Amazon Kindle now available for New Zealand!

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#395364 24-Oct-2010 23:11

Just saw a Kindle book that was half the USD price on the UK store. But I got an error message at the UK store saying that I was only allowed to buy from the US store.

Any workarounds here?

This regionalization and DRM reduces my chance of spending money. I know freitasm couldn't understand how DRM reduces my spending but here is a clear example.

Elpie

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#395380 25-Oct-2010 01:31

ahmad: Just saw a Kindle book that was half the USD price on the UK store. But I got an error message at the UK store saying that I was only allowed to buy from the US store.

Any workarounds here?

This regionalization and DRM reduces my chance of spending money. I know freitasm couldn't understand how DRM reduces my spending but here is a clear example.

If you know someone in the UK you could use their address and get it shipped to them. Then when they send it to you it can attract GST & fees. I'm pretty sure you would find it cheaper to buy the Kindle from Amazon US.

The restrictions on which books you can download apply to the region you use the Kindle in, not where you buy it from, so buying one in the UK doesn't mean you can get access to the UK book list.

Removing DRM on Kindle books isn't hard & is necessary if you need the text-to-speech feature.

ahmad

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#395428 25-Oct-2010 10:07

Hi Elpie,

I think you misunderstood half my question.

I'm not looking to buy a Kindle (device) from the UK but wanted to buy a Kindle eBook from the UK store where it was HALF the US store price.

However when I tried to do this (from a Kindle for iOS device) it said I couldn't and directed me to the US store.

Just as freitasm has talked about having a NZ and a US account, I was wondering about workarounds for the UK store.

Is DRM really that easy to strip once you have the file?

Elpie

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#395477 25-Oct-2010 14:23

ahmad: Hi Elpie,

I think you misunderstood half my question.

I'm not looking to buy a Kindle (device) from the UK but wanted to buy a Kindle eBook from the UK store where it was HALF the US store price.

However when I tried to do this (from a Kindle for iOS device) it said I couldn't and directed me to the US store.

Just as freitasm has talked about having a NZ and a US account, I was wondering about workarounds for the UK store.

Is DRM really that easy to strip once you have the file?

Ah, ok, sorry about that - I did misunderstand.

I haven't tried this (yet) with Amazon UK but I imagine that if you open an account on Amazon UK (you can have accounts on both UK & US) using a different email address, and use a valid UK address you may be able to access the UK books. Buying a gift voucher from the first account and gifting it to your UK account prevents them tying the credit card details together.

Using a UK IP address would be safest.

Stripping the DRM is really easy. It takes a few minutes to set up Python & PyCrypto, if these aren't already running on your system. The script to strip is small & very effective - really just a one-click and its done. It's also legal if you need to have the book read through Kindle's text-to-speech feature (Amazon confirmed that to me).

ahmad

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#395549 25-Oct-2010 19:54

This DRM is really confusing me and it simply makes me more reluctant to spend.

I did a little more research and it seems that each Kindle can only have one account (and must have one account) registered to it?

So if I have a NZ/US account on it, and buy a book from the UK store (by workaround suggested above), then I have to DE-register the Kindle from my original account, register it to the UK account, download the book, then reverse the steps.

If Amazon decides they don't like me doing that (frequently for example) they could simple kill my Amazon account(s) and my Kindle.

Seriously??

So about this DRM stripping then - how does that work after you've stripped it? Can you transfer that stripped eBook "directly" the Kindle via USB or WiFi somehow?

kyhwana2

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#395550 25-Oct-2010 19:56

ahmad: This DRM is really confusing me and it simply makes me more reluctant to spend.

Why even bother with all the DRM crap?

ahmad

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#395553 25-Oct-2010 20:03

kyhwana2:
ahmad: This DRM is really confusing me and it simply makes me more reluctant to spend.

Why even bother with all the DRM crap?

I'm wondering that myself to be honest...

While the App Store has DRM, I find it to be flexible enough that it doesn't penalise me for spending.

I buy one App using one account and can download that to up to FIVE PC/Macs at a time. If my PC/Macs change, ever 12 months I can change the FIVE PC/Macs that I access the App from.

I can sync these Apps to an UNLIMITED number of iOS devices that connect to ANY of the FIVE PC/Macs above.

That's flexible enough for me and I (honest) don't abuse this. For the price of the Apps it's not worth the effort.

On my Xbox 360, I can access DLC on ANY Xbox 360 I'm logged into as long as I have a live internet connection. If not, it is only accessible on the original Xbox 360 that I downloaded it to. I can change the "registered" console once per 12 months.

Both examples of DRM that I can understand, and which doesn't me wonder why I paid money to be trapped within a system that penalises me as the buyer.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

kyhwana2

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#395567 25-Oct-2010 20:38

Well, with the amazon store, you can download any kindle store books as many times as you want to any devices you register on it.

freitasm

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#395583 25-Oct-2010 21:02

ahmad: I know freitasm couldn't understand how DRM reduces my spending but here is a clear example.

What? I never said that. I don't like DRM, as many of you.

hairy1

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#395609 25-Oct-2010 21:40

Just ordered one for my mum through GZ affiliate. Keen to see the e-ink in real life.

Might have to get one for my wad of PDF's for work that I get every month if it is any good at displaying PDF's with diagrams etc.

Cheers, Matt.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

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#395610 25-Oct-2010 21:41

hairy1: Just ordered one for my mum through GZ affiliate. Keen to see the e-ink in real life.

Thanks!

ahmad

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#395615 25-Oct-2010 21:52

freitasm:
ahmad: I know freitasm couldn't understand how DRM reduces my spending but here is a clear example.

What? I never said that. I don't like DRM, as many of you.

I may have misread you. I was referring to this tweet: http://twitter.com/freitasm/status/20668162697 but when I searched for it I reaslied it wasn't exactly in "support" of DRM.

I'm sick of stupid DRM implementation and it puts me off buying a Kindle (or I might just buy one and not PAY for any DRM'd books).

kyhwana2

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#395623 25-Oct-2010 22:03

ahmad:
I'm sick of stupid DRM implementation and it puts me off buying a Kindle (or I might just buy one and not PAY for any DRM'd books).

That's what I did :) Way more ebooks than are in the kindle store.

Elpie

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#395648 25-Oct-2010 23:36

ahmad:

While the App Store has DRM, I find it to be flexible enough that it doesn't penalise me for spending.

I buy one App using one account and can download that to up to FIVE PC/Macs at a time. If my PC/Macs change, ever 12 months I can change the FIVE PC/Macs that I access the App from.

I can sync these Apps to an UNLIMITED number of iOS devices that connect to ANY of the FIVE PC/Macs above.

That's flexible enough for me and I (honest) don't abuse this. For the price of the Apps it's not worth the effort.

On my Xbox 360, I can access DLC on ANY Xbox 360 I'm logged into as long as I have a live internet connection. If not, it is only accessible on the original Xbox 360 that I downloaded it to. I can change the "registered" console once per 12 months.

Both examples of DRM that I can understand, and which doesn't me wonder why I paid money to be trapped within a system that penalises me as the buyer.

With Amazon you can have the same ebooks on up to 6 different devices, depending on what the publisher allows. You also don't need to change registration of your Kindle if you don't want to. Kindle books can be read through the Kindle Reader, on your PC or phone, without ever buying a Kindle itself. The books stay available through your account and can be downloaded at any time.

Amazon allows you to register devices & unregister at will. I'd leave the Kindle registered to the account it was purchased through and just register your PC/Mac/phone/whatever for getting ebooks from Amazon UK. Unregistering the Kindle means the ebooks you previously purchased are no longer available for downloading again. You don't lose them but once deleted from the Kindle device you can't get them back on either unless you strip DRM. The DRM is tied to the device AND specific account but this doesn't matter if DRM is removed.

Calibre can convert any non-DRM kindle books to .mobi with one click. The Kindle format is just a DRM version of .mobi so stripping & converting still allows you to read the books on the Kindle.

ahmad

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#395692 26-Oct-2010 09:15

Will respect, your post just confirmed to me how crippling the DRM system on the Kindle is for the end user.

As explained above, I don't abuse the Apple system and yet it gives me so much room to move that I don't generally complain about it.

I can buy stuff from multiple Apple stores and always have it on all my devices and PCs (up to 5 PCs, unlimited number of iOS devices) and have the flexibility of changing those 5 PCs as long as it is no more than once in 12 months.

I don't have to register/deregister devices and risk my account being banned. This could also rendle my Kindle useless as well. I don't have to strip DRM in order to use content I've purchased on all the hardware that I (and anyone else in the household) own.

Please don't think I'm having a go at you because I'm not. It's simply a grumble at the way Amazon has set this up. Apple gets a lot of flak for their "walled garden" but this is much worse IMO. The number of remote "kill switches" Amazon has for this device is incredible. I'm surprised US citizens let them get away with it.

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