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

[soulfuldog]

I fully appreciate that the ability to browse the web is a great tool, the only point I was making is if you want to buy a device to browse the web, buy one that's fit for purpose (like and iPad), not one that is designed for something else. If you have bought (or are going to buy a 3G Kindle keyboard) because of the 'bonus' of being able to browse the web, hopefully you are sensible enough to take a closer look and realise that bonus is not necessarily going to be guaranteed forever. And if it doesn't, you don't really have a valid complaint.

DreamWriter, it's a good thread you've started, I'm just bemused by the aggressive nature of some of the posts on it!

[DreamWriter]

Kindle keyboard's free 3G for web browsing can be especially handy when traveling—to check email, weather, news, or whatever. There are people who don't have wifi at home/work or smartphones. The Kindle 3G has been an inexpensive, very portable option for web access via 3G.

I agree that a more robust device, such as an iPad, is much more suitable for extensive web-browsing. But it's also too expensive for some, especially when you add in the cost for the 3G data plan. It's also larger.

People who are new to Kindle probably won't be bothered by this new 3G policy, since they won't know there's any difference from the way it used to be, but for those of us who have had previous models this is an important change. I don't like how the 3G web-browser wording on the Kindle Touch 3G's product page is slipped in under the "Battery Life" and "Experimental Features" sections, while it prominently proclaims "Free 3G wireless, no annual contracts or monthly fees" at the beginning. Someone who's had one of the previous 3G models would assume it works the same unless they scrutinize the entire page.

It's up to every consumer to thoroughly read any product description before purchasing an item. Amazon's certainly not going to send out a press release to announce such a change. I think some previous Kindle 3G owners are going to be upset once they receive their new Kindle Touch 3G's and discover it doesn't work the same way. We're fortunate that Amazon has decided to keep free 3G web browsing (for now, anyway) on their Kindle Keyboard 3G model. I don't know if that will be "forever," but I'll enjoy while I can!

[cabbot]

Originally Posted by pendragginp

What is the matter with you?!? Harry is one of the moderators and is doing his job. He's been amazing patient with your rudeness, IMO. But methinks you're cruisin' for a bruisin' here friend.

As for the discussion, I did pre-order a 3G Touch and I will cancel that and just keep my Kindle 3 instead. I too live in the sticks and have no smartphone, and the free 3G is that important to me.

As someone mused in passing, it would be interesting if Amazon would include free 3G on the touch for a minimal cost - or even as part of their $79 per year Prime membership.

Nobody here can give me a "bruisin". The worst they can do is ban me from an internet forum. That is not a big deal at all. In fact I have not even violated any rules...simply pointed out someone's behavior.

Clearly I am not the only one who finds Harry a "difficult" personality. It's the internet and I will not be bullied by someone's private cliques.

If I am censored and Harry is not (his snarky posts in the "action/reaction ebook" thread as an example) it just shows the ridiculous nature of internet cliques. If you disagree with the wrong person...the one with a POWER button...you get banned.

[fidjit]

I wrote an article about this very situation here
http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/09/11/...vel-companion/
I don't travel overseas much but when I do the K3 3g is a great tool. I've more than saved the extra cost for the 3g compared to Australian International Roaming Fees.

I don't really care that the Touch won't 3G browse at the moment , my 3 is fine if not better than the Touch for how I use it at the moment.

Standard disclaimer though....YMMV

[frahse]

Originally Posted by Heart_Mom

I just got the Kindle Keyboard in the mail today! Thanks for your help and advice!

I am reading this thread from the beginning and so others may have responded to your post.

I have a K3-3G and though the navigation is very tedious, it is nice for browsing in a car on the road. You can download stuff too (other than books) for 15 cents a MB or 99 cents per MB out of the USA except Canada which for some reason doesn't allow it.

Learn to use the keyboard and the navigation well and you will speed up your browsing a lot. It saves old urls, so always go there first and save yourself the trouble of entering all of a url.
Watch your cursor. Sometimes if you try to move it across a lot of little stuff it will stop at each one. Look for larger spaces to traverse so less stops.
The back button is also useful.

The only thing I found was a real loss is downloading a weather map. A gray scale weather map is not very useful in a car at night especially.



Good luck.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

Glad I could help!

I don't have a smartphone, so I'm not familiar with all their features, but my daughter has one. I realized the other day that she was using her 3G phone app to broadcast wifi to her laptop computer and that's when I had an epiphany: That should work on the Kindle!

The cellphone-broadcast wifi signal cut in and out a bit, but it was good enough to download three personal documents that had been stuck on my Kindle for a while in "view downloading items." Now that personal documents are stored in my Amazon account, I'm able to delete them that way after transferring the downloaded personal document from computer to Kindle via USB, so I think that'll eliminate them being sent via wifi. I tested that last night. So now I won't have to find a wifi hotspot to "clear" those documents from Kindle's wifi download queue!

Why is it that the kids have all the "good stuff."

I guess it is because of us.
I had a son that was laying in his bed texting about 2AM one night. I said "don't you have free phone service after 8 or 9PM?" Why are you texting which costs about 10 cents a message. He said "girls like to text not talk."

Oh, well I have a Kindle3 (keyboard)-3G.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by l_macd

I fully appreciate that the ability to browse the web is a great tool, the only point I was making is if you want to buy a device to browse the web, buy one that's fit for purpose (like and iPad), not one that is designed for something else. If you have bought (or are going to buy a 3G Kindle keyboard) because of the 'bonus' of being able to browse the web, hopefully you are sensible enough to take a closer look and realise that bonus is not necessarily going to be guaranteed forever. And if it doesn't, you don't really have a valid complaint.

DreamWriter, it's a good thread you've started, I'm just bemused by the aggressive nature of some of the posts on it!

Some people try to be conservative with their equipment costs, and yes it is sometimes a losing battle.
I have a very expensive company notebook with a wireless card in it. I only carry that when I have to and am working because I am afraid of losing it or breaking it. We have had that happen with some of our people. e.g. Stolen out of SUV rentals twice. Thieves look inside. If I am on vacation, or on the week end, or especially out in the woods or waterways, I never carry it. We carry feature phones, and WiFi equipment that we can use in motels, restaurants and other hot spots. The 3G from the Kindle Keyboard rounds out our capabilities. Sure I could get a contract with Data and an iPad and pay a $125 a month, but I put that money to other uses.

On occasion we have borrowed a Mobile WiFi Hot spot and paid the prepay but still that was with a personal laptop.

Some of our people that have to constantly carry expensive notebooks, as well as other equipment have one or more of those super metal strong boxes in their SUV or Vans like the TV cameramen have to store their cameras. I don't have room for that. Also you can't carry those along with you when you catch a plane.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by frahse

Why is it that the kids have all the "good stuff."

Yeah, I know what you mean. I remember the "good old days" (in the 1980s ), when I was up on all the latest technology. Now the tables have turned; my daughter teaches me.

She's a young adult now, and she pays for her own smartphone, etc. I've never had one. When she showed me how her phone can broadcast wifi to her laptop (and my Kindle) I was amazed. Now I'm wondering what else I'm missing out on. Maybe it's best that I don't know.

He said "girls like to text not talk."

So true.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

Yeah, I know what you mean. I remember the "good old days" (in the 1980s ), when I was up on all the latest technology. Now the tables have turned; my daughter teaches me.

She's a young adult now, and she pays for her own smartphone, etc. I've never had one. When she showed me how her phone can broadcast wifi to her laptop (and my Kindle) I was amazed. Now I'm wondering what else I'm missing out on. Maybe it's best that I don't know.



So true.

I just got my first smart phone this year and I don't know how I lived without it! I can do so many things on it besides voice calls and text. I can surf, do email, read books...etc

I have apps to tell me to take my medicine which is a huge help. A nagging app that tells me to get off my bottom and clean this or that. Sales tax calculator and a sales percentage off calculator app that helps know what I am paying for my books. Weather apps that keeps me safe and informs me of any bad weather. Package tracking so I know when something is getting here like my Kindle will be here today. My grocery shopping lists app that I use to send my husband so he can pick stuff up on his way home for work. My bill reminder app so I don't forget and have the total amount right in front of me. My recipes app so I don't mess up hubby's dinner. It also plays music, videos, games and podcasts. I could go on and on but I'll stop now.

Basically there is an app for everything! My phone never leaves my side. It's like having a mini PC with you at all times.

[DreamWriter]

Thanks for all that info, Blossom! I'm not really tempted by smartphones but I am thinking about getting a Kindle Fire. But first, I have to enter the 21st century and get wi-fi at home.

[MickeyMark]

Oy...

Has Amazon announced, for sure, that they're discontinuing the unlimited, free, 3G internet access with the Touch3G? The last time I read this thread, that point was still up for debate. People seem to have come to the conclusion that it's gone. Is that conclusion based on fact?

I don't use my K3G to access the internet very often, but (living where I do) I have to admit that I like knowing that I can.


I have an iPod Touch. So long as my WiFi is working, that's enough "smart phone" for me.

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by MickeyMark

Oy...

Has Amazon announced, for sure, that they're discontinuing the unlimited, free, 3G internet access with the Touch3G? The last time I read this thread, that point was still up for debate. People seem to have come to the conclusion that it's gone. Is that conclusion based on fact?

I don't use my K3G to access the internet very often, but (living where I do) I have to admit that I like knowing that I can.


I have an iPod Touch. So long as my WiFi is working, that's enough "smart phone" for me.

Reading Amazon's own feature description on the website and confirmed by telephone and emails from Kindle support, apparently "internet" browsing will be available via Wifi only. 3G will be limited to purchasing books from Amazon and syncing to one's account.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Skydog

Reading Amazon's own feature description on the website and confirmed by telephone and emails from Kindle support, apparently "internet" browsing will be available via Wifi only. 3G will be limited to purchasing books from Amazon and syncing to one's account.

Amazon seems to be pinching pennies as of late. Not only are they restricting 3G access for the new Touch Kindles, but they're also restricting offers on Special Offer Kindles.

Starting Sep 6th, the offer limit changed from limit one per device to limit one per customer and per device. I know someone with two KSOs who said that starting Sep 26th, the promo codes changed from one unique code per device to the same code for both devices.

So, it looks like Amazon is discouraging ownership of multiple KSOs on the same account and ownership 3G KTs.

[The Hooded Claw]

Originally Posted by MickeyMark

Oy...

Has Amazon announced, for sure, that they're discontinuing the unlimited, free, 3G internet access with the Touch3G? The last time I read this thread, that point was still up for debate. People seem to have come to the conclusion that it's gone. Is that conclusion based on fact?

http://www.amazon.com/forum/kindle/?...MxIT1OGTA35WG1

Above is a link to an explicit official Amazon statement. As mentioned, the product descriptions had been saying no 3G browsing for days, but the CS reps had been contradicting the product description. But the above is explicit.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by MickeyMark

Oy...

Has Amazon announced, for sure, that they're discontinuing the unlimited, free, 3G internet access with the Touch3G? The last time I read this thread, that point was still up for debate. People seem to have come to the conclusion that it's gone. Is that conclusion based on fact?

I don't use my K3G to access the internet very often, but (living where I do) I have to admit that I like knowing that I can.


I have an iPod Touch. So long as my WiFi is working, that's enough "smart phone" for me.

Originally Posted by Skydog

Reading Amazon's own feature description on the website and confirmed by telephone and emails from Kindle support, apparently "internet" browsing will be available via Wifi only. 3G will be limited to purchasing books from Amazon and syncing to one's account.

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Amazon seems to be pinching pennies as of late. Not only are they restricting 3G access for the new Touch Kindles, but they're also restricting offers on Special Offer Kindles.

Starting Sep 6th, the offer limit changed from limit one per device to limit one per customer and per device. I know someone with two KSOs who said that starting Sep 26th, the promo codes changed from one unique code per device to the same code for both devices.

So, it looks like Amazon is discouraging ownership of multiple KSOs on the same account and ownership 3G KTs.

Originally Posted by The Hooded Claw

http://www.amazon.com/forum/kindle/?...MxIT1OGTA35WG1

Above is a link to an explicit official Amazon statement. As mentioned, the product descriptions had been saying no 3G browsing for days, but the CS reps had been contradicting the product description. But the above is explicit.

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Parsing and weighing all the statements with some being contradictory, it is my belief (as of now) that if you have the older Kindle 3(keyboard)-3G or the Kindle DX you will get the same 3G service in the future as you did in the past.
The only limits on browsing will be the difficult navigation with the keys, the symbols, and the 5 way button. For downloads if it isn't an Amazon product, you will pay 15 cents per MB in the USA and 99 cents per MB outside the USA except for Canada where they don't allow it. Reading e-mails isn't normally considered downloading. I don't know what the Kindle does for attachments. I assume it ignores them.

I do know that they can change that if they want because of the wording that came with the Device when I got it. But I am hopeful that there isn't enough use (and that will decrease as time goes by) to make them want to have publicity problem by taking it away.

I have been pondering buying another Kindle3(keyboard)-3G just to have a spare.