As the Kindle spreads its wings and ventures outside the US there is much gloom amongst the countries that do not get WhisperNet. Even countries that get WhisperNet are upset over the lack of Free Internet.
Lets put aside the fact that AT&T is unlikely to start giving away their precious bandwidth for free and ask ourselves another question – exactly what is missing in the international kindle?
Kindle WhisperNet – What exactly does Free Internet mean?
In Vancouver my experience has been limited to getting the Kindle BookStore to work so my only ‘free internet’ experience has been on the iPhone.
Here’s a poll for current Kindle owners –
Please do add your comments too.
Here are the Whispernet free internet benefits that come to mind (based on kindle reviews and blog posts) -
- Free Wikipedia Access - This is a big, huge benefit for reference and a definite loss.
- Google Search - Another big benefit for reference and a definite loss.
- Experimental Web Browser - While the experimental browser is rather experimental it does allow you to do a lot of things like access Facebook, access your email and so forth. That’s lost.
- A connection to the Internet. Simple things like checking on news.
Things that are not affected by lack of Free Internet
- The reading.
- The books.
- All the features – search, talk to me, etc.
- The dictionary as its in-built.
- The Kindle bookstore and wireless downloads.
What percentage of the Kindle’s value proposition is lost by the loss of Free Internet?
This is a really tough one as the answer varies from person to person. However, you have to think that it’s probably 10-20%.
Which brings us to countries that do not have WhisperNet and can’t browse the Kindle Store or get wireless downloads.
What are the benefits of access to the Kindle Store and wireless downloads?
Another poll for kindle owners –
The benefits of the wireless Kindle Store are obvious -
- Browse and buy from anywhere.
- Get books in 60 seconds, anywhere.
- You basically get a bookstore with you – its instant wish gratification.
- It is faster and less work that plugging your Kindle into your PC.
What percentage of the Kindle’s value proposition is lost by the loss of Wireless Downloads?
This is somewhat easier to answer – Probably 20% of the Kindle’s value proposition is the 60 second downloads and the wireless store. It’s always one of the first few features Amazon touts (along with the eInk screen and the $9.99 price).
The wireless downloads have been one of the Kindle’s main advantages for a long, long time.
So – Yes, you are losing out on a big feature here (at least in my opinion).
The whole $11.99, $13.99 kindle book price question
This is the part that continues to amaze me i.e. What part of $9.99 kindle book prices + $2 VAT + $2 Wireless Download Charge are people missing?
There’s nothing anyone can do about VAT. Kindle UK complaints focus on the 40% increase without factoring in that half of that goes to the UK Government and the other half to AT&T’s as yet unannounced partner.
That being said there is a definite downside to the higher prices. What people in the UK and Australia (which gets just a $2 increase) and Germany should ask themselves is -
- How much cheaper do I get books than earlier in my own country?
Its misguided to compare with the US because there’s no VAT and Amazon struck a WhisperNet deal early on and got a sweet deal on wireless charges. It’s just something that probably can’t be replicated in today’s environment.
Where do we stand on WhisperNet and Free Internet?
It’s easy to focus on the 10-20% value you lose due to not having Free Internet or the 30% or so value you lose due to not having WhisperNet.
However,
- It’s a gradual evolution. You get features that Kindle owners in the US did not get initially i.e. Read To Me, Better Screen, etc. The International Kindle is going to improve.
- It’s still a great book reader.
- What are your other options? If you keep comparing with what’s available in the US it’s going to be tough. It’d be the equivalent of Americans and Canadians never buying a cellphone because Korea and Japan have much better cellphone networks and more options.
Amazon has made a good effort to expand into so many countries. If the international kindle meets your needs, go for it.
Filed under: kindle international Tagged: | kindle whispernet
Count me as one for whom the Net access is large because it justifies the cost of the dedicated device, at least when the cost was $360.
Just want to add that the 40% figure used by The Guardian’s Bobbie Johnson is erroneous.
The $11.99 to $13.99 range of cost shown in the country-specific information (both include VAT-$ in the price) should be compared to the $9.99 or more for bestsellers in the U.S. Most are $9.99, some are more.
But the $13.99 high figure shouldn’t be generalized in a comparison to the $9.99 as Johnson did.
ALL European bestseller book prices start at $11.99 as low part of the range given, again w/VAT included.
An Australian author guild is upset because it was also written in The Age that they were 40% more “too” when theirs is stated as $11.99 unless more.
I just have a thing about seeing that “40% more” figure used as the ‘more’ that Amazon itself is charging for books.
It’s actually From 20% TO 40% more at worst, but the $13.99 part is equivalent to the higher charges that the U.S. Kindle owners pay for some bestsellers.
I probably would have bought a Sony originally without the potential of internet access. But the Kindle’s access sucks so after using it I have ignored it. After using I don’t think it is an important feature, but before using I thought it was an important feature.
I would have bought a Sony reader except for the close proximity in price for the refurbed K2. the wireless access was a key reason for the additional $20. But I’m also upgrading to a new K2US with SquareTrade warranty.
I guess my position might reflect a few others in the potential UK market (and possibly beyond). After a long and patient wait, my ‘buy’ finger was triggered within seconds of hearing about the International Kindle and now it is poised again to cancel. I am angry at the tax man for VAT. Calling an eBook software in order to dip into readers’ pockets is underhanded. It appears to be a way of taxing books by the back-door and discourages the growth of ecological downloads to the benefit of paper. Look at the almost vindictive reaction to prices above $9.99 in the US. In deciding to buy an eReader of any sort, price of books is a huge factor. In the UK (thanks to the taxman) if the paperback and eBook are the same base price, the latter will be more expensive.
When we factor in wireless charges, this differential leaps again. For many early adopters, price will not be a major concern but for the market to take off as it did in the US, people will have to justify spending so much money on the Kindle and one way to do this is by convincing yourself that you’ll save in the long run. That is not to blame Amazon – after all, they have done more than any other company to shake things up – but it cannot be ignored,
Across the pond, Kindle-envy has been strong for the past few years, much of it built on perception gained through the eyes of our US cousins. It is impossible to ignore comparisons now, particularly when there are so many other options today and in the near future. The one big flaw in the Kindle proposition is that it is locked to a single company. To chain yourself to Amazon, you have to be convinced that it represents the best value in the long term. After noting that the price of 18K free books is $2.30 in the UK and elsewhere, it is hard to pin all the blame on the taxman or AT&T. Where is the option to download for free on the computer? Yes, there are many ways to get non-Amazon books on the Kindle but then why lock yourself in?
I have not yet decided to cancel but am close to it. I trust Amazon more than any of the other big stores out there but I trust competition more. I really do not want to pull that trigger, but the finger is itchy and I may yet switch to a more open system.
As an aside, I notice that the large Kindle advert (Bezos’ letter) has been replaced by a tiny one on the UK Amazon site (and others) but not in the US. Does that say something about the value of Kindle sales outside the US when measured against precious real-estate on the respective pre-Christmas homepages?
I travel a lot overseas with my Kindle 1 and usually leave the wireless off when at home. Back in the States I like turning it on to receive my issues of the New Yorker and occasionally I will use the Kindle store and buy books. It’s a great feature but the way the pricing structure is for Kindle Int’l makes me think twice about upgrading since I won’t want to pay the additional fee and won’t be able to get free internet here in Europe. I am hoping Amazon can work out the kinks and bring the price.
Oddly enough I could be convinced to pay an additional .99 cents but $1.99 seems completely unreasonable to me!
ive used the “internet” on the kindle exactly one time, when i first got it, just to check it out. the browser is terrible, and the user experience is so poor, i wont use it, even for free. ive got a smartphone that does the job much better… but to be honest, even my old phone with a wap 1.0 browser was a better internet experience than the kindle.