I’ve finally figured out how to purchase and download Kindle editions of books onto my Kindle. It’s not straight forward because I don’t have an Amazon.com account and I live in Japan. Here’s how to do it:
- Create an Amazon.com account (I have an Amazon UK account and was able to register with that; Amazon Japan accounts are not recognized by Kindle/Amazon.com)
- On your PC, go to Amazon.com and log in.
- Find the book you want (tip: add the word “kindle” to the book title in the search box; or select “Kindle Store” from the search-box drop-down menu).
- (Doing the above “kindle” search – step 3 – on Amazon UK brought up the following message: “Kindle titles for your country are not available at Amazon.co.uk.
Please shop for Kindle titles at Amazon.com. “) - Select “alternative formats” if it doesnt automatically appear (it should be in the next section down, below the photo of the book cover)
- If there is a Kindle version, it will be listed.
- If you’re logged in, on the right-hand side of the Amazon window, where the “Add to Cart” button is, you should see the following:
Add to Cart (or Buy now with 1-click)
Deliver to: (followed by the name of your Kindle gadget. This is listed in the Settings of your Kindle and is created automatically when you register your Kindle)
- Click “Add to Cart” or “Buy now with 1-click” if you’ve got 1-click switched on, and the book you’ve selected will be downloaded to your Kindle. I have a Wifi-only Kindle, so the book was automatically downloaded the next time I moved my Kindle within the range of my Wifi network.
- You can also download the book to your PC and transfer it to your Kindle later. Here’s the help message from Amazon: “If you are outside a 3G wireless coverage area and cannot connect to Wi-Fi, select Transfer via Computer from the Deliver to menu when buying. You can then download the Kindle Edition to your computer and transfer to your USB connected Kindle. “
- Voila!
- Is Kindle cheaper than buying a physical book? I just checked with 2 books and found that the Kindle version is 72% of the hardback price, but (in 1 case) double the paperback price. In another case, the Kindle version was just 20 cents cheaper than the mass paperback version.
Pingback: Why Amazon Can’t Make A Kindle In the USA – Forbes « Mind Your Business
#1 by Stephen Brivati on October 22, 2011 - 6:29 am
Greetings,
hope you don`t mind a question. I am completely computer illiterate and can`t follow the technical jargon on most posts about Kindle.
I bought a Kindle here in Japan without knowing that I would have to pay for a Wifi account from Softbank (a company I despise;)) et al. From what you are saying am I corretc in assuming that one could do without the down load anywhere anytime WiFi facilty and just down load books at home using my Mac?
That I could do this without having to register the Kindle or anything?
Cheers,
Buri
#2 by sheffner on October 22, 2011 - 7:31 pm
Hi, Stephen,
I’m also technical philistine, so I suggest you ask your question on other, more technically savvy blogs/websites. I vaguely remember that my Kindle simply wouldn’t do very much until I registered. Why don’t you try it? If it doesn’t work (i.e., if you discover that you really do need a Wifi connection) then you can always go to MacDonald’s or a Wifi-offering Starbucks, with the abominable Softbank Wifi service as the last resort. Please consider posting your solution here. Thanks for asking.