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

[mikeschr]

Originally Posted by dhdurgee

Can the 3G network connection be used with mplayer to play internet radio streams? I may need to replace my WiFi kindle and if this works I would consider an upgrade to the 3G instead of getting another WiFi unit. If you have a 3G unit with mplayer installed and are willing to test this I can provide a copy of the modified control.sh and mplayer.ini that I use to accomplish this.

Dave

Presented as evidence for anyone who wonders why Amazon took away 3G web browsing going forward.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mikeschr

Presented as evidence for anyone who wonders why Amazon took away 3G web browsing going forward.

Sadly it only takes a vanishingly small number of idiots to spoil things for everybody.

[dhdurgee]

Originally Posted by mikeschr

Presented as evidence for anyone who wonders why Amazon took away 3G web browsing going forward.

I do not find this response helpful.

I may need to purchase another Kindle and am simply wondering if the Kindle 3 keyboard I get should be WiFi like the one I have or if it is worth the extra cost of the 3G unit. I don't use the browser much at present, but there have been occasions where it is useful and 3G makes it more available. I use mplayer streaming with WiFi on a regular basis, mostly with AM radio streams to keep current. Once again if this works with 3G I would have yet another reason to consider an upgrade.

My last use of the browser was to make use of Google maps to search out a route that I had expected to be clear which I found not as well marked as I expected on the highway. Of course I did this in a WiFi hotspot, but I imagine the map images being downloaded for displayed must have accounted for several MB in that 5-10 minute session. I would not be surprised if that had downloaded more that an hour of the 64KB audio streams I play with mplayer.

Dave

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by mikeschr

Presented as evidence for anyone who wonders why Amazon took away 3G web browsing going forward.

Amazon didn't take it away. What they did was not provide it on a touch screen device. It's still available on the keyboard version.

[DustyDisks]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Sadly it only takes a vanishingly small number of idiots to spoil things for everybody.

+1 Ditto.

It has been this way always. A few ruining a good thing for the majority. History is full of such story's.

[mikeschr]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Amazon didn't take it away. What they did was not provide it on a touch screen device. It's still available on the keyboard version.

I said *going forward*. I never said they took it away from the older models.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by mikeschr

I said *going forward*. I never said they took it away from the older models.

And they never took it away from the touch screen model. They never provided it in the first place. Touch screen devices are a different breed of animal and are far easier to navigate the web than keyboard/d-pad devices. No company in its right mind would provide free unlimited 3G web access for a touch screen device. That's why Amazon restricted its use.

[mikeschr]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

And they never took it away from the touch screen model. They never provided it in the first place. Touch screen devices are a different breed of animal and are far easier to navigate the web than keyboard/d-pad devices. No company in its right mind would provide free unlimited 3G web access for a touch screen device. That's why Amazon restricted its use.

I agree with you, the touchscreen is the main reason Amazon didn't include it.
I still think the potential for use of the 3G in ways that Amazon didn't originally provide for is another factor.

You're twisting my meaning. I simply meant that they used to sell models with general 3G browsing, but when the keyboard models run out, they won't anymore, unless they introduce another new model with the feature.
They took general 3G away from the Kindle *lineup*, not any specific model. Now is it clear what I meant?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by mikeschr

You're twisting my meaning. I simply meant that they used to sell models with general 3G browsing, but when the keyboard models run out, they won't anymore, unless they introduce another new model with the feature.
They took general 3G away from the Kindle *lineup*, not any specific model. Now is it clear what I meant?

My apologies; and quite clear

[Pushka]

Originally Posted by DustyDisks

+1 Ditto.

It has been this way always. A few ruining a good thing for the majority. History is full of such story's.

Most of our laws that impact on normal freedoms, are based on the actions of a very tiny minority. And it is getting worse every day.

[DustyDisks]

Originally Posted by Pushka

Most of our laws that impact on normal freedoms, are based on the actions of a very tiny minority. And it is getting worse every day.

Totally agree!

[ukiman]

Will the 3g browsing be unlocked on rooted devices? would that even possible?

[ThomasC]

Originally Posted by ukiman

Will the 3g browsing be unlocked on rooted devices? would that even possible?

No, and No. If you want 3G browsing, buy a K3 keyboard, or DXG.

[ukiman]

Originally Posted by ThomasC

No, and No. If you want 3G browsing, buy a K3 keyboard, or DXG.

Actually it is, after further research, I found
that it is possible, and according to this thread, it is very easy. The inductions for it, however, cannot be posted here because of forum rules.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...42#post1896642

[ThomasC]

Originally Posted by ukiman

Actually it is, after further research, I found
that it is possible, and according to this thread, it is very easy. The inductions for it, however, cannot be posted here because of forum rules.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...42#post1896642

Sounds like some little 'cracker' has found a bug that allows you to do this. He has done the right thing and reported this to Amazon already so they may have patched it by now. In any case, using anything to do this would be illegal.

Personally I think that Amazon restricting 3G browsing on their new E-ink readers is pretty silly. I understand that 3G access costs Amazon ~$0.11/Mb so the average book (~1Mb) costs them $0.11 to deliver it on 3G. Since the average book price is ~$5-10, this is a prety small marginal cost.

I have been using 3G Kindles for +2 years now and I would estimate that 90% of my online use has been dowloading books from Amazon. Otherwise I only use it once in a while to check sports/news/weather on local text-based websites and sometimes the odd Google search. Although I do not use the browser for non-related Amazon book purchases very often I do find it extremely handy to be able to do so.

I would like to see Amazon modify it's current K4/5 3g browsing restrictions. Otherwise, I would never purchase one of these with a 3g option. Maybe Amazon could put a monthly cap on non-related internet usage and/or fairly pass on these costs.

Cheers,
Tom