Need 3G in Australia?

[NoWorthWhile]

I, myself, ordered the Wifi version only, even though we have great 3G coverage in Belgium.

Why?

1 and only reason: I have a smartphone with wireless tethering enabled (HTC Touch Pro2) which uses my PAYG "Mobile Vikings" data pool. Price? 2GB/months + 1000 texts for 15€ per month. Charge whenever you want.

So, I don't feel the need to pay an extra 50 bucks to get something I won't use...

You might be able to do this in Australia, check it out

[pietro99]

To me it is so simple to download to the PC and transfer, why would you bother with dodgy 3G from Vodaphone, who are generally accepted as hopeless I think, especially if you live in the country. I live in a large regional town and Vodaphone reception is sparse.

Besides, I always remove the DRM which you have to do on the PC anyway.

[emmad]

Depends what you are buying the Kindle for really. I'm in NZ and got the wifi only version. I've bought it to read with not browse the interent. I have wifi at home so just ensure I download at home if I purchase anything. I already have about 200 unread books on the kindle so do not foresee any time where I might urgently need a book to read and not have an unread one available.
As the others have said there are McD's available and more towns are getting free wifi zones setup.
I have on occasion wandered down to the city centre and hooked up in order to check my email as cannot access this at work. But as the reading device that I purchased the Kindle WiFi is excellent. If I had wanted a multifunctional device for browsing with reading just an added bonus I would have gone for an ipad.

[ijbrewst]

Originally Posted by emmad

Depends what you are buying the Kindle for really. I'm in NZ and got the wifi only version. I've bought it to read with not browse the interent. I have wifi at home so just ensure I download at home if I purchase anything.

Very good point. At home I have ADSL but a wireless router - is that all I need to talk to the Kindle?

[pietro99]

Originally Posted by ijbrewst

Very good point. At home I have ADSL but a wireless router - is that all I need to talk to the Kindle?

You can pick up the wireless signal at home but if you have good security it is a pain to type the password into the KIndle. My WPA wireless security has a password 60 characters long!

[kiwidude]

Originally Posted by pietro99

To me it is so simple to download to the PC and transfer, why would you bother with dodgy 3G from Vodaphone, who are generally accepted as hopeless I think, especially if you live in the country. I live in a large regional town and Vodaphone reception is sparse.

Besides, I always remove the DRM which you have to do on the PC anyway.

Why would you bother? That's a pretty blinkered sort of a statement. As someone currently visiting Australia with my Kindle 3G from the UK I found it brilliant to be able to check my gmail on the Kindle when stuck in airports, tranes etc and not willing to pay exhorbitant intl roaming data charges for my phone. Typing up an email while fishing out on a boat in the middle of a lake on a glorious day here the other day I had no complaints about Vodafone's coverage either!

As others have said so long as you don't expect too much of it as a web browsing device it does the job just fine (though sad such functionality though 3G is disabled in NZ I see above). One less thing to carry around when travelling (if choosing I would rather take a stack of ebooks than a phone to while away the hours!). It does lock up every now and then on some websites, other sites you cannot get to sections of at all (including amazon.com when I tried to lookup availability to buy one for my parents and the info was on a popup window which isn't allowed!). The keyboard is painful to use and you won't use it for general surfing unless you are a masochist. But as a fallback device when other options aren't available it is brilliant to have as an option especially when you don't pay for usage.

[DMSmillie]

Originally Posted by pietro99

You can pick up the wireless signal at home but if you have good security it is a pain to type the password into the KIndle. My WPA wireless security has a password 60 characters long!

It should be possible to set it up so that you only have to type in the password the first time you connect the Kindle to your wireless network. The Kindle should retain the settings, and you should be able to set your network to recognise the Kindle on subsequent connections, the same way it would if you were connecting with a laptop for example. I've got full security set up on my network at home, and only had to type in the password the first time I connected my Kindle. After that first time, when I switch the Kindle's WiFi on, it connects automatically.

[ijbrewst]

Thanks Donna and Pietro.

[papelboyh1]

why do i need a hotspot? what if i have wireless already at home? :?

[whiz16]

the question is ... do amazon allow you to buy from the store?

in some countries , its not allowed , if amazon detect that your from one of the ineligible country , your kindle will be banned hence not many ppl go for the 3G to avoid detection.