The Kindle Web-browser expanded to 61 more countries?Updated 10/29/10 - Original posting, 6/15/10 - 6:39 AM
See "Global Kindle Free 3G Web Browsing: Where? Some Answers. UK table of countries" and the updated Countries Listing also.
Updated 6/16/10 and 6/18/10 - Original posting, 6/15/10 - 6:39 AM
It looks as if Jay Marine, director of product management for Kindle, was serious when he was reported to have said that Amazon does intend to enable its experimental browser in every country.
I'd read posts from Kindle-owners in other countries saying that their Kindles were suddenly enabled to use the Experimental Web browser. My speculation had been that it might be a glitch in setting up the new software update and that Amazon may have inadvertently enabled the web browser for many more countries or areas.
An inadvertent enabling occurred with Canada last year when Kindles were first released there. But there the country-specific features-information at the time for Canada at the Kindle International product pages did show Canada not enabled for the web-browser and that was an error and they disabled them, unfortunately.
This is different. The product pages tend to match the noticed new full access by some.
I saw that at Slashgear the U.K. writer says:
'...we’ve also just tested the web browser on our Kindle in the UK – which previously was restricted to viewing Wikipedia – and it seems Amazon has unlocked the 3G connection so that you can now view any site. '
Today, there are about 52 more countries with Amazon product-page feature descriptions which no longer list them as having the web-browser disabled for Kindles bought for use in those countries -- only blogs are disabled in those countries now, as it's been for most International Kindles all along. The wording for countries with the web browser disabled tends to be:
"Blogs, social networking features, and the experimental web browser are currently not available for your country. You will have free access to Wikipedia if wireless is available. "
(The 'social networking features' are new and that feature isn't often mentioned for the possibly affected countries.)
UPDATE: I received corrections from people who know more, for some of the now 65 countries/areas listed on the the preliminary countries-listing linked to below.
Along with the web-browser feature, some European customers are reporting that some books that are free to U.S. residents are now also free to them rather than ~$2.00 as they have been.
This is all coinciding with the new version 2.5.x software.
AGAIN, Amazon has not confirmed ANY of this and it may all be the result of a system glitch on their country product-pages for all I know. But it looks, two weeks later, to be true and in process.
UPDATE: The international 3G access with the experimental web browser turned out to be true and not a system glitch.
UPDATE - See country details on a separate page.
COUNTRIES WITH CUSTOMERS REPORTING FULL ACCESS BRIEFLY BUT FOR WHICH
THE AMAZON PRODUCT PAGES WERE NOT SHOWING THE 3G WEB BROWSER AVAILABILITY
Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden product pages at Amazon didn't currently show them enabled, but some Kindle owners reported full web access in those areas for a brief time after software update 2.5.x -- the access became UNavailable for most in those 9 countries, with a later 2.5.x software update in August.
UPDATE: The Amazon Kindle country product-page wording changed constantly during August through September.
Last updated September/October, 2010
Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources. Top 100 free bestsellers.
No comments:
Post a Comment