tutsiwarrior Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 (edited) now I'm confused...I'm in a place where I can't download directly from amazon to the kindle device and I thought that in this case the 3G model would be preferable (auto revert to EDGE/GPRS) to the wifi model, i.e,, using a local internet data signal to download to the laptop and then transfer the ebook file to the kindle via the USB...is this presumption correct? also, I was gonna order from amazon UK as I was gonna pick up the unit in Brighton to bring back to VN as this would avoid import duty and VAT on the UK side if ordered from the US...the unit price in the US is cheaper so would the savings be significant?...do folks in the UK usually order a kindle from the US? sorry to sound like a dope but I'm just a country boy from the north central VN coast...smoke signals, etc... Edited May 10, 2011 by tutsiwarrior Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahsbloke Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 (edited) It doesn't matter how you get your books onto the Kindle ,it's easy, you need a PC or a wifi hotspot. It doesn't matter how you charge it, anything with a USB socket will do the job. It doesn't matter where you get your books from, google, torrents, Calibre are your friends. The USA is always the cheapest place for electronics, get them carried over by a friend. No sales Tax if you have friends in California! Edited May 10, 2011 by sarahsbloke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProThaiExpat Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 I bought my Kindle for my birthday in March from Chiang Mai. However, I don't like the costs involved in courier delivery and their batch customs duty approach so I had the Kindle delivered to a friend in the US, he merely received it and mailed it via USPS for a total cost of 525 Baht in US dollars. No customs duty and small kindle fit into USPS small box shipping rate. I saved more than $75 over ordering for direct delivery from Amazon via courier. Total elapsed time from ordering online to arrival on my door step was one week!! While you wait for delivery, you can go shopping at the Amazon store for free books or otherwise and download them to your computer via Kindle PC program at no additional cost. You can then click them back to your personal archive at Amazon and down load them to your Kindle when it arrives. I enjoy doing my shopping on the laptop but download for reading to my Kindle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
touch Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I have had my Kindle with 3G for over a year now and it has to be the best tech purchase i have made in the last 5 years. They are actually for sale locally at Smart mobile.http://www.smartmobile dot co.th/ have them for 6.900B and 8.900B respectively. Not as cheap as in the US, I bought mine there,but maybe an alternative to having it shipped from Amazon. I am not affiliated with smart mobile in any way and have never purchased anything from them. //t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisailer Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I bought mine in the states and I love it. My only complaint is that it is too easy to buy books. I watched the Pacific series and jumped on Amazon and got the books that were the basis for the series in about a minuet. After my iphone it is the best tech purchase I've made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzi850m2 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 (edited) now I'm confused...I'm in a place where I can't download directly from amazon to the kindle device and I thought that in this case the 3G model would be preferable (auto revert to EDGE/GPRS) to the wifi model, i.e,, using a local internet data signal to download to the laptop and then transfer the ebook file to the kindle via the USB...is this presumption correct? also, I was gonna order from amazon UK as I was gonna pick up the unit in Brighton to bring back to VN as this would avoid import duty and VAT on the UK side if ordered from the US...the unit price in the US is cheaper so would the savings be significant?...do folks in the UK usually order a kindle from the US? sorry to sound like a dope but I'm just a country boy from the north central VN coast...smoke signals, etc... The 3G model can download direct when you have a phone signal (thats why I bought a 3G model). See the posts before this for cheaper purchasing in LOS. I bought mine from USA and paid 312 $, seen in the rear mirror I could have saved app 100$ ~ 3000 bath if bought here. Well I wont loose any sleep over that, if I did what about the millions of bath I used in my youth on beers & girls, LOL Edited May 11, 2011 by guzzi850m2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Conners Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I have had my Kindle with 3G for over a year now and it has to be the best tech purchase i have made in the last 5 years. They are actually for sale locally at Smart mobile.http://www.smartmobile dot co.th/ have them for 6.900B and 8.900B respectively. Not as cheap as in the US, I bought mine there,but maybe an alternative to having it shipped from Amazon. I am not affiliated with smart mobile in any way and have never purchased anything from them. //t You can buy it directly from Amazon.com for $200 (6,000 baht) including taxes and delivery to Thailand, so why spend 900 baht more to buy it from a Thai online shop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzi850m2 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 (edited) I have had my Kindle with 3G for over a year now and it has to be the best tech purchase i have made in the last 5 years. They are actually for sale locally at Smart mobile.http://www.smartmobile dot co.th/ have them for 6.900B and 8.900B respectively. Not as cheap as in the US, I bought mine there,but maybe an alternative to having it shipped from Amazon. I am not affiliated with smart mobile in any way and have never purchased anything from them. //t You can buy it directly from Amazon.com for $200 (6,000 baht) including taxes and delivery to Thailand, so why spend 900 baht more to buy it from a Thai online shop? ??? I just bought from Amazon at 312 $ incl tax and shipping so how can you get it at that price?? Edited May 11, 2011 by guzzi850m2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Conners Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Maybe you got the 3G model? The Thai price and I referred to the Wifi only version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzi850m2 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Maybe you got the 3G model? The Thai price and I referred to the Wifi only version. Yes I got the 3G model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insertcoins Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 If you do some googling then there are at least 2 different Thai guys (at least at the time I bought mine, 2 months ago) that are importing them in bulk and selling them in Thailand. I bought my Kindle 3 WIFI model for 6000 THB excluding shipping from BKK to HKT. Cheap for sure. I just got a e-mail from Amazon that says my Kindle will be registered in my name, so I can order/receive book direct via my Kindle. Can you do that on yours and is you kindle registered in Amazon too? yes. you can always change the owner whenever you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost in LOS Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I dont know how long the charge lasts but it seems like forever. Kindle was designed very smart, it takes a small amount of power when you turn the page and then uses none when you are reading. Great system as for all this about the charger it takes a cable to charge from the computer and you can buy the little plug in charger at tukcom really cheap that the usb plugs into, just like an iPhone. see my photo before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabaijai Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I am still totally confused. A poster suggests what is delivered in the US is different than Thailand. I don't have a Kindle so I don't have the reference point owners do. I am planning to buy a Kindle in the US. I assume I can plug it into my PC via USB and charge it in Thailand. (Already verified.) My understanding is that it also comes with a connection to a wall outlet. Will the US delivered Kindle wall outlet charging work in Thailand, or not? If not, why not? Also when you say your Kindle is this or that, in regard to this question unless you say whether it was delivered in the US or Thailand, it really doesn't address this question. The charging cable will work in any country. It automatically adjusts to whatever voltage comes out of the wall. The charger cable and the USB cable are one and the same. Your plug the USB into an adapter (already mounted when you receive the cable). That explains my earlier confusion about not receiving the USB cable -- the USB was already plugged into the small adapter and I didn't realise it. To summarize: 1. In Thailand no plug adapter is necessary other than the one provided IF you buy the unit in the USA. Otherwise, it sounds like you have to provide your own. The USA one works fine here or anywhere else. They're cheap here (perhaps that's why they're not bundled outside the USA, cheaply available everywhere?). 2. You don't need to use WiFi or 3G to download books. You can download to your computer, then transfer to the Kindle. When you plug the Kindle into you computer via USB, it acts like an external drive. Simply drag and drop the downloaded ebook file into the folder called "Documents" on the Kindle. 3. Chargeable via USB or wall socket. I haven't noticed any difference in charge time using either, but one charge lasts so long it's not much of an issue. 4. One full charge lasts about 10 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
touch Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I have had my Kindle with 3G for over a year now and it has to be the best tech purchase i have made in the last 5 years. They are actually for sale locally at Smart mobile.http://www.smartmobile dot co.th/ have them for 6.900B and 8.900B respectively. Not as cheap as in the US, I bought mine there,but maybe an alternative to having it shipped from Amazon. I am not affiliated with smart mobile in any way and have never purchased anything from them. //t You can buy it directly from Amazon.com for $200 (6,000 baht) including taxes and delivery to Thailand, so why spend 900 baht more to buy it from a Thai online shop? First of all. I am NOT affiliated with that company, but if you had bothered to go to their website you would have seen that they have three shops in BKK and one in Tukcom Pattaya. I'll make it real easy, they are at Branch 1 IT Mall Fortune town ชั้น 4 IT Mall ฟอร์จูนทาวน์ เลขที่ 4E74 Tel. 02-6420433-4, Fax. 02-642-0435 Branch 2 Pantip Plaza ชั้น 2 พันธุ์ทิพย์ พลาซ่า เลขที่ 277-278 Tel. 02-6565530 Fax. 02-656-6046 mobile 086-3797711 Branch 3 ตึกคอมพัทยา ชั้น 1 ตึกคอมพัทยา จ.ชลบุรี Tel. 038-724131, 086-329-4300 Fax. 038-724132 Branch 4 Digital Gateway Digital Gateway @ Centerpoint ชั้น 3 ห้อง 308, Siam Square, ถ.พระราม 1,ปทุมวัน, กรุงเทพฯ 10330 Tel.02-6234144, fax. 02-6234145 , mobile: 085-1206677 Happy Reading //t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Conners Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 No, I didn't bother as I'm not in the market to buy a Kindle, just trying to help new buyers answer some of the questions I had before buying one. The question still remains, why pay 900 baht more than it cost? It generally takes about a week to have one delivered from Amazon, and you can stay at home and wait for the mailman to deliver it to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahsbloke Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 (edited) No, I didn't bother as I'm not in the market to buy a Kindle, just trying to help new buyers answer some of the questions I had before buying one. The question still remains, why pay 900 baht more than it cost? It generally takes about a week to have one delivered from Amazon, and you can stay at home and wait for the mailman to deliver it to you. The new 'with adverts' Kindle wifi is $114 = 3,500bht Why pay more (double)? Edited May 12, 2011 by sarahsbloke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Conners Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Unfortunately that deal is only available in USA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahsbloke Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I always get stuff carried over in a pals luggage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermespan Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 (edited) I'm curious why so many persons are using/have ordered the 3G version. Isn't wifi adequete? mean, do you *really* need instant access to books in your home at 3 am on a Sunday? Isn't going down to a wifi access spot once a week adequete? I would be afraid to have 24/7 access to spend money! Oops, I do, it's called a debit card and net shops open round the clock in Pattaya. I mean really from a technical standpoint, isn't WIFI pretty obiquitous now in Thailand. Even in Cambodia in the capital city one can go out to coffee shops and get 'free' WIFI. When I waited at the Macdonalds at Larkin enroute to Singapore, there was 'free' WIFI. It's not like it's hard to find. Is it much slower or more of a problem than 3G.? Call me a paranoid, but the idea of any corporation (or government) knowing my physical location by satellite 24/7 seems kind of creepy. This is my hesitation to getting even a GPS device. Edited May 16, 2011 by hermespan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monekyface Posted May 16, 2011 Share Posted May 16, 2011 agree hermespan- the wifi version is fine, and if you have a wireless router at home just download new books there. reading a book takes a long time- a sixty second download at home or at a local hotspot gives you hours and hours of use while you read it out of wifi range. i had my wifi kindle shipped here maybe a week ago and between sending free books to it from Amazon (yes, there are tons of classics that they will send to your kindle for free!!) and downloading free from other sites like manybooks.net and feedbooks.com I have over 60 books on it already. the free entertainment seems almost endless. you can turn wifi off, and i do most of the time to save batteries. 3g is faster but books are very small files by and large so having 3g is not critical- but sure it might be fun to shop from the taxi! the kindle is the best money that i have spent on a toy in a long time. i'm not well-read in classic lit and figured catching up would take a decade but give me a year and i will have burned through a lot of old books on this clever little device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elwood Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 agree hermespan- the wifi version is fine, and if you have a wireless router at home just download new books there. reading a book takes a long time- a sixty second download at home or at a local hotspot gives you hours and hours of use while you read it out of wifi range. i had my wifi kindle shipped here maybe a week ago and between sending free books to it from Amazon (yes, there are tons of classics that they will send to your kindle for free!!) and downloading free from other sites like manybooks.net and feedbooks.com I have over 60 books on it already. the free entertainment seems almost endless. you can turn wifi off, and i do most of the time to save batteries. 3g is faster but books are very small files by and large so having 3g is not critical- but sure it might be fun to shop from the taxi! the kindle is the best money that i have spent on a toy in a long time. i'm not well-read in classic lit and figured catching up would take a decade but give me a year and i will have burned through a lot of old books on this clever little device. Have to agree with you about the Kindle and reading the classics. In the past few months I have re-read several of my favourite classics read as a young man - Dickens, Treasure island, Count of Monte Cristo, and several others - and read the entire Sherlock Holmes collection for the first time. Without the Kindle I would never have relived the pleasure of these books. Mixing the classics with the newer books I have downloaded gives me a stunning variety of books to go through; like you, I am delighted with my "toy". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregb Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 I always get stuff carried over in a pals luggage. Me too. My mom brought mine over in September of last year from the states $130. Thing works great. I use it mostly to read technical datasheets in PDF format. A little small, but with the contrast set all the way up and turned sideways it is very useable. Took my family to the beach a few months back and spent the entire day doing research on microcontrollers. Fabulous little device. So much more convenient than a laptop. I also installed the USB networking hack and can now mount the complete Linux OS from the Kindle and make changes to it. There is also a developer's package which I haven't tried to use yet. First app I would want to write when I have the time is a proper streaming mp3 player over WiFi. The music capabilities that come by default are extremely primitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost in LOS Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I always get stuff carried over in a pals luggage. Me too. My mom brought mine over in September of last year from the states $130. Thing works great. I use it mostly to read technical datasheets in PDF format. A little small, but with the contrast set all the way up and turned sideways it is very useable. Took my family to the beach a few months back and spent the entire day doing research on microcontrollers. Fabulous little device. So much more convenient than a laptop. I also installed the USB networking hack and can now mount the complete Linux OS from the Kindle and make changes to it. There is also a developer's package which I haven't tried to use yet. First app I would want to write when I have the time is a proper streaming mp3 player over WiFi. The music capabilities that come by default are extremely primitive. I have never seen a contrast on the kindle, it reads like a newspaper and has no back lighting ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suradit Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 (edited) No, I didn't bother as I'm not in the market to buy a Kindle, just trying to help new buyers answer some of the questions I had before buying one. The question still remains, why pay 900 baht more than it cost? It generally takes about a week to have one delivered from Amazon, and you can stay at home and wait for the mailman to deliver it to you. I was just about to go to TukCom and pick up the one advertised at Smart Mobile for Baht 6900 when I noticed there were some differences between the one they show and the one on Amazon. Amazon: e-ink Pearl, 8.5 ounces, 7.5 x 4.8 inches Smart: e-ink, 10.2 ounces, 8 x 5.3 inches So I assumed the one on Amazon is a newer version. I ordered direct from Amazon. Including a charger, customs and shipping $216.89 Not a whole lot cheaper than Smart, but if it's a newer version it's probably a better deal. Edited May 21, 2011 by Suradit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost in LOS Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I saw on amazon they have an accessory kit you can order that has all the chargers, cables etc if you need them Not expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregb Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I always get stuff carried over in a pals luggage. Me too. My mom brought mine over in September of last year from the states $130. Thing works great. I use it mostly to read technical datasheets in PDF format. A little small, but with the contrast set all the way up and turned sideways it is very useable. Took my family to the beach a few months back and spent the entire day doing research on microcontrollers. Fabulous little device. So much more convenient than a laptop. I also installed the USB networking hack and can now mount the complete Linux OS from the Kindle and make changes to it. There is also a developer's package which I haven't tried to use yet. First app I would want to write when I have the time is a proper streaming mp3 player over WiFi. The music capabilities that come by default are extremely primitive. I have never seen a contrast on the kindle, it reads like a newspaper and has no back lighting ?? It's in the orientation menu on the Kindle 3. There are 5 settings from lightest to darkest. You can change the contrast of the text against the white background. No backlighting. http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96216 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Conners Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I think you can only adjust the contrast for PDF files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
engrin Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I'm joining the club Delivery estimate: May 25, 2011 - May 27, 2011 1 "Kindle, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology [includes USB Cable for Charging. For International Shipment]" Electronics; $139.00 In Stock Sold by: Amazon Export Sales, Inc. Shipping Method: Priority International Courier Shipping Preference: Group my items into as few shipments as possible Subtotal of Items: $139.00 Shipping & Handling: $20.98 ------ Import Fees Deposit $40.96 ------ Total for this Order: $200.94 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Conners Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Welcome to the club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tutsiwarrior Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 ah gots mine from halobuy.com in Vietnam with charger and a CD (?, maybe to change font, haven't yet checked)... hands are shaking...have located obscure writing of Sherwood Anderson on free download... need to find a cover; can't find one locally...a beginning of a great adventure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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