Reasons I'm not getting a Kindle but the Sony 505 instead.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by JohnClif

(IMO) Amazon didn't choose EDGE because the data rate would make downloading a book painful, and Amazon envisioned that downloading data via the modem would be something that happens alot... especially if customers are buying lots of books!

I have to respectfully disagree, John. With EDGE you can get a data rate of 200-300kbits, which is plenty enough for downloading books. 200kbit/sec is approximately 20kbytes/sec, which will download a 300kb book (a typical size) in 15 seconds. Nobody is in such a hurry, I'm sure, that they'd worry about whether it takes 5sec or 15sec to download a book.

[phuocle]

Originally Posted by HarryT

At the risk of repeating myself, why on Earth they made the Kindle use the US-specific EVDO service rather than the world-wide EDGE system (ie GSM-based) is a mystery that I just can't fathom. It seems like a very short-sighted design decision.

Oh come on Harry! Surely if you think hard enough you can fathom a reason why. I would say that the operators of the EDGE system simply did not provide Amazon with a deal that made business sense. Amazon is a business... and they seem to be a pretty successful business. They can only stay that way by doing things that make business sense.

This means that if they only capture the North American market, then so be it. I'm sure that they ran numerous models and projections on what would make the Kindle a success in their eyes and felt that this would work.