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Excuse my ignorance on this but if I download from Amazon Kindle site to a PC in France I am presuming it will  come from .com, is this correct?  The only way to download from co.uk is either to use the 3G capability, direct to the Kindle, not wi-fi, or else go back to UK! In the 34 or so pages of this thread I have got lost somewhere along the line, and as I am going back to UK in a few weeks time to pick up a Kindle 3G sent to my son's address I am keen to try to get this right!!

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C-d-L

Thanks for the reply, I just have it my mind that if I order through.co.uk the download will fail because by some totally mysterious means my PC will show up as French and I will therefore be directed to .com! Or have I got this totally a** about face?

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CeeJay. If you use a PC to order then the amazon server will detect that you are in France and will send you a message asking if you are traveling, direct you to a page that doesn't exist then stop you being able to access your account. This doesn't seem to be a problem when using 3G.

You can live in the hope that they don't find you but if you are using a PC they will. Incidentally one member of the forum claims that ''thousands'' of people living in France use .co.uk successfully. He must know a lot of people! It is worth also looking at the Kindle discussion boards on Amazon where you will find many entries from people who have been redirected to .com.

The way round this is to use a VPN to order. The books will still download to the Kindle on the sofa beside you in France - the server detects the the IP address of the device used to make the order.
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JK

Thank you, exactly the reply I was looking for, other member(s) may be a tad sanctimonious and everything works fine for them, but there are obviously lots of others that have had problems, surely it's better to cater for the Lowest Common Denominator so that everyone who wants to  enjoy this product can do so.

However the OP is to be thanked for bringing this product to our attention.

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CeeJay,

I think it's better that the problems that may occur are highlighted so that people can make an informed decision.

Using the .com site is still an excellent resource but you get the US editions and if you are not registered at a US address the costs per book are higher than .com US or .co.uk. However, this is not to condemn the Kindle but it is a factor to consider.

Trying to pretend that just having the Kindle delivered to UK and having a .co.uk a/c is enough to guarantee unbridled access to the UK store is to ignore the travails that many have had.

The Kindle is an excellent device that fulfils its purpose very well. I just think we expats just need to be aware of the potential problems, the details of which are well rehearsed on the Amazon Kindle discussion boards.
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