Kindle comes to India: Should I buy it?

31

I am seriously tempted to buy it….

Kindle-India

As soon as I read the press release that Amazon has slashed Kindle rates and now is offered globally across countries – My first reaction: Is it available in India?

Yes, it is very much available in India and you can even pre-order it through Amazon now – Buy Kindle  (Kindle with U.S. & International Wireless will be available for shipment to customers in over 100 countries around the world on October 19.)

But before you click on that link, remember there are many questions yet to be answered for Indian Kindle consumers.

Here is what Amazon tells its Indian consumers interested in buying Kindle.

Important Product Information for Your Country

  • Your international shipment is subject to customs duties, import taxes and other fees levied by the destination country. We will show you these fees upon checkout.
  • Kindle ships with a U.S. power adapter and a micro-USB cable for charging your Kindle via a computer USB port. The U.S. power adapter supports voltages between 100V – 240V.
  • You can transfer personal documents to your Kindle via USB for free at anytime. Service fees for transferring personal documents via Whispernet are currently $.99 per megabyte.
  • Wireless download times can vary based on 3G or EDGE/GPRS coverage, signal strength and file size.
  • Kindle books, newspapers, and magazine are currently priced and sold in United States dollars
  • Blogs and the experimental web browser are currently not available for your country
  • Kindle includes a 1-year limited warranty.
  • Use of the Kindle is subject to the Kindle License Agreement and Terms of Use

 

So the first thing is that Kindle is not going to cost you just $259 (approx. 12.5k rupees) – There is a custom duty of close to 40% (I assume so..) which is levied on all imported electronics & computer items. So, the Kindle with Custom duty comes close to Rs. 17000/- roughly. Alternatively, you can bribe the custom guy for Rs.1000 :)

So after you have procured the gadget, now what. The new Kindle works on 3G with AT&T worldwide, we dont have that and will have to probably wait for Kindle partnership with various providers. But wait, do we even have 3G as yet ! so that particular feature is useless atleast for now. yes, it does have wireless/ GPRS/ EDGE connectivity – so you can download you stuff via these available methods.

And, other small aspect is that you dont have to worry about US-India Voltage difference, Kindle supports 100-240V…sweet.

But once you have it, there are host of Kindle features you can drool on:

  • Slim and Trim: At just over a third of an inch thin (0.36 inches) and weighing just over 10 ounces, Kindle is pencil thin and lighter than a typical paperback.
  • Reads Like Real Paper: Kindle’s 6-inch electronic ink display reads like printed words on paper because the screen works using real ink and doesn’t use a backlight, eliminating the eyestrain and glare associated with other electronic displays.
  • Stores Up To 1,500 Books: Kindle’s 2 GB of memory holds up to 1,500 books and Kindle books are automatically backed up by Amazon so customers can re-download titles from their library.
  • Read For Weeks On A Single Charge: Kindle’s electronic ink display sips battery power so users can read for over two weeks with wireless turned off and up to four days on a single charge with wireless on.
  • Read-To-Me: With the experimental Text-To-Speech feature, Kindle can read most newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud.
  • Automatically Syncs With Kindle and Kindle Compatible Devices: Amazon’s “Whispersync” technology automatically syncs customers’ last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across Kindle with U.S. & International Wireless, Kindle with U.S. Wireless, Kindle DX, and Kindle compatible devices like Kindle for iPhone.
  • Wirelessly Receive and Read Personal Documents: Wirelessly send, receive, and read personal documents in a variety of formats such as Microsoft Word and PDF.
  • Instant Dictionary Lookup: Kindle comes with the New Oxford American Dictionary and over 250,000 definitions that appear instantly at the bottom of the page.
  • Choose Text Size: Kindle lets readers customize their reading preference by providing six different text sizes.
  • Bookmarks, Notes, and Highlights: By using the QWERTY keyboard Kindle users can add annotations to text, as well as highlight and clip key passages and bookmark pages for future use.

Just WoW !

So what should I do? buy it ? Any Indian readers who have already placed pre-orders? or any feedback from existing Kindle owners?

31 Comments
  1. […] consumers who already own an eBook Reader, the Amazon Kindle (68%) towers over its closest rival, the Sony Reader (10%). But to gauge the potential impact of […]

  2. IDEAINDIA.COM says

    Great blog.

  3. IDEAINDIA.COM says

    Great blog.

  4. Kindle India says

    Shaminder is right. I also recommend buy a kindle at amazon.com. Shipping is very fast and reliable. Amazon is one of the most trusted brand on the internet.

    Try visit http://buyinindia.net. This website gives a good information on buying a new kindle in India.

  5. Shaminder says

    It is worth buying kindle in India. If you buy Kindle 3 (latest generation) wifi+ shipping and handling + Tax and import duty, it costs US $ 273.25 from India( today’s ICICI conversation is Rs. 11990. I think it will be nearly same as wink will be after tax and shipping. May be more. If you compare kindle is much more than wink in many aspects. I would buy Kindle through Amazon.com. They will take care of shipping and duty fee etc, for you. Yes, you may have to pay little for currency conversion to your visa or mastercard credit card or to ATM, ask your bank.

  6. Kindle Canada says

    A brief tip for those Kindle users, are you aware that switching off and on your Kindle uses considerably more power as opposed to letting it go to sleep?

    1. John says

      Of course ! how couldn’t come up with it. Thanks for letting us know.

  7. Sneha says

    Haven’t the Kindle prices dropped further this year? So can someone tell me what would be the cost of shipping Kindle to India right Now?

  8. Pulkit Sethi says

    Does any one want a lightly used almost new kindle in Mumbai. Please let me know.

    1. Siddharth Karia says

      @Pulkit: how much are you asking?

      1. Arun Prabhudesai says

        siddharth, just mail him on [email protected]

        Pulkit, hope its okay to put ur mail id…if not let me know :)

      2. mayank says

        Can you mail your expectation

  9. Atul Shah says

    You could also try http://www.shopyourworld.com . The site has a merchant association with amazon that allows you to buy from Amazon and get it shipped to your doorstep. Pricing is given in INR which includes landing prices.

  10. Sachin says

    Kindle is costing approx 398$ at your doorstep in India. Pls see here to get distribution of the cost, courier, custom at this site.

    http://www.idlefolks.com/amazons-kindle-has-arrived-in-india-all-customers-in-india-can-purchase-kindle-directly-from-amazon-us-and-download-e-books

  11. Vaibhav says

    son of a $%^$£ !

    Sorry the comment didn’t show up the first time and had to type it up again. please delete one of them

  12. Vaibhav says

    I want to buy the kindle..

    Amazon Checkout-
    Items: $259.00
    Shipping & Handling: $20.98
    Import Fees Deposit: $98.59
    Order Total: $378.57

    ipmart.com – (http://www.ipmart.com/main/product/K.php?prod=137359)
    Sub – Total : USD 302.67
    Shipping Cost : USD 27.80
    Amount to be Paid : USD 330.47

    I have never heard of ipmart. Do you guys know about it? Also, could there be item’s interface language problem since impart seems to be located in China/Malaysia?

    ipmart also have a local bank transfer mode of payment which is a real good thing in India.

    I want to be safe with such a large online purchase specially since it is imported. Getting support if something is working will be a bi£$%

    Thanks

    1. Vaibhav says

      Echoooooo….

      Anyone here? Please advise, I am dying to buy a kindle

  13. Laxmi says

    Here’s some more info about Kindle in India, ebook selection, wireless coverage, free ebooks, how it works, etc . . . http://www.the-ebook-reader.com/kindle-india.html

  14. sharath says

    A good article in Indian Express regarding Kindle in India…

    http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/You-could-log-in-and-Kindle-this-Diwali/526553/

  15. J says

    Thats where the Sony models may be better. While it has a same sized screen and a metal body, theres no 3G, but then, you dont need it in India anyway. + It supports a much more wider selection of file formats that you can transfer directly to the reader :) Ideal for India.
    The newer basic model with a slightly smaller screen starts at 200$ i believe.

  16. Abhiroop says

    Can you buy the international version(The one which will work in India) of Kindle in US?
    In that case it makes more sense to ask someone to get it for you!

  17. VIDISHA HEGDE says

    Hey ya ll!
    okay my dad got highly excited about the kindle and bought one. but apparently you cant buy books online unless you got a US address registered on ur credit card.

    help help please. its just lying there in the back of my cupboard !
    is there any way to download or buy books and get them onto the kindle without a us credit card.?

    1. Arun Prabhudesai says

      I guess, he must have bought the US (International) edition and hence is not able to buy books…I guess specific Indian edition Kindle should be able to purchase books…whats the use otherwise…

  18. Mary Anne says

    Although Kindle sounds fantastic, I’m inclined to save my money and just borrow books from the public library! Although the “read to me feature” sounds great! But then again, I can get “books on tape….”

    Maybe when the price drops some more….

  19. Arun Prabhudesai says

    Pavan,
    Yeah, GPRS sucks in India..and it impossible even browsing, forget downloading something on Kindle. We will have to wait for 3G to come by :(

    I think Kindle has got the potential to replace books, but like you said, people may not come out of their comfort zone of holding books in their hand and reading.
    Like you said..Old habits die hard !

  20. Pavan says

    Arun,
    I commute every day in London Underground and so far i have seen only one person use kindle during journey. Few use netbooks ,But I see lots of people holding plain old novel (Old habits die hard i guess :) ) .

    I am not saying its bad,I am still planning to own one myself.

    I dont know how the performance of GPRS is now in India,but when i last tried it sucks by any standards . If you can plan your books while at home/work and download via normal internet ,then go for it.

    And one more thing, kindle DX is too big to lug around,the original version was better to carry around.

  21. Blog Kindle says

    I’ve put together a table that lists every country in which Kindle is available along with number of books, their pricing, wireless availability etc at http://blogkindle.com/2009/10/international-release-of-kindle-2/

    1. Arun Prabhudesai says

      Thanks for the list, it is helpful, but I think the import duty you have mentioned is wrong for India..its $105..see previous comment…

  22. Rahul Rao says

    Hi Arun, I almost bought the Kindle. The final price while checking out is a little over $400. http://twitpic.com/kkg5e. Amazon is asking for an “Import Fee Deposit” of $105.

    1. Arun Prabhudesai says

      Rahul,
      Now thats a bummer…$405 for Kindle…that is steep I guess…I guess better bet would be to ask someone to get it from USA. I am wondering if it will have some kind of lock (like a SIM lock) for US or other countries…will have to check..
      Thanks for sharing…appreciate it..

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