Swede thinking about buying a Kindle

kejsarinna · 05-03-2011, 05:29 PM

Hi!
Newbie here

I am planning on getting a Kindle, hopefully through a friend who lives in the UK who'll bring it here on her next visit. I have decided on a Kindle even though, yes I might not be able to read any Swedish books but I rarely do that anyway so not a big problem. Buying it in the UK is cheper than from the US.

I do however wonder; is the Kindle in itself somehow connected to a region? Or will it be ok for me to just sign up for an amazon.com-account and download from there instead of an UK-one? It seems to me as if I, as a Swede, won't be able to neither order the Kindle itself nor download any books using an UK-account since my current account has a Swedish address. And I'd really rather just keep my UK-account with a correct address (to order movies and clothes) and then sign up for an American one to connect to the Kindle.

Would this work? I'd be really happy for some help here, and I'd rather buy a Kindle than some of the other ones available (which are still even more expensive or in the same price range as the Kindle anyway).

Thank you!

thomass · 05-03-2011, 05:44 PM

welcome
yes it works. I'm in Turkey and using an account in which my location appears as Us I could bought books, apps for my Kindle.

TenaciousBadger · 05-03-2011, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomass

yes it works. I'm in Turkey and using an account in which my location appears as Us I could bought books, apps for my Kindle.

But doesn't this imply that you're using a false address in your Amazon account. I've heard it works sometimes but that sooner or later Amazon catches on.

Sorry, kejsarinna, I don't really have an answer although this problem's cropped up quite often at the forum. You might want to do a search and see what other threads had to say about it.

I might be very wrong, but I don' think you'd be able to use the UK Kindle without a genuine UK address. Maybe your friend might be willing to let you use his/her address

I'm not sure about the credit card though.

Others will know better than me

Welcome to the forum!

thomass · 05-03-2011, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenaciousBadger

But doesn't this imply that you're using a false address in your Amazon account.

It is the address of a friend. Amazon also sent a kindle to there, therefore I hope to have no problem.
However, using your account through a us proxy once whenever there is a problem solves this problem, as far as I know.
also look at to this: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97171

orjanb · 05-04-2011, 04:26 AM

I'm also in Sweden and have no problems whatsoever ordering Kindle books from Amazon.com. As long as you live in one of the countries that Amazon deliver to (which includes Sweden) you shouldn't have to resort to fake addresses.
Amazon makes different offers available in different regions, e.g. a book might be discounted for US customers but not for Swedish customers, some content is available only to UK customers, etc. That is the only reason I can think of for using a fake US address instead of your genuine Swedish address.

Ea · 05-04-2011, 08:38 AM

I think that if you plan to get a 3G kindle and use the 3G network from Sweden, then there might be issues since you are getting a UK Kindle and not the international version. Perhaps you should ask directly at Amazon about that. I you get the wifi version, I can't see that there should be any problems.

With regard to Amazon accounts, I'm not sure it's even possible to have separate accounts anymore. Amazon merged customer accounts a couple of years ago, for example my four separate accounts (.com, .co.uk, .de and .fr) were merged into one. Perhaps it's possible if you register with separate emails and use different credit cards...

ProfCrash · 05-04-2011, 11:41 AM

All Kindles are international. The difference between the UK version and the US version is the phone chip (I know that is not technically what it is) in the Kindle. Essentially, the UK version is sent with onw that is more commonly found in Europe and I think the rest of the world. The US version is sold with a chip from ATT. So a UK Kindle will probably work better in Sweden then a US based Kindle.

The US address is need to buy books without geographic restrictions from the US store. Use gift cards as well. Most folks report that they don't have to do much beyond this as long as they buy only a few books a week. Others report that a VPN blocker is a good thing and will male it easier for you to buy books from the US store.

kejsarinna · 05-04-2011, 12:13 PM

As it turns out, we're ordering from US anyways. As orjanb said; Sweden is one of the countries the US store delivers to so there can't be a problem. When I log on to my UK-account and surf the Kindle books it let's me know it can't be delivered to me. No such problem with mu US-account.

I have two accounts; each regestered to different e-mails. So far no problems

We'll see when the Kindle arrives, haha.

Thank you for all your help!

kejsarinna · 05-04-2011, 12:15 PM

Also, I will only get the wifi-version, not 3G!

Ea · 05-04-2011, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

All Kindles are international. The difference between the UK version and the US version is the phone chip (I know that is not technically what it is) in the Kindle. Essentially, the UK version is sent with onw that is more commonly found in Europe and I think the rest of the world. The US version is sold with a chip from ATT. So a UK Kindle will probably work better in Sweden then a US based Kindle.

Well, that's not the whole truth. There's actually a US Kindle and a version for "International shipment" of the Kindle sold by Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003DZ1Y7M?country=SE). The difference is, as I understand it, which 3G network supplier (carrier?) that Amazon has agreement with. It's different for USA and the rest of the world. I assumed it was the same situation in Britain, and Amazon might have a special deal for 3G Kindles sold in Britain. Or, the british version might be the same as the international version.

ProfCrash · 05-04-2011, 01:53 PM

The only difference is in the carrier. Plenty of Americans have used their Kindles across the globe without any issues. Plenty of Brits and other folks have used their Kindles in the US without any problems. Which tells me that all Kindles are international and that the origin of the Kindle is not important. I am sure Amazon prefers that people buy the Kindle that matches their country because it saves them money in fees.

HarryT · 05-04-2011, 01:54 PM

Absolutely right.

US Kindle = AT&T SIM
International Kindle = Vodafone SIM

That's the only difference.

paulroberthill · 05-05-2011, 06:18 PM

For what it's worth, I've successfully used my UK 3G Kindle in Sweden last January.

stickybuns · 05-05-2011, 07:06 PM

So... speaking of Sweden and 3G... what sort of connection should I expect from my U.S. Kindle on my next trip over there?

tlindgren · 05-05-2011, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

US Kindle = AT&T SIM
International Kindle = Vodafone SIM

Actually, which SIM/Kindle model that Amazon US sends for the "Kindle with International Shipping" depends on what "primary country" you select (there are two models, "AT&T US"/B006 and "Vodafone UK"/B00A).

I don't know which model Amazon sends to Sweden, but I do know that they send the AT&T US SIM model (serial B006) to Norway for example, so it's not something can be assumed.

But Amazon also says that both models works in the same list of countries, I expect that Amazon is just trying to save a bit of money by selecting the most economical delivery for the most common case based on expected country (makes sense).

Also, I expect that UK Kindles are always Vodafone UK, the problem with the UK Kindle store is that it's locked down to only "UK accounts", which in turns require an UK delivery address (not hard since it's not used) and UK credit-card. The second requirement is harder and according to some not always enforced, but to be 100% safe you need to have this and use it for for all payments ever on that account (including transaction on the same account on other Amazon sites). Realistically anyone outside the UK is much better of on the US Kindle store.

I can also mention that in my experience the most common format by far for Swedish ebooks at Swedish internet bookstores are "ePub with watermarks", I've purchased a few and as expected they've worked fine via Calibre on my Kindle 3.

05-03-2011, 05:29 PM	#1
kejsarinna Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2011 Device: none	Swede thinking about buying a Kindle Hi! Newbie here I am planning on getting a Kindle, hopefully through a friend who lives in the UK who'll bring it here on her next visit. I have decided on a Kindle even though, yes I might not be able to read any Swedish books but I rarely do that anyway so not a big problem. Buying it in the UK is cheper than from the US. I do however wonder; is the Kindle in itself somehow connected to a region? Or will it be ok for me to just sign up for an amazon.com-account and download from there instead of an UK-one? It seems to me as if I, as a Swede, won't be able to neither order the Kindle itself nor download any books using an UK-account since my current account has a Swedish address. And I'd really rather just keep my UK-account with a correct address (to order movies and clothes) and then sign up for an American one to connect to the Kindle. Would this work? I'd be really happy for some help here, and I'd rather buy a Kindle than some of the other ones available (which are still even more expensive or in the same price range as the Kindle anyway). Thank you!

05-03-2011, 05:44 PM	#2
thomass Wizard Posts: 1,669 Karma: 2300001 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Türkiye Device: Kindle 5.3.7	welcome yes it works. I'm in Turkey and using an account in which my location appears as Us I could bought books, apps for my Kindle. Last edited by thomass; 05-03-2011 at 05:47 PM.

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05-04-2011, 04:26 AM	#5
orjanb Member Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Sweden Device: Kindle WiFi, Sony Ericsson X10i	I'm also in Sweden and have no problems whatsoever ordering Kindle books from Amazon.com. As long as you live in one of the countries that Amazon deliver to (which includes Sweden) you shouldn't have to resort to fake addresses. Amazon makes different offers available in different regions, e.g. a book might be discounted for US customers but not for Swedish customers, some content is available only to UK customers, etc. That is the only reason I can think of for using a fake US address instead of your genuine Swedish address.

05-04-2011, 08:38 AM	#6
Ea Wizard Posts: 3,490 Karma: 5239563 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Denmark Device: Kindle 3\|iPad air\|iPhone 4S	I think that if you plan to get a 3G kindle and use the 3G network from Sweden, then there might be issues since you are getting a UK Kindle and not the international version. Perhaps you should ask directly at Amazon about that. I you get the wifi version, I can't see that there should be any problems. With regard to Amazon accounts, I'm not sure it's even possible to have separate accounts anymore. Amazon merged customer accounts a couple of years ago, for example my four separate accounts (.com, .co.uk, .de and .fr) were merged into one. Perhaps it's possible if you register with separate emails and use different credit cards...

05-04-2011, 11:41 AM	#7
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	All Kindles are international. The difference between the UK version and the US version is the phone chip (I know that is not technically what it is) in the Kindle. Essentially, the UK version is sent with onw that is more commonly found in Europe and I think the rest of the world. The US version is sold with a chip from ATT. So a UK Kindle will probably work better in Sweden then a US based Kindle. The US address is need to buy books without geographic restrictions from the US store. Use gift cards as well. Most folks report that they don't have to do much beyond this as long as they buy only a few books a week. Others report that a VPN blocker is a good thing and will male it easier for you to buy books from the US store.

05-04-2011, 12:13 PM	#8
kejsarinna Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2011 Device: none	As it turns out, we're ordering from US anyways. As orjanb said; Sweden is one of the countries the US store delivers to so there can't be a problem. When I log on to my UK-account and surf the Kindle books it let's me know it can't be delivered to me. No such problem with mu US-account. I have two accounts; each regestered to different e-mails. So far no problems We'll see when the Kindle arrives, haha. Thank you for all your help!

05-04-2011, 12:15 PM	#9
kejsarinna Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2011 Device: none	Also, I will only get the wifi-version, not 3G!

05-04-2011, 01:53 PM	#11
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	The only difference is in the carrier. Plenty of Americans have used their Kindles across the globe without any issues. Plenty of Brits and other folks have used their Kindles in the US without any problems. Which tells me that all Kindles are international and that the origin of the Kindle is not important. I am sure Amazon prefers that people buy the Kindle that matches their country because it saves them money in fees.

05-04-2011, 01:54 PM	#12
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Absolutely right. US Kindle = AT&T SIM International Kindle = Vodafone SIM That's the only difference.

05-05-2011, 06:18 PM	#13
paulroberthill Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: London, UK Device: Kindle 3 WiFi + 3G	For what it's worth, I've successfully used my UK 3G Kindle in Sweden last January.

05-05-2011, 07:06 PM	#14
stickybuns Evangelist Posts: 405 Karma: 479729 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle 3, Kindle Paperwhite 2	So... speaking of Sweden and 3G... what sort of connection should I expect from my U.S. Kindle on my next trip over there?

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