Quote:
Originally Posted by djgreedo
Why do some people want WiFi on an ereader? For Internet access?
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As a Kindle owner, I can testify that it is really nice to be able to get new reading material (newspaper, magazine, blog subscriptions as well as new books and book samples) without
ever having to tether to a computer. (Note Kindle uses Sprint network, not WiFi, but it is the same idea). Also in the Kindleverse you may have more than one reading device (typically a Kindle plus an iPhone or iPod Touch), and connectivity allows you to sync reading devices so you can pick up wherever you left off. In theory there could be reader software on your computer that allows you to do the same thing but so far Amazon has not seen fit to provide this.
When I was deciding which reader device to purchase, it came down to Kindle or Sony eReader. The wireless connectivity was important to me, but I really liked it that when you do tether, no proprietary software is required, so you can connect to any computer, anytime (plus Sony still hasn't released their mac software AFAIK). You can purchase books with any web browser and have them delivered wirelessly or download to whatever computer you happen to be using at the time. I really HATE it when a portable device requires proprietary software in order to function and get content on it. A web browser should be sufficient. Wish iPods were like that...
Still I am kind of looking for another reader, because Kindle does not have support for Cyrillic (Russian), ePub and PDF (well DX has some crappy PDF support but looks like Sony's support is better), and I think it is going to be awhile before Amazon releases a device with these features - they see ePub and PDF as undermining the Kindle Store offerings I suspect, rather than simply a feature people expect to find in any ebook reader. It would be nice if that could be had for $200 or less, but I'm not sure the PRS-300 is the device I'm looking for.