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Kindle UK

November 24th, 2007 · by David Bradley >> 10 Comments

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Amazon Kindle

You’ve obviously been dwelling in a parallel universe if you haven’t heard of Amazon’s electronic book device, known as Kindle. Find out more about the device on the amazon.com site or Google the blogosphere for reviews and critiques. In case you have been elsewhere, Kindle is a portable, wireless device that should give you access to 90000 books, blogs, and newspapers, almost at the tap of a screen, if you can find somewhere to buy one, that is.

But, just try getting your hands on a Kindle in the UK. According to Phil Bradley (no relation, other Bradleys are available) aside from the fact that Kindle is sold out on the .com, Amazon has some serious international issues under its .co.uk address where Kindle the wireless book is not even mentioned. This is nothing unusual for an electronic device.

There are all kinds of totally stupid international trade laws that prevent certain electronic goods from being sold in specific forms in the UK, EU etc that are widely and readily available elsewhere (i.e. the US and Japan).

When I bought a video camera in the UK a few years back, I discovered the only way I could connect and use it for digital transfer to and from my PC was to do a hardware mod. Not so the US model, which came with bidirectionality as standard. The company press office told me it was a specific restriction on the product in the EU that limited it’s functionality to preclude exclusivity of video camera vendors. In other words, it could be sold as a video camera, but not as a digital stills camera, which is the additional function that bidirectionality would give the device. See, I told you it was stupid.

Just remember, it’s the same bunch of anti-anti-competition laws that led Microsoft into court for selling an operating system with a built in internet browser and other similar legal japes. All these legislative escapades must have the lawyers rubbing their hands all the way to the bank. And, it doesn’t matter which universe you’re in, you know that to be a universal truth.

10 responses so far ↓

  • Hsien Lei // Nov 24, 2007 at 4:29 pm

    Same thing with MP3 players. Same model in the UK has the FM tuner disabled while you can get a functional FM tuner outside of the UK. Something about radio tax or something. What is this with TV tax and now radio tax?!

  • David Bradley // Nov 24, 2007 at 8:29 pm

    The whole lot of it is a right royal pain in the ass, especially considering how cheap these goods are when you look at amazon.com prices in $$$ and convert to GBP

  • ben // Mar 15, 2008 at 10:43 pm

    so when can we get it in the uk?

  • David Bradley // Mar 17, 2008 at 9:18 am

    Ben, they’re not yet available in the UK, but what you could do is set up a forwarding PO Box with DHL or UPS or someone similar and use that address as the delivery address with amazon.com. The courier will receive the package and then forward to you in the UK. You run the risk of having to pay import duty and VAT of course.

    However, from what I’ve read, I’d rather wait till the next generation Kindle arrives anyway.

    db

  • Julien // May 27, 2008 at 7:19 pm

    Its a joke is what it is that we (ebook publishers) in the UK cant even get our books up for sale on amazon as a kindle file.

    It is making me pull my hair out and having to seek a distributor over there in the US – which I would prefer not to do.

    We will win in the end though …!

    regards
    Jules

  • David Bradley // Jun 2, 2008 at 10:59 am

    Jules, have you tried to campaign with Amazon UK, what about lobbying parliament, create some kind of online petition perhaps?

    db

  • Endy // Dec 29, 2008 at 9:59 am

    Hello,

    Has anyone got a vague idea of when the kindle might be available in the UK? Are there any alternatives in the UK at present?

    Thanks

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  • Graham Simpson // Sep 9, 2009 at 12:47 pm

    I just bought a kindle 1 by import, which I’m waiting for over the next few weeks. I have no interest in the Kindle book store – only in the readability and search-ability for my text. I’ve been getting books from Project Gutenberg – and that does me fine. I agree with something I saw elsewhere though – eBooks will not take off, till a bookseller-independant company builds a winner.

  • Dan Zambonini // Feb 24, 2010 at 1:43 pm

    We’ve just got ours (imported from the US store, of course). I have to say, although I am disappointed with the lack of browsing/blogs (that would be a killer feature for me), it still is surprisingly lovely: the screensaver when you switch it off, and the weight and styling. Having said that, the refresh rate could do with being quicker… but that’s e-ink for you.

    What we need now, of course, is for the ‘free books’ to actually be free over here in the UK, like they are in the US, rather than having to pay some dodgy VAT fee (or whatever it is).

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