Kindle Skills - Travel with your Kindle

Hi Mrs Wizard,

First let me thank you for your great blog tips, as a new subscriber I've already found many useful tips. Now, my question, I will be traveling out of the country for several weeks early next year and I would love to see a few tips on the subject. The country I will be traveling to is England. One of the things I am wondering about is whether or not I need to change the country designation before I leave and how this will effect my use before the plane gets to my destination and how it will effect it when I get there?

Thanks a lot!
Emily

Special Thanks to you Emily for such a great question!
Travelling with your Kindle is great. It can be tucked in your pocketbook or purse, or (if you are a man) tucked into your carry-on baggage, or pocket if you have a good sized one, like a jacket pocket. Whatever you do, your Kindle can be handy whenever you want it. You will find it is quite a conversation starter too.

We have made a few trips overseas since I had my first Kindle (first generation K1), and I can say I never ran out of anything great to read. My best advice for a long plane trip is to load it up with your favorite books before you leave. If you are in an airport in the US, you should have no trouble connecting with the Whispernet 3G service (free). Once you are in a foreign country, only the latest 3G/wifi Kindle will work, but according to Amazon, it will work in over 100 countries.

Here's what I found:
Kindle 3G (Free 3G + Wi-Fi) is the easiest option because there is no wireless setup—you are ready to shop, purchase, and read right out of the box. Built-in Free 3G connectivity uses the same wireless signals that cell phones use, but there are no monthly fees or commitments—Amazon pays for Kindle’s 3G wireless connectivity. The added convenience of 3G enables you to download books anytime, anywhere, while on the go—without having to find a Wi-Fi hotspot connection. With wireless coverage in over 100 countries and territories, Kindle 3G is a great option for travelers.Check 3G coverage area

Now I don't have any experience with the new one overseas. There was no connecting outside of the US with the Kindle 1 or 2, and I haven't taken the latest one on a trip yet, but this is exciting news and certainly worth experimenting with if you are going on a trip. Let me know and I will be happy to help you share your experience. I don't think you can (or should) change your country designation on your Kindle. I have a feeling that information is tied to your Amazon account.

It won't hurt to hedge your bet, and make sure you have plenty of good books on your Kindle before you leave. Lord knows there is plenty of room for a very respectable library on your Kindle. And you won't care if you do find a place or two you can't connect to the Amazon store.

If you carry a laptop with you, you can use your hotel Internet connections to visit Amazon and download any new ebook purchases. Then if you can't connect with your Kindle, you can always transfer the books via your USB cable.

Road trips are my particular favorite now with my Kindle. I will always remember getting sick as a dog trying to read in the back seat when my family traveled when I was a kid, but now I'm in the front (passenger of course) seat and the longer the road trip, the more I enjoy my Kindle! No barf bags for me any more :)

I sincerely hope you enjoy YOUR trip Emily! I will be sure to post more on traveling with your Kindle in the days to come. Stay tuned...

Ask Mrs. Wizard:
Please send me a personal email (mrswizard@mrswizard.com) if you have any questions. I answer all my emails and am more than happy to help any time I can. Your questions mean a lot to me, and may even inspire an article that will help others and make this a more valuable resource to anyone who reads it.