The Kindle Now In Canada. No Carrier Deal. No Jasper.
Since last February I have been writing about the Kindle in Canada. Finally today Amazon announced they would sell the Kindle to us in the great white north. Great. So what took them so long? I reached out to both Amazon PR and Rogers for some answers.
My first question was simple — is Rogers the official carrier for the Kindle? The answer is no. The Kindle is run on the “AT&T Global Network”. That is the line in the press materials. That is the line from Amazon directly. Rogers has not made an announcement regarding the Kindle and when I asked if they would, they wouldn’t confirm either way. So I speculate that if there was negotiations to have a tier-one level partner in Canada then they fell apart. To take advantage of the Christmas-window Amazon couldn’t delay an announcement much beyond now so I figure they just went ahead with it.
Peering with a Canadian carrier via AT&T means the Kindle will only work in areas where there is Edge/3g coverage. The map at the Kindle store shows the extent of that coverage in Canada.
This is essentially the exact same as the coverage map from Rogers with one important difference. As I have written about before Rogers has recently adopted the more advanced HSPA protocol (the areas in yellow) and has moved away from the 3g technology in the Kindle. That means Kindle will connect via the inferior 2G EDGE technology most places in Canada or the signal will need to be upconverted to HSPA through some other means. Books tend not to be network-intensive so I am not sure that makes a big difference in download performance, but it does speak to how future-proof the device may be in Canada once Rogers completely abandons EDGE.
On the content front, it looks like Canadians are charged a $2.10 premium (after exchange) on most books. Amazon is pushing all customers no matter the country of origin to a single destination (www.amazon.com/kindlestore) where price and availability differs based on what country you choose from the drop down menu. Prices are different but they are all listed USD. The good news for Amazon.ca shoppers is the login credentials for .CA work at the Kindle store. You don’t need to create a separate account. I asked Amazon specifically if they had plans to offer ebooks for sale at Amazon.ca and they dodged the question.
Canadian newspapers have been added to the selection at the Kindlestore. No mention of Canadian blogs. The web browser in the Canadian version is unavailable. I am not sure if Canadians can use Feedbooks as a hack or not.
That is pretty much it.
In poking around the Rogers.com website I did happen upon the press release reprinted in its entirety below (sorry I couldn’t just link to it). Jasper Wireless is Amazon’s wireless provider for the US-only Kindle. I asked Rogers if their deal with Jasper was in any way tied to today’s Kindle announcement and they said Jasper deal was “separate” from anything related to the Kindle.
Who knows, maybe the next Kindle will arrive accompanied by a Canadian store and a Canadian carrier deal. We will have to wait until after Christmas to see.
Rogers Wireless and Jasper Wireless Partner to Bring New Connected Devices to the Canadian Market
New Rogers M2M QuickLink enabled by Jasper Wireless accelerates market
entry for connected consumer electronics and machine-to-machine (M2M) devices
TORONTO and SUNNYVALE, USA, Nov. 10 /CNW/ – Rogers Wireless and Jasper
Wireless announced today the companies have entered into a multi-year,
exclusive agreement to wirelessly connect consumer electronics and
machine-to-machine (M2M) devices. Through this partnership, Rogers Wireless
will accelerate market entry for new categories of connected devices such as
personal navigation and e-readers.
“Jasper Wireless provides a global platform that allows us to accelerate
market entry for companies that need to provision and manage their connected
devices, while delivering a best-in-class user experience,” said Mansell
Nelson, Vice President, M2M and Partners, Rogers Communications Inc. “This
platform coupled with Rogers’ proven, most reliable GPRS/EDGE/HSPA network
provides an M2M customer experience second to none in the Canadian market.”
Leveraging its range of applications and services, M2M QuickLink,
delivers automated management capabilities for M2M Solution Providers,
including:
- Best-in-class user experience – delivers a seamless customer
experience by automatically provisioning services upon device power
up.
- Usage analytics – enables solution providers to gain real-time
insight into product performance on the Rogers network.
- Performance assurance – utilizes best practices to test devices and
ensure quality performance before deployment.
- Flexible business models – addresses needs of any market segment
through customized rate plans.
- Design services – shortens time-to-market by optimizing devices for
global deployments within a few weeks.
- Customer support – ensures service continuity with support from
expert engineers.
“With the Jasper Wireless platform, Rogers now empowers their customers
with a turnkey solution to deliver an excellent customer experience, lower
operational costs and reach market quickly. This partnership makes it
possible for device manufacturers to grow their business into the Canadian
market successfully,” said Jahangir Mohammad, CEO, Jasper Wireless.
About Rogers Wireless Inc.
Rogers Wireless provides wireless voice and data communications services
across Canada to more than 8.3 million customers under both the Rogers
Wireless and Fido brands. Proven to operate Canada’s fastest mobile data
network as well as the most reliable network for voice with the clearest
reception and fewest dropped calls, Rogers Wireless is Canada’s largest
wireless provider. In addition to providing seamless roaming in more than 200
countries/areas with its GSM and HSPA based services, Rogers Wireless also
provides wireless broadband services across Canada utilizing its 2.5GHz fixed
wireless spectrum. Rogers Wireless is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications
Inc. (TSX: RCI; NYSE: RCI), a diversified Canadian communications and media
company.
For further information, please visit www.rogers.com.
About Jasper Wireless
Jasper Wireless enables mobile network operators around the world with
platform, applications, and design services to serve the emerging
machine-to-machine (M2M) and embedded devices markets. Using the company’s
unique end-to-end solution, network operators and enterprises can scale their
deployment of connected devices quickly and profitably. Founded in 2004,
Jasper Wireless is a privately held company based in Sunnyvale, Calif., with
regional offices in the United Kingdom.
For more information, visit www.jasperwireless.com
For further information: Rogers Press Contacts: Michelle Ghandour, (416)
935-7757, michelle.ghandour@rci.rogers.com; Jasper Wireless Press Contacts:
Pam Ferguson (for Jasper Wireless Americas), Tel: (408) 358-7225, Email:
jasperpress@jasperwireless.com; Paula Muezerie, AxiCom (for Jasper Wireless
EMEA), Tel: +44 (0)20 8392 4050, Email: JasperWirelessUK@axicom.com
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