Zubon

Member since: Jun 4th, 2008

Zubon's Latest Comments

Blog Activity

Blog	# of Comments
Engadget	2 Comments
Download Squad	1 Comment

Recent Comments:

International Kindle users: change your country to avoid additional fees (Download Squad)

Sep 2nd 2010 8:19PM Its possible things have changed but I went through this as well, changing the location to the US to get the best global pricing. However, they do check your location. Some weeks after the change I started receiving mails saying that I needed to login/access the account IN THE US or to send them some physical proof. Instead I signed up for a VPN (I use Strong VPN) at around $5/month and logged in to the US kindle store. That was some time back and I have yet to see any more mails from them. I dont use an actual Kindle, just the iPhone/iPad app (in Japan and while travelling). Both those devices allow u to login in via a VPN which has since also proved handy now that I subscribe to Netflix (and the occasional UK BBC show).

Interestingly, Spotify doesn't bother with region checking so long as you pay the monthly 10 GBP for Premium membership.

'The world is Flat' as they say and being a virtual US Citizen is by far the cheapest option out there. Ideally, I would like to see a Clicker.com App equivalent for Electronic Books that shows me US Kindle, Nook, Apple, Google, etc pricing. Though I'd prefer to not have to deal with a tonne of different formats, in my heart of hearts I know that I wont be reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo more than once, so short of going the piracy route, I want to take the most competitive price out there...

Ask Engadget: What gadget(s) to get on my one trip to Asia? (Engadget)

Sep 26th 2008 12:09AM The home use planetarium by Sega Toys in Japan is pretty cool - couldn't see on Amazon US at least . Available in all the major electronics stores and the volatage is 110v. See link on Amazon JP http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/switch-language/product/B000GQMPDS/ref=dp_change_lang?ie=UTF8&language=en%5FJP

Softbank to sell (UMTS 3G) iPhone in Japan (Engadget)

Jun 4th 2008 3:58AM DoCoMo may still be in the running for the iPhone because they, unlike KDDI, also use WCDMA. Unfortunately, it still seems unlikely - DoCoMo is very unlikely to agree to revenue sharing of any kind and secondly, the requirements to get a phone out on their network are very stringent (just ask Nokia who had to keep delaying the launch of the one single handset they have on the mkt here! Sole exception was the Blackberry, but that is sold only via corporate channels). Softbank on the other hand has been happy to use overseas manufacturers having inherited this DNA from Vodafone. The big question for anyone on Softbank and thinking to switch to the iPhone (as and when) will be their data plan charges - the most expensive in the market (runs to Y10,000 or $100 month for all you can eat for their smart phones - like the new HTC phone). A normal Softbank phone data plan costs max Y5,700 ($57) per month for all you can eat. The hope would be for an iPod only data plan that falls somewhere near the Y5,700 range, but thats still pretty expensive compared to overseas. Incidently, Blackberry isn't exactly popular here - its corporate only for a start and anyone who has seen a school girl here tapping out msgs will tell you, regular keypads with Japanese predictive text are MUCH faster... Doubt the iPhone's touching typing will be much of a pull in that sense. As a DoCoMo user, I am hoping for an early or simulataneous launch and that someone out there works out how to hack it so I can run it on this network! For the record, Softbank's network/reception is awful... Its cheap, but you get what you pay for.