Forums > Areas > Jalisco's Lake Chapala Region

jsandrock

Jul 19, 2008, 8:39 PM

Post #1 of 11 (5848 views)

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Amazon Kindle?

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Hi all -- does anyone here have an Amazon Kindle? And can you download books onto it through your Telmex DSL/USB connection?

(for those who don't know, it's an e-book reader and with it you can access thousands of books online and download them in Amazon and other special e-book websites)...

I thought this would make a terrific gift for my husband who is an avid reader - the little Kindle dealie can hold something like 200 books! I could pick one up in the States and bring it down with me. Supposedly up there you can easily download the books wirelessly through an arrangement they have with Sprint, or with a USB connection. I've heard that people all over the world have and use these things but when I tried to "test" download an MP3 from Amazon it wouldn' let me, the computer screen flashed "you have to be in the U.S."

I don't want to buy my husband a new toy he can't use, so I wondered if anyone around here has one, can or can't download books onto it, etc.

They say someday Amazon will have international access to Kindle books but I'm not holding my breath.

Thanks!

Jillian

taltman711

Jul 20, 2008, 12:22 PM

Post #2 of 11 (5811 views)

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Re: [jsandrock] Amazon Kindle?

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You have to have a USA based shipping address and a USA based credit card to buy the Kindle and any subsequent ebooks books from Amazon. Once the Kindle is purchased, however, you can dowload from anywhere you have an internet connection. See http://mexconnected.com/...tring=kindle;#114274 for a previous discussion. I would also suggest that you purchase a 2 or 4 Gig. SD card, as you then would have the capability to store well over 1000 text books directly in the Kindle. Audio books, which the Kindle can play, take a lot more storage space. Downloading from Mexico obviously negates the use of the Kindle's wireless "Whispernet". You must dowload to your computer and then transfer the book via USB to the Kindle. It took me longer to type this than it takes to actually do it.

Tim

Linda in Morelia

Jul 20, 2008, 5:01 PM

Post #3 of 11 (5790 views)

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Re: [jsandrock] Amazon Kindle?

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Jillian,

I have a Kindle and I love it. I bought it on my current trip to the US and I haven't tried it in Mexico yet, but I have friends who do use it in Mexico. As stated on the previous thread, you cannot download directly from Amazon to your Kindle via Amazon's wireless Whispernet service outside of the US. However, it is my understanding that you can download the Amazon Kindle book files to your computer, then transfer them from your computer to your Kindle via the USB cable they provide with the Kindle.

Now, here's the part I really like: you can download thousands (literally) of free ebooks from various non-Kindle sources to your computer, then transfer them from your computer to Kindle and read them on Kindle. If the file format is not a format that Kindle can read directly, e.g., pdf format, you can email the file to Amazon/Kindle and Amazon/Kindle will convert it for you for free and send it back to you via email (takes about 1-2 minutes) in a format the Kindle will read. I HAVE NOT TRIED THIS CONVERSION SERVICE IN MEXICO YET, SO I CAN'T GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL WORK IN MEXICO, BUT I CAN'T THINK OF ANY REASON IT WOULDN'T WORK. Perhaps someone who is using this particular Amazon/Kindle service in Mexico can verify that it works.

ANOTHER CAVEAT: the thousands of free ebooks that are available are primarily those that no longer have copyright protection, so most of the available free ebooks are the older classics--authors such as Jane Austen, Joseph Conrad, James Joyce, Leo Tolstoy, F Scott Fitzgerald, Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, William Faulkner, Emily Bronte, John Steinbeck, Willa Cather, E.M. Forster, etc.

My two favorite ebook web sites are the Project Gutenberg [http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page] and the World Public Library [http://worldlibrary.net]. There is a special opportunity right now to download free ebooks through the World Ebook Fair [http://www.worldebookfair.org], taking place between July 4th and August 4th. This fair combines many different collections, so you can search just in one place and find the authors/titles that interest you.

Being an avid reader myself, I think this would be an excellent gift for your husband.

Linda

taltman711

Jul 20, 2008, 8:05 PM

Post #4 of 11 (5779 views)

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Re: [Jim and Linda] Amazon Kindle?

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Although I enjoy books from Project Gutenberg, be aware that these books may not be formatted well and also may contain many errors--typos, dropped pages, etc. I prefer to get free books from http://www.feedbooks.com/. Also many books for download are available at http://www.mobileread.com/...rumdisplay.php?f=128. The books on MobileRead are especially well done by people who take the books from other sources such as Gutenberg and perfect them. The books on MobileRead are not in any particular order, so either do a search for a particular book, or scroll thru the entire list. There are many other sites where no cost books are located. If you would like more, let me know.
One further point of clarification, the Kindle conversion service works for some other formats, but certainly not all.See the manual for included formats. Even with the formats that can be converted, the books often are sent back very poorly formatted. The conversion service will not convert any DRMed(encrypted) material regardless of its format.

Tim

jsandrock

Jul 20, 2008, 9:45 PM

Post #5 of 11 (5763 views)

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Re: [taltman711] Amazon Kindle?

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Thanks all! I guess I was just concerned when I tried to "test" download an MP3 file (later I tried a video)from Amazon and the site wouldn't let me do it -- and I have both a U.S. credit card and a US billing address which I use for Amazon purchases (which I pick up whenever I'm in the States). I'm thinking maybe a safe thing to do would be to buy it (which I can easily do) and have it shipped to my parents' house in the States,and then when I get it, THERE open up the box and download a book or two onto it using my parents' internet, which is obviously U.S. Then from that point one would hope that the Internet Gods would just think I was on vacation or something when we download books from here (Ajijic). At least I hope that will work and there surely seem to be loads of folks out there who use these things globally.

There's also some sort of transfer service out there which I need to research which downloads the books for you in the U.S. and then e-mails the files to you for a buck or two service charge...guess I should research that too.

Does anyone think it would pay to wait for the next generation Kindle before I shell out $360?? I've heard the next one may work on true wi-fi -- and maybe that would help with the weird download stuff. Also I wonder if it ever will accept other file formats. I think the deal with the Sony book library is the same if you buy the Sony e-reader -- you are supposed to be in the U.S. to use it.

I'm so tempted to buy one and just cross my fingers that it'll work down here!

Jillian

Linda in Morelia

Jul 21, 2008, 7:52 AM

Post #6 of 11 (5742 views)

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Re: [jsandrock] Amazon Kindle?

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Who knows when the next version of Kindle will be released? I think waiting for it vs. buying it now is a personal decision based on how much one reads.

taltman711

Jul 21, 2008, 8:53 PM

Post #7 of 11 (5702 views)

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Re: [jsandrock] Amazon Kindle?

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Quote

Does anyone think it would pay to wait for the next generation Kindle before I shell out $360?? I've heard the next one may work on true wi-fi -- and maybe that would help with the weird download stuff. Also I wonder if it ever will accept other file formats. I think the deal with the Sony book library is the same if you buy the Sony e-reader -- you are supposed to be in the U.S. to use it.

I'm so tempted to buy one and just cross my fingers that it'll work down here!

The current generation is just fine. Don't get caught up on the classical "bigger and better" when dealing with tech gadgets. Kindle 2.0 will likely--opinion alert!!--be an improvement of form factor and software. The blasted thing is ugly! I think that the buttons are too large as well. Better software for sorting books is needed as well.Remember,the current Kindle is not even 1 year old! Don't count on international stuff in the near future. Remember, there are publishers distributing books in every country. A LOT of rights have to be established in many countries first. I also believe that, since the hardware needs for wireless hookup varies depending on the country, it will be a long while for that to become a reality.
Amazon does not require you to be in the USA to use the Kindle, just to "live" in the USA to buy the hardware and ebooks. You are free to download your purchases on any computer you wish.
Finally, as to other file formats, the only additional one that may be included in the future may be .epub. The Kindle will never read .lit(Microsoft), .lrf(Sony), or any of the other propriatary formats--for obvious reasons. Epub is trying to become a "universal" format, so it has a shot at being read by the Kindle. By the way, there are ways to convert these formats to Kindle friendly. This gets pretty techy, so I won't get into it. There are plenty of freebies to read, and the prices in the Kindle store are very reasonable and very often the least expensive.

Tim

jsandrock

Jul 22, 2008, 11:29 AM

Post #8 of 11 (5676 views)

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Re: [taltman711] Amazon Kindle?

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So how come when I went to download an MP3 from Amazon and an "unboxed" video, (as a test) this nasty screen came up that said "Go away, you have to be in the USA, you CANNOT download"???? Obviously it knew I was trying to download using a Telmex internet connection. I guess the Kindle downloading process from Amazon must be different since everyone says you CAN download from anywhere on the planet once you have the thing. Getting it and paying for it is not a problem -- I have the requisite U.S. address and credit card.

I guess I just want to be sure I can indeed download books once I've purchased it -- I was planning to have it sent to my parents' house in NM as I'll be there next week. Then my "fail safe" was to pick out a book I think my husband would like, register the software etc. while I"m in the States and use my parents' internet, and then download the books "fair and square" in the States, THEN package the toy back up in its box and present it to him for his birthday when I get back to Ajijic in a few weeks. Complicated but I thought it would make me feel better! And it sounds like there's no point waiting for the next iteration of it.

Thanks for all your advice...sounds like I'll be fine and if not, I suppose I can always box it back up and spend nine zillion dollars to fedex it BACK to Amazon fora refund to my credit card (from MX)

Jillian

taltman711

Jul 22, 2008, 12:22 PM

Post #9 of 11 (5666 views)

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Re: [jsandrock] Amazon Kindle?

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I don't "do" mp3s or videos from Amazon, so I can't help you with that.
Read this from the Kindle FAQ at http://www.amazon.com/...=200127480&#shop Bold and underline are mine.

"Can I use Kindle outside the wireless service area?

If you have a computer with an internet connection and a USB port, you can use Kindle anywhere in the world. You can make purchases from the Kindle Store on Amazon.com (www.amazon.com/kindlestore), download items to your computer, and transfer the files to your Kindle using the USB connection. You can access all your purchases from the Kindle Store in Your Media Library at www.amazon.com/library. You can also have personal documents converted to a Kindle-compatible format and sent to the e-mail address on your Amazon.com account."

It doesn't get much plainer than that. If you feel it won't work for you, then i respectfully suggest that you not buy it. If still interested, read all of the FAQ. It should answer all of your questions.

Tim

Daisy

Jul 23, 2008, 11:40 AM

Post #10 of 11 (5633 views)

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Re: [taltman711] Amazon Kindle?

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I have a Kindle here in Mexico that works like a charm--too well, in fact. I read reviews of new books on internet sites and immediately check Amazon to see if there's a Kindle edition. Very often there is. I do 1-click to order the book. It goes instantaneously into my online Amazon media library. Then I go to My Account, verify that the book is there (it always is), then download it to my PC. Whenever I'm ready, I connect the Kindle to my PC via the usb cable and I've got my book. I can do all that in less than a minute. I love being able to immediately access new books, and I love the fact that the price is usually equivalent to a paperbook: most new books are only $9.99. Older books are less. We're contemplating a second Kindle. It's NOT the same as a book; I much prefer to have a book in my hands and later see them on the bookshelves. But when access is limited, it's the next best thing.

jsandrock

Jul 24, 2008, 1:05 PM

Post #11 of 11 (5598 views)

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Re: [Daisy] Amazon Kindle?

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Thanks for all your input! I'm a-gonna git me one and give it to my husband for his bday and I bet he'll be thrilled with it...sounds like a really neat toy. I'm sure I will be the next one on my block to get one since he surely won't part with his once he has it up and running!

mil gracias,

Jillian