The Kindle – coming your way
As I have mentioned in a previous post, I seem to have acquired the status of an expert on Amazon’s ebook reader, the Kindle. My posts on this subject have been the most widely read of anything I have written here. So maybe I should just say, for those who have not already seen this, that Amazon has now announced that the Kindle can be bought by non-US customers and delivered to them, and that its wireless service for downloading books will now be usable outside the United States. Or if you prefer to read all about it in German, here you go.
I am kind of proud that I was able to acquire the Kindle, buy ebooks for it from amazon.com, and do it all from Dublin before Amazon made this change. So from now on, I’ll just be one Kindle user amongst many here.
However, for those now contemplating the purchase, I can say again that I find it an excellent device and that I have now read a large number of books on it. I am still reading paper books as well, but I find the Kindle excellent for when I am travelling, or even just when I want to take four books with me around town without wanting to carry them all. I have also looked at other ebook readers, and for me at least the Kindle is best.
I still wonder whether devices such as this, or new generation versions of such devices, will eventually supplant books. I hope not, but then again I also hope that ebook readers will become more and more successful.
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University Blog 
October 9, 2009 at 12:08 am
Imagine there will be a range of items designed for its use. In the throne-room, from the headboard and other assorted situations where the thumb in the crease was sufficient in the past. There is one situation where ownership of such an item may prove to be very expensive. In my past when a book was rubbish, something I seem to find more and more of as I get older, one could and did pitch it with force. This normally meant towards a wall.
Is this thing sturdy ?.
October 9, 2009 at 12:45 am
nice
October 9, 2009 at 9:30 am
What excites me is that latest version (I think it is called DX) supports PDF and I have countless papers and language teachning guides in that format. I find the computer a pain for reading PDFs and always print them so it will save a few trees if I can get a decent PDF reader.
October 9, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Yes, I believe it reads pdf files – though actually, the earlier Kindle did also, you just had to run the file through a conversion program that turned it into (I think) a mobipocket file, but it was easily enough done. The significance of the DX Kindle is its size, which means it allows you to read an A4 page easily.
October 20, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Can you answer this? I am travelling to the US and wonder if it is preferable financially to buy my Kindle there rather than here Ireland.
Liam Fitzpatrick
October 20, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Liam, you would be better off order from amazon.com and getting it sent here – making sure to order the international rather than the US-only version.
October 21, 2009 at 7:33 am
Thanks for your advice re buying Kindle from Amazon I have ordered it already from Amazon and lookin forward to delivery.
Liam Fitzpatrick.
December 16, 2009 at 12:50 am
Thank you for your advice regarding buying a Kindle outside of the US. I have just ordered one in time for Christmas.
March 7, 2010 at 12:02 pm
My partner decided to buy me an e-book for my birthday and chose a Kindle 2. She bought it online and had it delivered to a US address that she was due to visit where she collected it. We were unable to buy any books or download either by Whispernet or USB either in the State or since as we did not have an American Credit Card (despite the fact that the Kindle itself was purchased with an Irish Credit Card).
Emails and phone calls to Amazon direct have proved fruitless and frustrating. No marks to Amazon there!
Your recent blog suggests a Gift Certificate. Does this have to be purchased from the American site or will the UK suffice?
Can you suggest some alternative sites where I can download to my pristine Kindle?
I have spent frustrating evenings trying to solve this problem and any help would be wonderful.
April 12, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Hi Ferdinand,
Great to touch base with you again. Thanks for this information on the Kindle. It’s very helpful.
I just wanted to check if you had any technical difficulties at all using the American-bought Kindle in Ireland?
Many thanks, Fiona.
August 23, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Hi I’m thinking of ordering one of these for my daughter’s birthday but before I go for it I am wondering:
do you have to order the 3g version if living outside the US or will the cheaper (currently $139 model)one work fine? Can it be bought anywhere in Ireland or only via amazon.com? Do you have to buy an adaptor plug? Can you now download directly onto the Kindle or only via Amazon?
August 23, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Sheila, you have to buy it on Amazon, and you need to get the 3G/*international* version – the ordinary 3G version won’t work in Ireland. There are a good few sites now that offer Kindle format ebooks, some for free (classics and books out of copyright) – but for most new books you really should go to Amazon.
August 23, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Ok another question – can you use a UK address and order it from amazon.co.uk and save a few quid that way?
August 23, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Yes, you can now use a UK address, either from amazon.com or co.uk. I think it works out cheaper from .com, but I haven’t double checked that. Alternatively you can spend a bit more and get an iPad and use it as a Kindle…
October 15, 2010 at 8:08 pm
I’m sure people have asked this question already, but just not in the exact same way. I’ve just downloaded kindle for PC and realised that you can only get books form the US site. The newest Kindle is on my Christmas wishlist, and I’m not entirely sure about the restrictions that apply to Ireland (do I get the Kindle from amazon.co.uk and the books form amazon.com? Are there significant restrictions that I need to be aware of… as in, how many of the US copyrighted books are readily available in Ireland?) I’m a tad confused here. Are all the advertised features available to customers in Ireland, and if they are, what has to be done on which one of the two sites?
November 28, 2011 at 12:09 am
Thanks I found your information very helpful x
February 6, 2012 at 6:33 pm
I’m living in the States and would like to give my friend in Dublin a book- or rather, a gift card for a book, for his new kindle. I’ve googled every possible way I can think to search, but can’t seem to find an easy way to get a gift card that I’m sure will work for him. Any ideas?
February 7, 2012 at 5:19 am
There’s cash. Tried and true.