[Alisa]

I think the wireless is a big selling point for a lot of people. There are a surprising number of folks out there that aren't comfortable with loading stuff via USB. Add to that the frequent travelers, transit commuters and other folks that are just away from their homes a lot and the demand for wireless grows. WiFi isn't everywhere.

I didn't regard the EVDO access as a big deal when I bought it because I'm not in any of those categories but I still find it remarkably convenient and, surprisingly, a bit of a money-saver. It keeps me from buying in advance. My typical buying pattern is to download the sample, read it fully, then buy the book. This keeps me buying only what I'm reading right now and only stuff I have a good chance of liking enough to finish. Since I usually don't have to worry about being near my computer when I come to the end of my sample and want more, I rarely end up buying something merely speculating I'll want to read it later. I've only done that in preparation for traveling outside the US. IMO, it doesn't add that much to the cost of the device and service versus what I have saved having it.

However, this didn't become apparent to me until I already had the Kindle. My initial reaction on hearing about Whispernet was a resounding "meh". I figured it was the Aunt Tillie factor at work and it did not figure at all in my buying decision. I was aware of the slow refresh of e-ink so unlimited web access on an e-ink device held no allure. I bought it for it's other features but now I realize how brilliant the EVDO access is.