Kindle Touch 3G - no web browsing via 3G?

[carld]

Originally Posted by Pushka

This is what I received in an email today from Amazon CS; I think they are hedging their bets:

That sounds really similar to what they said when the Kindle 3 first launched. It wasn't until later that 3G web browsing was opened up to more of the world. I'm not sure why that is though, you'd think that those contracts would already be in place for the 3G K4.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by lachyzee

Well that makes no sense. Maybe they just don't want be seen to be actively promoting/encouraging web browsing via 3G.

Why do you say that it makes no sense? That's exactly the situation with the current 3G access - in many countries it's restricted to Wikipedia and the Kindle Store.

[Helgetus]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Why do you say that it makes no sense? That's exactly the situation with the current 3G access - in many countries it's restricted to Wikipedia and the Kindle Store.

I second that.

Here in Germany I can access the Wikipedia site (German and English) and Amazon Shop via 3G. Nothing else!

I can of course brwose the web freely via WIFI.

By the way that was clear from the beginning, before I bought the Kindle.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by Helgetus

Here in Germany I can access the Wikipedia site (German and English) and Amazon Shop via 3G. Nothing else!

According to this web page, Germany would be one of about 40 countries where if you bought your kindle in the US or UK, you get full 3G web, but if you bought your kindle elsewhere, you do not:

http://kindleworld.blogspot.com/p/co...3g-access.html

Originally Posted by blue_skies

What is the significance of November 21st.?

Ship date for the Kindle touch 3G.

Are you suggesting that they will somehow pull the 3G web browsing access on my K3? I bought it because they advertised lifetime 3G access.

I missed that advertisement. What would lifetime mean anyway? My life? Life of device? Life of AT&T (or, for the original Kindle, Sprint)?

Let me go out on a short limb and guarantee that in the lifetime of some current Kindle 3G owners, free web access will disappear. It's just a question of when.

[yifanlu]

Bad news guys. I asked amazon regarding the different wording on the two pages and this is their reply.

Here's my original letter. Notice I tried to be very specific and that they did not answer all my questions.

Will the Kindle Touch 3G have the same free experimental internet browsing over 3G as the Kindle 3 does?

I see on the Kindle 3 page, under experimental features (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004HZYA6E/):
"KindleKeyboard features an experimental web browser based on WebKit to provide a better web browsing experience. Now it's easier than ever to find the information you're looking for right from your Kindle. Experimental web browsing is free." The last line reads "Experimental web browsing is free."

However on the Kindle Touch 3G page, under the same section (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005890G8O/), it reads "Kindle Touch 3G's experimental web browser is based on WebKit. It's easy to find the information you're looking for right from your Kindle Touch 3G. Experimental web browsing is available via Wi-Fi." where the last line explicitly mentions "via Wi-Fi."

Does this mean the Kindle Touch 3G will NOT have experimental web browsing over 3G? If so, will the Kindle 3 continue to have experimental web browsing over 3G in December this year? Thank you!

Here's their reply.

Hello,

I understand that you wanted more information about the Experimental web browsing in Kindle Touch 3G.

In Kindle Touch 3G you'll only be able to browse Amazon.com and Wikipedia, *If you are not on WiFi you will only be able to browse Amazon.com and Wikipedia. You'll will have un-restricted access on a WiFi connection.

We look forward to seeing you.

[eSheri]

I read on Amazon's site under Terms of Service that 3G is only to be used for shopping at Amazon. I would copy & paste but its difficult to do from my phone.

[markdek]

Originally Posted by yifanlu

Bad news guys. I asked amazon regarding the different wording on the two pages and this is their reply.

Quote:
Hello,

I understand that you wanted more information about the Experimental web browsing in Kindle Touch 3G.

In Kindle Touch 3G you'll only be able to browse Amazon.com and Wikipedia, *If you are not on WiFi you will only be able to browse Amazon.com and Wikipedia. You'll will have un-restricted access on a WiFi connection.

We look forward to seeing you.

If this is true, this really lowers the value of the Kindle 3g for me. And, what's the point of the new browser, if this is true. I'm not appreciating the confusion and conflicting info from Amazon.

.

[RH2000]

Originally Posted by Helgetus

I second that.

Here in Germany I can access the Wikipedia site (German and English) and Amazon Shop via 3G. Nothing else!

I can of course brwose the web freely via WIFI.

By the way that was clear from the beginning, before I bought the Kindle.

Go to 'Manage your kindle' page , change country setting from Germany to USA, Restart your Kindle (Menu - Settings - Menu - Restart). This worked In Israel, so give it a try.

[Ditchleyportrait]

wow. i can see why they've decided to go this route, as before you were paying a slightly higher price for the gimmick of unlimited 3g. well, it wasn't a gimmick. i used it for a time for all of my web browsing.

wikipedia and amazon are two good sites to have to be able to browse. however, i think that there are other mobile websites it will hurt to lose access to. espn, etc.

i wonder how the numbers worked out on this. i bet there were scores of ppl sucking up data, while others who didn't turn the 3g on at all.

luckily the main, most important function of these things is ereading, but i can't help but think i at least a little bit contributed to the downfall of 3g.

i guess once your stable becomes as big as amazon's there's no incentive to offer free anything, and with that much data usage with increased amounts of customers, it probably becomes fiscally infeasible.

plus it was cool to go on projectgutenberg and download kindle books straight to your kindle from the browser.

then again those that want 3g unlimited browsing can still get the kindle keyboard models.

[yifanlu]

Originally Posted by Ditchleyportrait

wow. i can see why they've decided to go this route, as before you were paying a slightly higher price for the gimmick of unlimited 3g. well, it wasn't a gimmick. i used it for a time for all of my web browsing.

wikipedia and amazon are two good sites to have to be able to browse. however, i think that there are other mobile websites it will hurt to lose access to. espn, etc.

i wonder how the numbers worked out on this. i bet there were scores of ppl sucking up data, while others who didn't turn the 3g on at all.

luckily the main, most important function of these things is ereading, but i can't help but think i at least a little bit contributed to the downfall of 3g.

i guess once your stable becomes as big as amazon's there's no incentive to offer free anything, and with that much data usage with increased amounts of customers, it probably becomes fiscally infeasible.

plus it was cool to go on projectgutenberg and download kindle books straight to your kindle from the browser.

then again those that want 3g unlimited browsing can still get the kindle keyboard models.

I'm very doubtful they will keep 3G for existing Kindle 3s or future ones. I'm willing to bet that come December, they'll remove the feature. I mean, they don't want people to think the Kindle Keyboard is better then the Kindle Touch in ANY way. Also, Amazon's contract with the carriers may have ran out by then and the new contract excludes internet browsing. This is all speculation. I'm emailing Amazon again and seeing what they have to say about it.

[Zoshka]

I actually ordered the 3G Touch just for the web browsing using touch to input addresses and passwords and everything, so there are probably many others like me who would have sucked up a lot of free 3G usage. I understand Amazon's reasoning, but for me there's no reason to pay a 3G price, though, especially since for the SO version it means they'll assault you with new ads whether or not you're hooked up to a wifi network. It's a very Netflixy move, because customers don't like to have a service they've grown accustomed to taken away.

[tomsem]

I would be okay with not downloading files over 3G as long as browsing isn't restricted (but now I would want to be able to download PDF over wifi). But if browsing is restricted, I'll be returning and exchanging for the wifi only Touch. The 3G 'premium' is $50 for Touch/3G and only $40 for K3/3G, so I expect comparable or greater functionality, not less.

Well, we'll know soon enough...

[yifanlu]

Ok, here's some good news. I've emailed amazon again asking if they'll ever remove the 3G internet browsing feature from Kindle 3 (Keyboard):

Hello,

I'll be happy to help you.

The Kindle 3 (Kindle Keyboard) supports free 3G experimental internet browsing and I can confirm that it will continue to do so in the future. This feature won't be removed from Kindle 3.

We look forward to seeing you again soon.

[graycyn]

I know that I was hoping that web browsing *would* be available on a Kindle 3G Touch. I don't have a smartphone or any other device with a data plan, so the ability to be able to check email when traveling might've gotten me to buy a new Kindle just for that purpose.

I wish they'd clear this up. Seems a lot of CS reps are saying you can use the 3G to browse like always (or so people are saying over on Kindleboards), but that changed wording leads me to believe otherwise. I was wondering if Amazon would do something like this for the new touch model, simply because browsing gets much easier with a touchscreen.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by graycyn

I know that I was hoping that web browsing *would* be available on a Kindle 3G Touch. I don't have a smartphone or any other device with a data plan, so the ability to be able to check email when traveling might've gotten me to buy a new Kindle just for that purpose.

I wish they'd clear this up. Seems a lot of CS reps are saying you can use the 3G to browse like always (or so people are saying over on Kindleboards), but that changed wording leads me to believe otherwise. I was wondering if Amazon would do something like this for the new touch model, simply because browsing gets much easier with a touchscreen.

Probably best just to wait and see. We'll find out soon enough when the Touch is actually released. The Kindle browser is ... not wonderful. Its biggest limitation is that it's single window only, so that anything that tries to open child windows just doesn't work. With my ISPs "webmail" site, for example, I can use the Kindle browser to look at my list of mail messages, but I can't read or write one, since the browser opens a separate window for those actions.