• Interests, Hobbies, Geekdom

    iPad Kindle Singapore

    July 29, 2010

    There were two main reasons why I went to get myself a iPad:

    1) Kindle. I am running out of space at home for my books. Having ebooks will enable me to read without worrying finding space to put my books.

    2) Watching video without sitting in front of my PC. With iPad I can now watch video anywhere.

    And after playing around with my iPad for the past few days, I can safely say the iPad fulfilled both and more.

    It was not that straight forward to purchase books off Amazon for Kindle on iPad. However upon successfully purchasing ebooks, the ebooks were pushed down to the Kindle on iPad. Reading on Kindle was a wonderful experience, with a flick of my finger, it displayed the next page. While I believe it is easier for the eyes to get tired reading on a iPad than a Kindle, at least the iPad is sold officially in Singapore, while we are still waiting for the Kindle to be here after so long.

    To purchase ebooks on Amazon, follow the steps given in Jeff’s Blog. As to the VPN, I tried a few free ones, and most of them were slow and unreliable.  In the end I am quite pleased with VPNReactor, a free VPN service with servers located in US. It has been quite reliable so far, and the speed is fast enough for me.

    A word of caution, you have to use a VPN service with servers located in US. The first time that I did not, I receive an email from Amazon asking me to verify that I was in US.

     

    [Updated 25 Dec 2011] TunnelBear is a pretty good VPN to use. However, there is a need to install their application to use it. 

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  • Happenings,  Interests, Hobbies, Geekdom

    iPad In Singapore

    July 19, 2010

    Apple has just announced iPad will be available in Singapore on 23rd July 2010 Friday.

    Taken from http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/07/19ipad.html

    CUPERTINO, California—July 19, 2010—Apple® today announced that iPad™ will be available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore this Friday, July 23. iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before. Users can browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ user interface. iPad is 0.5 inches thin and weighs just 1.5 pounds—thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook—and delivers up to 10 hours of battery life.*

    Beginning this Friday, customers can purchase all models of iPad through Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

    Pricing & Availability
    All iPad models will be available in Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore this Friday, July 23.

    iPad is currently available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for 16GB, $599 (US) for 32GB, and $699 (US) for 64GB for iPad Wi-Fi models and $629 (US) for 16GB, $729 (US) for 32GB and $829 (US) for 64GB for iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G models. iPad will roll out to many more countries later this year and Apple will announce availability and local pricing for these additional countries at a later date.

    *Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

    Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple is reinventing the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.

    Sorry Amazon, since iPad is available here in Singapore first, Kindle loses out.

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  • Happenings,  Interests, Hobbies, Geekdom

    Kindle 2 Singapore Part 2

    October 9, 2009

    Even the Wall Street Journal has reported that Singapore is a significant market for the Kindle 2:

    But the new “U.S. and international” Kindle won’t work in Canada. It also won’t work in a handful of other significant markets, including China, South Korea and Singapore.

    Thanks to Jeffrey Yen who left a comment in my post yesterday, I came across his post on how to get a Kindle 2 in Singapore. For those not willing to wait, you might want to get one using his guide.

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  • Happenings,  Interests, Hobbies, Geekdom

    Kindle 2 Singapore

    October 8, 2009

    I was so disappointed with the fact that even though Kindle 2 was shipping worldwide, Singapore was not on the list. I mean, Kindle 2 is shipping to places like Rwanda, why not Singapore? I am sure there are plenty more people in Singapore wanting to buy it than in Rwanda. So I wrote to Amazon:

    Just read that Kindle is available for international customers. However, Singapore is not on the list. Will there be any plans to sell Kindle to customers in Singapore?

    And Amazon replied quite promptly:

    Hello,

    The addition of Kindle (U.S. & International Wireless) to the Kindle family allows us to offer Kindle to many customers outside the United States. Currently, Kindle World Edition and related content cannot be purchased by residents of Singapore.

    You can visit the Kindle (U.S. & International Wireless) detail page and select a country from the pull-down list to see if Kindle (U.S. & International Wireless) is available for sale and if there’s also Whispernet wireless service:

    http://client0.cellmaps.com/tabs.html

    We value our international customers and hope to make content available in more locations in the future.

    Thanks for your interest in Amazon Kindle.

    Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question:

    So with countries like Canada also not on the list, I guess perhaps there is still hope that they will ship it to Singapore in the near future.

    Or I can just wait for the rumoured Apple tablet to be out instead.

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  • Interests, Hobbies, Geekdom

    Kindle 2

    March 2, 2009

    When will they start to offer this in Singapore?

    Kindle 2

    No more buying plastic boxes to store my books and magazines, no more heart pain to see all my books turning yellow and musty with age. Now everything is in one gadget that is the thickness of a pencil.

    I want one now so badly.

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