Kindle keyboard's free 3G for web browsing can be especially handy when traveling—to check email, weather, news, or whatever. There are people who don't have wifi at home/work or smartphones. The Kindle 3G has been an inexpensive, very portable option for web access via 3G.
I agree that a more robust device, such as an iPad, is
much more suitable for extensive web-browsing. But it's also too expensive for some, especially when you add in the cost for the 3G data plan. It's also larger.
People who are new to Kindle probably won't be bothered by this new 3G policy, since they won't know there's any difference from the way it used to be, but for those of us who have had previous models this is an important change. I don't like how the 3G web-browser wording on the
Kindle Touch 3G's product page is slipped in under the "Battery Life" and "Experimental Features" sections, while it prominently proclaims "Free 3G wireless, no annual contracts or monthly fees" at the beginning. Someone who's had one of the previous 3G models would assume it works the same unless they scrutinize the entire page.
It's up to every consumer to thoroughly read any product description before purchasing an item. Amazon's certainly not going to send out a press release to announce such a change. I think some previous Kindle 3G owners are going to be upset once they receive their new Kindle Touch 3G's and discover it doesn't work the same way. We're fortunate that Amazon has decided to keep free 3G web browsing (for now, anyway) on their Kindle Keyboard 3G model. I don't know if that will be "forever," but I'll enjoy while I can!
