What if there is no new Kindle with 3G?

[LovesMacs]

What if Amazon decided not to make any new Kindles with 3G connectivity? The company surely incurs added cost in engineering and continued wireless fees, expenses which it could avoid with Wi-Fi only.

Just musing aloud...

[QuantumIguana]

They already have taken out browsing capability for new Kindles over a 3G connection. They could save money by not having a 3G capability on new Kindles, even for purchasing books, but that would leave those without WiFi access out in the cold. Eliminating 3G for purchasing books might cost them a lot more than having 3G for purchasing books, because without 3G, there are a lot of people who just would buy less books.

Do other company's readers have 3G? If so, people might just switch readers if they dropped 3G entirely.

[detayls]

No more 3G. Bet on it.

[amjbrown]

The premium paid for a 3G touch should cover the tech and operating costs for the average Kindle user. I would miss it (having just downloaded a Kindle daily deal in an airport security line - Stan Barstow's magnificent A Kind of Loving for 99p, another p book heads to Oxfam!) but it would not be a show stopper. WiFi is pretty ubiquitous now, I would have had to wait ten more minutes if I hadn't had 3G.

[HarryT]

This is not "News"; moved to "General Discussions".

[fjtorres]

Yes, there will be a new 3G Kindle with a front light.

The US State Dept Kindle contract specified 3G ebook readers. The contract is currently in limbo but it was very much alive when the upcoming Kindles were being designed.

Given that Kindles are sold worldwide and wifi is not ubiquitous *everywhere*, it follows that even a limited batch of 3G Kindles is needed for full market coverage.
They may get priced on the high side but they'll be offered.

[Andrew H.]

Of course there will be a 3G Kindle. Amazon isn't going to make it *harder* for anyone to buy a book. And a lot of people don't have wifi, particularly in the non-techie e-book demographic.

[Nexutix]

Kindle without 3G? Impossible. At least for this year.

I am looking forward to new kindle, only because I can download my books anywhere. It would be a dealbreaker for me.

[Torwan]

That would suck. Big time. I still have a cable-based network at home and I don't intend to install WiFi just for a Kindle.

[voracious71]

I too would be surprised if they didn't offer a 3G model. There are plenty of people who still factor that in when buying an ereader and Kindle is the only one who has it( among the big names, not sure of the other ones).

[Suzanna]

I have no figures to back this up, but I doubt Amazon is footing the entire bill for the 3G services. Most countries outside the U.S. used to be charged a $2 Whispernet surcharge on every single book they purchased ... even books someone downloaded through the internet onto their computer. I know not that long ago I couldn't download free ebooks from Amazon - they were $2 here. A couple of years back Amazon finally dropped this charge for Canadians and some countries, but from what I've read here it looks like there are still countries that have this $2 charge attached to every book.

I doubt it's a coincidence that Amazon began to limit 3G browsing on their current model after eliminating the surcharge from some countries. They'll probably continue to offer 3G, even limited 3G, as long as this surcharge is in place elsewhere in the world. If they eliminate it everywhere, that will be when 3G disappears entirely.

[TimW]

Originally Posted by Nexutix

Kindle without 3G? Impossible. At least for this year.

I am looking forward to new kindle, only because I can download my books anywhere. It would be a dealbreaker for me.

Amazon has always had 3G connectivity for that very reason. In my opinion, that's why it is incredibly unlikely they would eliminate it.

[ucfgrad93]

While my Kindle Keyboard has 3G, I hardly ever use it. I'm thinking my next Kindle will only be wifi. So, it doesn't really matter to me if they stop making a 3G Kindle.

[crossi]

Amazon is expanding to more countries. For that they need to keep 3G even if they limit it to the kindle store. For myself I sideload all my books and buy from my computer and only turn on whispernet when my kindle's clock needs resetting so I don't really need it.

[TimW]

On Nate's post today about the FCC paperwork, he conjectured:

This means that we now have what could be a 3g equipped Kindle and a Wifi equipped Kindle. That sounds awfully similar to the current set up for the Kindle Touch and K3. Both of those Kindles come in 2 flavors, with the 3g option adding to the price. I’d say that Amazon plans to continue offering 2 similar devices at different price points.

Having a pair of Kindles, one Wi-Fi and the other also having 3G would follow Amazon's pattern since the debut of the K3 (excepting the K4NT, of course).