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Amazon to ship Kindle to the Philippines

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The Amazon Kindle (the 6" international GSM version) will retail for $279 or just over Php13,000 at current exchange rates.

Abe Olandres October 7, 2009 · 1 min read

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Amazon has just announced it will make the Kindle available world wide with an international shipping to over 100 countries, including the Philippines.

The Amazon Kindle (the 6″ international GSM version) will retail for $279 or just over Php13,000 at current exchange rates. Of course, this does not include customs and other taxes.

For the Philippines, it will be available for shipment on October 19 but you can pre-order it now.

The map below shows 3G (dark purple) and EDGE/GPRS (light purple) coverage for the Philippines. Accessing this network via the Kindle will be free. There are no monthly fees too. However, subscription for blogs and the experimental browser is not available in the Philippines.

kindle philippines

This also means you can now download and buy the ebooks (over 290,000 of them) plus US magazines and international newspapers even if you don’t have any US-based credit card.

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Abe Olandres

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Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

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114 Comments

yaoi_mazter · 15 years ago

Yup, it can read mobi, prc and pdf formats…the new ones can also display HTML, DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP.

You just plug it in go to my computer and open it like you open any other flash drive. Then you can either drag or paste the e-books you want.

Word of caution some pdf file displays are really tiny that it would strain your eyes and I haven’t found a way of enlarging them without going through the hassle of pushing the navigation up and down every few paragraphs. Hope we can get around this soon or if there’s a way to do this, I’d appreciate a heads up.

You can only change the font size for LEGALLY downloaded e-books^_^

Hope this helps!

Keira · 14 years ago

@yaoi_mazter,

I’m not sure if this would work, but I think you can adjust the PDF font size before converting it into the Kindle format.

kristel fangon · 15 years ago

pde po ba sya lagyan ng books na download lng gling sa computer ? yung para ka lng naglalagay ng mp3 songs sa cellphone .

Angelo Tan · 15 years ago

For those who are curious about ordering Kindle in the Philippines (through Amazon or another method), you can read this article: http://www.kindlelove.org/2011/buykindleinthephilippines/

Hope it helps!

Art Santos · 15 years ago

Kindle or no kindle, We have the lowest priced books in town! Sophia Book Club delivers books on major malls! from Anatomy to Zombie novel books, Sophia Book Club is the ultimate place to go!

0922-945-75-05. -call for inquiries!

Bobby T. · 15 years ago

Diane, there’s a DEREGISTER command in your Kindle’s SETTINGS.

diane · 15 years ago

Hi! My kindle was bought and registered in the states under my sister’s account. Anyone there who knows how i can register it here in my name and pay for the ebooks myself? tnx!

Amy · 15 years ago

I just got my Kindle3 wifi and 3G. and im so loving it! =D

Miley · 15 years ago

does it have a USB port? I’ve got loads of E-books so will it be possible to just put a USB on it and be able to read it there?
where can I buy it better.. CANADA or Philippines?
with a-not-so pricey-price… but I’ll use it in the philippines..

Bobby T. · 16 years ago

same worry as lifeinslippers, i’m worried about the 3G use on kindle. while surfing is rudimentary, but it’s good enough for me to check email & facebook. now, they have my credit card info on file. i’ve started using the 3G only these past few days. but sometimes i’m afraid, knowing the 3G involves international deals between amazon and smart (?), who knows they’ll charge me same rates as roaming.

Lai · 16 years ago

I really want a KINDLE!!! I badly needed it. I want to buy here at pinas but dont know where to buy one. I dont want to buy it online. Can someone help me? maybe someone can tell me a store that is selling it other than info maxx.

If I bought at http://www.amazon.com can I still use it even it was not registered in U.S.?

I have watched a morning show (Unang hirit/ Umagang KAy Ganda not sure which one) discussing all ebook reader. I wasn’t able to get the contact number of the person or his store ad. maybe someone know him or have also watched the show. please i really need a help. =D

lifeinslippers · 16 years ago

i loooove my kindle. aside from the obvious benefit of having hundreds of book in my bag at all times, other features include the text to speech function which allows me to “read” while driving. correct me if i’m wrong, but isn’t the use of 3g free of charge? i’m using my kindle in drafting this comment and since amazon doesn’t even have my credit card details…must be free! oh i’m also at the beach now. no glare on my kindle, unlike with my old ebook reader. happiness!

K · 16 years ago

i want this one so much.

pat camique · 16 years ago

anyone here knows where I can buy kindle accessories in manila?

bongskie · 16 years ago

@ cherry how it works wirelessly? please elaborate coz im planning to buy, ty

Andro · 16 years ago

Maybe you’d be better of buying a new kindle 2, just add a few more thousand. Sure, it’s easy to download ebooks but a problem I’m having with .PDF ebooks that I download is that when converted to kindle format, it can get a bit unreadable. For best results you need to use Amazon whispernet. If you plan on reading ebooks with lots of text and detailed illustrations, get an iPad. Hahaha. Really.

che · 16 years ago

a friend of a friend is selling me kindle2 for Php9K but without warranty,charger or USB cord..should i buy it?i mean, is it easy to just download ebooks to my laptop and transfer to kindle?help!

cherry · 16 years ago

The Kindle Wireless Reader</a? from Amazon is the perfect anytime gift for your favorite book lover, or for yourself. Kindle is simple to use, no computer required. Read your favorite books, newspapers, blogs, or even your own personal documents with Kindle – anywhere! What’s more, there’s no monthly fee! I love my Kindle!

andro · 16 years ago

Whats the real date of delivery for a kindle? any feedbacks? because the estimate is march 24, but I want to know the real number after customs and all that red tape. Thanks guys.

andro · 16 years ago

what’s the real delivery date for kindle? I just ordered mine this March 18, EDD is March 24. What’s the real number, after customs duty and such? Thanks guys.

ken · 16 years ago

got my kindle 2 for valentines. it’s great. i can download a book in 1 minute via 3G. it connects to all the networks, you can also manually select the carrier. although, the browser does not seem to work there’s a message, “due to local restrictions, web browsing is not available for all countries”

Doc Broks · 16 years ago

seriously considering to buy a Kindle.
Can i use it to read medical journals in PDF form?

zish · 16 years ago

kunyari i bought something from amzon. and 50$ iyon magkano po ang patong ng tax?

broadwaybaby · 17 years ago

“pero without the experimental browser, will I still be able to access the Amazon store on my kindle?”

Yes, if you have the international edition you can buy books directly from your device and it will be delivered wirelessly. No monthly fees and delivery fees. Albeit the books are more expensive than the US counterpart. I just checked:

Dan Brown books:
Da Vinci Code
US Price: $7.59
International Price: not available

Angels & Demons
US: 7.99
Int’l: 9.99

Deception Point
US: 7.99
Int’l: 9.99

The Lost Symbol
US: 9.99
Int’l: not available

Stephanie Meyer:
Twilight
US: 6.59
Int’l: 8.59

New Moon
US: 7.91
Int’l: 9.91

Eclipse
US: 7.79
Int’l: 9.79

Breaking Dawn
US: 9.99
Int’l: 11.99

broadwaybaby · 17 years ago

@iko
“i own the kindle 2 and until now i havenâ€™t registered the kindle yet since i am outside the sprint service area.”

How could you not have registered the Kindle yet? You can do that at Amazon.com Manage Your Kindle. I didn’t register my new K2 via the device since I’m in the Philippines now, but I did through Amazon.com.

And without registering, you wouldn’t be able to download or buy books from Amazon’s Kindle store.

sylv3rblade · 17 years ago

meh.. it’s on sir abe’s middle of the post *facepalm*

sylv3rblade · 17 years ago

Wired says the international version won’t allow you to access the internet (just the web browser). Can anyone who ordered confirm this?

sauce: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/10/international-kindle-crippled-at-launch-no-web-access-outside-us/

Randy · 17 years ago

Ipod Touch as an e-book reader will not last long with its battery life.

tidzman · 17 years ago

I wonder if it’s possible to get import/customs duties and taxes exemption for this.

Books are supposed to be exempt from duties. Since the kindle is by and large practically a compilation of books then shouldn’t it be tax and duties exempt as well???

abdullah2 · 17 years ago

broadwaybaby · 17 years ago

I just bought my Kindle last month. I didn’t know about the international Kindle then, but wouldn’t buy it anyway, since I have US bank accounts and credit cards. I just had it shipped (for free since I have Prime membership) to my dad and he sent it to me via Fedex. Although it took a week in customs, (more if I didn’t get mad and went to the fedex facility in Paranaque myself) and paid P5800 for tax/duty.

It may have cost me more:
$299 for the Kindle
$29.99 for the cover
$65 for the extended warranty (which is only available to US customers)
$19.99 for Mighty Bright LED light (I highly recommend this product.)
$129 for FedEx

But what I will save on the long term is considerably higher. The books available for international customers are slightly higher than the US price. NY Times bestsellers and new releases are 11.99 for non-US customers and 9.99 for US customers. Transfer of personal documents via Whispernet is $.99 per MB.

I’m happy transferring the Kindle books from my Kindle 1 to the K2 via the USB. No additional charges.

The custom deposit for a Kindle shipment to the Philippines is $36.00. But they will automatically charge your card if the custom tax is higher. The shipping fee is $20.98. The total will be $335.98.

I have a Kindle for iPhone and Stanza too and no matter how much I like reading on my iPhone and iPod Touch, I couldn’t last very long. First, the battery on a full charge can only give you about 3/4 hours of reading time, and it strains the eye even if you’re using the night theme. No eye strains on the Kindle.

And more than half of my library got submerged in the recent flooding, and a lot of the soaked books cannot be salvaged. Thanks to Amazon and Jeff Bezos I saved the 800+ books on my Kindle. And because I travel a lot, there’s no more books to add to the weight and bulk of my luggages. So I’m pretty happy with the Kindle. Not that I don’t like the smell of new books and cracking the spine for the first time. But the benefits of the Kindle for me far outweighs it.

So this gadget is definitely a good investment for the bookworm who is also a world traveller. Bye-bye to all the wasted hours waiting at the airport for your flight!

Kimis_Mistress · 17 years ago

I once thought about getting a Kindle. Decided to give it a pass and got an iPod Touch instead. I love the free Stanza app. I also have the Stanza desktop app w/c i use on my laptop. I love the fact that it can read a lot of formats, even if it a .rar file.No need to convert. That was a big deal for me since I’ve been reading ebooks since 2004 and most of them are in .lit or .html.

Josh · 17 years ago

I wish Sony Readers will follow suit.

JC John Sese Cuneta · 17 years ago

Limited features, it is indeed an e-Book reader only. But if they will offer Blog subscription (my other blog is listed on Amazon Kindle) then it will give more justification for the local price equivalent (at least for me).

Until then, I will echo what was said, read e-Books using your existing tools, or just buy a book (BookSale! :p )

Vance · 17 years ago

I still prefer Amazon to open their MP3 store.. hehe.. wala pang iTunes store sa manila and Fliptunes is not that good since it uses DRM security..

Alshann · 17 years ago

Who will be the local partner of Kindle here in the Philippines? :)

arnold · 17 years ago

Hey Bob, that’s a pricey deal. I wonder if you can get order the Kindle International version and use third-party forwarding services (Johnny Air, MyUPs, etc). That will be cheaper, right?

vepa814 · 17 years ago

i love books (and ebooks too) but 13k…is too much! i’d rather go for an iTouch, id on;t mind the smaller screen. Or maybe wait for Sony to make their ebook reader available in the Philippines. I hope that will happen and when it does, i hope its priced lesser.

karissa · 17 years ago

I’m not a big fan of kindle neither e-books, I prefer the printed books kasi.

But if you want to ship something from the US, why not use Johnny Air Cargo.
I lot of peepz use them for their shipment from the US. And I think hindi na to dadaan sa mga “oily’ hands ng customs people.

You just have to inform their people that you wanted to puchase something from Amazon or B&N etc. They would give you their office address in NY. And from their NY office,i-ship nila dito sa PH.

An basta, just visit their website, it’s one of their services. Hope that helps.

bob · 17 years ago

@ Sting6ph

you’re welcome

ill keep you updated about my experience
i hope it is well worth my money
i got an iPhone and i have several reading materials downloaded but i have difficulty reading/browsing in a small screen

it is my long delayed B-day gift for myself :-)

sting6ph · 17 years ago

@bob

Thanks for the info :). Quite expensive for an ebook. With that price, I can just get iPod Touch. Or have the most affordable iPod Touch and take a quick vacation :)

bob · 17 years ago

i just pre-ordered mine tonight:
Shipping Method: Priority International Courier
Shipping Preference: Group my items into as few shipments as possible
Subtotal of Items: $308.99
Shipping & Handling: $26.97
——
Import Fees Deposit $47.62 (siguro naman wala ng additional fee sa customs)
——
Total for this Order: $383.58 (x49) = 18,795.42PHP

Delivery estimate: October 21, 2009 – October 23, 2009
Shipping estimate for these items: October 19, 2009
1 “Kindle Wireless Reading Device (6″ Display, U.S. & International Wireless, Latest Generation)”
Electronics; $279.00

Sold by: Amazon Export Sales, Inc.
1 “Amazon Kindle Leather Cover (Fits 6″ Display, Latest Generation Kindle)”
Accessory; $29.99

napagastos na naman ng di oras hehe

Blog Kindle · 17 years ago

I’ve put together a table with international Kindle details that lists every country in which Kindle is available along with number of books, their pricing, wireless availability etc

petken · 17 years ago

I hope Amazon will be able to ship all their items to the Philippines so that our online shopping experience will be better.

berkano · 17 years ago

This could be of great help to students who have their backs burdened by the dozens of books they carry. Nursing and law students will be happy if the content arrives as well.

For now I’ll pass. I’m still in love with the smell of old pages. And i’m never happy when one of my books suddenly get stolen from me.

I am now wondering if somebody in this country comes up with an e-booksale store :)

sylv3rblade · 17 years ago

I agree with Calvin. Too pricey and that’s not just the hardware. I’d stick to my paperbacks for my books for now.

Calvin · 17 years ago

13k for an ebook reader. still not that affordable. :(

Marc · 17 years ago

Okay, so obviously you access the books via a GSM card, logging onto the 3G or GPRS network to do so.

Thing is, how are the telcos going to charge for internet access fees? It’s 10 pesos / 30 min block for Smart. (Forgot Globe’s rate…) Would be interesting how they do that since the sim card in the Kindle is an AT&T GSM Sim… and if you buy this device, you obviously don’t necissarily have a line with AT&T.

So… I have my doubts the connection would actually work here. Unless Amazon partners with one of the Telcos to actually make it happen.

But then you’ll have the issue of the local bookstores/retailers wanting a piece of the action… further mucking things up.

Ah Kindle, such a disruptive little device you are!

Eizan · 17 years ago

Good thing EDGE/GPRS is widely available in the country, with 3G also available in major cities.

iko · 17 years ago

another thing, when i had my kindle shipped from amazon to PH, it took customs 3 weeks to clear my package. they even opened the device, destroyed the lovely amazon packaging, played with it, and they didnt even wipe the smudges they created with their oily lumpia-eating fingers. and worst of all, they charged me Php 5k tax.

iko · 17 years ago

i own the kindle 2 and until now i haven’t registered the kindle yet since i am outside the sprint service area. i really dont care about wireless delivery of content, i could always connect via USB to transfer ebooks and RSS feeds but the free unlimited browsing via Philippine networks would be nice, kahit GPRS speeds ayos lang.

pero without the experimental browser, will I still be able to access the Amazon store on my kindle? one thing i find missing in the Kindle is the library doesn’t offer previews/summaries for ebooks. sometimes i download ebooks from amazon randomly just because they’re free or below 9,99, without reading previews so it would really be cool if the Kindle store is accessible here in the Philippines via Globe, Sun or Smart.