Kindle Fire

[andy and lindsey]

Quick question - Do any of you own a kindle fire? My first generation kindle has just died and I'm thinking of getting a kindle fire. I know they aren't available here (I have some friends in the UK who will get me one from good old Tesco's). I know it's not set up for movies here in Oz etc but i can download books and music but wondering A) if I have UK bank account and shipping address can I access stuff or does it work off your IP address? B) could I access apps etc from google marketplace. I don't have an iPad

[Diane]

Don't have a Kindle Fire but can I ask how old your first generation Kindle is? I have one of the 3G wifi keyboard ones and mine stopped working when it was about 15 months old - at first Amazon just told me, tough it's out of its year's warranty, you have to get a new one, but then I read a thread on Poms in Oz and apparently the limitation of a year doesn't stand up to Australian consumer laws and if your Kindle has died for no apparent reason within a time you could expect it to keep working, they have to replace it. Anyway, I went back to Amazon and they have done just that. Obviously if yours is three years old or something or has been dropped or similar which has caused it to stop working, this is irrelevant, but if it's just died for no reason I can probably find the link for you - or search the Poms in Oz site - it's all on there!

[andy and lindsey]

Mine was 2 years old - a quarter of the screen has gone blank and there are lines that look like a barcode over another quarter. I did like my kindle. How did you go about getting them to replace it?

[Diane]

Here's the thread on PIO http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/news-chat-dilemmas/173609-extended-warranties-well-i-never.html and here's the bit from Amazon's Terms & Conditions http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200782640

 

I basically got onto Customer Service and quoted to them from that page - the bit that starts "Some Jurisdictions.." and then the bit about Australian Consumers. I had to go through a few levels of seniority but they agreed in the end. This was after also googling and finding out that the particular model I had (and have again now yippee) seems to have a common failure after it's over a year old - the screen, just like yours.

 

My next thing was going to be to order a replacement screen and have a go at replacing - this company sell them http://www.powerbookmedic.com/Amazon-Kindle-3-E-Ink-Screen-Display-p-20673.html and has videos on how to do it (pretty complicacted though!)

[andy and lindsey]

Anyone brought a kindle fire to Australia or own one in the UK

[snivag]

I have a kindle fire that I bought from the USA, at the moment you cannot download anything from Amazon until it has been released here as you need a UK or US credit card with either an address in the USA or the UK. You will be able to manually load music,books and films onto the kindle fire but you wont be able to stream them from Amazon.

I was not able to access Google play either, of course just like a mobile phone these devices can be rooted then you can do what you like with no area restrictions.

Have a look round the net there is loads of information, here is a couple to get you started.

http://www.ereaderaustralia.com.au/kindle-fire-australia

http://delimiter.com.au/2011/11/25/amazon-kindle-fire-australian-review/

http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1306 this is a bit more technical but gives you some idea.

My daughter is a massive book reader, and absolutely loves this Kindle, with the colour screen and all the extra features over a dedicated Kindle e-reader, I paid $195 for this kindle and when you consider that a Kindle e-reader is $100+ I think it's good value for money.

I still can't find when the official release date is yet though.

This might help you decide or it might confuse you more??

[Guest MandiMR2]

Hi Guys,

I have the kindle 3.4 & I love it, I read a book a week at least! How are you finding them in Adelaide? Why can't your amazon account sinc in Oz? why is a UK or US CC required? I'm moving to Adelaide later this year & I was thinking of upgrading & buying a kindle fire ASAP. Many of my friends have one & it appeals to me allot, if I wasn't moving I'd have most definately bought one already, I'm just not so sure yet! what do you think? is it worth me buying one now or waiting until they are released over there?

Cheers Mandi

[Guest Notapom]

I took my kindle home to Uk on holiday - reset it there to my folk's address & have been enjoying 20p books galore! I already had an amazon uk account as had made other purchases but was unable to use it for my kindle until now. Previously the kindle was gathering dust as I could buy all the amazon.com e books cheaper in hard copy from Book Depository UK.

[nikkinoodlesuk]

I think there must be a common fault on standard kindles mines 4th gen i think, and started getting lines accross my screen within weeks of having it I contacted Amazon and they replaced straight away without question. Think I'll upgrade when better ones available here

[Guest magicsprout]

dont know why your account wont sync, i got a paperwhite for christmas sent out by my mum and mine syncs and downloads fine