what if...

[STEMALO]

I have a canadian wifi xoom, still waiting for 3.1 :-!
I might be moving to the good old USA in a month or so.
Will my xoom be treated as a US citizen? Will I be able to get google books and all the other apps that are not available to canadians?
If yes then what do I need to do?

 

[erzhik]

Unless you marry that Xoom to American hardware, I don't think it will be regarded as a US citizen. I could be wrong though. I think Canadian and US Xooms vary.

 

[OlReagan]

I don't know if this is works in reverse, but I bought mine in the US and had google books...

...then I moved to the caribbean, did a factory reset after the 3.1 update, and now I do not have google books. I can't even download the skype app down here.

 

[DrWu]

The location of the xoom is the important factor, not the country of origin. As a visitor to our country, your Xoom enjoys all the rights and privleges afforded to native Xoom's. The Google knows where your Xoom is, based on its IP address. On the flip side, your Xoom will no longer be eligible for universal healthcare benefits....thats a tough trade off so you may want to discuss this with your Xoom and make sure it understands all of the pros and cons.

 

[drjb74]

The location of the xoom is the important factor, not the country of origin. As a visitor to our country, your Xoom enjoys all the rights and privleges afforded to native Xoom's. The Google knows where your Xoom is, based on its IP address. On the flip side, your Xoom will no longer be eligible for universal healthcare benefits....thats a tough trade off so you may want to discuss this with your Xoom and make sure it understands all of the pros and cons.

+1

Well said!!

 

[OlReagan]

So....are there any free ways to trick my xoom into thinking it's in the US? Like a proxy app? I know some people use paid VPNs.

I tried to run hotspot shield on my desktop and then open up the xoom but didn't see any changes to the market (skype/ google books/ google music).

 

[deejayd]

I'm pretty sure that was just a little joke. edit: on re reading, he's not entirely joking but he is wrong

Canadian Xoom's cannot get the US update, regardless of their location. The hardware is identical but the software versions are incompatible.

If you have a US xoom you'll get the US update, regardless of where you are in the world. Same for Canadian models, they'll get the Canadian update no matter where they are or what their IP is.

I had to root and install US 3.0.1 on my UK Xoom in order to get the update.

 

[DrWu]

I'm pretty sure that was just a little joke. edit: on re reading, he's not entirely joking but he is wrong

Canadian Xoom's cannot get the US update, regardless of their location. The hardware is identical but the software versions are incompatible.

If you have a US xoom you'll get the US update, regardless of where you are in the world. Same for Canadian models.

I had to root and install US 3.0.1 on my UK Xoom in order to get the update.

His question wasn't about the update it was about the ability to "access google books and other apps not available to canadians" I guess we'd have to find out for sure from someone who's done it but my understanding is that it should work.

 

[deejayd]

His question wasn't about the update it was about the ability to "access google books and other apps not available to canadians" I guess we'd have to find out for sure from someone who's done it but my understanding is that it should work.

Ah, my apologies. I was answering a question re updates elsewhere earlier and I guess that was still on my mind.

I don't know the answer to that but I would have thought that the apps would be available from the Android market once you are resident in the US.

Can't say that for certain though. There are copyright issues involved so there may be other criteria too. Amazon's MP3 player uses your credit card information to determine your location. For all we know there may be something built into the regional 3.1 updates that prevents access.

Only one way to find out...