Kindle on iPhone

[Chad Winters (#102)]

you have to have wifi to download the book, but once it is on your Touch you don't need wifi to read it, though you do need wifi to sync your spot in the book with amazon and your kindle. I read on my touch outside of wifi and make sure to sync on my home wifi before opening the book again on my Kindle

[Luvmy4brats]

I got an email back from Amazon CS about my issue with only getting part of my books on my ipod. It is a licensing thing. I have to call them with a list of all the books that I can't access and they'll remove the licenses to the Kindles I don't have anymore.

<sigh> this is going to take a while..It's 60+ books. I am very happy that they're doing this, there just should be an easier way.

[davem2bits]

I got an email back from Amazon CS about my issue with only getting part of my books on my ipod. It is a licensing thing. I have to call them with a list of all the books that I can't access and they'll remove the licenses to the Kindles I don't have anymore.

<sigh> this is going to take a while..It's 60+ books. I am very happy that they're doing this, there just should be an easier way.

The amazing maze of kbook licensing.  Are these kbooks where the license count has maxed out because of your multiple Kindle replacements and existing Ks.  Is the lesson here that we have to make sure our license count is reset, if we have a Kindle replaced during warranty and plan to add more Ks to our account in the future.  What about a KK owner that has replaced his/her KK with a K2 and d/l'd all his/her kbooks to the new K2.  Is their license d/l count now 2?  Should the count be 2 if the original owner leaves the kbooks on the KK and sells it?  Is this one of the features of Whisper Sync, track how many Ks have a kbook you have purchased?   Is there anyway for a Kindle owners to find out what the d/l count is on his/her kbooks?

[Leslie]

Correct me if I'm wrong but...

The iPhone/iTouch is available in places other the the US, right? I seem to remember a big hoopla when it went on sale in the UK. So, wouldn't that mean that people outside of the US are now able to acquire Kindle content? Do you think the iPhone app is the first step towards an international Kindle?

L

[ProfCrash]

Nope. The App is only available in the US. Even if the Ap was available outside the US, you would still have to have a credit card with a US address in order to buy books and use the Ap.

[Leslie]

Nope. The App is only available in the US. Even if the Ap was available outside the US, you would still have to have a credit card with a US address in order to buy books and use the Ap.

Ah, okay. Thanks!

L

[Shizu]

Nope. The App is only available in the US. Even if the Ap was available outside the US, you would still have to have a credit card with a US address in order to buy books and use the Ap.

I don't have iPhone yet but my daughter has it and I'm trying to understand.

So if I go to oversea, I'll be able to download from Amazon if I can find wi-fi connection? Or can I download from Amazon and transfer via pc like my kindle?

[ProfCrash]

As long as you have a credit card with a US account and can find a wi-fi area I would think you should be able to download new books. Or download through your cell phone. Which is actually kind of cool. It gets around that lack of cell capacity outside of the US problem, doesn't it? Although, th enew book would be in your account, you would still have to download it to your Kindle through whispernet. But you could read it on your IPhone or ITouch.

Please keep in mind that I am basing my comments off of reviews of the product. So this is a guess.

[Encender Vaquero]

I was thinking the same thing, Prof.  Our friends overseas with, as you noted, an american based Amazon acct., can now wirelessly download content from Amazon to their iPhone instantly. If they have the 3G, it wouldn't even require finding a wi-fi hotspot. To subsequently get it on their kindle, however, they'd still need to USB to their computer; whispernet remains inoperative outside the US, but still a major improvement.

[Leslie]

I just opened the Kindle app and selected, "Get books." It says (and I quote):

Get the best shopping experience by visiting www.amazon.com/kindlestore on your Mac or PC.

You can also use Safari on your iPhone to buy books.

Kindle customers can download previous book purchases from Archived Items on the Home Screen.

I just sent a sample to my iPhone (from my computer). When you get ot the end of the sample, it gives you the choice to buy the book or see details in the Kindle store. I clicked the latter and it opened in a Safari window. So you can buy books through your phone, but not from within the Kindle app.

L

[ProfCrash]

Ah Leslie, I think I get what you were originally saying now. I thought you were asking if a Brit with an IPhone would be able to use the Kindle Application and hence have access to the Kindle store and a way around the US only thing. I take it you were asking about buying books on the IPhone outside of the US if you have an American based IPhone.

[Encender Vaquero]

I just opened the Kindle app and selected, "Get books." It says (and I quote):

 So you can buy books through your phone, but not from within the Kindle app.

L

Yes, but can't you go log into your Amazon account via the phone, purchase a book thusly, then download it to the phone via the app?

[Leslie]

Ah Leslie, I think I get what you were originally saying now. I thought you were asking if a Brit with an IPhone would be able to use the Kindle Application and hence have access to the Kindle store and a way around the US only thing. I take it you were asking about buying books on the IPhone outside of the US if you have an American based IPhone.

I actually think I was asking the former, but somehow it morphed into the latter. Anyway, thanks for the info that the Kindle app is a US-only app. That did take care of one question.

L

[Leslie]

Yes, but can't you go log into your Amazon account via the phone, purchase a book thusly, then download it to the phone via the app?

Yes.

I think you'd have two options:

1. Buy the book and then in the drop down menu, select the iPhone to send it to.
2. Buy the book and send it to your Kindle. Then, go to the Kindle app on the phone and download the book from the archived items.

Something tells me that we are going to have a FAQ for the Kindle/iPhone interface very soon... 

[ProfCrash]

I base that only on the fact that Canadians have complained in reviews about not being able to download and use the application.

1. Buy the book and then in the drop down menu, select the iPhone to send it to.

Yup.

Keep in mind that non-Kindle owners are using this application so that there had to be a way to send it directly to the phone. Essentially the phone becomes another Kindle in your My Kindle Page and you can assign books to it the same way you could if you have multiple Kindles.

Yes, I am kind of board at work and obsessed with all things Kindle.

[Leslie]

I was thinking the same thing, Prof.  Our friends overseas with, as you noted, an american based Amazon acct., can now wirelessly download content from Amazon to their iPhone instantly. If they have the 3G, it wouldn't even require finding a wi-fi hotspot. To subsequently get it on their kindle, however, they'd still need to USB to their computer; whispernet remains inoperative outside the US, but still a major improvement.

I have a friend in Belgium and she has ordered things from US Amazon so she must have a "US Amazon acct" even though she is not in the US and doesn't have a US credit card. So what I was thinking was...could she put the Kindle app on her iPhone (if she had one; she doesn't. But I think she has an iTouch) and then buy Kindle books?

Prof Crash is saying she couldn't even get the Kindle app, however, which would make all this moot.

Sorry for rambling. I am sort of thinking out loud here...

L

[Ann in Arlington]

Do any of our 'outside the US' folks have an iPhone. . . . .seems like someone needs to Try This!  

Ann

[ProfCrash]

I have a friend in Belgium and she has ordered things from US Amazon so she must have a "US Amazon acct" even though she is not in the US and doesn't have a US credit card. So what I was thinking was...could she put the Kindle app on her iPhone (if she had one; she doesn't. But I think she has an iTouch) and then buy Kindle books?

Prof Crash is saying she couldn't even get the Kindle app, however, which would make all this moot.

Sorry for rambling. I am sort of thinking out loud here...

L

The reviews I have read could be wrong. Have her try it. Maybe it can work.

[Leslie]

The reviews I have read could be wrong. Have her try it. Maybe it can work.

I just sent a message to confirm if she has an iTouch. That's the first step.

BTW, this friend saw my Kindle back in September and she is dying to get one. The minute they are available in Belgium, she'll be plunking down her Euros!

L

[Encender Vaquero]

The reviews I have read could be wrong. Have her try it. Maybe it can work.

Yes, I hadn't heard that the app might not be available on foreign based iPhones. This needs to be definitively ascertained, otherwise all the foregoing is essentially a masturbatory exercise. I don't know why it wouldn't be, it'd be a great convenience for those overseas. It would be nice if someone could settle it one way or the other.

[Leslie]

Yes, I hadn't heard that the app might not be available on foreign based iPhones. This needs to be definitively ascertained, otherwise all the foregoing is essentially a masturbatory exercise.

There are worse things we could be doing...

L

[Encender Vaquero]

There are worse things we could be doing...

L

...or better 
"worse" is such a subjective term..

[davem2bits]

I have a friend in Belgium and she has ordered things from US Amazon so she must have a "US Amazon acct" even though she is not in the US and doesn't have a US credit card. So what I was thinking was...could she put the Kindle app on her iPhone (if she had one; she doesn't. But I think she has an iTouch) and then buy Kindle books?

Prof Crash is saying she couldn't even get the Kindle app, however, which would make all this moot.

Kindle has to be purchased and shipped to USA address, but after that who knows where it is.  Deregister K and build new Amazon account and register K on this new account.  Fund this account only with Gift Cards.  No US address or US credit card necessary; except to purchase Gift Cards.  No WN, all transfer via USB.  No preorder of Kbooks or subscriptions; these require credit card.

My butt is planted firmly on US soil, but this might work for others.

[ProfCrash]

A gift card on a cell phone is one way of getting around that. You still have to be able to down load the application. From what I have read, the application is only available in the US.

I have no idea how they can block an application from being downloaded outside of the US.

[NessaBug]

I have my beloved Ken Doll and won't be parting with him anytime soon, but my iPhone is amazing too.

Now that I can have this app on my iPhone home page, I feel less guilty when I leave the house without Ken.

I've actually read a couple of shorter, lighter-subject novels on the iPhone. Not bad.

My biggest complaint: I can't look up words I don't know on the iPhone. I had to exit the app and Google the words. I didn't realize how much I actually used the function until I no longer had it. Anyone else do this?

I synced the books back and forth to try out the sync option and it works great.

Also, earlier from a pc, I bought a couple books and sent them to both my Kindle and my iPhone. I don't have Ken with me, but they showed up on my iPhone as well as the sample I sent to it.

Now if I could just get my newspapers on to the iPhone, I'd be in business.