Sony & Amazon, etc. - Why No Wifi or Bluetooth?

[poohbear_nc]

I may be naive or missed long-ago postings, but I'm continually struck by the question as to why Wifi or Bluetooth capabilities haven't been added to, or offered as a separate line, for eReaders launching in the US? Irex already has Wifi, right?

It would seem a no-brainer for Amazon to offer a Wifi DX model for college students - virtually all campuses now have networks available for student use. And tie this in with etext-book usage. And using Wifi, not 3G - you could lower the cost of the unit, since it wouldn't have the 3G costs. Campus Wifi networks are free for registered students.

And Sony, which has VERY limited 3G access, so that users still have to use a PC and link via USB -- wouldn't Bluetooth free users from the physical cable and provide quasi-wireless capability?

Please enlighten me.

[acidzebra]

I can't speak for the manufacturers, but personally I'll take battery life and cheaper cost over functionality (3G, wifi, BT) which I will almost never use; I have hundreds of books loaded on my Sony.

Of course, I recognise use cases differ but I would expect manufacturers to have looked at this.

(and of course with wifi you will have to have some way to enter WEP/WPA keys, and the additional software stuff, and so on, and so forth).

[Crowl]

While for some people wifi would be more convenient, the solutions that amazon and now sony have produced are designed to be as seamless as possible for all their customers, adding other wireless technology would help some people in some cases, but would push up overall hardware costs and most likely increase support calls.

[daffy4u]

I think adding a Wi-Fi switch option would be great but I have been in areas (the past 2 days and a recent cross country road trip) without Wi-Fi where I could still get a Whispernet signal. For me, access to power is less of an issue than access to a wireless signal.

[Kali Yuga]

My guess is:

• Too complicated for many users (or at least more complicated than 3G)
• Introduces possible security bugs
• Drains more power from the devices
• Raises costs, for hardware and programming and support

Whispernet is dead simple (and I assume Sony's will be as well). Turn wireless on, get your stuff, that's it. No passwords, no pairing, no worries when you wander away from the wifi AP.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

Whispernet is dead simple (and I assume Sony's will be as well). Turn wireless on, get your stuff, that's it. No passwords, no pairing, no worries when you wander away from the wifi AP.

Yep and it also works on a moving bus or train which is great if you commute on transit.

Personally, I didn't think I'd use it much when I first decided to buy the Kindle. I figured it was for people who were tech phobic and intimidated by the idea of sideloading. What makes it nifty is the ability to load up on samples and have the rest of the book right away without having to plan ahead. It keeps me from buying books before I've read much of them just because I know I'll need something to read later. I haven't bought a single clunker since I've had the Kindle. I estimate I end up not buying the book for a good 30-40% of the samples I download. Most of those are books I would have bought had I not read the sample first. This is a serious money saver as well as a convenience.

The best thing is that I can pretty much always have something I want to read right now. Sure, I always have some unread books on the Kindle. There are thousands of great, free books I have waiting in the wings. The thing is books are not interchangeable. I'm sure most of us have opened a full fridge and closed it again even though we were hungry because, even though it was full of food, none of it was what we wanted. I could have a thousand books on there and have not a single one the suits my mood at the moment. I firmly believe that once the Sony folks get to experience this, they'll see just how brilliant it is. Readers are great without wireless. It's not like we need wireless, but it really adds to the reading experience in a meaningful way.

[Skydog]

I concur with what Alisa has described. Although I am admittedly a techo/gadget lover, I simply want to read with my ereader, whatever it may be.

I love the end-user simplicity and quality of e-ink that makes reading a very enjoyable experience. The wireless capability on my Kindles is outstanding and, most important, gives the reader freedom and instant enjoyment. Recently sitting on a beach in Hawaii, I was able to enjoy reading numerous samples and, in a matter of seconds, had my favorites delivered wirelessly without ever shifting positions in the sand. One click. Simple. Fantastic. Or waiting to board a flight one can have an unlimited amount of new material delivered in seconds. All of this possible without concern for a viable Wi-Fi connection or draining of battery.

E-ink and battery life are priorities for me and with wireless, not wi-fi, one does not have to compromise. If I need Wi-fi/Internet, I use my phone, netbook, or laptop. My Kindles are for reading.

[Penforhire]

I'd like a WiFi or BT that can be turned off (for battery life) in my next reader for file transfers. The chipsets for either of those are dirt cheap these days.

Why are they not in there now? I suspect Sony had a core competency issue with the initial team designing their readers. While I LOVE my 505 I have to say Sony's software was a kludgy ugly mess. It looked to me like the team was already pushing the limits of their software competency in coming up with what we got. I'll agree that Sony has the resources to do everything we could possibly want. They chose not to.

[Crowl]

That seems a little unkind, assuming the product was properly planned then they should have a good idea of what were the most important features and what would be quite nice for some people some of the time and its those latter features that are going to end up getting left out for reasons of time, cost or even size/weight.