International Kindle: Worth it for Bloggers?
Unless you have totally spaced out for the past few months, there is a good chance you have heard of Amazon Kindle. Amazon Kindle is an innovative e-book reader that lets you read and download books from Amazon on the go. So no longer do you have to carry a few books with you when you go for a little trip around the nation. Most bloggers do spend a lot of time reading new material and keeping up with the latest developments in the world around them. For these folks, Amazon Kindle can be a life-saver. You can not only download books, but also newspapers and magazines on your Kindle. So it does provide bloggers with a lot of tool to stay on the top of their niches.
The international version of Kindle, which was released just a few days ago, allows you to download books all around the world. So if you happen to be interested in going to that conference in Europe, you won’t have to sweat about carrying books for your trip. You can just grab your Kindle, and you are set. Kindle international costs only $20 more than its domestic counterpart. But is it worth a try? Here are a few facts that you need to know before getting one:
Wireless Connection: Amazon Kindle international is supported by AT&T (unlike previous generation Kindles that worked with Sprint). You won’t have to pay a monthly fee to take advantage of it. But there are some additional download and delivery fees.
Fees: unfortunately, there are some international fees that you need to take on if you want to download content to your Kindle: $1.99 per book from Amazon’s store or your archived books and $4.99 per week for subscriptions.
Formats: Amazon is a bit controlling when it comes to allowing third party document formats on the device. You can always convert your content to Amazon format, but it’s far less convenient. Some of the popular open format documents are not supported on Kindle.
Language: unfortunately, you can’t read international books on your Kindle just yet. English is the only supported language, though I expect Amazon to add more language support in the future.
Power: depending on the country you are planning to travel to, you may need a special adapter to keep your Kindle charged. It’s inconvenient but not a deal breaker.
Coverage: many countries are already covered by AT&T’s wireless network. At the same time, there are a few that aren’t. Always check the coverage charts to make sure.
Is Kindle international worth it? It is if you are planning to take a long trip abroad. For short trips, it’s tough to justify all the document fees and so on. If you are not planning to travel internationally, you are probably better off with the original Kindle 2 or Kindle DX. The device may not be perfect, but it’s a great tool for international bloggers to read books more conveniently and save money in the process.
Your take: does Kindle help you with your blog?
You may also be interested in reading:
- How Kindle 2.0 Can Make You a Better Blogger
- Blogging Gadgets I Can’t Live Without
- 5 Cool Gadgets For Bloggers
- Kindle Blog Publishing and Expectations
- How To Publish Your Blog On Amazon
