Nerfherder
Honorary Master
But can it do porn ?
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Amazon Kindle for SA
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grok
Honorary Master
Steamy Romance Novels FTW!
Gekco
Expert Member
Avenue
Expert Member
let us know how you find the cooler reader when you get it... I am also not interested in wireless and all that stuff, I cant see myself being away from my computer and dying to read a book so much that I gotta download it immediately
diabolus
Executive Member
Oh well, being restricted by region is a dealbreaker.
Obviously you can spoof your IP adress and download via your PC, but to be honest? I'm tired of doing this crap, if they don't want to offer proper support while there are alternatives, i'll find a different service AND device.
Yes, that goes to you too Xbox Live and Microsoft South Africa ....PS3 here i come .
Obviously you can spoof your IP adress and download via your PC, but to be honest? I'm tired of doing this crap, if they don't want to offer proper support while there are alternatives, i'll find a different service AND device.
Yes, that goes to you too Xbox Live and Microsoft South Africa ....PS3 here i come .
Who's fault is it though - a lot of people immediately blame Amazon but I'd sooner point my finger at the copyright holders.
I can't think of a reason why Amazon wouldn't want to sell anything anywhere. IIRC Amazon cant sell mp3s outside of the US either.
diabolus
Executive Member
Well, i'm not blaming Amazon if the copyright holders are holding a gun to their head with this . The point is Amazon is selling a device that "locks" you into THEIR store, yet THEIR store are restricted. So ultimately it is Amazon to blame
.So to put it bluntly, if i can chose an e-reader , one which locks you into a RESTRICTED store versus "any Store you can find that supplies it" ...then i'll pick the "unlocked" e-reader any day.
I do not know if this policy applies EVERYWHERE [the restriction with the e-books], but if there is ONE place that sells a new book to me as a South African without being restricted/delayed, then i believe it IS Amazon to blame isn't it?
Why can another company sell Dan Brown to me and Amazon not? Surely it's the same copyright holder?
AFAIK different countries have their own copyright representation - much like the SA has its own version of the RIAA and MPAA. I'm sure that Amazon has to make deals with all these organisations before they'll be allowed to sell to any country.
Again - why wouldnt amazon want to sell you a book if they could?
Gekco
Expert Member
This a part of the problem.
The copyright holders bitch and moan about piracy...
But they make it so difficult to get hold of things the legal way.
The copyright holders bitch and moan about piracy...
But they make it so difficult to get hold of things the legal way.
I'm sure Apple would love to sell music to SA via iTunes instead of just apps but cant for the same reason.
Crusader
Executive Member
It's not the copyright holder as such but rather the publishing company that places the restrictions. They want the power to regulate pricing and distribution. Authors get a small cut of each book sold. The beauty of ebooks are that authors will be able to self-publish and get the largest cut of each book sold.
diabolus
Executive Member
I think there's alot more other things involved than simply copyright holders. It is the same crap we sit with things like cars being built in South Africa and exported and sold internationally for cheaper than we can buy it locally.
I know the americans are paying all kinds of tax [coffee tax and state taxes and whatnot] , which all comes in to play when things are being sold in the US. This includes things like 'rebates' and deals between companies [AT&T and Apple] . So the pricing becomes a complex issue.
So i believe they restrict stuff quite often to close "loopholes". It is like selling an IPhone in Canada "free from At&T, totally unlocked" and allowing US Citizens to buy and use it in the USA....see the problem?
Likewise i'm certain Amazon has similar things going with Barnes & Noble. Of course i am also certain someone in South Africa needs to get off their arses to make some sort of arrangement/deal with Amazon/USA [just like Vodacom had to get involved with At&T/Amazon at some stage] to ensure we get certain services, even if it means different pricing et al.
So even if the problem is with local authorities and not Amazon, me as the consumer , is still going to receive an inferior service from the Kindle/Amazon as opposed to having a neutral device where i am not locked into Amazon specifically....and -that- is a dealbreaker. I don't care if the Kindle is brilliant in the USA, if i don't get the same deal then any review of the service is invalid.
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Amazon and B&N are in direct competition though.
Anyhow - I dont see any impediment to Amazon selling their entire library anywhere apart from the publishers. They all want their slice of the action in order to justify their tenuous existence. The more people there are self-publishing and making their content widely available the less power the publishers have.
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diabolus
Executive Member
Amazon and B&N are in direct competition though.
Well they weren't truly direct competition because they never offered the same service (people still used Amazon to get to whatever B&N had to offer) , but yes, they are now going to be.
Rather, i'm sure Amazon use to actually just be the "front end" for B&N , as Amazon never actually had any books themselves?? Isn't that the case still?
http://www.examiner.com/x-8134-SF-G...Nobles-announcement-could-doom-Amazons-Kindle
...but on that note, this is exactly what i'm saying. Here B&N is basically "bypassing" Amazon, possibly with less restrictions than Amazon .
So just reading that article, why on earth would i want to restrict myself with an Amazon locked device with a store that is restricted? I bet half of the restrictions are based on inter-company politics too.
So anyone care to go to http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ and see if there's similar restrictions?
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I would have thought it works like Blackberry? theres an APN here that someone, or everyone is routing and so the Kindle just comes on and finds a network and says I'm from AT&T Can I roam? Yes, give me this APN please and it connects to a central server like Blackberry. Data bearer costs are just billed back to AT&T who has contracts in place much like a Blackberry user sufing the net is "covered" by their Blackberry subscription?
I am close to ordering, but now this thing of not all books being available worries me.
PS - and im not keen on e-readers for mobile phones. Apart from being uncomfortable to the eyes, has anyone tried lying in bed holding a cellphone in their hand for a few hours to read? its horrible uncomfortable and will eat through batteries like its free.
I am close to ordering, but now this thing of not all books being available worries me.
PS - and im not keen on e-readers for mobile phones. Apart from being uncomfortable to the eyes, has anyone tried lying in bed holding a cellphone in their hand for a few hours to read? its horrible uncomfortable and will eat through batteries like its free.
Of course they offered the same service - they both sell books. Amazon sold books from day one. You dont think their sales hurt B&N? That's direct competition. People would even walk into B&N, browse for what they want and use apps on their phone to order the book online then and there from amazon.
You say possibly less restrictions but I dont see where they say they'll sell to SA.
EDIT - The Lost Symbol ebook on B&N site? "Available for Download These items ship to U.S. addresses only."
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diabolus
Executive Member
Of course they offered the same service - they both sell books. Amazon sold books from day one. You dont think their sales hurt B&N? That's direct competition. People would even walk into B&N, browse for what they want and use apps on their phone to order the book online then and there from amazon.
You say possibly less restrictions but I dont see where they say they'll sell to SA.
EDIT - The Lost Symbol ebook on B&N site? "Available for Download These items ship to U.S. addresses only."
What i meant was, B&N is like Exclusive Books and it's also a publisher (with rights to some of the books they sell) . Amazon is like Kalahari (and in fact were forced to delete ebooks remotely from people's kindles because of publisher rights) . So while both sell books ,they do not [did not] exactly offer the same service, only in the last year did B&N "wake up" .
Amazon already sells alot more than books anyway...while B&N will most probably -exclusively- sell books.
And yes, whether it will be less restrictive is not sure, i already saw on B&N's site that they ship certain items only to the USA [Dan Brown specifically] , but not sure what the situation with ebooks are though [you can already buy ebooks on B&N ].
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I phoned Amazon to ask about this.
The call-center explained, and i will re-word it below. Basically its what has been said here already;
"content restriction is NOT an Amazon rule. It is restrictions implemented by the book publishers for certain regions. For example, Company A publishes a book in the US. That book, however, is sold in South Africa through provider Company B. So Company A is NOT allowed to sell it here, only to Company B who re-sells it to our market.
Therefore, if Kindle allowed the scanned book from Company A to arrive at your Kindle in South Africa, they are bypassing Company B. Which is not allowed"
By simply selecting your geographic region in the Kindle store, you know immediately what or cannot be shipped to you. "
So, once again, it boils down to one, and only one thing. Money
The call-center explained, and i will re-word it below. Basically its what has been said here already;
"content restriction is NOT an Amazon rule. It is restrictions implemented by the book publishers for certain regions. For example, Company A publishes a book in the US. That book, however, is sold in South Africa through provider Company B. So Company A is NOT allowed to sell it here, only to Company B who re-sells it to our market.
Therefore, if Kindle allowed the scanned book from Company A to arrive at your Kindle in South Africa, they are bypassing Company B. Which is not allowed"
By simply selecting your geographic region in the Kindle store, you know immediately what or cannot be shipped to you. "
So, once again, it boils down to one, and only one thing. Money
Nerfherder
Honorary Master
Middlemen FTL.
diabolus
Executive Member
I phoned Amazon to ask about this.
The call-center explained, and i will re-word it below. Basically its what has been said here already;
"content restriction is NOT an Amazon rule. It is restrictions implemented by the book publishers for certain regions. For example, Company A publishes a book in the US. That book, however, is sold in South Africa through provider Company B. So Company A is NOT allowed to sell it here, only to Company B who re-sells it to our market.
Therefore, if Kindle allowed the scanned book from Company A to arrive at your Kindle in South Africa, they are bypassing Company B. Which is not allowed"
By simply selecting your geographic region in the Kindle store, you know immediately what or cannot be shipped to you. "
So, once again, it boils down to one, and only one thing. Money
And therefore your experience with the Kindle is restricted alot more because you are forced to go via Amazon, who do not have all the rights. However if you now had a neutral e-reader you can buy each ebook from whichever publisher -does- have the rights in your country....
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