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New Kindle now for £109/149. Absolute bargain.

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    Anika HansonAnika Hanson Posts: 15,629
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    Newspapers and Magazines are automatically downloaded to your Kindle so you can read them offline.

    They are launching a new UK Kindle store alongside the new Kindle. Given the number of books they have given I suspect this will have the same content the current store has but charged in GBP not USD and with more UK specific content.

    They currently have 409,268 books available in the UK thought the US based store and I would expect this will increase with the creation of a dedicated UK store.

    You can look at the current store here, make sure to set the country to United Kingdom as some books aren't available here and we have some books the US doesn't have yet. Looking at the Waterstones site Amazon have substantially more content available and seem to be cheaper (converting from USD).

    Thanks for the info.

    It does seem very tempting even though I have the sony pocket reader already. At £109 it is a steal, for the extra features. It seems too good to pass up. Obviously I can only download from amazon's store but if I want more freedom I can always download from another store for my Sony reader. If amazon have more books and are cheaper then there is something I can gain cost wise, plus there is the wireless feature and I think it will be better for reading scientific PDFs than my sony pocket reader. Also I like the fact that I can sync it with the kindle app on my iphone. I could use the sony for away from home reading as it is very portable and keep the kindle for home. I might treat myself for my birthday. I'll have a think about it.
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    Gareth56Gareth56 Posts: 2,856
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    Does anyone know what the 'Text-to-Speech' feature is like, is it very synthetic or reasonably realistic?
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 478
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    Gareth56 wrote: »
    Does anyone know what the 'Text-to-Speech' feature is like, is it very synthetic or reasonably realistic?

    If it's the same as on the Kindle 2 then it's not too bad but isn't anywhere near as good as an audiobook. You probably wouldn't want to use it for a great length of time however it's ok during brief usage.

    EDIT: It is better at books with less speech in them as it has no way of indicating speech or change of speakers.
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    djc45djc45 Posts: 217
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    Hi,
    I have been using the ipod app for reading Kinle books for the last year or so. Now, I`ve bought these books from the U.S store, with my country set to U.S.
    Does anyone know if I will be able to use these books on the new Kindle, or will I lose them because I bought them from the U.S store, with an account set as U.S?
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 478
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    djc45 wrote: »
    Hi,
    I have been using the ipod app for reading Kinle books for the last year or so. Now, I`ve bought these books from the U.S store, with my country set to U.S.
    Does anyone know if I will be able to use these books on the new Kindle, or will I lose them because I bought them from the U.S store, with an account set as U.S?

    If your account is set to UK you will be able to migrate your account the the new UK store along with all your book purchases.

    If your account is set to US (and so has a US billing address) then it will be more difficult as it is likely that some of your existing purchases are either not available in the UK or are slightly different. Changing your account to UK should allow you to migrate, but you may then lose access to some of your purchases on migration (if the account isn't migrated then you should still have access to them).

    Asking Amazon themselves would be the only way to get an accurate answer. If you do then you would need a genuine reason for having your country set to US while now wanting to change to the UK store. Amazon don't like people using the wrong country settings.
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    IvanIVIvanIV Posts: 30,310
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    It's possible to remove DRM protection from the book and then load it to any reader that supports the amazon file format, which kindle obviously does.
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    Anika HansonAnika Hanson Posts: 15,629
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    How easy is it to remove the DRM? Will removing the DRM result in any changes to the formatting??

    Also once the DRM is removed could you then convert it to other formats??
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    IvanIVIvanIV Posts: 30,310
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    I haven't done it myself with books only with a couple of videos. Use google with Converting Amazon Kindle For PC Books Now Possible, I don't think mods would like me to post links here :D The formatting should remain and once you have removed DRM you can convert the file to PDF or some other format. I think it's possible to remove DRM only from the file you bought and own the license for, so it's not like stealing unless you start distributing the DRM-free file.
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    GormondGormond Posts: 15,838
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    IvanIV wrote: »
    I haven't done it myself with books only with a couple of videos. Use google with Converting Amazon Kindle For PC Books Now Possible, I don't think mods would like me to post links here :D The formatting should remain and once you have removed DRM you can convert the file to PDF or some other format. I think it's possible to remove DRM only from the file you bought and own the license for, so it's not like stealing unless you start distributing the DRM-free file.

    It's illegal in the UK to circumvent copyright protection such as DRM. Don't get me wrong many of us do it will bought DVDs to store on a media server and the odds of you being done for it are nil but it is still illegal.
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    Gareth56Gareth56 Posts: 2,856
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    If it's the same as on the Kindle 2 then it's not too bad but isn't anywhere near as good as an audiobook. You probably wouldn't want to use it for a great length of time however it's ok during brief usage.

    EDIT: It is better at books with less speech in them as it has no way of indicating speech or change of speakers.

    Thanks.

    I note you can load MP3 files onto the K3 so if your audiobook is in MP3 format then presumably you can listen to the audiobook via the K3 as you would on an ordinary MP3 player, is that correct?
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 478
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    Gareth56 wrote: »
    Thanks.

    I note you can load MP3 files onto the K3 so if your audiobook is in MP3 format then presumably you can listen to the audiobook via the K3 as you would on an ordinary MP3 player, is that correct?

    The MP3 playback on the Kindle is terrible. It just plays them in the background with no actual control over playback, you can skip tracks but that's it.

    You can load Audible audiobooks onto the Kindle and they give far more control over playback. The Kindle also remembers where you got up to when you stop, and can skip chapters (if the files has the appropriate markers). The Kindle 3 can download Audible audiobooks over WiFi but I don't know if that will work in the UK.
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    Gareth56Gareth56 Posts: 2,856
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    The MP3 playback on the Kindle is terrible. It just plays them in the background with no actual control over playback, you can skip tracks but that's it.

    You can load Audible audiobooks onto the Kindle and they give far more control over playback. The Kindle also remembers where you got up to when you stop, and can skip chapters (if the files has the appropriate markers). The Kindle 3 can download Audible audiobooks over WiFi but I don't know if that will work in the UK.

    Many thanks . Looks like I'll have to keep my MP3 player to listen to audiobboks then.
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    Anika HansonAnika Hanson Posts: 15,629
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    IvanIV wrote: »
    I haven't done it myself with books only with a couple of videos. Use google with Converting Amazon Kindle For PC Books Now Possible, I don't think mods would like me to post links here :D The formatting should remain and once you have removed DRM you can convert the file to PDF or some other format. I think it's possible to remove DRM only from the file you bought and own the license for, so it's not like stealing unless you start distributing the DRM-free file.

    Thanks. Just something I want to keep in mind while im weighing up the possibility of buying one. If I ever did it, I would only use it for personal use, so I could put it on another device like my Sony reader.

    If the prices are maintained in the UK kindle store, books will be significantly cheaper than in other stores. I'm just about to buy a book and the cheapest I could find it for in epub format is £5.99. After converting to pounds the same book is about £4.80 from amazon's kindle store.
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    stateofgameplaystateofgameplay Posts: 3,578
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    Those price points are going to lead to aggressive price wars.
    Bring em on!
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 478
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    The UK store is now live: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kindle-Store/b/ref=topnav_storetab_kinc?ie=UTF8&node=341677031

    Transferring existing Kindles seems to work fine (no problems transferring mine).

    The prices seem even cheaper than through the US store on some books.
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    IvanIVIvanIV Posts: 30,310
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    It's temporarily sold out, no wonder for that price.
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    Anika HansonAnika Hanson Posts: 15,629
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    I've pre-ordered a wifi model, but amazon haven't given me a dispatch date yet. Well I'm like 99% sure about it, but I guess I have up until the 27th or so in case I change my mind but I can't see that happening.
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    khakidrillkhakidrill Posts: 376
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    I've pre-ordered a wifi model, but amazon haven't given me a dispatch date yet.

    Me too , but twice today on checking my account a despatch date of 1st - 4th October flashed up & then disappeared.:confused::confused:
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    khakidrillkhakidrill Posts: 376
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    khakidrill wrote: »
    Me too , but twice today on checking my account a despatch date of 1st - 4th October flashed up & then disappeared.:confused::confused:

    Now showing 6 - 10 Oct Estimated despatch date !! :(

    And yet on the website they are saying orders are being prioritised & orders placed today will be despatched by 4th Sept.
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    Anika HansonAnika Hanson Posts: 15,629
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    khakidrill wrote: »
    Now showing 6 - 10 Oct Estimated despatch date !! :(

    And yet on the website they are saying orders are being prioritised & orders placed today will be despatched by 4th Sept.

    Yes it does say that and it was saying that when I placed my order on Monday. It looks like it could take a while, but I really hope we don't have to wait until October.
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    njpnjp Posts: 27,583
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    cribology wrote: »
    Thats not what I wanted to hear. If I bought one I would expect to use it for pdfs/manuals 90% of the time.
    You really need the DX for that. Anything that involves a lot of zooming or panning is a non-starter on an ereader, due to the poor response times.
    ShaunIOW wrote: »
    Can you add your own pdf etc books or only those bought through Amazon?

    Can you add other formats like text files, html and word docs?

    Can it be used to read comics in .cbr or .cbz format?
    What you need is calibre (free download). This will convert most formats into something the kindle can digest natively (e.g mobi), including epub (but it won't solve DRM issues). Your own PDFs are no problem. I have loads on my DX.

    Another nice feature is the ability to download newspaper rss feeds in order to give you a free newspaper...
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 478
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    Yes it does say that and it was saying that when I placed my order on Monday. It looks like it could take a while, but I really hope we don't have to wait until October.

    Amazon have apparently said these dates are an error on the Order Summary page and that the ones displayed on the product page at time of ordering are the accurate ones.
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    Anika HansonAnika Hanson Posts: 15,629
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    Amazon have apparently said these dates are an error on the Order Summary page and that the ones displayed on the product page at time of ordering are the accurate ones.

    Yep I heard this too, thanks. So when I ordered mine it said shipping would be on or before Septmber the 4th. I dont mind that at all if they honour it.
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    Anika HansonAnika Hanson Posts: 15,629
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    Oh one question. I've been looking around the kindle UK store and I've seen some prices for the newspaper or magazine subscriptions. How long will a subscription last for after you have paid for it. It doesnt seem to say.
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    [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 478
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    Oh one question. I've been looking around the kindle UK store and I've seen some prices for the newspaper or magazine subscriptions. How long will a subscription last for after you have paid for it. It doesnt seem to say.

    The subscriptions renew monthly but I think the delivered items are still available even after the subscription is canceled if you save them on your Kindle.
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