The Kindle forum at Amazon.co.UK sprang to life with the exciting news that "It's Arrived!!!!!!". Excited customers have been posting moments after the post delivered their Kindle 3 boxes, and Kindle 3 owner dmk, who was the first to post that the Kindle arrived, gleefully announced, "The Complete Works of Jane Austen took about 2 seconds to download!" Other customers are wondering when their Amazon will ship the latest batch of Kindles.
When Does Kindle 3 Ship?
Originally, Amazon announced that the Kindle 3 would begin shipment in the US and the UK on August 27, 2010. On August 25, 2010, Amazon surprised customers with a news release saying that Kindles shipped two days early, and that the company was shipping the ereaders to Amazon Ships Kindles to Far-Flung Readers.
Currently, orders in the US and UK that are ordered today will be delivered in mid-September. Amazon says that they will be shipped on or before September 17th. Canadian Kindles should follow the US shipping dates. Previous Kindle shipments have arrived before the date listed, and Amazon offers one-day shipping options for a fee.
International Kindle Orders and Shipments
If a Kindle was pre-ordered, Amazon should have sent an email with an estimated delivery date, but the Kindle forums show there is some frustration and confusion about international delivery. In the US Amazon discussion forum, people are listing their order dates and estimated shipping. Wabi-sabi Creazioni is in Italy and says, "My Kindle and cover (WiFi only, ordered July 29) are both marked being prepared to ship."
To find specific international delivery estimates, Amazon has "important information specific to your country" in a box under the "add to cart" box on the US ordering page. As long as Java in enabled on your computer, a box will appear to choose a country for the Kindle 3 shipment, and the page will link to the proper ordering page if the Kindle 3 is available for that country. This is not the same as going to a different country's Amazon site; stay on Amazon US and follow the links to order a Kindle for a French customer. Christmas Island is out of luck, but 125 other countries can get Kindle 3s in September, although the Kindle forums note that some customers have been told that they will have to wait until October.
It is not clear the if wi-fi only Kindle 3 models have been shipped before the Kindle 3G, but some customers are noticing that the 3G+wi-fi Kindles are still in the "preparing to ship" stage, while wi-fii only customers are checking their mailboxes for delivery. Because Kindles are sold in some airports and some Target stores, US customers can start reading their ebooks in September by buying a Kindle 3 even if they didn't order one from Amazon.
Sources:
- The UK Kindle Forum at Amazon.co.uk was accessed on August 26, 2010. The topic thread read was " It's Arrived!!!!!! "
- The US Kindle Forum at Amazon.com was accessed on August 26, 2010. The topic thread read was " preparing to ship! "
- The Kindle delivery information was accessed at Amazon's US and UK sites on August 26, 2010 by going through the Kindle ordering page.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
