IW: Byte ~ Amazon's Upcoming Tablet To Be WiFi, Contract-Free
Either I'm confused about what whispersync is, or informationweek is.
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Whispersync, Amazon's syncing service, works in tandem with Whispernet, a free cellular-based network. Piggybacking off Sprint, 3G Kindle users already connect to it for free. Up until this week, Amazon used Whispersync mainly for bookmarking Amazon e-books. It allows readers to pick up where they left off reading, even when switching between different Kindle devices and platforms.
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So far, so good. Some 3rd party readers try to do page syncing with dropbox and the like, but Amazon integrates their own service with kindles and kindleware. With Cloud Drive, they're expanding just what they'll store for you in Amazonville.
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A free-to-use syncing and sharing technology requiring no Wi-Fi or contracts and operating via cellular, WhisperSync is not just about bookmarks, it turns out. It is the large-scale distribution mechanism behind the syncing and uploading of textbooks in Amazon's new textbook rental service, announced Monday.
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The effort begins now with books, sources told BYTE, but it ends with music and video and perhaps even e-mail on an Amazon tablet that we could see in less than 90 days. Amazon has not confirmed the tablet's existence and has yet to confirm or deny it to BYTE.
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The tablet is rumored to ship in a nine-inch form factor. Whispersync essentially turns the future tablet--or a Kindle--into a WiFi-free cell device that uses Cloud Drive to share and sync huge volumes of rich media, including books, music, photos and video, sources told BYTE.
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"It's an unusual feature that's appealing to a lot of people because they can just look at the gadget and say 'yep, I've got a signal' and then they can buy stuff," says Forrester's Gillett. "Furthermore, there's no monthly network charge… it's a simplicity thing."
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I think they're confusing whispersync (Amazon cloud storage to sync
whatever across devices, network neutral) with whispernet (free cellular data network access on kindle, sometimes used to provide access to whispersync). They really anticipate a
free, no contract delivery (the article does not just implicate syncing of placement, but delivery) of music and video over cellular data? Do they have any clue how much bandwidth it takes to deliver Netflix-style (what Amazon Instant Video is supposed to offer) content?
Whispersync will be a big feature, but it's got nothing to do with Amazon providing a free wireless connection. It's a service, much like dropbox. If Amazon tablets come with a cell data radio, they'll either be limited to sync duties (not distro), or you'll pay for them like any other data plan.
Or am I missing something?