UAE Good Readers discussion
Kindle in the U.A.E.
It's good that your enjoying your kindle!I have been thinking about it, but my problem was not the shippment, my problem was that I thought we couldn't download all the books.
So I guess my question is, can we buy any book we want, there are no restrictions???
Hey Jewel, it turns out that Kindle is available in Virgin!! After all the effort I went through to buy it from Amazon *sigh*. To answer your questions, yes any book available in the kindle store can be downloaded. However, some books are just not available on the kindle. But if it's there anyone can downlaod it and what's great is that you can download a sample first free of charge and read the first couple of pages before actually buying the book :D.
Thank you very much for sharing the updated information...i ran into the same problem of shipping to Dubai..now i will head to Virgin
oops..its not kindle fire that Virgin have its the Kindle 3D
Oh, what's the kindlle fire? The kindle I bought on amazon is the same one theyre selling in virgin.
the one you have will do the job just perfectly fine, on the other hand kindle fire has a colored screen, it touch like the iPad and beside books u can surf internet
oh wow, I've been thinking kindle needs to be in color!
Thanks, but is there much difference in the price?? I mean is it much more expensive than Amazon???I think I'll wait for the kindle fire!!
The normal kindle Is almost the same price in virgin and on amazon. Is the kindle fire gonna come out to virgin though? It sounds awesome.
Yes ultimately i think, i did mention this to Mr. sales person.
personally i can not wait so i am going with the UK address option. this is very useful information, lots of people in UAE have business or personal connection with UK so that is cool option.
i just discovered what the word (verb) kindle means, i did not know it means "to inflame" so it is a good combination " Kindle Fire"
personally i can not wait so i am going with the UK address option. this is very useful information, lots of people in UAE have business or personal connection with UK so that is cool option.
i just discovered what the word (verb) kindle means, i did not know it means "to inflame" so it is a good combination " Kindle Fire"
I've decided I'm not getting the Kindle Fire, because it doesn't have E-ink screen, I think I have enough glare from the iPhone, the iPad, the labtop, my poor eyes don't need it while I read!!N
The question now is which to get??Kindle keyboard?
Kindle Touch?
Kindle basic?
oh nnooo if theres no ink technology then DEFFINATELY dont get it. The ink pearl technology is what makes it sooo great. I enjoy reading on it more than actual books! :P. Well Jewel are you buying thru virgin or thru amazon? If through virgin then they only have one kindle available(Keyboard), so there isnt much choice. But even if ur getting from amazon I suggest the keyboard, the basic is too primitave and I personally hate touch screens as theyre soo sensitive and you end up clicking all over the screen, not a happy reading xperience when the pages keep turning by mistake
As if by sheer coincidence today's Virgin Books Blog poll would LOVE to know everyone's opinion of ebooks, e-reading, ipads and related digital 'stuff'. Please take 20 seconds to vote!
http://virginbooks.wordpress.com/2011...
http://virginbooks.wordpress.com/2011...
It's sold in Virgin? I've been trying to find it for months...which Virgin did you guys find it in? Dubai Malls? I was considering getting someone to send it to me from America but if it's sold here that's excellent!
Dubai Mall should still have stock.
I've seen it in MOE and Dubai Mall recentley, They also have cute pink covers for it :P
As far as I can remember, you can sign up for an Amazon account with a UK/US address and buy Kindles and books to your heart's content.If you try and access Amazon from here without a UK address, you get a 'this is not available for the Middle East' - people have been having this problem trying to access my book's Kindle edition. Which is, I must say, mildly frustrating...
The danger with the Kindle Fire is that Amazon will filter the content streams more actively even than they are doing now - the US is currently getting 12000 TV shows and films for $79 a year. But the last time I looked, Amazon wasn't even selling the Fire in the UK...
We're trying to plan our digital strategy for 2012-2013, and we need to get a better picture of what consumers in the Middle East really want. Thanks for everyone who has already voted, and if you haven't yet, please do!
http://virginbooks.wordpress.com/2011...
The Amazon + Kindle route is only one option, and I think we'd all prefer to see a local start-up doing well and taking the fight to Amazon, right?
http://virginbooks.wordpress.com/2011...
The Amazon + Kindle route is only one option, and I think we'd all prefer to see a local start-up doing well and taking the fight to Amazon, right?
Iain - you might want to connect with Jamalon in Jordan, who are planning a combined e-book/POD operation - if you're interested, ping me a DM on Twitter and I'll share contacts...
My kindle account was UK and I was using to buy books for the past 3 months. Suddenly, I started getting an error telling me that the country I have my kindle registered under, is not the country I reside in and thus I can't buy books. So I changed my setting to U.A.E. and it still wont let me buy. I dunno what's its problem!
There's a setting somewhere, Lilyan, that lets you bypass that - in your Kindle account under Country Settings.
Ok, I think I need this a bit simplified for me!!I already have an amazon account that has a UAE address in it, but when I plan to buy my kindle I will use a US address that I have.
I have to use that US address in my Kindle sittings to be able to buy books?? Otherwise I won't be able to??
Won't it find out I'm not in the US??? How do I fix that??
I need to know before I go ahead and buy a kindle and then end up with an e-reader and no books!!
I can't find it :S. Ya JEwel, wait till I sort out a way around this problem and then buy it :P. It's so odd cause it was working perfeeectly and it just decided to spaz out on me randomly!
I have read this thread with interest as I recently sent this e mail to Amazon.com:Please would you explain the position for Kindles internationally.
If I go on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com I get the same respones - 'not available in your area'. I can't even search prices and availability to decide if I want to buy a KIndle as none of this is available here (UAE).
However, many people seem to be using Kindles here. None of them are able to tell me how they are doing this - even the shops that sell the Kindles can't tell me how to do it.
My husband bought me a Kindle - the top model, with 3G and large screen, but if I had opened the box to try registering it, it would have no longer been allowed to be returned, so I returned it unopened - too much money for something that no-one could confirm how I could use it!
If I register a machine does it automatically connect to Amazon.com? Do I then get access to all content? No messages 'not available in your area'?
How can I decide if I want a Kindle before buying, based on the cost of Kindle books and availability of titles?
Help please!!
Thankyou.
This was thier reply:Hello,
I’m sorry for the disappointment.
I’ve checked and verified the Kindle and see that currently we are unable to ship Kindles or offer Kindle content in United Arab Emirates. Publishers grant eBook rights on a country by country basis. As a result availability of titles in the Kindle Store can vary based on your country of residence. We are actively working with publishers to increase our selection.
We value our international customers and hope to make Kindle available in more locations in the future.
Customers who are using the Kindle in UAE might have bought the Kindle from united states. Customers who bought the Kindle from united states and traveling outside the united states can only access the US Kindle store from their Kindle if they’re connected to the wireless.
If you register a Kindle to your Amazon.com account, it will automatically be connected to Amazon.com account. Before you register the Kindle, you need to have an account with Amazon.con account. If you don’t have an account with Amazon.com, you cannot register the Kindle. Once registered you can only access the content which is available for your country. You can check the availability of Kindle and Kindle content to your country on the product detail page of the Kindle.
I have accounts with Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.The latter has UAE credits cards attached, but also one with a UK address and all the addresses in my address book are UK, yet I still cannot access content.
I have been advised that VOIP would sort out this problem but if I'm going to pay a monthly rate for this than I'll stick to paper books.
Now I am considering getting my husband to but a 3G Kindle when he's back in UK and open me a new account with only UK addresses and credit details.
Has anyone else had / solved these problems??
I've been asking people for months but other than VOIP, no other realistic suggestions have surfaced.
PS I bought the Kindle, which I later returned (unopened!) from D G Sharaff (sorry Iain).Last summer I bought an Elonex, sold by Waterstones, while I was in UK. I recently tried to buy a book from Waterstones and got the message "not available in your area" even though I had explained the problem and asked the sales assistant about buying books from here.
The only thing it does allow me to do is read books from my Hampshire library!!
That's what I don't understand! Buying the kindle through a U.K. adress was the perfect solution. I bought ANY book I wanted, all of which are not found in Dubai (That's the whole point of a kindle right). Now i wont even allow me to download samples! I sent them an Email regarding this cuz its so ridiculous, and I'm waiting, they better fix it.DubaiReader, I really dont know wether to advice u to get it or not. a month ago I would have said YES, now with this confusion I'm facing, I say I'm not so sure.
I have a UK address and credit card on my Amazon account and face no restrictions at all on using my Kindle. A friend has a Kindle Fire and confirms that, yes, you can't sign up to Amazon Prime with a UAE location.The excuse about publishers' rights is absolute tosh - as I've mentioned before, I opened up ALL world rights to my book 'Olives - A Violent Romance' when I published it, yet readers in the Middle East still get told it's not available to them.
This is, obviously, expressly AGAINST my wishes as a publisher.
Alex, how did you bypass the country conflict? I could not find that anywhere. My kindle is still telling me that I can't purchase books because my 2 accounts are registered under different countries.
That's the trouble - I set it all up so long ago I don't remember - sorry to be so unhelpful!I'd ditch the UAE account, because you're certainly going to face restrictions on Kindle stuff. It doesn't stop you sending to the UAE.
BTW, I do use Aramex' excellent Shop and Ship service for deliveries of booky books from the UK/US - it's a forwarding service that means delivery is reliable, tracked and expedited for me.
@Dubaireader Yes, I had a pint with an old colleague from Waterstones.com over the summer and she was explaining that they'd had to amend the settings and stop selling to us expats. Since then I've not actually tried to buy an ebook but I expect it won't work, although I have a VPN so it might slip through the net.
If I have a US address but a UAE card, would that still not work??I find it very strange, since we can get the printed book, why can't we get the ebook??
This is how I did it:
I bought a Kindle using a service which gives me a US postal address. I then changed my country, selected "United States", and was then prompted if the above mentioned postal address (which was saved in my address book) was my US address. I said yes, and voila!
I bought loads of books on the first day because I was convinced (from a previous experience on a separate account) that I would get a cease and desist email from Amazon. I have yet to receive any email from Amazon, the Gods be thanked.
And yes, I had a UAE based credit card on my account. Perhaps I was just lucky, because I can't think of a reason why it worked when it doesn't accept US addresses for other people.
If this doesn't work for you, your only bet is to get a VPN.
I bought a Kindle using a service which gives me a US postal address. I then changed my country, selected "United States", and was then prompted if the above mentioned postal address (which was saved in my address book) was my US address. I said yes, and voila!
I bought loads of books on the first day because I was convinced (from a previous experience on a separate account) that I would get a cease and desist email from Amazon. I have yet to receive any email from Amazon, the Gods be thanked.
And yes, I had a UAE based credit card on my account. Perhaps I was just lucky, because I can't think of a reason why it worked when it doesn't accept US addresses for other people.
If this doesn't work for you, your only bet is to get a VPN.
The popular concensus is that a separate reading device is the way forward - reading on a iPad seems universally unpopular. I find I'm always tempted online, and the iPad is too funky and sexy for something as immersive and reflective as reading, but that's only true for fiction, innit?
Two things needed: 1) we should be able to read books in open formats (mobi, pdf, etc)
and 2) you should have an ebook catalogue to rival Amazon.
I stay with Amazon because there isn't a better catalogue than theirs. Above all, it's convenient (once you have the US account setup)
Iain wrote: "The popular concensus is that a separate reading device is the way forward - reading on a iPad seems universally unpopular. I find I'm always tempted online, and the iPad is too funky and sexy for ..."
and 2) you should have an ebook catalogue to rival Amazon.
I stay with Amazon because there isn't a better catalogue than theirs. Above all, it's convenient (once you have the US account setup)
Iain wrote: "The popular concensus is that a separate reading device is the way forward - reading on a iPad seems universally unpopular. I find I'm always tempted online, and the iPad is too funky and sexy for ..."
Virtual Private Network - it's a way of spoofing the UAE proxy server, sort of like a wormhole in a sci-fi book - means you pop up as a person in the US (or somewhere else, but most commonly US) as far as the Internet sees you.
Anyone know what VPN costs? I've heard $6 pm and also $15pm. I'd rather treat myself to am extra book each month and boycott Kindle :)
Yeah, would cost something like that.Buy a nice print copy of Olives
by me from Createspace or Amazon and save the money, unless you want to download Skype freely and browse porn...
:)
Or you could wait for 1st week Dec, when the book will be on the shelves in the UAE!
*innocent* No, that wasn't a plug! Really! It was just genuine financial advice! Honest!
Updates:My Kindle is working again! I contacted Amazon, and apparantley there was a small issue which was fixed in a second. So yaay.
Also, they are now selling Kindle Fire in Virgin :)
Yeah, don't forget you can't download any Amazon prime or movie content to the Fire without a valid US credit card.
It's great Lilyan that it's working now ;)I just ordered a Kindle Touch from Amazon two days ago :)
Totally not interested in the Kindle Fire, it doesn't have E-technology, and you can't get all the movies or rent outside the US, and I have my iPhone and iPad for everything else,
This Kindle is good for reading and the kids would not be interested in it :)
I got my kindle touch last week and I love it so far!
Ya? I have the keyboard kindle, does the touch have additional features? Other than being touch obviously :P.Oh one thing I really hate about the kindle, is that when I'm browsing books, I sometimes accidentally click on buy and that's it! They dont double check with me if I wanna buy it, they just do, I then have to cancel it's so annoying.
yyyaaay Mabrook! :D Let me know how it goes ^_^
UAE Good Readers
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I strongly urge every book lover to get one. The ink pearl technology is incredible and it's a great solution for bothersome hardcovers that weigh a ton and cannot be taken anywhere. You also don't have to worry about your precious book getting torn or ripped at the beach. Plus, you can buy your kindle a lovely cover for protection.
No, the point of this discussion was not to praise the kindle :P so let me get to the point.
Before I bought it, I checked reviews online and everyone was making it sound impossible to buy and use a kindle outside of the U.S., so for anyone interested in bringing their kindle here, you will only face one problem and that is shipment. They do not ship kindles to Dubai. The way I got it is the following:
I bought the kindle (using a uae credit card) on my amazon account and sent it to our UK company address.
The company then shipped it to me and that's it.
Using the kindle is extremely easy, since I bought it with my amazon account it's already logged in and all i have to do is click a book i want and within 5 minutes it's loaded and im happily reading :D.
So! Contrary to what most people were saying; it IS possible to buy a kindle with a UAE credit card and it IS extremely user friendly and conveniant.