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Canada is another of the countries where the Whispernet Tax has pretty much faded away to $0.
Free Internet access has been part of the business model since the Kindle was launched in 2007. The underlying vision is "always connected" and it started with the bookstore, broadened to the web, and now embraces twitter and shared bookmarks and annotations. The Kindle 3 brings wifi to the table extending the connectedness without Amazon incurring 3G charges (plus, wifi is typically faster than 3G).
I was in the Ottawa airport last week, my flight delayed an hour, and I fired up the web browser on the wifi only Kindle 3 I own. Guess what? I was reading the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and elsewhere in an entirely credible experience. It cost neither me nor Amazon a penny in airtime charges. When I got on the plane, I went back to reading my e-novel.
No one would buy a Kindle primarily as a web access tool -- but it's a very handy perk and differentiator among other ereaders. And, as I am discovering, the $50 savings for wifi only for me was the right choice as my actual need for 3G is very limited. Wifi exists at home, in hotels and airports ... and the Kindle 3G connects easily in all these places when needed.
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