Australian Kindle Questions and Answers

I’ve been fielding lots of questions from BookOffers readers on the new Australian Kindle so I thought I’d start an article that allows you to ask any Kindle question you like and have BookOffers answer it.

Feel free to either email us at admin @ bookoffers.com.au or add your question as a comment below and we’ll do our best to answer it.

In the meantime you can read the BookOffers Australian Kindle Buyers Guide or our Top Australian Kindle Accessories Article.

Australian Kindle Questions & Answers

Question. I cannot find  a list of titles to download on the Amazon website. Please supply.

As of Nov 5 there are over 288,000 titles available – go to the Amazon.com home page and choose Kindle Store then Kindle books and make sure the country is set as Australia. You can then search or browse the titles available.

Question. I read that AT&T in the U.S.A. allow Amazon to download in Australia. Which local networks?

It is unclear and Amazon have not issues a clear statement however we believe it is both Vodafone and Telstra 3G networks – (http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/international/dataconnect-global.jsp) A network map showing wirles coverage is aviable here – http://client0.cellmaps.com/tabs.html#cellmaps_intl_tab

Question. What will be the cost of titles?

They start at USD$9.99 up to around USD$17. Still quite a bit cheaper than buying the actual physical book.

Question. What will be the additional download costs on the web?

None, unless you use more than your monthly ISP download limit, but the wireless delivery is free so you should use that in preference if you are worried about download charges on your computer

Question. What is the position on titles regarding International Copyright on books?

All titles are legal and copyright is enforced.

Question. Can we Buy Kindle Books in Australia.In other words download them from a local Australian store on-line?

Kindle books can only be purchased from Amazon.com – either on the Kindle itself or using your PC/browser and visiting Amazon.com and then transferred to your Kindle using the USB cable that comes with it.

No local Australian stores sell Kindle books. However you can also load a huge number of free ebooks from Project Gutenburg.

These are all books that have had their copyright expire such as Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Question. I have read that you cannot jump ahead or back, can only turn 1 page at a time.   So if you are reading chapter 20, say, you will not be able to jump back to chapter 2?

Solution From the manual

Moving from Place to Place – There are several ways for you to get from place to place once you have opened your reading material. Most often you will turn pages using the Next Page and Previous Page buttons (described in Chapter 1). You can also get around inside your book or periodical by selecting locations from the item’s Menu, clicking on links in the content, or by moving the 5-way controller left or right to advance to another article or chapter.

You can also jump to any page by entering the page number, to the front cover, the table of contents. Refer to the manual on p47

Question. Is it true that Kindle books do not have page number or chapters?

Locations are the digital answer to page numbers. Changing the text size on Kindle also changes the page numbering, but with locations, you return to the same place every time regardless of the text size.

So yes whilst technically correct that they don’t have page numbers – they do have a new concept called locations which helps when re-sizing text. You can ump to any location very simply.

Question. How do we change the Kindle battery?

You charge it by plugging it into your PC or Mac using the supplied USB cable. You can also buy a wall charger as well for $20 – see our accessories guide http://www.bookoffers.com.au/top-5-kindle-accessories-for-your-australian-kindle/

Question. Where do I find the Australian Kindle manual?

You can find it here – Australian Kindle Manual

Question. Can we download titles onto our computer pending the arrival of Kindle?

Yes, you can and you could also use the newly launched Kindle for PC application to read them.

Question. When we have read a title and copied it back onto our backup drive can we re-load onto the reader?

Yes, see below question

Question. Old titles stored on the backup drive can these be copied back, reinstalled and read again?

Yes that is supported – here’s how

From the Australian Kindle Manual

To transfer content downloaded to your computer, over to your Kindle, follow these steps:

1. Connect the USB cable (provided with your Kindle) to the Kindle and your computer.
2. Your Kindle should appear on your computer in the same location you would normally find an external USB drive.
3. Open your Kindle. You should see a folder entitled “documents.”
4. Transfer the downloaded files into the “documents” folder of your Kindle.
5. Using your computer, unmount your Kindle from your computer.
   

The content you transferred should now appear in Home.

Question. Are we entitled to pass on old purchased titles to another Kindle owner?

At the moment there is no way to send Kindle titles to others to share. Hopefully this might be a feature of a software update in the future.
Question. Does Google block passing on titles to other Kindle owners?

See above answer. Google however do not play any part in delivery or otherwise of the Kindle.

Question. I assume the Kindle allows us to erase titles after reading?

Yes, they are permanently stored in your Amazon.com account even if you delete them from your Kindle so you can re-download them later if you delete them by accident. Here are the steps from the manual.

To remove content, follow these steps:

1. If you are not already on the Home screen, press the Home button.
2. In the list of the content already on your device, move the 5-way to underline the item you want to remove.
3. Move the 5-way to the left to remove the item.
4. When you see “delete,” press the 5-way to confirm the deletion. To change your mind, move the 5-way up or down to cancel.

Note that Kindle books are backed up for you at Amazon.com even if removed from the device.

Related posts:

1. Australian Kindle Unboxing – Win An Australian Amazon Kindle
2. Top 5 Kindle Accessories For Your Australian Kindle
3. Australian Kindle or Apple iPad?