Free Wi-Fi spots

[wvcherrybomb]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Most hotels offered LAN cables (Ethernet) in their rooms. Is there a small battery powered Wi-Fi router you could connect to a LAN cable like that?

If you're in a hotel room then you wouldn't need battery operated. You could just plug it in.

I still don't understand why not just buy the 3G Kindle? Then you have internet access all over without having to worry about wifi spots.

[screwballl]

For people that know they travel plenty then the 3G kindle is the better choice. They use the cell phone connection using the AT&T towers within the US (both 3G and the regular slower cell phone if 3G is not available), and partner with various cell phone providers outside of the US.
Kindle coverage is shown here:
http://client0.cellmaps.com/viewer.html?cov=1

You can zoom out and move around the map to see 3G and cell coverage (based on the AT&T and partner cell phone towers.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by wvcherrybomb

If you're in a hotel room then you wouldn't need battery operated. You could just plug it in.

I still don't understand why not just buy the 3G Kindle? Then you have internet access all over without having to worry about wifi spots.

Since I bought the Wi-Fi model I guess it is water under the bridge. I was just used to having access to Wi-Fi spots and 4G being offered now 3G seemed a little yesterday.

[desertblues]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Since I bought the Wi-Fi model I guess it is water under the bridge. I was just used to having access to Wi-Fi spots and 4G being offered now 3G seemed a little yesterday.

I have a mobile hotspot Mifi 2352; it can handle 5 devices (ipads, PC, etc.). Also connects to the Kindle.

[kindlekitten]

would you like a goat to tote your luggage, or an Ox over the next pass?

geeze! you were one of the last people I figured to be snooty about eservices!

[vonCZ]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

wow! of all things to be bothered by in a coffee shop, someone using their laptop is pretty much at the bottom!

perhaps you've never stepped into a silent coffee shop with 30+ graduate students typing away on their theses; there are quite a few of these in Austin and though I was never bothered--I was one of the students--I could see how some might not like it. The various coffee shops there have different atmospheres: wacky, neighborhoody, business, student, grad-student, etc. I wouldn't wanna walk in a wacky feelin' stu-y, or vice-versa.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Since I bought the Wi-Fi model I guess it is water under the bridge. I was just used to having access to Wi-Fi spots and 4G being offered now 3G seemed a little yesterday.

Don't forget that the 3G Kindle also has WiFi; if you have a convenient WiFi hotspot you can use it - the 3G connection is for when you don't have WiFi around.

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

that's an issue between the vendor and the customer. I spent a bunch of years working on the road where coffee shops and other wifi establishments were my office away from home. I was always very aware of how full the establishment was and knew when it was time to pack up my toys and move on

The only reason the establishment was full is because of the trendy atmosphere that they advertised and wifi was a huge part of that. There wouldn't be so many coffee shops to visit if it weren't for wifi and they people that it attracts. People want to get out, but need to get work done and don't want to sit in a stuffy library. Coffee shops, and the environment that they have only recently created, are perfect for that. I have never taken my laptop out for a coffee shop spin, but I'm certainly not averse to it.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

would you like a goat to tote your luggage, or an Ox over the next pass?

geeze! you were one of the last people I figured to be snooty about eservices!

I didn't realize I had become snooty.

Amazon's motto is that they are the world's most customer driven retailer. Part of that service mind set could - I'm not postulating that it has to be - be driven towards ensuring better access in places where it isn't available. As cars became more prevalent B&M stores moved toward the burbs to offer more and better parking space. I view my little forage along the same lines.

[SolRaven]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Amazon's motto is that they are the world's most customer driven retailer. Part of that service mind set could - I'm not postulating that it has to be - be driven towards ensuring better access in places where it isn't available.

I'm not even a Kindle fan and IMHO Amazon has gone far and beyond what any other ereader or bookseller has done. It's not cost effective for Amazon to put a wifi connection in every spot on the earth that they think their readers will be in. However, they can offer 3G for those customers that are away from wifi. Now, if the customer fails to spend the extra dough so that they can buy books anywhere, I don't see how Amazon is to blame. Amazon gave you the option; you made your choice. After all, Kindle is the only reader offering books via a 3G connection of any kind, that I can think of, anyway.