Why isn't NZ getting the Kindle?
Book geeks in New Zealand yesterday went "woohoo" that Amazon's shipping the Kindle ebook reader to the region now, and "WTF?" when they realised the device will bypass Aotearoa.
Why would you do that, Amazon? New Zealanders also read books and it's a bigger market than Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna for instance, all locations that Amazon's happy to ship the Kindle to.
It can't be for technical reasons. If the Kindle works in Australia, it should work in New Zealand too. We have two WCDMA 3G networks to choose from and yes, public Wi-Fi too. In fact, Amazon itself says there's pretty decent wireless network coverage in New Zealand.
Amazon publicly states it has Kindle coverage in NZ
(Credit: Amazon)
Even if the wireless networking here sucked, and it doesn't, you could still load books on the Kindle via a USB connection to a PC hooked up to the internet.
I had a quick word with Telecom New Zealand and Vodafone about the Kindle, but neither seem to have any plans for the device. The Kindle isn't your typical carrier device that can be branded and liveried, I guess, but you'd think one of the networks at least would be keen to have it in retail stores ahead of the summer holidays.
So, Amazon: why isn't the Kindle coming to NZ?