As I wrote on December 11 and 12 here, I've expected that the next Kindle DX batch (which was expected to ship within 4 to 6 weeks off from those dates) would turn out to be the new DX International (they're calling them 'Global' these days, which I agree is better). Here's the Amazon com announcement info on the new, larger global Kindle. The price for the DX remains at $489.The first shipments of the new KDX International/Global go out January 19. Amazon has started to take orders, and their page mentions that shipments are prioritized by order date.
Amazon also added Argentina and Chile today to the list of countries which can be shipped the global Kindles. Both countries have wireless access, so they too will get the free Wikipedia access on the Net.
KINDLECOUNTRIES file
I've updated the "kindlecountries" file of country-specific Kindle information formatted from information on the Amazon page. This file is for easier or quick browsing of where Kindles or Kindle content can be shipped and where wireless access is available for Kindle owners. For better accuracy, check individual countries in the pull-down menu of information for each country on the Kindle product pages. I may not see all updates from Amazon.
The wireless access capabilities in each country are the same as those for the 6" Global Kindle. My blog article for Oct. 6, when the 6" Kindle Int'l was announced, has some basic information on how wireless rules work for U.S. and non-U.S. Kindle owners.
CHARGERS, including the unusual Australia situation
As with the Kindle 6" (Global), non-US Kindlers will need to use an adapter for the plug socket in their countries. Amazon doesn't supply these with the global Kindles though they send the U.S. power cord which has a USB cable section.
Australians suffer a unique problem in that they're not sent any charger at all and they must have an unusual plug, I guess. In the short blog article on chargers for global Kindles, I have a link to two chargers that definitely work there. One works almost anywhere.
ARTICLE ON ANNOUNCEMENT WITH A COUPLE OF INTERESTING STATEMENTS
Glenn Chapman at The Sydney Morning Herald writes:
' Amazon has about 300,000 electronic books that can be purchased internationally for reading on Kindle devices, according to Freed.
Most electronic books for Kindles are in English, but digital versions of newspapers and magazines are available in local languages, according to Amazon.
. . .
"Our vision for Kindle is every book ever printed, in print or out of print, in every language available," Bezos told AFP in November.
For now, downloads are only available in English, although the giant online retailer has teams working on digitizing books in other languages ... '
Hey,
ReplyDeletea fun little fact: I have travelled to Italy and Hungary from the US and totally unexpectedly, my K2i's web browser worked in both countries! They connected to the Vodafone 3G networks in both. If Vodafone roaming is on, a whole bunch of other countries might have the web browser working too...
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteFor whatever reasons, U.S. residents, whose Kindles are enabled for web browsing, find that they can fully browse overseas too.
It seems to be according to U.S. resident status, which causes the modem to be enabled for full web browsing, and processes wouldn't be checking the IP# while people are traveling, I guess!
I think they figure that you won't be there long -- and disabling the full-web browser status suddenly might be too much trouble or cost too much in labor and probably be a cause of dispute if it didn't work just right as to when to limit you and when not.
The web access generally IS Enabled or no one in the other countries could access Wikipedia.
What happens is where you can go on the Net is restricted, which is what they do with B&N Nook, Sony, iRex and soon Plastic Logic's Que
Thank you for this further feedback. Much appreciated.
Just learned that all new Kindle 2 and DX models are Global Wireless which is the AT&T network here in the US. The US Wireless models available up until now had Sprint. This may be significant for individuals in areas getting poor AT&T coverage. For example, we get 5 bars of reception in our rural area of California with the Sprint system and 0-1 with AT&T. Important safety tip when buying.
ReplyDeletePeter,
ReplyDeleteExactly right ! I live near San Francisco, and the AT&T network problems are bad here, as confirmed by AT&T because they have to :-)
It's one reason I never looked at the iPhone.
I have mentioned this Sprint vs AT&T, for one's locale, on forums -- so will add that to the main body of this note maybe tomorrow but the question will remain, how do those w/o good AT&T reception get the Sprint ones when they're all gone.
I think people will be eyeing the Refurbished Kindle areas.
What's odd is I watch the forums fairly closely and have not seen people reporting many problems with reception. I have see a few.
I HAVE seen a few people mentioning battery drain that's unusual after the latest firmware update that came in the same timeframe as the Kindle 2 Int'l intro, and it may be the wireless has to work too hard (too many retries) in some locales to get the data bits.
But then some of that was reported by DX users, and those are all on Sprint until the 20th or so.
Andrys
ReplyDeleteI bought a Kindle DX (U.S.Wireless) before the global one was released. Now that I've upgraded the firmware to 2.3, is it possible for me to use the device overseas?
Thanks,
Michael
Michael,
ReplyDeleteWhen did you get the DX (US) ? If you're within 30 days from the shipment date, you can return it. Even if you have updated the firmware. If a customer rep says no, then speak to a supervisor (or another customer rep).
Kindle customer service: 866-321-8851
Then you can order the global one. But that one has AT&T rather than Sprint in the U.S., so that's a thing to consider -- if your area has Sprint but not AT&T reception where you are.
As for the DX, yes you can use it overseas, except that you can't use the Wireless portion overseas. It's a different technology. But if you had a global unit and used the wireless overseas, each book you bought over there would cost you an additiona $2.
Subscriptions would cost $5/week.
Even then, people with either DX can choose to download to a computer (including a laptop/netbook) and then move the file over to your DX.
But you can use it the same way you have, for reading. DX (U.S.) has NO access to Wikipedia that way since the wireless doesn't work with overseas networks. In fact, a travelling U.S. resident can use the web-browser for other sites when overseas too.
But except for that, yes, the U.S. version is useable when overseas.
- Andrys