Arghh! Trying to buy a Kindle from Amazon

I've just wasted 2 hours trying to order a Kindle 3G from Amazon. I select the interntional version, select NZ, it tells me they ship to NZ, and then when I go to the checkout, it says they can't ship the selected item to the selected address! What am I doing wrong? Is it the dreaded Rural Delivery thats stuffing things up? I have put my address in 3 different ways, but it just doesn't like it. Can anyone help? Grant?

Just a question: Why do you want to order a Kindle 3G when to transfer books over 3G is going to cost quite a lot of money in NZ?

IMO, you should be ordering the WiFi only version which will transfer books for free, and also costs US$50 (about NZ$70) less. Just a thought...

Maybe that is why Amazon is complaining. Try the WiFi version and see if that is any different.

I gave up on Amazon. In the past I let a friend in US order it for me and send it to me.

Cheers

Peter

If it all gets too hard, I would suggest buying the Kobo from Whitcoulls:

www.whitcoulls.co.nz/ereader

Special Price NZ$249 while stocks last. It is probably very similar to what you will pay for the Kindle WiFi, by the time the Shipping Cost has been added.

OK.. My kids are offering to buy me a kindle for Xmas [one will be o'seas] my needs are light in weight.. the touch screen or ease of turning pages.. depending on time of day I need different text size to cope with the diminishing vision... and sturdy so that if it falls off the chair after I have fallen off to sleep, it wont smash.
I will probably be buying most of my Ebooks from the book depository, as they are cheap and also do hundreds of freebies.
I see the new aussie one has cell ph alphabet keys and I hate that so want a full keyboard if I need to type anything... oh and of course that it has book marks and I can read say 2-3 books at a time so want to swap screens or files over.. if you understand that part.
Due to my weak wrists I cant hold a book open, hence the desire to have a flat plate as such

beedee;338605 wrote: I see the new aussie one has cell ph alphabet keys and I hate that so want a full keyboard if I need to type anything...

Why would you need to type anything on an eBook reader?

Inger has one that is similar to the Kobo, now priced @ $249:

www.whitcoulls.co.nz/ereader

The whole point of a device like this is simplicity. The only button normally used is "Next Page". Occasionally, she will change the font size, go back a page, set a bookmark, or return to the menu, but it's the Next Page button that gets hammered constantly, as shown by the wear...

oh and of course that it has book marks

All of them have that [^]

...and I can read say 2-3 books at a time so want to swap screens or files over.. if you understand that part.

Again, all of them will hold several hundred or in some cases, several thousand books at once, so you never need to worry about running out of space. Files are downloaded via a USB cable, the same as your camera or memory stick.

Due to my weak wrists I cant hold a book open, hence the desire to have a flat plate as such

Yep, an eBook reader would be ideal for you BD, and because they are so very light and thin, will easily fit in pretty much any handbag, unless it's a really tiny one.

Well, at last I popped in here......... I had to find out what a Kindle was.... apart from something to light the fire.[]
E book I can understand, Kindle had me beat.
Another hole in my knowledge basket filled. []

to answer your questions grant, I dont know why you need to type but that is what the review was saying hard to type and discussed having a dictionary, guess if you want to know what a word means!
one of the Ebook readers didnt have a bookmark, for the last page I think it only accepted either chapters or the book.. I read that the other day, but then it was a lot of gobbly gook so maybe it wasnt a straight reader but a combined bit of IT matter

beedee;338619 wrote: to answer your questions grant, I dont know why you need to type but that is what the review was saying hard to type and discussed having a dictionary, guess if you want to know what a word means!

Yes, you're right, that is one of the touted benefits of the Kindle compared to other eBook readers.

However, in NZ, you will pay very dearly to transfer data to/from a Kindle over a 3G mobile data network, so most people would opt for the WiFi version, which means you need to have a wireless router in your house, which means you have a laptop handy, so why not just use Wikipedia to look up a word on your lappy?

That's my take on it, but you may see things differently, and maybe the dictionary look-up would be handy for you?

Personally, I would much rather use a laptop screen to browse the web, rather than some crippled browser which runs on a 6" monochrome eInk display such as the Kindle has. To me it's like trying to watch movies on a mobile phone -- sure it's possible, but would you really want to?

in one word ............. NO... but you see since I have no idea what is necessary and I just have my cell ph for calling and txting so never any of this funny stuff! I am more than happy to stand up and walk to the puter if I dont know a word.. but if the word in a story is that ambiguous.. then I am not likely to be worried or reading that sortta book.
A bit like the motor car didnt the first ones come out with no reverse????!!! so I didnt want to make a mistake, and have to have a swoooping driveway to compensate scenario.

beedee;338637 wrote: ...A bit like the motor car didnt the first ones come out with no reverse????!!! so I didnt want to make a mistake, and have to have a swoooping driveway to compensate scenario.

That's a good analogy BD

Before buying Inger's eBook reader last year, I did a lot of reading on the subject, and decided that the Kindle's keyboard was unnecessary, and IMO, detracts from the product because it is significantly larger than other competing readers, due to the space taken by the keyboard. Nothing has happened in the intervening period to change that view.

Screen size is 6" on pretty much all eInk-based readers of this type, so the idea is to get the best combination of functionality and size for your needs.

Rather than buying a Kindle and sending it over from the US, I would suggest going into Whitcoulls and having a play with a Kobo to see what you think. You may decide you don't like it, and would rather go for something else, but have a play first. Inger has been very happy with her (not exactly the same, but functionally identical) reader over the past 18 months or so, and she still uses it pretty much every day.

Here is something else which is relevant to this thread:

Kobo, a global eReading service, has announced the new Kobo Wireless eReader, adding WiFi connectivity, upgraded hardware with faster performance, longer battery life, and a sharper eInk screen.

With the new Kobo Wireless eReader, consumers can now shop on the go, anytime, anyplace, directly from their Kobo eReader with one touch of the “Shop” button.

Adding over 200,000 books in six months, the Kobo store now boasts over 2.2 million books including today’s new releases and bestsellers, timeless classics and thousands of free books. Consumers can read on any device – iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android, PC, MAC, Linux, and their library will always be up to date on their eReader.

The addition of WiFi means consumers can now receive wireless deliveries of popular newspapers and magazines directly to their eReader.

Support for open standards like EPUB and PDF means that customers can easily borrow and read the latest eBooks from their local library and also upload documents with an SD card, drag n’ drop or Adobe Digital editions.

The eReader comes pre-loaded with 100 free literary masterpieces including a selection of fiction, memoirs, politics, philosophy and more.

The Kobo Wireless eReader will be available online at Kobobooks.com, and will be available for purchase at Borders US, Indigo Books & Music and Walmart in Canada. Online pre-orders begin today with the Kobo eReader being shipped to customers in October.

If you like the look of the Kobo, your kids could buy the wireless version in the US and send it over. It would save needing to connect a USB cable to download books

I read a recent review of the Whitcoulls one - the KOBO. He said that the biggest pain to him was the inability to jump to a certain page in the book. From the main menu, you can jump to chapter beginnings, and you have the "back and forward one page" buttons, but not a "go to page x" button. For example, if you are on page 150, and you want to check something on page 50, you have to press the BACK button a hundred times, read it, then press the FORWARD button a hundred times to get back to where you were. I'm assuming the Kindle would have the same problem? Anyone know?

Not a problem if you only read from beginning to end, but if you tend to jump around in a book, especially a reference type book, this would drive me nuts!

I'll stick to my laptop, thanks. It's a bit big for my lap, but it lets me search and jump around at will.

OakhengeFarm;338707 wrote: I read a recent review of the Whitcoulls one - the KOBO. He said that the biggest pain to him was the inability to jump to a certain page in the book. From the main menu, you can jump to chapter beginnings, and you have the "back and forward one page" buttons, but not a "go to page x" button. For example, if you are on page 150, and you want to check something on page 50, you have to press the BACK button a hundred times, read it, then press the FORWARD button a hundred times to get back to where you were. I'm assuming the Kindle would have the same problem? Anyone know?

Inger has a CyBook (which is pretty much identical to the Kobo) and it does have a Goto Page function. The numbers come up in a grid, and you click on them one by one to make up a complete number of 3 digits say, then click on the tick box when ready to make the jump.

Either the reviewer didn't explore the Kobo properly, or its software is less advanced than the Cybook, which I find hard to believe, given that the Cybook is almost 18 months old now. You would be amazed how lazy and uninformed some of these reviewers are. The Herald is particularly guilty of employing ill-informed reviewers and columnists.

I find it hard to believe that the Kindle wouldn't have this function either. It is obviously a common requirement to navigate to a particular page.

My Sony Reader has a go to page # function It also has a touch screen keyboard so I can make notes, and a stylus so I can make handwritten notes