Amazon Kindle Paperwhite: Buying it in Singapore

The Kindle Paperwhite is declared by Amazon as the World’s most advanced e-reader and I agree! I would be discussing on the strengths of the Kindle Paperwhite versus the other Kindles and tablets and more importantly, how to ship it to Singapore. I will also cover the important essentials like where to buy books, where to get free books, how to buy gift cards for friends and the must grab accessories for the newest, latest-generation, lighted Kindle: The Kindle Paperwhite.

Sales for the Kindle Paperwhite has started and it is available in two versions: US$119 (with “special offers”) and US$139 (advertisement-free). The “special offers” are ads run by Amazon that would appear on the lock screen when the device is asleep and also across the bottom of the home screen. Irritating? Quite possibly, but it would cost you US$20 to get rid of the ads permanently. The ads you’ll see on the screensaver are meant to be non-intrusive and might in fact be relevant to your book purchases, so we do suggest to go for the cheaper option. There is also a 3G version that allows data access globally but comes at a US$60 premium. Not that useful for the Kindle unless you often buy books on the go. Furthermore, if you are in Singapore, access speeds are only limited to 2G network, i.e. EDGE or GPRS. Refer here to check coverage of global access speeds for the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 3G.

Why do we recommend the Kindle Paperwhite?

In the world of tablets and eReaders today, the Kindle Paperwhite faces stiff competition from the likes of the Nexus 7, the iPad, Kindle Fire HD and the Barnes & Noble Nook Touch with GlowLight. Well, it really depends on your intended usage. But if you do read books alot, I think that the Kindle Paperwhite is indeed the best option.

First up, I recommend to ask yourself the following questions to determine if the Kindle Paperwhite is suitable for you.
– Do you need an eReader for magazines?
– Do you intend to use the eReader for multimedia, movies, games, etc?

If you answer No to the above, then you should seriously consider the Kindle Paperwhite! It is small, lightweight as compared to its more feature rich competitors. Consider holding a heavier device while reading for a long period of time. Even if your eyesight doesn’t fail you, your wrists may not hold out too. The 8-week battery life means that the Kindle can survive on one charge for your short trips. The unique e-ink technology is crisp, easy to read, and comfortable for long-term reading. Now with the new backlight, you can read it anywhere, like onboard a dimly lit plane or an overnight bus / train. Furthermore, at US$119, it is also significantly cheaper compared to the Nexus 7 or iPad. In fact at its price point, I suggest to get both to complement each other.

What about the other Kindles? The basic Kindle cost only US$69, and its lighter too. However, the addition of the backlight has been a strongly requested feature for e-readers. Most people I know do read at night and the Paperwhite is designed for such instances. Online reviews comparing the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite to the Barnes & Noble Nook Touch with GlowLight also highlighted that the Paperwhite has better contrast and less edge bleeding. Furthermore, Amazon has a better eco-system for books.

Buying the Kindle Paperwhite in Singapore:

• Create a third party forwarder account with Borderlinx or ComGateway or VPost. All are quite excellent with ability to track your package. Pick up the 3rd party shipper’s address for use later.
• Create an Amazon account if you don’t already have one.
• Go to the Kindle page and buy yourself a Kindle White. It will be automatically linked to your Amazon account. And that’s it! Refer to shipping details below if you would like to optimise the shipping weight.

Top Accessories

Shockingly, Amazon did not even bundle a USB Power Adapter for the Kindle. While you could charge it with your computer through the supplied USB cable, I felt Amazon could have just supplied one. Well, you could probably use one of those USB charger / adapter from your mobile phone or just pick up the original Kindle Charger at US$9.99 from Amazon. A more useful accessory is the Kindle Paperwhite Leather Cover / Casing. The genuine leather cover was designed to be the lightest and thinnest protective cover for your Kindle Paperwhite. It has a smart cover feature that puts your Paperwhite to sleep when it is closed and wakes your device upon opening making it so easy to jump back into your latest book.

	Official Kindle Charger	Buy now at US$9.99
	Official Kindle Leather Cover	Buy now at US$39.99.

If you already have a kindle or looking for cheap third party accessories, do consider buying from AliExpress. A quick search using the terms Kindle Paperwhite showed a few accessories at about 30-40% the price from Amazon. Of course, quality is lesser. For e.g. a Kindle Paperwhite cover from AliExpress while might resemble the original Amazon cover, it is not true leather but it makes for a good cheap option, especially if you like to switch around various covers. The cover does come with a magnet too, to allow for the auto on / off of the Paperwhite.

Kindle Paperwhite Shipping Details

The below shipping dimensions and weight would help in calculating the most cost effective shipment from the third party forwarders. Hope you find it useful!

Kindle Paperwhite
Package Dimensions : 9.53″x6.77″X1.26″
Shipping weight: 0.96 pounds

Kindle Paperwhite leather cover
Package Dimensions: 7.5″x1.5″x1.5″
Shipping weight: 0.35 pounds.

Books for your Kindle Paperwhite

Amazon is known as the biggest eBook store for a reason and its a great and cheap place to shop for eBooks. Access the Amazon eBook Store here for one of the best collection and competitively priced eBooks.

Alternative, don’t forget that you can always have access to free books through the Gutenberg collection or through the National Library.

If you are buying the Kindle for your young ones, how about adding on a gift card for them to buy their own books? It would make a simple and useful gift for your friends who are Kindle owners too. Amazon.com Gift Cards can be bought from here.

If you are worried about the Kindle locking you to the mobi format only, there’s software solutions readily available to help you with the conversion. One good example is Calibre. It is constantly being updated and now comes with a News Reader feature, so you can open Strait Times and Today news articles in your Kindle Paperwhite or other eBook readers. I am using the Nexus 7 and I schedule the download to my Dropbox on a daily basis. Before I leave my house, I sync the new file to my device so I can read it on the way to work.