using kindle in India

Can I use kindle in India without the US-download system. Ca I just download stuff through USB or firewire and enjoy reading my purchases.
Also, if I buy a subscription for newspaper, whoul I will be downloading daily or will it automatically sit on kindle and will get downloaded when my kindle in connected to internet.

It says on their site that you need a US address credit card to make purchases. So the India credit card (even international ones) apparently wont do.

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You can you your Indian credit card to make a purchase. I bought my kindle using Indian credit card only, and now I enjoy reading books on my kindle 2

You can you your Indian credit card to make a purchase. I bought my kindle using Indian credit card only, and now I enjoy reading books on my kindle 2

Assuming I have a US credit card, how does one upload new books if I owned a Kindle in India, as I dont think the wireless network in India work with kindle. Can i use a USB.

Yes, you can download books from your computer outside the USA, using the Kindle USB connection, assuming you have qualified for the "one clik" credit card account. You cannot access Whispernet outside of the USA. To add reading material not sold at the Amazon Kindle store, you would have to have it emailed to your Kindle account [and have it converted to Kindle friendly format, if necessary], so you could download it from your computer.

I'm not sure about newspaper subscriptions, but you could send an email to customer service, asking about that

I'm in Costa Rica and I just download the books to my computer and transfer them via USB cable. Since you won't have wireless capability, you won't be able to get the book samples unless you have an Ipod Touch. But it works great. For newspapers, once you get the subscription, you will also be given the ability to download each days newspaper just like the books. No problems, you'll just have to sync with your Kindle everyday, but that's no big deal.

Where did you buy it from? Amazon.com?

The posts here were helpful. A friend wanted to buy kindle to use in India. I will tell him that he can buy books and transfer them from the computer.

Do all functionalities of the kindle work (except previewing the book, etc., activities which directly need connection to amazon services) without the network? For example, is the Instant dictionary lookup service network dependent? Can I also view _other_ (free/libre licensed) PDFs on kindle?

Just got a Kindle for gift. does it download copy and then be able to be read without further access to wireless? am going to India, can preload books, etc, but unclear about the mechanics of the process. I have downloaded one book now, and am reading it, but am not clear if the entire content is resident on the unit. If it is not, how do I refresh the content?

I live in India and use a USA based Kindle here. The process is simple--download the books (yes entire books) onto computer and use the USB cable to put them onto the Kindle. Dictionary is on the Kindle itself, so no need to be online for that. Because my Kindle is USA based, wireless does not work for me in India, but the new International Kindle version would work with the wireless networks here. That doesn't bother me--I hardly ever used the wireless in USA either. The only things that do not work for me are the sample chapter or book excerpt, and subscriptions to magazines or newspapers, because both are sent only via the wireless. But I have been happy with the Kindle quality and the purchase process.

So, operating without a computer, one does not download the entire book onto the kindle wirelessly, rather downloads or accesses it wirelessly in portions - like screen scrapes? If this is so, I will need to load the book I already bought onto my computer, then copy it to the kindle?

thanks in advance for the courtesy of your reply.

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Reply to "Nearsighted":
You get the whole book (wirelessly) on the Kindle and read it just as you would if you had loaded it through a computer. Hence Amazon's advertisement--"start reading in less than a minute." That means on average it takes less than a minute to download an entire book. And it's true. I did it once while waiting for a flight to take off in Chicago--it was great, and since I didn't have a regular internet connection right then, it was the only way I could have gotten the book. So just to be clear: The wireless does not need to be connected all the time, and it does not download only a screen-full at a time.

Now that Kindle International is out and India is included in the countries where you can wirelessly download book I guess you just have to order your Kindle and start using it. Like in most of Europe - some of the experimental features are not yet available blogs primarily. And the cost of books are slightly higher than in US - but it does include all taxes and stuff. And with really great mobile coverage in India - you can carry your book store with you.
What I find a bit frustrating is that the US Store has more books than the European or Indian books. So some of the books that you know have a Kindle edition suddenly disappears if you are ordering it from Europe or elsewhere. But I guess its just a matter of time.
Enjoy reading!

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Books like Movies for example have Copyright issues, Distributions Issues, Publisher Issues, etc. On top of that Some books, maybe a whole lot of books are just outright banned in some countries. I would guess Muslim Countries would have a lot of Restrictions on what book would be allowed for example. I believe Germany has Restrictions on Nazi type things. So I'm sure some books on that subject would be banned. Amazon has to follow all the laws. Now YOU yourself could break them and get around them and get whatever books you want. It's a hassle but generally doable. What happens if you get caught with them could be another issue also. If Amazon was able, they'd sell whatever book anyone wanted anywhere in the world. A Sale is a Sale!!! That's just not possible. The list of books you can legally buy will grow!!! It'll just take time. I feel for you. I wish you had full access to anything and everything you wanted.

Has anyone here actually shipped the Kindle to India? I want one, but am concerned about what state it will arrive in, if i ship it directly to India.
Also, does the Kindle get caught in customs etc?

I haven't seen an international Kindle shipped directly to India, but I do know a few things about the ordering and shipping process, and I have ordered books in India from Amazon. Amazon is generally pretty good with international shipping as far as packing and customs. Obviously it is expensive to ship anything internationally. For books it can easily cost more than the books themselves depending on shipping speed, etc. But other than that, whatever is ordered generally does arrive in good condition. The Kindle packaging is pretty stout, so it should make it through. I think I heard that the shipping cost for a Kindle by itself to India is about $29 USD. That's pretty reasonable for something as valuable as a Kindle shipped insured, by a reliable company like Fed- Ex or UPS, DHL, etc.

The bad news is that Indian customs does charge a pretty hefty import duty on it for some reason. It is supposed to be something like $100 USD from what I've read. Ugh. Not sure why it's so high. Maybe a Kindle is somehow considered a luxury item. But as far as I know, computers and related electronics aren't that expensive to import. Someone else may know more.

Have had my KINDLE for 10 days now - ordered online from the Amazon Store! Whoe procedure was totally painless (except the price!) and the KINDLE arrived beautifully packed and totally intact. Its an absolute joy, except that many books are not accessible yet to Indian readers.
LAILA TYABJI

Have written an article on the experience of having a KINDLE in India - if anyone is interested send me your email id
LAILA TYABJI

Hey Laila,

Could you please email me your article on Kindle. I'm looking to use one in india...
pls email me at kurianarun@gmail.com
Thanks

Hello Laila:
Can you please email me at eldorajan@yahoo.com