The Kindle Story.

The Amazon Kindle is good news for both Readers and Authors.

Now that writers can self publish their work, via e-books and Kindle, the doors have been opened wide for  writers to present their work to the world direct.
View the video above to see the benefits to readers using the Amazon Kindle electronic book reader and it's features.

Amazon made Kindle to be completely mobile and simple to use for everyone, so they made it wireless. No PC and no syncing needed. Using the same  network as  cell phones, they deliver your content using their own wireless delivery system, Amazon Whispernet. Unlike WiFi, you’ll never need to locate a hotspot. There are no confusing service plans, yearly contracts, or monthly wireless bills—they take care of all the hassles so you can just read.

To check the current wireless coverage available click on the Kindle Amazon image above and scroll about 1/4 of the way down the page to the yellow "Check Wireless Coverage" link.

You can download audio e-books to your computer, then upload them to your Kindle reader using the included USB 2.0 cable.

The Kindle Format.
Digital Text Platform is a fast and easy self-publishing tool that lets you upload and format your books for sale in the Kindle Store. If you have an Amazon account you can just sign in here and start publishing today.

You currently need a US bank account and SSN/TIN in order to use Amazon DTP.
This does not mean that you have to be a US citizen or live in the US .
However you have to have a US bank account and apply to the IRS.
Find out more through the DTP Community Support.

Files need to be uploaded to the DTP self publishing tool. There is a getting started guide which explain the formats you can use but basically everything should be converted to HTML to be viewed at its best in the Kindle reader. Also the preview of your publication in the DTP is not a true reflection of what your final publication will look like. Therefore you should make sure to load and preview your work in your own Kindle before publishing.

Writers who do not live in the US and do not want to establish a US bank account should consider making their e-books available in two formats Online. One in their usual PDF format and one in an optional Kindle reader optimized format.

If enough writers made their work available in the Kindle format, Amazon would lose out on book sales.This may prompt Amazon to lift the restrictions on the condition that only US bank account holders can use their publishing services.

Amazon currently pays commissions to their affiliates world wide for a wide rang of products.
So there is no clear reason why Amazon should not pay sales percentages to Authors worldwide as well.