Amazon’s Kindle satisfies preferences identified by e-book readers in the United States, based on a recent survey released by Strategy Analytics. The survey reported that current e-book readers report a high level of satisfaction with their devices, and prefer e-books to physical or “dead tree” books. It also reported that e-book readers are looking for three things in their devices: ease of access to books, ease of content transfer, and newspaper and magazine availability. With more than 400,000 titles available to purchase and increased access to free content through services such as Scribd, Amazon offers superior content availability. In addition, Kindle has 107 newspapers and 50 magazines available for subscription, including most of the major US and international periodicals. Both the Kindle and Kindle DX can access Amazon’s bookstore with 60 second downloads.
The one unknown factor is the strength of Apple’s brand recognition. With its strong marketing strategy, buildin up hype prior to this month’s release of the iPad, Apple is betting on brand recognition to tip the balance in its favor. While the survey reported that Apple ran a close second in terms of preferred brand, it also said content will still trump name recognition.
“While brand name is still an important factor for current owners when choosing their next e-book reader,” commented Chris Schreiner, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics. “Consumers buying their first e-book reader will focus more on the durability and availability of e-books.”
Strategy Analytics is an international research and consulting firm that specializes in the information, communication and entertainment industries.
Amidst the price wars of content between Amazon and Apple, Scribd, the giant content sharing site, has launched a program to make its 10 million books, articles and documents compatible with the full spectrum of readers and mobile devices. Once considered to be the “YouTube” of document services, Scribd has become a hub for authors who can’t afford to self publish, and a social network for readers of similar interests. The site is currently home to more than 200,000 books, and is growing by about 10 percent a month.
CEO Tripp Adler describes a two pronged “mobile deployment” program. The first part of the attack is to make Scribd books compatible with Amazon’s Kindle and other mobile reading devices. Currently, Kindle owners can download from Scribd by using the wireless connection. Amazon charges 15 cents per megabyte for the transfer. This month, Scribd will release software that can be embedded into devices to give users “two click” access to its catalog. The second part of the program is an assortment of device specific applications that will allow smartphones to store the books on the phone’s hard drive.
Even though Amazon and Apple might not welcome all that free content to compete with their not-so-free offerings, Scribd has found a way to get around their approval. And they’ve done it by cutting software syncing tools and extra computers.
The transition to electronic textbooks, once thought to the next big boon for publishers, is meeting with surprising resistance among students and professors. Studies conducted on the Kindle DX at business schools across the country showed an overwhelming–90%–support of the ereader by students for casual reading. However only the tech savvy “power users” embraced the device for academic work. Many students and their professors, used to highlighting text and making notes in the margins, were unable or unwilling to use Kindle DX’s annotation functions. But they may be forced to catch up.
With their relative low cost, electronic textbooks are an inevitable part of higher education’s future. Not withstanding the initial purchase price, the cost storing and maintaining electronic books is less than half that of paper books. Campus librarians have already foreseen the deathof the traditional library. Rather than a storehouse for large numbers of paper volumes, the library of the not-too-distant future will be place for students to use their laptops to access the college’s digital collections.
Technology aside, there are immediate benefits that are impossible to overlook. It’s easier to haul a Kindle than the hundreds of pounds of books and study materials it replaces. Even considering the initial cost of the device, it can save money on text book costs. And it’s greener on the environment, an important consideration for academics. Lev Gonick, vice president of information technology services at Case Western Reserve, likened the resistance to ebooks to that seen with any new technology. College students, recognized for their trend setting nature, will soon become converts.
Amazon has a free application that will let Blackberry users buy and read books from directly from the bookseller’s website. Unlike Kindle’s app for the iPhone, the Blackberry application lets users purchase content seamlessly from Amazon as well as view the books already purchased for a Kindle. This could be Amazon’s way of thumbing its corporate nose at Apple for handicapping the Kindle iPhone app, making users go through the web browser rather than buy it directly through the application. In any event, Kindle for Blackberry is Amazon’s foray into the single-use device market.
It is certainly part of the company’s marketing strategy as the release of the iPad looms in the coming weeks. Many observers agree that Amazon with have to continue to brand its reader with its bookstore while simultaneously making content available to other platforms. Although that’s quite a tight rope to walk, Amazon has the one thing that Apple can’t easily get. That’s Amazon’s years of experience in both worlds.
As for the Blackberry application, it is designed to work with or without the Kindle. For Kindle users, the app will automatically synchronizes last page read and any annotations between devices. While Blackberry users will have access to Amazon’s 400,000 plus books, newspapers are not yet available through the app.
Freescale Semiconductor, whose processors are used in Amazon’s Kindle and Sony’s readers, is ready to release a new chip that will help drive down the cost of readers, perhaps to as little as $150. The Austin, Texas based company says the chip could be ready in as little as six months.
Although sales of readers are expected to double this year, from the 4 million sold in 2009, that is still a mere fraction of the book-buying market. A lower-priced reader is one way to tap a larger chunk of the market. The ticket price of readers has been a barrier to wider consumer distribution.
According to Freescale officials, the new chip eliminates features that aren’t used in e readers while adding the ability to better control the unique E ink display technology. Currently the displays are controlled by separate chips. Freescale’s faster processor is controlled by a single chip, and will reduce page turning time from two seconds to less than a half second.
Apple’s iPad, set for release later this month, uses the company’s own chip and will not benefit from Freescale’s improved technology. With price tag as high as $699, news of price cutting by its competitors couldn’t come at a worse time. Price conscious consumers, already suffering from sticker shock on the iPad, may wait for lower priced Sony or Amazon readers. And the six-month release hits just in time for Christmas gift giving.
Amazon, Kindle’s parent company, has bought a relatively unknown and new company called TouchCo. Before the buy out, TouchCo used to supply touchscreen technological solutions to companies. The company specializes in building touchscreen interfaces that have the capacity of detecting and parsing multiple touch inputs. This makes their touchscreen technology extremely useful for devices that may be shared at some point.
It also means that any touchscreen made with TouchCo’s technology will have the advantage of being extremely capable and flexible to UI changes. Amazon and TouchCo refused to talk about the deal and they haven’t mentioned the amount for which the deal was sealed. But ever since the news broke, TouchCo’s official website has put up a notice about the company not doing any business.
Those who are following the eBook market closely, are of the opinion that the market can only grow bigger over the coming years. Since Amazon is the pioneer in this field, it is expected that they would look to take their Kindle eBook reader to new heights through innovation. Post the iPad launch, a lot of people have expressed concern over Amazon’s ability to handle the competition. But it is for certain that the Kindle in its current shape is a completely specialized product that will still be the chosen reader for digital book lovers.
However, the purchase of TouchCo shows that Amazon is still interested in making a device that conforms to the current trend of touchscreen tablets. Since Amazon has not declared what the wish to do with the company, we can only speculate what direction the Kindle will take.
Most are of the opinion that the popular eInk Kindle will remain and a complimentary model will be produced that will have features that directly compete with the iPad. The recently released KDK (Kindle Developers Kit) is also taken as a sign of such a thing to come.
Almost a year ago I posted about Kindle 2 being broken by air-travel. Well this time if was Kindle DX that got it… I was returning from a vacation with my parents and since there were many of us travelling and all of us love reading, Kindle DX that was usually stay-at-home kind was taken along for a want for more portable e-Readers. Once the plane was in the air my Mom tried to power it on and instead of Walter Scott novel saw some horizontal lines that I was all too familiar with. This time around they were accompanied by some vertical lines.
Since this time around I didn’t power the Kindle on after I’ve cleared security I can’t tell for sure where it was ruined by X-ray machine (which I still consider unlikely but not impossible) or by slight decease in cabin pressure that accompanies the take-off.
As usual Amazon customer service was top notch. Within 24 hours of a phone call there was a new Kindle DX on my porch. I secretly hoped that Amazon wouldn’t have any CMDA B004 Kindle DX left and that the replacement would be a newer GSM B005 Kindle DX with better battery life but unfortunately it wasn’t so. Even so I can’t really complain.
One of the three 'Movie Novella' series currently available
Now don’t get too excited. Kindle’s e-Ink display still has a long way to go before you can watch movies on it. I am talking about the kind that you can read. This is about a new kind of eBook that has been created especially for Kindle readers or so says RedCar’s Peter K. when he contacted us.
From what I gather, ‘created especially for the Kindle’ basically means that the author anticipates being read solely on a device like the Kindle and formats the book accordingly. That means you will have a better reading experience for the most part when compared to a non-optimized eBook. But that’s not what author and RedCar founder Lawrence Bridges is looking to do.
It looks like this optimization came as a necessity when he decided to create an experimental new form of eBook writing. He has created what he calls – “Movie Novellas”. My best guess after reading that name was ebooks that present movies in short prose. But it’s more than that. Lawrence has created a form of story telling via ebooks that resembles the way you see an episodic TV series or special feature.
He has written three series that are currently available in short installments of about 40 pages each. These serialized stories work just the way TV shows do. They have their memorable moments, drama, suspense – all through short and easy to follow chapters. There are cliffhangers at the end too. The idea is to make you follow through to the next installment, just like you would want to watch the next episode if this was TV.
Lawrence has been in the filmmaking business for a long time and it his definitely his experience in filmmaking that gave rise to this idea. If you want to know more about the author or want to start reading these cinematic works of fiction, get over to Amazon.
Amazon may face tough competition from Google in the year to come but now they seem to be on top of things as Kindle eBook Reader sales skyrocketed in November.
Amazon.com said on Monday that its Kindle electronic book reader posted its best sales yet in the month of November, as rivals struggle with fulfilling their customer orders.
The online retailer said shoppers were buying several Kindles at once as holiday gifts, while businesses and organizations were buying the device “in large quantities” for employees or clients. Amazon does not provide precise data on Kindle sales.
Kindle’s main competitors, Sony and Barnes&Noble on the other hand reported their new products sold out and shipments delayed even before the holiday season actually started. While this indicates high demand for their products, it would give them little comfort as some of “could-have-been-their” customers are going to instant gratification here and now with Amazon as they have no other option for wireless-enabled eReaders.
B&N is new to eReader market and it’s understandable how they could mess up on their first entry attempt. Sony on the other hand has been in the exact same situation before when they released PRS-500 in 2006. The device was immediately sold out on US market and unanavailable internationally for months to come. A friend of mine who back then lived in Europe via community forums tracked down a US store that had a whooping 5 units in stock of which I bought all to be sent to my friend and his coworkers. Back then scalpers were making a killing on eBay as Sony PRS-500 sold for 150%+ of retail price.
This time around though there is Amazon that is more than willing to sell Kindles to anyone who is not willing to wait for Sony eReader or a Nook.
While historically Amazon didn’t provide any Black Friday discounts for it’s Kindle eBook reader it may be possible that they’ll actually put out some kind of last minute deal in their Black Friday deals week section. Unusually high competition from Sony and Barnes&Noble along with imminent battle with Google might push Amazon to make one more move this holiday season on top of the ones they’ve done already:
Releasing international version of Kindle.
Releasing Kindle for PC application.
Releasing a major software update that likely cost them big $$$ that enables PDF on 2nd generation Kindles.
Although I’ll be checking for Kindle deals on a regular basis, if you spot one before me – be sure to leave a comment. To make this interesting, I’ll send a $50 Amazon gift card to the first person to post a link to functioning Black Friday discount deal on Kindle device, accessory or eBook. Discount must be specific to that item. When you post a comment, make sure to enter working and correct email as I’ll use it to contact the winner.
It definitely looks like I’ll have to eat my words… One month ago I made a statement that there will be fewer Kindle software updates and that chances of new features being added via update are slim. At least on the second count I was wrong. Amazon has released Kindle software version 2.3 for Kindle 2 US, Kindle 2 International and Kindle DX. It added significant features to all of these devices. In fact Amazon deemed the update so significant that they’ve sent out emails to Kindle owners about it.
Kindle 2 International (wireless by AT&T) got a significant battery life boost. You can now go for a week without having to recharge the device and keep the wireless on. Since it doesn’t apply to the US version of Kindle 2 (that uses Sprint for wireless connectivity) it looks like Amazon didn’t change the poll frequency but either fixed some bug in wireless driver or took advantage of a technology similar to PUSH email.
Both US and international versions of Kindle 2 got native PDF support based on the same code that was used in Kindle DX. Now you can also manually switch screen orientation to landscape. Kindle DX style automatic switching doesn’t work since Kindle 2 devices lack the accelerometer hardware. PDF files are better cropped now as blank margins don’t use up valuable screen space. This is especially important for small 6″ Kindle screens since PDF viewer still lacks zoom feature.
Since all Kindle versions now support PDF, sending PDF file to @kindle.com email will no longer convert it to native Kindle format by default. If you still want the conversion to happen, you should put the word “Convert” in the email subject.
Kindle DX screensaver activation time was increased from 5 minutes to 20 minutes. This makes sense since larger screen can contain more text that takes longer to read.
All Kindle versions will not require signed update packages. This problem however has already been solved.
Normally you Kindle would update itself automatically if you have wireless connectivity. However if you do not or the update failed because you had hacks installed, you can update Kindle manually. This time around though, rather than trying to hit dynamic URLs that are supposed to always provide the latest version, you can download the update from the appropriate static location. These locations are listed on Amazon.com Help page.
By bringing all Kindle devices to the same version, Amazon will simplify software development process in the long run. They may change the update process in the future to cut the update delivery costs. 2.3 update package was around 10 megabytes large. If they keep the current method update packages will get only larger.
At the moment there is no update for 1st generation Kindle. And dare I make another prediction – the chances of it happening are rather slim.
While we are on the topic of updates. There might be another update currently in the works in Lab126. On Kindle Facebook page Kindle developers have posted the following message:
Amazon Kindle Kindle Customers, We have heard from many of you that you would like to have a better way to organize your growing Kindle libraries. We are currently working on a solution that will allow you to organize your Kindle libraries. We will be releasing this functionality as an over-the-air software update as soon as it is ready, in the first half of next year. – The Kindle Team
Personally I have just one question left: Where are the bleeping Unicode fonts? Amazon, seriously! Is it too much trouble to replace the current fonts with ones that support wider range of characters? Although with PDF support in place there is workaround via PDF font embedding, it would be nice to have native support as well.
I guess this leaves me with little choice but to recompile Kindle Unicode Font Hack to work with Kindle Software 2.3… I’ll post as soon as it’s ready and tested.
The Kindle 2 International continues on its path to global coverage, this time reaching Canada. The International Kindle, with its free global roaming wireless connection has attracted a lot of international buyers and Canada was one of the many countries where the launch of the device is highly anticipated.
Amazon declared earlier last week that Canada is now amongst the countries that they officially ship to. While Amazon’s delay to support a nation so close to the US has raised a few eyebrows, it has to be understood that international trade laws can be pretty stringent. So finalizing business deals sometimes takes an unnaturally long time, which is lamentable but unavoidable in certain situations.
Now the wait is finally over for Canadians and Kindles have already started being shipped up North. If there was ever an eBook reader that a large number of international customers wanted, it has to be the Kindle. And this fact is not lost on Kindle’s competition.
Sony has followed Amazon to Canada and has started shipping their own eBook readers there. But till date Sony lacks the kind of content that Kindle readers have easy access to with each and every Kindle. So it doesn’t look like Amazon will be threatened by Sony’s readers anytime soon. But that does not mean that Sony will not do anything about it.
As it turns out, Sony is planning its own online store, called SonyOnline Service. Their primary target is iTunes but it is likely that they would want to provide content for all their devices and that logically should include Sony’s eBooks readers. However, if their content is as limited as their eBook reader and as unimaginative as their online service name, Amazon will have the last laugh on this one.
Personally I’m used to updating software. Pretty much every week one or another piece of software on my PC updates – be it Windows itself, the antivirus, iTunes or whatever. I’ve subconsciously come to expect the same from Kindle. And at first Kindle firmware did update quite frequently:
September 3 (136 days later) – Kindle software 2.0.4 is released but it takes a while for this update to find it’s way to all users. Kindle DX 2.1.1 is also out but I’m yet to get mine…
As you can see it seems that Kindle 2 got several updates soon after release and then there was silence.
Early update rush was caused by bugs in the new software. One or two updates were caused by law suit (Text-to-speech, and Orwell book deletion). However, note that none of the updates introduced new features. I guess Amazon sticks to the policy – don’t fix it if it ain’t broken.
Kindle DX and Kindle international share most of the software with original Kindle so there is little room for new critical bugs.
But most importantly, the number of Kindles in operation has exploded since the beginning of 2009. And this is probably the most important reason why we will not see many Kindle updates in the future and probably none of them will be feature driven. Amazon pays Sprint 12 cents per megabyte transferred. It would be safe to assume that Amazon gets similar pricing from AT&T for domestic traffic and a much higher price for data roaming. Average Kindle update is 2 megabytes in size. Because of the way Amazon structures the update packages, this accumulates as each subsequent update includes all previous updates as well. So first update was 2 megs, second one was 4, third – 6, etc.
6 megabytes times 12 cents is $0.72 per device updated. By some estimates there may be 2..3 million Kindle devices in operation. Let’s assume that 80% of devices are within wireless coverage (although in reality this number can be much higher). This adds up to $1,440,000 to $2,160,000 per software update deployment and increasing with every update version. And this is just to update domestic Kindles. I wouldn’t even want to think about the pricing to worldwide distribution. Also I wouldn’t want to be the software developer who makes a critical bug that causes an update or that software developer’s boss for that matter…
Given these numbers I don’t believe that Amazon would release update unless they have a very strong reason to do so. Strong reason being a court order or something else of this sort. This more or less addresses they questions of where Amazon will add folders, PDF support for Kindle 2 or official Unicode fonts for that matter via an update. The answer is a definite NO.
On the issue of fonts I’m most sure since Unicode fonts in the updates that I use (that add only partial support without all of the font styles) are 1.5..3 megabytes. Proper Unicode support can easily add up to 10 megabytes. So this would mean millions of dollars spent with potential to spend more millions in the future and near zero return of investment since although many people would like to have this feature, for most of them it’s not a deal-breaker (especially since on Kindle DX you can have any kind of fonts via PDF files). The few books that have non-Latin characters that Amazon sells use Topaz format to embed the extra glyphs that they need. So adding Unicode fonts would help customers read books that Amazon doesn’t sell. In this light the question about Unicode fonts via an update for existing devices is a no-brainer.
It is possible that this support would be included in Kindle 3 or whatever else the next generation Kindle will be called since in this case the cost for Amazon is just licencing fee for the fonts.
Today, during the Windows 7 launch event, Amazon and Microsoft demonstrated “Kindle For PC”, desktop eBook reader application that will run on Windows XP/Vista/7. This application allows anyone with a PC and Internet connection to shop in Amazon eBook store that currently has 360,000+ books. The software is free to download and offers all of the functionality of Amazon Kindle device minus slow eInk refresh rate and lack of color, plus all of the multi-touch coolness of Windows 7 (Microsoft’s latest operating system). It can download books, synchronize reading positions, notes and bookmarks. In one of the videos it looked like the cover was in color and of better image quality than what is sent to Kindle devices over Whispernet.
I wonder if magazine and newspaper subscriptions would be available…
Here are several hands on videos about the application:
…
As competition is heating up in the eReader/eBook market, Amazon and other companies are trying every possible way to stay competitive. I believe that Amazon could have released this app years ago. After all there is no rocket science in it – it’s just a eBook reader. Something that existed for years by companies such as Microsoft, Sony, B&N. However this didn’t happen. Partially because it was hard to convince publishers to put their valuable content on something as easily hackable as home PC, but mostly because there was little point to it. Computer screens are not meant for book reading. However this holiday season anything goes if it helps you stay competitive.
I don’t think that people would actually read a lot on this desktop app, even with modern tablets and netbooks. However the app will act as free advertising. People will download it, get a couple of books. They might like the concept of eBook and Amazon book store but not reading from the computer screen in particular. Some of them will end up buying a Kindle, especially since you can now get one as cheap as $149.00.
For me personally, I don’t see much use for PC eReader other than finding relevant data and I want to reference or quote quickly. It would be nice if the app supported at least limited amount of copy-paste (unlike the Sony app) but I wouldn’t bet on it.
The app is due to be released in November. Apple Mac OS version will follow several months later.
With eBooks finding their way from dedicated reading devices to multipurpose computers, the next logical step would be an online eBook reader. And I bet at least one company will come up with one in 2010.
Meanwhile this move is almost free for Amazon since desktop application doesn’t incur high cost of wireless access (users have to provide the Internet) which is substantial for Amazon. It also signifies an alliance between Amazon and Microsoft and it’s pretty obvious that they are allied against Google. Since Microsoft is trying to compete with Google in web search for years and Google is about enter eBook business.
BTW I’ve just installed Windows 7 myself and it does totally rock!
I’ve been keeping track of the number of books that is available to every country with the intent of publishing the delta like the previous one. However in the last couple of days updates were so many that it doesn’t make sense to highlight any country in particular. Pretty much every since one has gotten 10..80K extra books between the announcement of international Kindle release and the actual ship date which is today. The few countries that didn’t see any change were the ones who started with high book counts to begin with (more than 280,000).
After the release of international Kindle was announced, several people have complained that many interesting books were not available to their non-US Amazon accounts. Hopefully these changes should at least partially solve this problem.
If you have previously tried to buy a Kindle book and couldn’t because of geographical restrictions, you try it now and drop a comment here whether it worked on not.
While browsing the announcements about Kindle 2 international launch I’ve stumbled upon a post on electricpig.co.uk in which James Holland claims that Amazon UK spokesman Ben Howes telling that “we (Amazon) expect to add a Kindle DX family member with international roaming sometime next year.”
This is interesting piece of news, although you can hardly call it surprising since there is obviously demand for such a device, “sometime next year” is a rather wide period of time (I’m sure that Amazon will release something and Kindle DX seems logical), also there is little that is preventing Amazon from releasing such a device:
Hardware and software changes are rather trivial and low cost.
Amazon managed to untangle the horrible mess called international copyright law and publishing rights and implement geographical restrictions for books based on country and still come up with decent number of books for most of the 169 countries to which Kindle 2 will start shipping on October 19.
They’ve managed to set up wireless connectivity in 100+ countries by taking advantage of AT&T roaming agreements. While data prices are substantial and infer usage restrictions (international download surcharge, no web-browsing, etc) but it works for Kindle 2 and it will work for Kindle DX
Amazon had distribution and logistics set up and figured out long before Kindle 1 was released.
So you would ask why not release it now? There are several possible reasons and most likely all of them play a role to a different degree each:
If Amazon does two releases that are several months apart, they would generate hype twice and benefit from two spikes in sales. If they were to release both devices together I doubt there would have been twice as much hype. I think that Amazon is carefully timing their releases and price drops to maintain maximum possible customer attention to their product in the long run. After all Amazon was selling products made by other companies (some of them quite hyped, like iPod Touch), they know sales volume and how much does it spike after a piece of news and at what pace it then drops. And it would make total sense for them to use this knowledge to their advantage.
It’s easier and cheaper to test new technology (3G GSM modem integration) on one device and then apply your experience to integrating this technology into another device. It’s also easier to retool one production line than two. If you consider the fact that Kindle DX was sold out for almost a month this summer it makes sense that Amazon would like to avoid disruptions in production if they can.
Perhaps international Kindle DX will include additional features like better PDF support, touchscreen or some other innovations. These take time to develop. Taking a pause would also let Amazon see how Sony touchscreen eReaders would fare and make a decision on whether to go down that road or not.
If you look in the upper left corner of BlogKindle.com you will see that Amazon already sells 6 Kindle devices, all with different price points. Adding another one might confuse customers too much and disrupt the buying process. So Amazon would likely phase out US version of Kindle 2, merging it with refurbished Kindle 2. Then they would have 6 months before they would need to worry about reselling refurbished international Kindles.
If I were to guess when would Amazon roll out international Kindle DX I would say: “not for another 4 months” since this seems to be the pace they’ve set this year and considering that Amazon just did their “holiday season release” and it would make little sense to dump something on the unsuspecting customers amid holidays.
In June Amazon dropped the price on Kindle 2 by $60.00 only 4 month after it was originally released. Today, 4 month later, Kindle 2 price dropped by another $40.00. You can now purchase brand new K2 for $259.00. So in eight months since the release the price went down $100.00 or nearly 28%
It looks like competition from Sony, Google, Plastic Logic and other players is forcing Amazon to cut prices to stay competitive. In a recent interview Jeff Bezos claimed that Amazon can now cut the price because larger production and sales volume resulted in cost reduction and they are passing some of the savings to the customers.
In case you’ve purchased your Kindle for $299.00 within the last month you can call Amazon Kindle support and ask for a $40.00 refund to match the price drop. Several users have confirmed that Amazon easily gives these out and sometimes they are flexible and will give you a refund even if you have had your device for slightly more than a month.
We are sorry…
We could not process your order because of geographical restrictions on the product which you were attempting to purchase. Please refer to the terms of use for this product to determine the geographical restrictions.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Ultrasuft and HotSpot Shield, VPN and similar solutions seem to work. However they are not feasible for all users. I’m investigating the issue in depth.
Update: It’s all made clear with the international release of Kindle. Not all books are available to all countries. Geographical restrictions are here to stay. Though with time most books will be available to all countries IMHO.
The method to trick Amazon into selling you a Kindle if you live outside of US was long known. There hundreds if not thousands non-US people using Amazon Kindle nowdays. However, recently, according to this thread on mobileread.com forums, please using this method started getting the following message when trying to buy a Kindle book:
We are sorry…
We could not process your order because of geographical restrictions on the product which you were attempting to purchase. Please refer to the terms of use for this product to determine the geographical restrictions.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
We are sorry…
We could not process your order because of geographical restrictions on the product which you were attempting to purchase. Please refer to the terms of use for this product to determine the geographical restrictions.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
There could be several things that are going on:
Software bug. Several users have reported Amazon.com website having some glitches recently.
Amazon did this unintentionally. It could be that they’ve rolled out a general system for geographically targeting or restricting certain products (not just Kindle books) and this message is one of the effects of this system. Perhaps it’s related to upcoming Kindle UK release… If that were the case, based on my own experience with software industry I would estimate that UK launch to be within weeks from now since it doesn’t make sense to make changes to production website that makes millions of dollars worth of sales per day long before you plan to release something. It can be Amazons major move for this holiday season and it would totally make sense. Though this is 100% my speculation.
Amazon specifically targeted Kindle books. Most likely this is because one of the non-US copyright holders found out that their intellectual property is sold in their country (ex: France) and they are not getting their rightful share of profits. Then they demanded action from Amazon and Amazon blocked Kindle books for non-US IP addresses. Let’s explore this possibility in detail…
The last scenario is yet another manifestation of how complex international copyright system is. Usually different publishers have rights to the same book in different countries. This worked well for paper book publishing since few people would like to purchase foreign edition of the book due because they would rather read it in their native language. It didn’t make sense to transport books internationally since they are heavy and it’s cheaper to print them close to where they will be sold. However when books went digital this legacy system started causing a lot of grief to publishers, book sellers and most of all to the customers. This was recently demonstrated by events surrounding Orwell’s 1984. Perhaps in the future publishing industry will adapt and embrace the global economy…
In this particular matter I doubt that Amazon would go do great pains to strictly enforce geographical restrictions on Kindle books. Mostly it’s because relatively few people used this loophole and amount of money involved is not significant. If Amazon were to press the issue, it would generate bad publicity just as Orwellioan deletion did. So they’ll only do what is needed to get the particular publisher happy. So I’m sure in time people will find a workaround for this problem.
One good way to try would be to have a separate browser that uses US pusroxy for all interactions with Amazon.com website from the day you create your new account. I’d recommend using real HTTP proxy that you configure in your browser rather than anonymizer websites that load destination websites in a frame as these are prone to bugs. The following proxy list would be a good place to start.
If you are affected by this issue or can add valuable information about the topic – please post a comment.
Update:
“Many thanks to Caroline Wong from the amazon forums for giving a hint to the solution. Amazon is now checking the IP address for those without a valid one-click payment option – generally those purchasing with gift certificates. You need to do a VPN to a US ip address – just do a google on “VPN to US” and download the software. Just run the software before any amazon session. Just bought 3 kindle books of amazon using gift certificates.”
So it looks like it is IP-related. Using public US proxy or VPN should solve the problem. I’ll look into the UltraSurf software and will post a review once I’ve tested it myself.
Amazon specifically doing the check for people without one click buying option would explain why most US residents travelling abroad like me will not be affected by this change.
Update 2:
I’ve just received the following email:
Hello.
I’m the guy who started the “Am I Screwed?” post on mobileread.com.
I update the thread. The problem is now over. People can buy books normally again, without needing to use a US IP. Amazon says it was a temporary glitch.
I myself (in Canada) just bought a book normally and successfully.
So it looks like this might be a side effect of upcoming international release or a simple bug.
Thanks to everyone who helped contribute information on the issue.
In the swarm of controversy around Amazon’s book-deletion, Amazon managed to mostly finish cleaning things up with their customers. One thread left unresolved, however, had been the the lawsuit. A student began a suit against Amazon when the deletion of 1984 and Animal Farm from his Kindle resulted in losing the notes for his homework. The suit has now been settled and Amazon owes $150,000.
This amount obviously won’t hurt Amazon. The company probably avoided the pursuit of a larger, class-action settlement by preemptively offering $30 refunds to everyone effected. The amount is what was settled on as appropriate for the plaintiff’s specific damages.
My favorite part about this story has to be the plans of the law firm. This kind of litigation has a reputation of being simple money-grabbing, but that’s not the case here. The lawyers seemed to be involved simply because they didn’t agree with the actions Amazon took. As such, they are donating all of their earnings from this suit to charity. They launched the suit jut to tell Amazon something, and I think that they were successful.
I’ve covered before the possible applications that the Kindle and other eReaders could have in education. With Amazon’s pilot program for Kindle usage at universities, this semester is a testing of the waters for the future of eTextbooks. The students involved have begun to voice their impressions, and they’re not entirely satisfied.
Does this mean that eReader adoption in the academic world will slow down? Probably not. The whole point of the Kindle trial is to see what works, and what doesn’t, when eReaders are put in the classroom. So far students like the convenience of textbooks in the Kindle platform, but aren’t happy about studying with it. Complaints are mainly about the inconvenience of note taking and flipping between passages when compared to traditional books.
But these complaints aren’t surprising. The Kindle isn’t designed as an academic tool. The whole reason for its success is that it is an entertainment device, created for the purpose of reading books for entertainment. The opposite would be something like the Plastic Logic, which was created explicitly for the business world with entertainment as a secondary goal. Chances are, Amazon is planning something similar to the touchscreen enabled Plastic Logic, some sort of Kindle academic edition. Touch screen would be the most obvious addition, but a school oriented Kindle will probably find other ways to innovate as well. The pilot program means that Amazon now has tons of data explaining exactly what students need from an academic eReader. I don’t see why Amazon wouldn’t use it.
The Kindle is great for what it does, but it is by design somewhat limited to Amazon’s vision. I’ve written on this blog before about allowing third party developers on the Kindle. It looks like with the upcoming holiday season, talk over whether Amazon should release an SDK has started again.
New York Times makes the argument that since Amazon won’t likely release any new hardware (Both the Kindle 2 and DX are new enough that they’ve never been holiday gifts), it may be beneficial for them to find some new way to innovate before the holidays. Creating an SDK where anyone could make and sell applications would not only increase the Kindle’s possibilities, but also give it a sort of iPhone recognition for innovation.
Of course, Amazon hasn’t already done this for a reason. Perhaps over the worries of the publishers, or fears of piracy that could result from opening up the ecosystem, Amazon has not allowed third parties into the Kindle. But here is where the iPhone example really applies. iPhone apps undergo a nearly draconian review process, yet the iPhone and its apps continue to be a commercial success. Amazon could easily decide to create a Kindle app marketplace where they vetoed any programs that, say, abused the wireless or allowed ePub on the device. Some people would definitely gripe about the restrictions, but the sdk would still be an overall success. Like the NYTimes article suggests, apps could be created for medical or other specialized niches. The apps would be in high enough demand and would still be okay with Amazon.
One easy entry into Kindle apps could be board games like chess, go, checkers, monopoly, etc. These can be computationally light, especially if you are playing against the Internet server or another human, cause minimal wireless traffic and look well on Kindle’s eInk display. Right now there are two games on Kindle DX – minesweeper and Gomoku. More can be easily added – either free or for a charge. The ecosystem need not be as open as iPhone from the start and can still bring Kindle success. Lets not forget that even for iPhone it took a year for App store to materialize.
Will this really happen? In my opinion it’s a coin toss. Amazon has to come up with something to generate some Kindle buzz this holiday season when competition is stepping on it’s heels. And I’m pretty sure they will. But it might not be an app store.
Also, just wanted to say thanks to the New York Times for linking to Blog Kindle. Hello any new readers!
As of 26th of September 2009, the Kindle version of The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown is no longer outselling the hardcover on Amazon. Perhaps all of the Kindle crowd who wanted it purchased the book and already have it so the sales peaked and the dropped while folks who read paper books are still generating the steady demand for the hardcover.
After being sold out since September 21st, refurbished first generation Kindles is back in stock again. You can it for $149 .00 while supplies last. Last batch of refurbished Kindle 1s lasted around one week.
It looks like Amazon is reconditioning these in batches but they seem to sell faster than they are being reconditioned. Which is no wonder given the low price point. Here’s why refurbished Kindle 1 may be a good idea to buy. I have one as a loaner to give to friends who don’t have a Kindle but I want to share books with. While this has the limitation that I can only share books with one friend at a time, the upside is that we can both read the book at the same time and share notes.
I’ll be monitoring stock status of refurbished Kindles from now on as frequently as I can and will keep you updated.
If you are new to eBook industry and would like to catch up on all of the relationships between different Amazon Kindle and other different devices and companies in the e-Book universe. This picture created by techflash.com is just the right thing for you. There is also PDF version available that has every arrow linking a related story on techflash.com. You can download it by clicking on the picture below. It will really be worth your time.
eBook Universe by techflash.com
I guess this picture really is worth a thousand words… Great work, TechFlash!
Amazon, 
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