I logged on to my Amazon account this morning looking forward to downloading and reading the NY Times. I live in an area that doesn't have Whispernet service, so I planned to download it to my computer and then transfer the paper to my Kindle with the USB. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way ... yet.
Manage My Kindle shows my NYT subscription as "pending" ... when I click on the little "+" sign next to the subscription title, I'm given the choice of downloading to my computer or sending wirelessly to my Kindle. When I clicked on download, I got an error message. I tried this a couple of times before contacting customer service.
First I used the Call Me Back contact method - this was so fast that my phone rang almost as soon as I had clicked to connect. Unfortunately this took me to the general Amazon customer service, not Kindle Customer Service. I got the phone number for Kindle CS (866-321-8851) and called them (this was early, 5:30 am Pacific - I was up and eager to read the paper!), but their hours are 6 am - 10 pm Pacific. The first CS rep I spoke to checked my account but wasn't able to figure out why I wasn't able to download it either, so he transferred me to a Kindle Digital Specialist. When I explained what I had done, the DS said that I could only receive subscription publications directly to my Kindle through Whispernet, not by downloading them to my computer. Then I explained that there is a download to computer button on the subscription information, but it doesn't work. This is, as we learned, a new feature that Amazon is working on ... but, like they say, not quite ready for prime time.
The really positive part, of course, is that soon (hopefully) folks like me, who live far off the Whispernet path, will be able to download and transfer subscriptions - just like we can now do with books and other digital media on Amazon. In the meantime, the Kindle DS has written up a ticket to the developers to resolve the problem. It may be that they are doing some beta testing with this feature, but I should have an answer Monday or Tuesday. The DS will also send me an email to let me know what happens with this. Because the clock is ticking on my 14-day trial, but the DS wants to keep my pending order in the que so they can use it to test the solution to the problem, he credited my account with a month's free subscription. How cool is that? I'm happy to be a guinea pig and let them use my order to test the new feature ... and will be even happier when I can enjoy reading the Times on my Kindle
Two thumbs up to the Amazon Kindle Customer Service department ... especially the Digital Specialists ... great way to keep customers happy, even when they can't fix the problem immediately. For now I'll still have to wait for my Dead Tree Newspaper to arrive (it's 7:30 am and it's still not here) ...
Glynnis