I saw a rumour (not rumor!) over at iPhoneInCanada.ca. They say that us Canadians can get our filthy mitts on those delectable Amazon Kindle books by doing the following:
Mmmm, forbidden fruitGet an iPhone or iPod Touch. (I suppose you could also try to get an actual Kindle, but that’s a different rumour). If you’re on a budget then a 1st generation iPod Touch is the least expensive option, and you should be able to find one for about $150 on eBay. Apple.ca occasionally sells refurbished 1st gens for about $180, and they currently have refurbished 2nd generation iPod Touches for $200.
- Download and install iTunes as usual. Sign up using your true Canadian address and credit card – you’ll need to do so to get your iPhone/iPod up and running.
- Purchase a Mastercard gift card. These are sold at Shopper’s Drug Mart and, perhaps, other retailers. The key is that it must be a “Vanilla” brand Mastercard, which apparently does not appear to be a Canadian credit card to iTunes. Accept no substitutes – the Visa gift card, for example, does not do the trick.
- Follow the steps on iTunesInCanada to add a 2nd user-ID to iTunes, this time an American one. (Hint – don’t use a Canadian domain like sympatico.ca – Apple probably isn’t that stupid). It appears that the billing address doesn’t matter, so long as it’s somewhere in America.
- Log into the iTunes App Store using your new American user-ID. Take a look around – there’s a lot more than Kindle to be found. For example, they have a Last.FM client for streaming audio – banned in the Canadian App Store for no apparent reason. They also have its main competitor, Pandora. They have all 6 seasons of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which is 6 more than us poor Canadians are offered! With all of these new entertainment options available, do you still have time to read books? If not, you can stop here.
Mmmmm, forbidden fast foodDownload and install the Kindle app from iTunes. Surprisingly, considering how difficult Apple makes it to sync your iPhone/iPod to another computer, syncing to another account is seamless – you won’t lose any of the apps or media currently on your device.
- Run the Kindle app and use it to create a new Amazon user-ID. (Note that this is Amazon.com, not .ca, so your Amazon.ca login won’t work). Again, use a new e-mail address that doesn’t have a Canadian domain, like Gmail or Hotmail.
- Now here’s the tricky part — things appear to have changed since the iPhonesInCanada article was written. The Vanilla Mastercard trick no longer works at Amazon – hopefully Apple won’t catch on too! However, since you won’t get very far without a billing address, go ahead and add your Vanilla Mastercard. To do so, click on the Your Account link, then “Add A Credit Card”. Be sure to enter an American billing address – the same one as you’re using on iTunes should work.
- Logout of Amazon.com. Then, log back in to Amazon.com using a Canadian user-ID. If you’ve already bought from Amazon.com in the past, use that user-ID. Otherwise, you’ll have to create yet another new user-ID, and add your Canadian credit card (not the Vanilla Mastercard) to this one, with your correct Canadian billing address.
Loonie LaundererWhile logged in with you Canadian user-ID, buy a Gift Card. Select the “E-mail a Gift Card” option, and enter the e-mail address of your American Amazon user-ID.
- You should find that your American e-mail account receives the gift card within minutes. Log into Amazon.com with your American user-ID, then go to the “Your Account” page. Delete the Vanilla Mastercard from your account (click on “Manage Payment Options”, then the delete button). Then, from the “My Account” page, click on “Apply a Gift Certificate/Card to Your Account” and enter the code that you received in the e-mail.
- And you’re done! Go to any Kindle book’s page (best to experiment with a free one first) and click the “Buy Now with Click Once” link. It should work, and the next time you run the Kindle app it will automatically download the book to your iPhone/iPod.
- As you purchase Kindle books you will, of course, need to replenish your Amazon account from time to time, using additional gift certificates.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting you go and do all this. There are many good reasons why you shouldn’t.
Apple is becoming increasingly aggressive about enforcing the rules of the App Store, so they might close this loophole at any time. Amazon has been known to make their Kindle books magically disappear when a publisher raises a licensing issue. Perhaps the best reason is that you don’t have to: there are plenty of other e-book retailers, including a home-grown one, who are quite happy to do business with us.
And, after all, it’s just a rumour!