Amazon has begun accepting pre-orders for a newly-updated Kindle Paperwhite model, with shipment from 30 September. However, in our testing, the new model can’t be pre-ordered for shipping to an Australian address.
Amazon’s shipping approach can be variable; when it began selling the original Paperwhite to Australia earlier this year, different staff members had different experiences, with some of us able to order the device and others not.
On this occasion, I wasn’t able to have either the full-featured $US139 model or the discounted $119 ad-supported model shipped to an Australian address; if you have a different experience, tell us in the comments. (We realise that shipping services would be another option for super-keen upgraders, but that’s not what we’re asking.)
Amazon says the new model has a higher contrast display and a 25 per cent faster processor. I’m hoping we will see a shipment to Australia after launch (though it seems unlikely we’ll receive the ad-supported version, as that hasn’t happened with the current generation Paperwhite).
Update: Have since received a press release from Amazon suggesting the full-feature model will be available October 1. As ever, looks like Amazon’s order system needs some tweaking to deal with international addresses.
Comments
One response to “The New Kindle Paperwhite: Not For Australia Just Yet”
I was able to (I think), though like with the last edition, I had to get the “Unable to ship to your address error” from the cart, then switch to the Amazon (intl.) site, which is a tiny link under where the Kindle sits in the shopping cart. On that site, I switched to Australia, and got the non-ad-supported model for $161.49.
It’s hard to tell exactly – the listing in the cart doesn’t actually say “All-New Kindle Paperwhite”, but it does say it’s a pre-order expected to ship on October 15, so it looks like the right one.
“Use this address” with my local Australian address was accepted (melbourne). Didn’t go the next step.
I ordered one to an Australian address yesterday. It’s the $139 version, which comes to a bit over USD150 after shipping, but it’s a bit fiddly to get to. I tried to order the ‘normal’ $139 version, then when I got to my cart it told me I couldn’t have that one and I’d need to order an identical one from “Amazon.com (export)”. I clicked the button to swap them out and it all worked.