Kindle International Actually Less International Than It Leads You to Believe

Kindle International Actually Less International Than It Leads You to Believe
Category: Internet, Gadgets
Posted: October 14, 2009 02:45AM
Author: d3bruts1d

The recently announced Kindle International may not be as great of a device as it originally sounded. Wired's Gadget Lab uncovered a bit of detail that Amazon tucked away in the fine print. Outside of the US, the Kindle's experimental web browser used for blogs and internet access will be unavailable. That leaves the device only useful for downloading books from Amazon's Kindle Store.

Included in the high cost of the Kindle International is the connection to AT&T's wireless network. This is done so that the users will never see a monthly bill. It's likely that AT&T is passing along a high roaming cost to Amazon for the international wireless access, and Amazon's probably doing what they can to keep costs down. Here's a suggestion for Amazon, sell a Kindle with no access and let the user pick up the monthly bill.

Still like the idea of the Kindle International? The article goes on to state that the device is being shipped from the US, which of course will add additional shipping costs to anyone overseas. But the big kicker is the Kindle International only includes a US power adapter. Want to charge the International device while outside of the US? That'll cost you extra for an adapter. Not a big deal for US travelers who already have the adapters, but a kicker for those that live outside the US and don't already have one. Wired estimates that the $280 Kindle International could cost as much as $350 by the time it's all said and done.

Sounds like it should have been named Kindle Limited.