1) Updates
2) Preamble
3) How to buy a Kindle in Singapore
4) How to buy Kindle e-books in Singapore
5) Kindle pictures and shipment info
6) Calibre eBook management
7) PDF documents
8) Magazines
9) Usage in strong sunlight
10) Proof of residency email
11) Kindle 3 with Special Offers (NEW!)
12) Past newspaper mentions
Updated 13 November 2011: This post will no longer be updated. I'll continue the discussion at the new Kindle Touch entry.
Updated 28 September 2011: New Kindles! Starting US$79! This will really shake things up. I just preordered the Touch!
2) Preamble
3) How to buy a Kindle in Singapore
4) How to buy Kindle e-books in Singapore
5) Kindle pictures and shipment info
6) Calibre eBook management
7) PDF documents
8) Magazines
9) Usage in strong sunlight
10) Proof of residency email
11) Kindle 3 with Special Offers (NEW!)
12) Past newspaper mentions
Updated 13 November 2011: This post will no longer be updated. I'll continue the discussion at the new Kindle Touch entry.
Updated 28 September 2011: New Kindles! Starting US$79! This will really shake things up. I just preordered the Touch!
Updated 14 May 2011: I've just received the new Kindle with Special Offers
. It's only USD$114; pictures below. I've also got a second Kate Spade Kindle case to go along with it.Updated 24 February 2011: New Kindle advertisement, "The Book Lives On."
Updated 25 January 2011: My Kindle lighted cover has stopped working. Click here to read the refund story.
Updated 19 January 2011: Digital Life has a cover story on e-readers and the Kindle. There's just one thing. Hotspot Shield VPN is mentioned but I don't recommend it for the time being. (click = big)
Updated 17 September 2010: I'm getting reports from folks who are having problems with the Hotspot Shield VPN; it's not working for some reason. Do consider an alternate VPN. Amended buying procedure.
Updated 6 September: I received my Kindle 3! Updated price and took some new pictures with comments.
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The book is one of the most ingenious inventions of all time. However, the book wasn't something that was created in one day. It has evolved continually starting with papyrus in Egypt then to Chinese scrolls then to movable type with the Gutenberg press. And it's now digitalised in the form of portable reading devices that allow you to read e-books. The best selling reading device now is the Amazon Kindle.Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos just announced that sales of Kindle e-books have overtaken hardcover sales, and will overtake sales of paperbacks in 12 months. I just find that really astonishing. It's one of those things that you've heard about: things happen so fast in Internet time, and we're right in the middle of this revolution.
The next iteration of the Kindle is the new Third Generation device which is now USD139. (I bought the Kindle 2 for USD359 in May last year. What a price drop!) I've just pre-ordered the WiFi-only Kindle 3 after it's first shipment was sold out even before the product is released at the end of this month. I am now queuing in the second wave and will update this post when that happens.
Here are some reasons I've chosen the Kindle 3 instead of other reading devices:
Best online shopping company in the world: Even before the arrival of the Kindle, I've always bought books from Amazon. They are always reliable, have a great selection and website with lots of customer reviews.
Excellent support: Amazon's customer service support is legendary in the industry. I've called them a few times myself and have consistently received the highest level of service. It offers 30-day money back and price drop guarantee and I believe e-books are returnable too.
Best reading device: The Kindle is meant to 'disappear', a design philosophy that is very rarely adopted by product designers and suggests a sublime understanding of how it should be made and positioned. The user interface is intuitive and easy to use. The latest generation has eInk that improves contrast by 50%; very close to real paper, so they say. It's also probably the most user-friendly e-Ink reader.
Largest selection of books: The Kindle store doesn't claim to have every book there is, but my impression is that it does have the largest selection. I recently bought The HP Phenomenon and it could only be found in the Kindle store.
Best Laugh: One of the main reasons why Amazon is my top choice is due to CEO Jeff Bezos. (Just like how Steve Jobs is god to the fanbois lol) Jeff has one of the heartiest laughs I've ever heard. Most reports also suggest that's one of the most down to earth billionaires ever. I am happy to do business with folks like him.
In the meantime, if you're interested to see what the fuss is about, Bezos has a wonderful interview with Charlie Rose and it's really worth a look to see what makes Amazon tick and where the book market is going in the near future. The full 40-minute interview is here.
How to buy a Kindle in Singapore
Here are the steps I use. Do note that Amazon doesn't officially support Kindles in Singapore. There are instances where buyers were found to be not from 'authorised countries' and their accounts were disabled. Your mileage may vary. Caveat Emptor. Other than that, things have worked really well for many local Kindle users.
- Create an Amazon account if you don't already have one.
- Go to the Kindle page and buy yourself a Kindle. It will be automatically linked to your Amazon account. I prefer the WiFi-only version rather than the 3G+WiFi version. The added 3G isn't really necessary because worldwide surfing isn't guaranteed. Also, additional costs will be incurred for the transfer of documents if 3G (AT&T roaming) is used when there is no WiFi.
- Ship it to a third party mail forwarder. I use Borderlinx who will then ship it to Singapore. Comgateway seems fine too though I've not tried them myself.
- When you get your Kindle, you need to register it if it hasn't already been registered. After connecting to wifi at home>settings, register it by filling in your Amazon username and password at home>settings>register.
Some preparatory steps to take before buying books from the Amazon US store
- Firstly, do NOT buy books using your Kindle's Whispernet/3G/WiFi. Don't buy from Kindle apps too.
- You need to buy books using your Internet browser on your computer with a VPN installed. Use a VPN such as AlwaysVPN to make yourself situated in the US, in spirit. You may turn it off later when you're done purchasing. I can share my AlwaysVPN account with local Kindle users. Do not use Hotspot Shield; it's known not to work sometimes.
- Exit your Internet browser.
- Switch on your VPN. Open your browser.
- Go to Manage your Kindle at the Kindle product page.
- Go to 'your country'. Change your country to US if it's showing another country. Use any US address.
- Buy a gift card with your local credit card, say USD50. Email the gift card to your email address. When you re/ceive it in the mail, apply the gift amount to your Amazon account.
- Go to your account, 'manage payment options', and erase your credit card info if you have any credit cards associated with Amazon.com . (Do this also whenever you buy something at Amazon using your local credit card.)
- Again, do NOT buy e-books (even if the books are free) using the Kindle's Whispernet/3G/WiFi.
- Ensure that you have sufficient funds in your account. If not, buy more gift cards and apply them to your account.
- Exit your Internet browser
- Switch on your VPN, open your Internet browser and go Amazon
. Find your book and click 'buy now with 1-click', 'deliver to your Kindle'. If you choose to wirelessly send it to your Kindle, you should receive the book in less than a minute. You can also choose to download the file and transfer it to your Kindle using USB. If asked for the billing address, use any US address. Not that this address will not be used because funds will originate from your gift card balance.
- Switch off the VPN
(Kindle 3 WiFi) + USD60 (Kindle Lighted Leather Cover) + SGD 24 (Borderlinx shipping) = around SGD 300. The screen is just totally unbelievable; I can't see the difference between a printed page and the new E-Ink Pearl screen. More pictures below with additional comments. (click = big)
Free Amazon shipping (5-9 days). The shipment arrived at Borderlinx in 4 days, way sooner than Amazon's conservative figure.
The fee charged by Borderlinx was SGD23.42. There were no additional GST, import fees etc. DHL's tracking system is GOOD!
This is quite interesting. First time users of E-Ink will try to peel the instructions sticker from the screen. Problem is: it's not a sticker; it's the screen!
The Kindle Lighted Burnt Orange Leather Cover
is a thing of beauty; very well constructed and the light is just fantastic! The price (USD59) is also...uh... quite fantastic!
is a thing of beauty; very well constructed and the light is just fantastic! The price (USD59) is also...uh... quite fantastic!
The browser is fast. Obviously it's meant for casual browsing but it does work quite well.
A comparison between Kindle 2 and 3. There is no contest: the black of the K3 is really much blacker.
11 September 2010 update
Having used the new Kindle 3 for a few days, I must say that it's wonderful device. Because my first Kindle was a Kindle 2 with no wireless (it's a CDMA device for the US market), the addition of WiFi is making a huge difference.
Firstly, I only need to use the VPN to buy books and the book get transferred wirelessly to the device. Also, if you looking for the 'classics' and wish to use sites like Gutenberg, you don't even need to go to the Amazon store. Just use the browser and directly download the .mobi file into the Kindle and immediately read it on your device.
A reader commented on the use of Calibre which allows you to manage your ebooks and to convert them to the Kindle format. The increase in functionality when one pairs up the Kindle with Calibre is astonishing. Calibre (a bit like the old Palm Avantgo) allows you to push rss feeds into the Kindle magazine format and this can be done wirelessly. It works really well!
23 September 2010 update
A reader sent me two PDF documents for me to try out. My impression of the Kindle reading was that yes, it's technically possible to read PDFs, but in reality, due to the size of the screen, it's not very feasible. After my investigation today, I've come to a rather surprising conclusion.
The screen of the Kindle 3 is so much better than the Kindle 2 that even the tiny words show up very well. Reading PDFs is very possible now! All pictures, click=big. The words are a little fuzzy as I wasn't using a tripod when I took these pictures and the lighting wasn't so good. While standard 'text pages' like these look good, magazine pdfs may not because the pages are bigger. YMMV.
At the bottom of this page, there are some 'missing words' which will appear when we magnify the screen or rotate the screen to landscape mode.
Here we see that the dictionary works on an unconverted PDF document.
Here is annotation in action. Highlight the words, then add your own comment.
28 September 2010update
I've managed to buy a magazine sold at the Kindle store just to test it out. The New Yorker
costs USD3 a month so it's quite all right. I believe we cannot use gift cards to buy magazines so a workaround is to use yet another (!) credit card called Entropay. This is a 'virtual prepaid' credit card and the commission fee to 'load money' into it is 5%.If you're not keen on paying for magazines, an alternative is to use Calibre and download magazines/news websites. So far I'm able to download Reader's Digest for free. Anything that is available for free on the Internet can technically be downloaded as an ebook using Calibre. It's very powerful.
3 October 2010 update
Here are more pictures of the Kindle in strong sunlight (click = big). There used to be a 'page-turn lag' issue but it has largely been resolved with the 3.0.2 software update.
The content here are downloaded using Calibre which is pretty versatile in using RSS feeds and turning the content into 'magazine format'.
Scrabble is a new Kindle game that is a joy to play.
This is Nikon PDF directly loaded onto the Kindle without modification.
1 December 2010 update
Some readers have asked for advice on how to proceed if they bought ebooks without using a VPN and are asked by Amazon to provide proof of residency. You can ignore the email. Going forward, you need to use a VPN and then go to www.amazon.com/manageyourkindle to change your country to US. Please use a VPN when buying anything, free or otherwise, at the Kindle Store. If you don't have one, email me, I can share mine with you.
14 May 2001 update:
Amazon has released a cheaper version of the Kindle 3 with Special Offers
. It now comes with advertisements. The good thing is that the ads are completely unobtrusive. The screensavers (example below) are also ads now, and they are interesting because they keep changing! It's the Kindle I'd recommend now.
On the main index screen, some space is used for the advertisments. This replaces the space used by 1 book listing.
If you want to see the advertisement, you'll be brought to another page.
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Unitasking and the Kindle (the concept that's opposite to multitasking, and mentions of Kindle in the local press)
Digital Life article:
720 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 601 – 720 of 720Hi Jeff,
Thank you so much for your prompt reply! I was too excited that I overlooked that part!
Thanks for sharing with us the procedures to get our Kindle started! : )
Tricia.
Hello Jeff,
The billing address that they require in the ordering process, do I type in my address from SG or the one provided by comgateway?
Thanks!
Nic
Type in any US address. I'm assuming that the billing address is not relevant because you're actually using gift cards funds to buy ebooks.
However, if you're using a local credit card to buy the Kindle itself, your billing address is your actual local billing address. You can then erase this info at your account area when the payment is done.
Thanks Jeff!
I'm in the process of checking out my Kindle!!! *Beaming*
Nic
hey i just order a kindle 3G from a person in singapore.
help me to get started.
thanks.
hi, i'm a new user in singapore. help me get started. thanks.
or you could get your kindle from here
http://akindle-sg.blogspot.com/
Hi Jeff,
I see that you have the KSO. Are you able to get any of the special offers from pc or do you need to access them from the KSO?
Trish, you will select offers you want from the Kindle, and the offer will be emailed to you on your PC for you to use. Taken advantage of a few already, so the KSO version does save the owner money!
Hi Jeff, do I need to purchase a gift card to buy the Kindle, or do I just simply pay by my local credit card? thanks a lot!
Dear Jeff,
I have decided to get a Kindle 3. I was asked for the billing address of my credit card. Should I keep that as the same as the billng address - from Borderlinx?
Thanks,
RL
Genesis, you can use gift card, or not, for the purchase of the Kindle itself. You can pay by local credit card if you wish.
RL, if you're paying for the Kindle itself with a local credit card, you need to enter your local billing address. You can then delete this info later once the purchase is done.
Thanks Jeff.
One question I have - did you ever consider the Nook? Whats the plus or down side?
I haven't considered the Nook due to historical accidents... I've always gotten things from Amazon, and know they provide stellar service. So I was already pretty well-versed with the workflow of getting Kindle stuff when the Nook came along. The latter required more 'things to do' I guess. So I've never really explored the Nook angle.
I don't see many disadvantages in going with the Kindle apart from the 'inability to choose another vendor' part. I'm happy with the vendor so the point is moot lol
Hi Jeff,
thanks for taking the time to explain your view point. Its certainly helpful.
RL
Hi Jeff, thanks to your blog I have ordered a Kindle WiFi+3G and it is now on the way to my Borderlinx address. :) I have managed to read all the comments here :P Here are some observations/thoughts/questions I would like to share.. (pardon for the long post)
1)before I bought the Kindle, I managed to try the Cloud Reader on Google Chrome, works great. I tried to find some books/free or otherwise on Amazon, but the collection is pitiful. Later I changed my address to a US one, and all the books appeared. It is quite hard to find and I lost it many times, but I think it is in the billing/delivery address section.
2)I was happily 'buying' the free books when I received the dreaded 'confirm location' email from amazon. From your advice I will just not buy any books for a time and use a vpn next time.
3)I was toying around with the idea of getting a DX for viewing pdfs of my scanned class notes as then I would not need to zoom and scroll so much. But then I noticed the pictures you put up and I decided pdfs should be quite clear enough on the 6" screen.
4)I finally gave up on the DX when I realised that
i)DX ($379) cost just under 3 times of the Wifi+3G ($139)
ii)DX + leather cover (18.9oz + 12.3oz = 1.95lb) is heavier than an iPad (1.35lb)
iii)DX is about the same size as an iPad.
iv)DX + cover is about S$500+ is in the tablet range already. (iPad from S$668)
On the philosophy that you'll read only when you've actually got it with you, the much less portable DX loses its appeal. Some more, I'm looking to get a tablet in the future so no point to get DX.
5)I decided to get the one with 3G as I see people surfing web (gmail, google maps, etc) with it so it should be usable here. Also when I travel it will help very very much as I won't need to look for the Wifi hotspot and I can access information without heavy data roaming charges. Sometimes it is a lifesaver.
6)After I ordered the Kindle, I find that I can send documents to "myname"@free.kindle.com and get a reply. (before that, there was no reply) From the reply email I can even download the converted files to my PC to be used on the PC Kindle client. Very convenient.
7)on the "Manage Your Kindle" section on the website, there is a list of pending deliveries for the documents I emailed. But they seem to display only 10, the first few files, e.g. the welcome letter and manual seems to have disappeared off the list. I hope they will be delivered when I sync my Kindle. If it is a display limit I find it strange as they allow up to 25 attachments in the email. If they are lost, I'm not sure how to get them back.
8)I'm interested in converting pdf files as I'm not sure how annotation will be handled by the native pdf viewer on the Kindle. If I can annotate the original pdf files then I'll be very happy as I lost some formatting and special characters in the conversion.
9)I'm not sure though whether documents scanned to pdfs (i.e. pdfs comprising of images) can be annotated. But then I shouldn't ask for too much right? haha.
10)Calibre's rss feature sounds great, could you share your recipes?
11)Any new Borderlinx discount codes? I'm still waiting for my Kindle to arrive at Lockbourne.
Thanks for reading through the long post. viva la kindle!
Oh ya, forgot to mention, when I ordered from Amazon, they have one month free trial of Amazon Prime.
The upside is free 2-day shipping. And you can watch free movies from Amazon. You can cancel before the free trial ends, or they will charge you $79 for the one year. But even if they charge, you can still get refund it is is unused...
I think my post was lost.. strange.. I posted a long post about my experiences. Anyway...
My kindle + cover arrived at borderlinx.. however, borderlinx listed it as 16.53kg in weight! They wanted to charge SGD 139.51 for it!
what do I do? ask them to repack? I think somebody mentioned it, but I forgot exactly what happened..
just had live chat with borderlinx. they say the recorded size is [h,w,d][112,9,5] inches .. wow! 112 inches is almost 10 feet!
they say they will check then email me.
parhjin, (5) can be iffy. You may also be charged 3G fees for your personal docs so be sure to specify in your manageyourkindle that $0 is the maximum you'll pay.
BD must have made a mistake. I did the same order a few days ago, and it cost around S$28, 1.77 kg. Amazon normally doesn't send big boxes with these small items. This is the first time I've heard of this, maybe they can check again? Did you order anything else?
just tried pandora with my hotspot shield still on. It works.
then disabled hotspot shield, my ip revert back and pandora correctly says that I'm not allowed.
What magic is Amazon doing?
anyway let me try your vpn ok? thanks again.
thanks Jeff for the vpn. I have successfully bought a free kindle game from amazon. There are quite a few. (mostly word and picture games)
I have resolved the size problem. Borderlinx has updated the correct size, and emailed me this morning.
The cost is SGD 28.04 4-6 days with standard shipping. (express is double the cost at SGD 52.09 for 2-3 days). Of course I chose standard.
cheers!
PJ
Hi Jeff,
You are a tremendous help, been following this blog since last year and even seeing some posts in HWZ. Thanks. Now maybe it's time for me to ask you a question :)
Do we here in SG need to be on VPN if we want to read using the kindle cloud reader? Say read of our PCs or iPad? Thanks guru.
Avid, the vpn is unnecessary under all (as far I know) scenarios except just before the moment you press 'buy now' when you're looking for kindle books. So the vpn is not needed if you use their cloud reading, app for PC etc. because you would already have bought the book earlier using your PC/laptop already.
Thanks to Jeff, I finally got a kindle to play with. I got an orange lighted cover as well.
sharing more of my experiences..
My kindle arrived last Thursday, but I only had time to open the box and play with it yesterday. Differently from Jeff's photos, my kindle and cover were in the bigger box WITHOUT the air packing bags. Which means they rattle about, not good. But fortunately, the kindle is unharmed.
The default screen is the picture of the lower half of the kindle with the instruction to charge it. I thought it will still be there as long as I don't turn it on. Nope, the next time I look at the kindle being charged, it is at the home screen, and apparently running.
The wireless is ON by default. Since I have not set it to link with my wifi, it is on 3G, and had already downloaded one book. Sigh. I immediately turned off the wireless.
Before my kindle arrived I have bought several free books and games and had also sent numerous documents to @free.kindle.com. There is a list of pending deliveries in my amazon account limited to 10 items. It only displays 10, but all items were eventually delivered without problem. (later I connected to my home wifi)
today, I tried to connect to wireless@SG, but it was unable to connect. Not sure why. Maybe signal too weak?
One observation: the flashing screen when paging through screens is NOT a feature of eInk (strictly speaking). It is an Amazon implemented feature I think. I think it was done this way to have a crisp fresh page every time, without ghost images from the previous page. When navigating through menu for example (or playing games), you can see that the display is quite capable of updating very localised regions of the display. But there might be stray pixels not updated, leading to ghost images. The solution is to reset the whole screen and then display the new screen, which leads to the flashing. Logical?
parhjin,
There should be no problem with the 3G downloading books you've bought correctly. Go to manageyourkindle and switch you maximum fee for documents to $0.
Wireless@sg may be problematic because it may require another login page. The kindle does not handle the 'enterprise' wifi protocol.
The flashing is fine and may be to do what you described.
thanks Jeff, I'm thinking I shouldn't use the 3G too much. Because it IS data roaming, right? Somebody is going to scream if a lot of people are going to use a lot of 3G outside USA. Not good, might make them clamp down on it.
I plan to use it as and when I really need timely access to important information. Especially when travelling. Imagine, free internet access in 100 countries!
more experiences:
I discovered there is no way to rename files once it is on the kindle. So it is important to get the metadata correct before you send it to the kindle. Especially the file name.
Although the kindle itself can display chinese text in books, it is not so capable in the home screen. I have some document titles in chinese, and some of the characters in the title are replaced by boxes instead.
I scanned in some chinese documents (as pdf "documents") using my canon all-in-one. Surprised that it is actually like text. I mean I can move the cursor (on the kindle) in the text and even insert notes! So it is not actually one big picture per page. However, it is also not actually OCR'ed as I could not 'convert' the pdf to amazon format and reflow the text, etc.
There is one thing bad though, for the zoom on the kindle I can't use an arbitrary zoom. I have to use the ones provided (150%, etc) which all give inconveniently sized pages (both in portrait and landscape) But it is readable with difficulty. Here's wishing for a DX!
Hopefully the price of the DX drops when they release their tablet.
from Borderlinx FB page
Discount code valid till 30 September 2011
566993
tried and it works..
Diabos
Hi Jeff,
I have no problem buying Kindle ebooks using my Amazon gift cards (thanks to your blog!) But when I tried to buy audio books for kindle, they re-directed me to "Audible.com" page and request me to register, requiring me to enter credit card and home address. I didn't do that cause I want to use my Amazon gift card to buy audio books.
So even though Audible.com is from Amazon, it seems that they operate differently. So does that mean I cannot buy audio books using my Amazon gift cards?
Found a Kindle seller in Singapore. Best price.
http://kindlesingapore.wordpress.com/
Diabos, thanks! Will try it soon.
Roland, that is correct behaviour. While Amazon has bought over audible.com, their systems seem to be separate. You may want to buy the audiobooks with your sg credit card? I haven't tried it so I won't know, but it may work.
Anon with the Kindle seller link, I guess it's ok to buy from local sellers. However, the advice given at the website is a bit strange: don't register, don't buy books from amazon. The whole point is to get amazon books i think.
The warranty is also a bit strange. Any Kindle buyer should get full warranty from the US; it's a given.
But if you like the price, sure.. :)
dear Jeff, in your Amazon Kindle 2 in Singapore blog, u mentioned you dont mine sharing you "always VPN" account. Do you think I can borrow your account to switch to VPN before making purchase for the kindle?? :)
don, email jeffreyyen@gmail.com
Hi Jeff
My Kindle 3 came two weeks back. I have been so engrossed with it. It's beautiful. I almost forgot to thank you for your help and tips. So, thanks a million!
RL
Rachel, after you get/register a Kindle, the control panel will allow you to change your country to US with a vpn and you will see the huge store. Email me when the time comes.
Hi Jeff,
Do you know approximately how long i can use AlwaysVPN if i purchase the 5GB one?
Sing: a few years.
Rachel: press home, move the 'cursor' to the book, press the 'left' button, then 'enter'.
Hi Jeff,
I got my kindle 3 yesterday *yay* and I started downloading the free ebooks using WiFi. After a while, amazon prompted me if I have changed my address. I tried to insert new US address and use VPN (hotspot shield), but amazon still doesn't let me purchase any items.
Do you know how can I solve this problem? Sorry to ask you this, i stumbled upon your blog when i was googling for answers.
Thank you.
Mimi, email jeffreyyen@gmail.com for another vpn. Uninstall HSS.
Anyone has any news on pending kindle tablet? Wonder if we can buy it like the kindle3
Hi Jeff,
Was wondering if anyone has any idea on the pending kindle tablet that is said to be release by amazon.
Hope it can be purchased in same way as kindle3.....
On the issue of the upcoming tablet, no one knows so it's useless to speculate. Just wait for the official announcements. Personally I prefer an improved e-ink device but I do understand the market pressures for them to come out and conquer the Android/app space.
I'd expect both these new devices to be unavailable for Singapore. But that's what this blog entry is for! LOL
Jeff's if you permit. I want to sell my kindle kindle 3 wifi, without ads, + leather cover. purchased on 6th june, shipped via comegateway. Brand New. Excellent condition with box.
SGD 180
Reply here.
Some more comments:
1. I didn't use a gift card at all. Just my normal singapore credit card (but the billing address is set to my Borderlinx address). To date, I have bought about 120 ebooks from Amazon (overwhelming majority using Jeff's vpn). No problems at all. Only need the VPN at the point of buying, not for downloading or anything else. So turn it off after you bought.
2. I track the Kindle daily deal, where most books are 1-2 US dollars. Follow on twitter. Netted quite a few good books very cheap.
I missed a good one recently, Gotham: A History of New York for $1.49. At 1416 pages, it is a steal. Now it is $14.30.
3. There is also the Kindle Store Limited Time Offers. Lots of free books. Recently I got the whole series of about 6 Einstein books for free. Now they are about $3.99 each.
4. I was overseas recently and because I had problems installing AlwaysVPN on my Windows 7 laptop, tried to buy without the VPN. Lucky it went through. As many has said, they probably check randomly. Or the fact that I had bought many books with US ip address cleared me already. Time will tell. But don't do it too often.
5. The free 3G works. But surfing with it is slow, and google maps with the built in browser is a pain (you have to be really, really patient to navigate around the maps). But if you are overseas and need some critical info, it can be a lifesaver. Oh yah, besides no flash and all the frills, the browser does not support opening another window (because there are no windows). It is not smart enough to open the new window in the current one. So some pages are inaccessible unless you type in the URL directly.
6. I accidentally subscribed to a kindle newspaper while overseas. (the 5-way controller is not friendly, must have accidentally clicked a link) No problem as there is a 14 day trial. But it delivers only when you connect using wifi. (need to pay more for delivery over 3G). Just cancel before the trial is over.
oops, correction. I realised that most of the 120-odd purchases were $0 (i.e. free). Only about maybe 20 or less involved money. So only those needed the credit card transaction. But as I said, I encountered no problems so far. My purchase of the kindle itself was also with my SG credit card.
Kindle Fire is out! Quite impressed by the Kindle Touch too! and at reduced prized!
The new kindles looks good. But since I just got mine I think I'll stick on to it for a while. I was actually hoping they will drop the price on the DX so I could get one, but it didn't happen.
Kindle Fire looks good, but it is wifi only, which is a bummer. And I'm not sure whether the browser will still work outside USA, since it is tightly integrated with their servers.
Some more comments on experiences: I had managed to connect to Wireless@SG. Maybe some of the access points are configured differently, or the signal was too weak at some places. Anyway, the kindle detected that it needed a browser to log in to the network. I said yes, the browser opened to the normal Wireless@SG log in and I can log in! Then wifi could be used as usual.
For other wifi which are Enterprise or ad-hoc, it straight away tells you that it is enterprise or ad-hoc and cannot connect.
Hi Jeff,
Did you order the Touch 3G or the one with just the Wifi?
Hi Jeff
All of a sudden I am told by Amazon that i am trying to access from a different registered country although I use my VPN.
Would you know what might have gone wrong, and how I might remedy this?
Thanks!
RL
RL, just ignore it and continue the workflow the next time. The vpn might have been working intermittently. What vpn are you using? Always use www.whatismyipaddress.com to check the connection.
Thanks Jeff,
will try as suggested.
I use always vpn.
Again many thanks!
hi Jeff
Seems that my VPN does not work. My IP address shows from Singapore.
Also when i was asked to contact customer service, there were no other buttons to continue the workflow.
If you have any suggestions, would really appreicate it.
Thanks.
RL
RL, this sort of thing happens occassionally. Just wait awhile and try again. Sometimes there's high traffic either at the local telco's end or the vpn's end. I just bought another free book with it.
Hi Jeff,
I was using hotspot shield and managed to buy several free kindle books, but in the middle of my happy "shopping" suddenly amazon tell me that I purchased the book with different listed address which is outside us.
I tried to log in and purchase and failed again around 20 times maybe? and then at last I got the email from amazon asking for id verification.
After I read your blogs, I know how to check my current ip address. Thus I again tried using the VPN from HSS, and check my ip address is indeed from US. But when I tried to purchase from amazon, they still wouldn't allow me to.....
Does this mean that amazon already blacklist my account? Can I still purchase if I use different VPN software?
Anon, please uninstall HSS. It is known not to work. Email me at jeffreyyen@gmail.com for more info...
Hi Jeff,
I'm thinking of getting a kindle. I currently do use Amazon Prime already but I never did get a kindle. If I intend to buy the e-books I should erase my local credit card data and enter it manually every time i buy something? Is that the only way to ensure that they don't block me?
YY, check your email. You can erase your credit card info as described in the blog entry. By using gift cards, you don't need to 'put in money' all the time. The only way to buy, or at least the safest, is to use the vpn.
Hi Jeff!
A very insightful and informative of your piece of kindle's blog!
I have been following and reading through the comments here from AUG to current comments .(that's million of comments and it took me 3 hours to read it all) OMG.
I need your help jeff, I believe you have heard about the latest kindle fire. I love this kindle fire and I am a big fan of kindle products rather than the everybody-owned-Ipad .I have been researching on your blog on how to ship kindle to sg. I'd really like to get my self a kindle fire. Unfortunately, kindle fire is still not out in the market yet, and we've got to pre-order beforehand. My concern is do you think it's possible to pre-order and get it shipped to my sg address once it's launched and released in US? if yes, please advice.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP!!
kelvin
wow kelvin, 3 hours to read the whole thing!
I do not think the Fire will be officially supported in sg, so the usual way of shipping to borderlinx or comgateway first applies as well. But that's not the important thing. The real question is whether it makes sense for locals to get it in the first place. I'm still unsure (and no one knows too at this point) how we can get the apps. So, just kiv this for now...
Heys!
I purchased a gift card from amazon... does it usually take a long time for them to send you the email?
Thanks!!
Lyn, usually 2 to 30 minutes... just wait a while, it'll arrive...
Hi!
But its been an hour could it be a technical glitch from amazon?
Thanks a lot!!! :D
Hi Jeff,
I am thinking of buying new kindle and I would like to hear from you. I want to buy two kindles plus screen protectors. But I want to keep the shipping cost low. So how can I make sure that the estimated shipping cost is well within my limits before I proceed?
Rgds
Kyaw
Kyaw, the shipping cost will go up when you hit S$400 in product and shipping fees. So the idea is not to pack too many items into 1 shipment.
Generally, the shipping is not expensive using comgateway or borderlinx, around S$30 for each shipment. Also, you can disregard the screen protectors, there's no need for them.
Jeff,
Thanks for the advice on the scree protectors, I will not buy them.
My thinking is to buy two kindles (79 USD) versions and pack them into one shipment. So the total cost would be 160 USD (210 SGD) plus the shipping charges. I think I won't hit 400 SGD limit.
Btw, I only have DBS cards, so I have no choice but to use the Vpost services, and would like to hear your comments on Vpost.
Thanks a lot.
Kyaw
Hi Jeff, do you have any experience with the Kindle app for iPhone and Android phones? I tried to install them last night, but couldn't find the app in the market. Went to the amazon website on the phone, linked directly from the app page, which opens the market app also, but it says not available or somehthing like that.
Seems like Amazon is limiting installs from non-US places, even though the app is for "US and International".
Any ideas? I had thought it would be a breeze to install them. The PC app installed without problems...
Kyaw, there's no need to use vpost, you can use Comgateway. vPost can be very frustrating in terms of delivery times. (My last shipment was 'stuck' at the Singapore holding area for some reason.) Comgateway uses DHL and they are very good; try to clear its ship almost immediately. Also, you need to get a Kindle case that's meant for your Kindle model; it's quite mandatory.
parhjin, I have no experience with Android phones as I have used a Palm/webOS phone for many years already. There's the 'problem' with the apps situation and so far I'm not sure how to go around it. That's why I cannot recommend the Fire until the situation becomes clearer...
Hi Jeff, that is bad news. I had planned on getting an iPad or Android tablet eventually. I had assumed that I would be able to install the kindle app on it...
I shall try to ask Amazon customer service directly. After all, the only disclaimer for the kindle app is that some books may not be available, not that the app itself will be unavailable...
The iOS Kindle App is available only on the US App Store. Create an US iTunes account, then you'll be able to download. Google how to create the US iTunes account.
thanks Simon.
Hi jeff, recently got my kindle...
Was wondering if you can guide me through getting e-books into my kindle.
What to download before i can sync ebooks into my kindle etc. Couldnt really find these info in detail in your blog, perhaps of information overloading... Thanks
Benjamin, do you have a vpn which you need to buy ebooks? The book bought can be automatically wified to your Kindle when you specify this during the buying process.
hi Jeff, i intend to buy a Kindle Touch. do you have any advice wrt the cover? is it really necessary? what are the alternatives? can you get any in Singapore? The ones selling by Amazon are all quite expensive, more than half the prize of the Touch itself. many thanks.
Roy
Jeff
Thanks for your advice on shipping.
Kyaw
Roy, I'm not sure if you can get a Touch case anywhere else. It's so new so 3rd party devs may not even have the specs to build one.
I always buy the case with my Kindle order. Yes, it's expensive, just think of the total cost as the 'Kindle package'.
Hi jef,
thanks so much for your v helpful blog. finally i think i will take the plunge and buy a kindle. actually i have a sony reader, and have had readers for last 2 years. but i have been increasingly frustrated with the range of books on kobobooks and also the sony site.
sorry if this sounds repetitive - i dont need vpn to buy the kindle itself. but need vpn and gift card for books right? i think i will go with kindle touch w/o ads.. thanks!
jenny, correct. I'd advice the version with ads though. The ads are quite beautiful, useful, and don't appear in the books at all.
Hi Jeff, are you planning to buy the new Kindle Fire? I wonder if it would work just as fine as my old kindle here in singapore.
Rick, I'm not getting the Fire until I find out more about the ability to read magazines. For Kindle books, it's fine (it's not eink though). The other features including the apps situation are still iffy and possibly not possible to be bought by us.
Thanks Jeff! Guess I would just do the same :)
hi jeff,
I've recently tried downloading free ebooks off amazon and there wasnt any problem...
I understand that if we need to buy ebooks we will need VPN to get giftcards first right?
How much is the subscription for VPN?
Please advice thanks.
Benjamin, you need the vpn to buy books using the gift card method. You don't need the vpn to buy the gift card themselves, though.
A USD5 account at alwaysvpn will give you years of usage.
Hi Jeff,
I saw you mentioned that the ads doesnt appear in the books. Does that mean that when I'm reading it is not anywhere near the screen?
The ads only can be seen as screensaver?
My kindle 2's screen in half frozen. Something leaking till there's grey shading on top. Amazon told me that they can replace it but at $40 cause my warranty has expired. Thought of getting a kindle touch instead of replacing it but not too sure about the ads..
hope you can help.
-Liyanah
Hi Jeff,
Also I'm not too sure if I should get wireless or wireless + 3G. I've been reading your blog since last year and bought the kindle 2 using your advices..
-Liyanah
Hi Jeff,
I'm a Singaporean currently studying in Australia. I've been reading on my iPad with the kindle app for the past few months, but the Australian selection of kindle books is rather limited. I'd love to be able to buy from the vast selection available in the US, so I'm thinking of getting the new $109 kindle 4 and try out your method.
Just to be sure though, does your method of buying kindle books work in Australia as well? Also, is there a difference whether I get the US kindle or the international one? (Amazon ships the international one direct to Australia, but I have this rather silly fear that it may be pre-programmed to show only the Aussie selection, hahaha).
I've been reading up quite a bit but I still have some doubts, so I would really appreciate any form of advice from you, Jeff! Thanks very much in advance! :)
Cheers,
Sarah
Hi Sarah, you can still use your iPad. The method of buying ebooks mentioned here doesn't depend on which device you use to read them. So no need to waste money.
To get US content you just need to change your 'location' and address to the US in your Amazon account. The gift card and vpn stuff is to prevent them from knowing that you are not in the US when buying US content.
Dear Jeff,
I'm thinking of buying Kindle Touch. Need your advice... the 3G version or just Kindle Touch?
Thanks,
chien
Liyanah, when you're reading, no ads appear at all. They appear at the bottom on the very first 'index page' where your book titles are displayed. Look at my screenshots. They also appear as screensavers.
Get the Wifi version. There's no need to get the 3G version.
Hi Jeff,
Two more questions. I'm a Mac user, so will the downloading to Kindle and use of VPN work for MAC?
Thanks again,
chien
chien, I use Alwaysvpn. Google this, and download and install the Mac OS version to try and see if it works for you.
Hi Jeff, i really find your comments very helpful. I just bought my son a kindle and followed all your insrtuctions. The first time i tried to buy a gift card, everything was ok..however when i try to buy the second time,i receive a mail from amzon that i need to verify my address by faxing a "US" billing statement.also, they have put my amazon account on hold. Can you please help me what to do next?
momchef, could you email me at jeffreyyen@gmail.com ? Cheers...
Hi Jeff, do you have any experience with the Amazon mp3 store? I thought I would be able to buy mp3s just the same as kindle books, but it turns out not the case. There seems the be multiple layers of checks. Here is the sequence of events:
1. could not access "Your Amazon MP3 settings" in "Your account". Needs to be in US.
2. activated the always VPN, now able to access, set it to always save purchases to the cloud.
3. tried to buy some free songs. Amazon says that it is only limited to US. (???!?!!!?)
4. logged out and logged in using a separate browser. same result.
5. In the same session, I bought quite a few kindle books with no problems.
Do you have any idea what's going on? Could you try and see?
rgds
PJ
PJ, I've successfully bought MP3s as described in http://jeffyen.blogspot.com/2011/04/amazon-mp3-store-in-singapore.html
I'm not sure what the problem is on your end, but it seems to work for me.
Hi Jeff,
I tried to "buy" some free kindle books, but amazon ask for my credit card number. Will it work if I give them my Singapore credit card (while using Alwaysvpn)? Or do I have to purchase Amazon gift card first?
Thanks again,
Atika
successfully bought some free music from the Amazon music store.
I finally deleted my credit card info to make it work. Strange, even though the address listed is my borderlinx address. Maybe the country is encoded in the card number?
Incidentally I finally bought a gift card (first time!) to try. But I have not applied my gift card yet and decided to try one last time.. and it worked..
observations:
I currently have no payment methods in my amazon account. and that does not prevent me from buying free things.
kindle store does not prevent me when I have a singapore credit card. amazon music store will prevent me. (maybe the kindle store was also so strict in the past?)
the kindle store will tell me that I have already purchased a book when I try to buy it again. the music store does not tell me. But I probably would not be charged twice if it is not a free item... probably.
the kindle store does not block me from purchasing even if I don't have the vpn on. the music store does not allow that.
Atika, purchase some gift card funds first. Then use a vpn to buy free books. If you're prompted to fill in a billing address, use a US address.
hi jeff, just wondering if you ever tried downloading books (bought on amazon website via vpn + gift cert) wirelessly via kindle directly instead of USB transfer? if so do you think there would be any problems?
thanx in advance
kev
kev, what you're described (wireless method) is the default way to download books as mentioned in my steps...
Goodness, you're still replying to this day. I learned a lot about buying Amazon books in South East Asia (I'm East Malaysian) from your blog than anywhere else. Thanks for putting this up. I've been reading your blog just to get assurance that getting Kindle Touch 3G is frivolous (where I am) and I got a lot more in return. I have finally decided against buying that version of kindle. I discovered that Amazon has disabled web browsing via 3G on Kindle Touch. Anyways, I'm getting my first Kindle ever (wifi only), hopefully this month. Yay.
hi jeff. I am a newbie. I just purchased kindle a week ago. I am in Malaysia and i had it delivered to my brother in the US. hes coming home soon.
since hes there i wanted to buy as many books as possible and have them delivered wirelessly to my kindle there. all he has to do is turn on the wifi, rite.
it worked. until my 6th purchase when amazon warned me about my country setting. nope, i did not do the vpn thing when making the purchases..i should have. sigh.
so now i decided to listen to u and use the VPN. except amazon has the record already. and keep giving the warning whenever i want to make a purchase...even from the US vpn. what do i do now?
appreciate ur help... how long will they ban me again? any ideas? :(
dzuft, what sort of message do you get, and when do you see this message?What vpn are you using?
literarycanvas, good to hear that you're getting one, yes, 3g is frivolous lol
Hi Jeff,
Good day! Are you still subscribing magazines via entropay? so far so good? or was it just a one time trial that you did?
Also, do you have any idea if we could subscribe to amazon prime? :D
Rick
Rick, yes, I'm still subscribing to the New Yorker using Entropay.
Sure you can subscribe to Prime. It's not a kindle thing; it's a general amazon service.
Hi Jeff,
Is it like auto deduct from you entropay account? So what happens if you forget to top it up? Would it just fail and no issue for that month?
Thanks! I'll try the Prime membership using the VPN :)
Rick
Rick, you don't need to 'sign up Prime' using a vpn. Prime is just a regular amazon service that will reduce shipping cost, 2-day free shipping in the US I think.
I think my entropay has still quite a bit of funds so I haven't got 'cut off' yet.
Hi Jeff,
I see. I was thinking more of the one month free movies that comes with it. I thought it's only available for US customers.
So if sign up for the prime membership, I could stream the movies without using VPN? =)
Rick
Rick, yes you need to buy the vpn to get the free movies. It's only for US customers.
Thanks Jeff! :)
Hi jeff!
Kelvin's here, the guy who pre-ordered kindle fire 2 months ago. I've got my kindle fire ystdy.
However, I wanna ask u sth, is it safe to download FREE apps & books using wifi + my amazon account? Would they trace back?
regards,
kelvin
hi Jeff
instead of using VPN can i just use a US Proxy Server when buying e-books on Amazon? Many thanks.
Roy
Hi Jeff,
it was a great tip. I can buy books for my new kindle fire now with little trouble.
However one question, I still can't download App from the Amazon AppStore, it keeps asking me for the credit card details even though I have enough gift card fund in the account, any way to get around this problem?
Thanks Tri
Hi Jeff, I am unable to charge my kindle fire. Any advise? Thanks
Kelvin, I can only comment for free books. You still should buy them using your computer and a vpn.
Roy, I don't know about that.
Tri, that is because it is near impossible for us to get apps. I believe you need a US credit card. Mine is from uslocked.com
Anon, try a different cable?
Hey Jeff!
Awesome blog! :) very helpful with my new kindle! however how does always VPN work? care to share your account? I cant seem to work my way around it.
thanks! charis
Anon, you need to email me, address on the right. Please read the latest Kindle Touch entry for the latest info/steps.
Hi Jeff, any idea whether I can trust the following website in getting a Kindle Case?? Pls let me know your opinion.. Thanks... Here is the website..
http://s.dealextreme.com/search/kindle+4
Ningko, I guess the site looks all right. I haven't shopped there before though...
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