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Find your new favourite book or recommend one on our Book forum.

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Original poster

amazon Kindle now in UK

40 replies

ErnestTheBavarian · 07/10/2009 09:20

Anyone seen you can now get amazon kindle in UK? Am overexcited at the thought of santa coming. Anyone tried one?

OP posts:

bran · 07/10/2009 13:29

Actually, if you live in Oz or NZ it might be cheaper to buy ebooks. I seem to remember that printed books are scarily expensive out there, probably to do with shipping costs and the relatively small market size.

blueshoes · 07/10/2009 17:12

Thanks bran. That is very helpful.

Original poster

ErnestTheBavarian · 09/10/2009 13:27

thinking of geting one for dh for christmas. But I want one too. is it totally greedy and gratuitous to get myself one? SOmeone talk me into/out of it Am feeling dithery. Have dithered now since wednesday

OP posts:

alibubbles · 09/10/2009 14:08

Bum! I thought the `kindle wasn't going to be around for a while and have just got my sis to get me the Sony Touch from the PX in Bahrain, one for me and one for DH. It is the 700 not the 600, I have a 505 already, looks like I will have three to put on ebay now, unless any takers.

I like it as I normally take at least 12 books on holiday, this way I take just a couple in case of a problem, it is brilliant fo reading on planes.

Original poster

ErnestTheBavarian · 09/10/2009 14:14

so do I get 2 then

OP posts:

overthemill · 09/10/2009 15:44

we have the kindle 2 bought earlier this year (my sis is in usa and she got it on her account so we download books via pc not whispanet) and it is FABULOUS!!! i cannot recommend it highly enough - we took it on holiday - 7 books for dh in the size of a v slim granta!

overthemill · 09/10/2009 15:47

CMO, it does take ages to charge via usb. we use an all country adapter with a usb slot and charge it that way. It's really really worth every cent! and lots of books can be downloaded for free - you can also use audible.co.uk for downloading to kindle format which is much cheaper - but we have done loads of classics for free

Original poster

ErnestTheBavarian · 12/10/2009 12:41

have I understood this right - if you buy it in US but download books in UK, you have to pay 1.99 USD extra per download, but if you buy the Kindle in UK, you don't have to pay this extra charge, is that right?

OP posts:

scaryteacher · 12/10/2009 14:51

Ernest - why don't you read the Times online everyday, rather than the paper copy? I only buy the Telegraph on a Saturday in Belgium for the crossword and read online the rest of the week.

Not convinced about a Kindle - there's something about a book....

bran · 12/10/2009 16:01

Ernest, at the moment you can't buy books for the Kindle from Amazon.co.uk, only from Amazon.com. Amazon are planning to roll it out properly to the UK in the near(ish) future. An article in yesterday's Sunday Times recommended waiting until that happens to buy a Kindle.

wannaBe · 12/10/2009 16:06

I would wait until it's rolled out into the UK properly.

Had considered getting DH this for Christmas too, but we talked about it and he says not worth buying it at the moment because it really does work out too expensive, and more impractical ie having to charge via USB etc..

BlingLoving · 12/10/2009 16:26

I am desperate for one, but am going to hold out until they have a proper one in the UK that I can buy from UK sites etc etc etc. The US one they're importing - does it have the ability to download wirelessly? That seems like a huge benefit of the Kindle over the Sony to me. I do currently read a lot of books on my blackberry which is a good short term fix - it's not as comfortable as the Kindle looks so I stick to quite light trashy romances etc, but it works brilliantly for boring meetings commuting etc.

leolantern · 12/10/2009 16:30

I want one!

Original poster

ErnestTheBavarian · 13/10/2009 05:12

Yes bran I realise that, but didn't express myself so well, I meant that though you have to get the books from .com, if you're a US customer you have to pay an extra 2 bucks if you're in europe, but if you're a european customer, you don't iyswim. I'd have to buy the books 'from abroad' anyway, so I don't see that as being a problem.

I've gone ahread and ordered. For us, esp dh it's great. We don't buy any paper, so it would be good, esp for dh to get T or FT direct on Kindle every morning. For me the audio book function plus larger font will be a godsend. And the free wikipedia will be no doubt a much used feature by all. Also, looking forward to getting a book and being able to read and discuss at same time as dh.

blingloving, yes, download wirelessly

It has got so many, literally thousands of good reviews. I've wanted one for ages

OP posts:

bran · 13/10/2009 10:17

I think Amazon have fudged the issue slightly on the download cost. On the US site it's clear that you have to pay an extra $1.99 if you download from outside the US. On the UK site they haven't mentioned the download cost but they have built the download cost into their example prices as compared to the US site.

The thing that would most put me off is that Amazon don't explicitly say that when they roll out Kindle in the UK that people who bought the original US Kindle can stop being treated as US customers buying from abroad. I think there is a risk that UK customers who don't wait for the UK roll out may end up paying a bit extra for their books for the lifetime of their US Kindle.

Can you come back and give a review when you get it please Ernest? I'm really tempted to change as soon as the UK on is available, but my Sony was a Christmas present from my parents and it might seem a bit ungrateful to change it so soon.

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