Will you buy the Kindle 3G or Kindle WiFi?

[MsAstoria]

Originally Posted by carld

I'm seriously considering foregoing the iPad and getting a new K3+3G instead. My K1 still works fine, but the K3 improvements are awfully attractive.

I had the K2 but sold it and bought the iPad. I wanted the LCD color screen and Full web browsing. I love it! However, I just ordered the K3 for my hubby. He's an avid reader and I think he will really enjoy it and the K3 still has wikipedia (I wonder how they do that without a data plan on the wi-fi only model?). Anyway, we will be a two e-mobile device family now.

[matt314159]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

A tiny fraction of folks with mobile phones will also want to do this and, if they have an iPhone, can easily create a "mifi" with an app. No doubt many Android phones have the same capability; I believe running phones running Android 2.1 already do. This isn't HowardForums and the vast number of Kindle 3 WiFi users will not be impacted by these details.

When Kindle 3 says "wifi" they mean the most common usage and there is no need for caveats which imply it is sub-standard.

You're still missing my point.

Yes, it will connect to the wifi at your home, hotel, restaurant, internet cafe, whatever - just fine. No problems, no quarrels.

I'm specifically addressing anyone who says, "I'll just get the wifi version, and then if I need 3g, I'll just share my phone's wifi over to the kindle while I'm on the road and away from regular wifi"

Given:
Amazon says right on the product page:
Kindle does not currently connect to enterprise or peer-to-peer networks.

and Given:
Cellular phones share their wifi in a manner called "ad hoc" mode, otherwise known as "peer-to-peer" mode,

We can conclude that most users will find themselves unable to connect to their cell phone's wifi as they're planning to do.

This isn't a knock against the kindle in the least.

[carld]

Originally Posted by MsAstoria

I had the K2 but sold it and bought the iPad. I wanted the LCD color screen and Full web browsing. I love it! However, I just ordered the K3 for my hubby. He's an avid reader and I think he will really enjoy it and the K3 still has wikipedia (I wonder how they do that without a data plan on the wi-fi only model?). Anyway, we will be a two e-mobile device family now.

I wish I could justify getting both, but I really can't. The iPad has all sorts of interesting uses, but my main pastime is reading on my Kindle. So, it's still a tossup for me.

I think you're basically piggy-backing on the wi-fi hotspot provider's internet connection when surfing with wi-fi, so you don't need a data plan yourself.

[matt314159]

Hey, I just did some reading, and found out that on android (specifically, the EVO), within the last month they've done an update to the rooted wifi tethering so that it emulates infrastructure mode, and also on the paid tethering plan for the sprint EVO, it also does infrastructure mode. So for those planning to tether to your cell phone, just make sure that whatever wifi program you have supports infrastructure mode. It looks like things might be migrating in that direction so that some of the software programs now support infrastructure. But not many programs are there yet.

[mngharry]

Yes, I just found that too. Nexus One and some other Android phones with certain chips seem to be supported as well. I only wish the infrastructure mode is not hardware-disabled on the iPhone. I already regularly share my 3G to a few other devices, so the WiFi Kindle would make much sense.

[Kumabjorn]

My initial inclination was to get the 3G model, since I was delighted with its usability on the K2i. Then I realized that all books I bought I bought from home, one exception was showing it off at a bus station. Outside buying from home I can see two other possible situations, in airports and train stations, going on a longer trip and having forgot to buy some reading material in advance. However, the airports I have traveled to and from lately have all offered WiFi hotspots and the same goes for train stations, I believe McDonald's, Starbucks and most other chain restaurants as well as hotels offer similar service, hence it shouldn't be too difficult to find a connection even when I'm on the move.
If you have a WiFi enabled Smartphone, wouldn't it be possible to use that as a connection?

[captkjaneway]

Might as well go for the full monty! 3G & Wifi for me - can download a book waiting on the train platform ready to read on the journey to work. Bliss

[TallMomof2]

I've been in hotels where the wifi was so bad that it was far faster to browse on my Kindle. Plus, I've been in other hotels where it cost to use the wifi. To check email I use my Kindle and save $9.95 a night. At my sister-in-law's house there is no internet (she's a generation older than me and doesn't use computers at all) so my Kindle is very useful. Data plans are too expensive for my limited use so my Kindle has worked great for reading email and limited web surfing.

I will always opt for the 3G so long as it's available.

[Alisa]

So it looks like SpiderMatt and I would be out of luck on tethering according to this article. Motorola claims that the Droid is not capable of acting as a hotspot due to hardware. Regardless of whether that's true, it won't be in 2.2 for the original Droid. I suppose if it's possible some wiley hacker will fix that. I'm glad I didn't bank on it.

Edit: Scratch that. It looks like some wiley hacker already has.

[shanghaichica]

Wifi. I only really need it to buy books/download newspapers and I can do that from home. I already have a device for searching the net away from home.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Outside buying from home I can see two other possible situations, in airports and train stations, going on a longer trip and having forgot to buy some reading material in advance. However, the airports I have traveled to and from lately have all offered WiFi hotspots and the same goes for train stations

Yup, that's why I've taken the lunge for the wifi only Kindle 3 and used the "savings" to upgrade to the wrap-around case with built-in light. Last winter I used 3G Kindle 2 to access wikipedia for local town details while on a 5 hr bus trip through the mountains to Guadalajara. I'll lose that. OTOH, the Guadalajara bus depot had full wifi so I could catch up then.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by Mirtika

I have had the Sony PRS 505 for a few years, and I'm really MORE tempted by the larger Kindle DXG, cause I have middle-aged crappy eyes...and the idea of making the font size, like, 20, appeals. But that price point IS NOT appealing

Anyone who uses reading glasses (at around 200 to 250)...can you read on the regular Kindle just fine without the specs?

I had Lasik about ten years ago, & now, pushing toward my mid sixties, I'm finding that I benefit from reading glasses just above your range. I also have a 505.

I expect the K3 to have good contrast between the page & letters. My son has a K2 & it is readable, so the new one should be pretty good. A friend has a first G KDX, and if I had to choose between the two, I'd have no trouble choosing the smaller version. The fonts are plenty large.

But there's no question that the KDX has larger fonts, & if reading without your reading glasses is that important to you, I'd say go with the KDX. It's not exactly because you will be able to see the larger fonts more clearly - it's because at the larger font size, the 6 inch screen will only contain a few words, and your reading will be impacted by constant page changes. That won't be as much of an issue on the KDX.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by aleccj1

I ordered the 3G+Wifi. What will you guys be ordering? Just curious .

3G+WiFi

I've had some experience with this, because my iPad is a low-end wifi only. While I still would not get a 3G iPad, it's because I don't care to pay for the usage. That is not an issue for the K3.

I have the iPad and an iPhone, both of which I use for reading ebooks. Right now, my iPhone is my portable reader, on the L and at lunch. I expect the K3 to replace it for those times. It follows that syncing away from a wifi network is a likely need. 3G fills that need. Keeping all 3 of my reading devices literally on the same page is an important convenience.

Of my 3 devices, the K3 will be the easiest to read on when I'm traveling out of town. Lighter than the iPad, larger font than on the iPhone. But more often than not, finding a wifi network is not easy. With 3G, I can buy/sync without leaving my room.

A remote reason - the next step for Amazon may be to charge for 3G. Ten bucks a month, maybe. But I'll bet that existing users will be grandfathered at "free."

BTW, I'm not ordering a cover. I have a couple of Sonys, and have learned that I prefer handling them without a cover. The same is true of my iPad. So I plan to acquire a sleeve for the K3 when one becomes available.

[eɪ.li.ən]

Wi-Fi only.

[notatoad]

definitely the 3G version, if only so i can be like the guy in the XKCD cartoon and pretend i've got the hitchikers guide to the galaxy.

edit: and it has been pre-ordered. woot!