Benefits of being locked in to a provider

[skinmaan]

Originally Posted by barryem

If I'm not mistaken the Kindle e-ink devices won't let you read and listen at the same time. At least not in the coordinated way they call Immersion Reading.

This isn't something I use so I've never actually tried it but I'm pretty sure I read that that was true.

Barry

I know for certain you can't do it with older versions, but am unsure of the newer versions. You are likely right, though. It would be a nice feature to have and, as discussed earlier, the only reason I think I could justify audiobooks on a non-phone e-reader.

[Pizza_Cant_Read]

Originally Posted by barryem

If I'm not mistaken the Kindle e-ink devices won't let you read and listen at the same time. At least not in the coordinated way they call Immersion Reading.

This isn't something I use so I've never actually tried it but I'm pretty sure I read that that was true.

Barry

You are probably right and I may be confused. It may only sync your location, allowing you to almost seamlessly switch between reading and listening.

Undoubtedly, someone will clarify the issue for us haha.

I wonder how it keeps track of where you are on a page or if begins playback at the top of your last page? And it 'knows' which words are on which page according to font size and margin sizes? Either way it is neat. Not as neat as other things computers do but so many things in our modern world really blow me away when I stop to really think about it!

[Pizza_Cant_Read]

Aaaaaannd, I found the answer:

https://www.audible.com/ep/wfs

Immersion reading is "Available on Kindle App for Android and iOS, Fire HD 6 Tablet, Fire HD 7 Tablet, Kindle Fire HDX Tablet, and Fire HDX 8.9"

Otherwise a Kindle allows you to switch between the two.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

3G will be phased out over the next several years. I've seen estimates from 2020 to 2025. I believe that it's already been shut down in much of Canada.

Not sure if it was shut down or was never available but looking at the map, the only provinces with decent 3G coverage are Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The provinces with higher populations such as Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia have very poor coverage outside of the major metropolitan areas.

As a personal note, the Kindle owners I know who live in the metro Vancouver area have complained for years that downloading books using 3G is horribly slow -- you can tether your phone and get much faster downloads.

Then there is the rumoured data cap of 50MB month on downloads and Wikipedia though the only evidence for this has been anecdotal.

And for those who are into longer term worries, as we move closer to 5G, it appears that 3G has a limited lifetime. Some areas of the world no longer have 3G support (hello, Taiwan) and that number is only going to grow. Then there are the fun arguments over whether 2G or 3G should be switched off -- evidently quite a few M2M devices use 2G and are unlikely to be upgraded.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by skinmaan

If you're into that sort of thing, then one reason is immersive reading. While I don't do it myself it would help with retention when I was in school reading a book I really didn't want to read, which was most of them (if they chose, that is).

Just a thought.

I guess. But all the reviews I've read of Audible equipped Kindles say that they don't support immersive reading.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Not sure if it was shut down or was never available but looking at the map, the only provinces with decent 3G coverage are Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The provinces with higher populations such as Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia have very poor coverage outside of the major metropolitan areas.

As a personal note, the Kindle owners I know who live in the metro Vancouver area have complained for years that downloading books using 3G is horribly slow -- you can tether your phone and get much faster downloads.

Then there is the rumoured data cap of 50MB month on downloads and Wikipedia though the only evidence for this has been anecdotal.

And for those who are into longer term worries, as we move closer to 5G, it appears that 3G has a limited lifetime. Some areas of the world no longer have 3G support (hello, Taiwan) and that number is only going to grow. Then there are the fun arguments over whether 2G or 3G should be switched off -- evidently quite a few M2M devices use 2G and are unlikely to be upgraded.

It could be there are a few carriers that still support it in Canada, but I was involved with the shutdown of 3G with at least one major Canadian carrier. That happened about two years ago. I'm very sure that at least one major US carrier plans to shutdown 3G in the time frame that I'm talking about. I would not be terribly surprised if various smaller carriers continue to support it for a while though.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by Pizza_Cant_Read

I wonder how it keeps track of where you are on a page or if begins playback at the top of your last page?

I tried immersion reading on my phone a few months ago to see if I would like it. I used it for about the first 1/3 of the book I was reading. I think I remember it always started at the top of the current page. Personally I think that would be the proper way to do it. On my Kindle if I put the book down for more than a few hours and pick it up again I'll either begin at the top of the page or go back a paragraph or two. It's just to remind myself of what's going on.

I thought this was a reasonably good way to read but I think I prefer reading myself.

Barry

[barryem]

My new Paperwhites have 4G but when I've walked away from my router and accessed Wikipedia it will either put a 3G or 4G symbol on the top of the screen. The vast majority of times it's 3G.

As for downloading books on 3G I've done that from time to time. It takes a few seconds longer than with Wifi but it isn't terribly slow. I haven't done it enough to encounter any data caps. I doubt I've ever downloaded more than one book at a time on 3G. Probably something like one book every couple of years.

Barry

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Then there is the rumoured data cap of 50MB month on downloads and Wikipedia though the only evidence for this has been anecdotal.

There is no "cap" for downloading either Kindle books or personal documents. There's no charge for downloading Kindle books; you're charged by the MB for downloading personal documents (20c/MB). Obviously there are no charges for downloading over WiFi, and you can configure your Kindle so it won't download personal docs over 3G if you wish.

The 50MB/month data cap you're referring to is for the Kindle's web browser.

[binaryhermit]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I'm very sure that at least one major US carrier plans to shutdown 3G in the time frame that I'm talking about.

Verizon's shutting down CDMA and EvDO at the end of next year

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by binaryhermit

Verizon's shutting down CDMA and EvDO at the end of next year

That's the one that I was talking about. There are possible legal reasons that it might take longer than the end of next year, but that is the goal.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It is free for books you've bought from Amazon. There's only a (small) charge for downloading "personal documents" (ie files you've uploaded yourself).

Originally Posted by HarryT

There is no "cap" for downloading either Kindle books or personal documents. There's no charge for downloading Kindle books; you're charged by the MB for downloading personal documents (20c/MB). Obviously there are no charges for downloading over WiFi, and you can configure your Kindle so it won't download personal docs over 3G if you wish.

The 50MB/month data cap you're referring to is for the Kindle's web browser.

I don't believe that they charge for downloading personal documents over 3G anymore--I'm sure that they don't in the US, at least. Just this morning I downloaded 10 personal documents using onto my Voyage using 3G, and I wasn't charged.

Shari

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by shalym

I don't believe that they charge for downloading personal documents over 3G anymore--I'm sure that they don't in the US, at least. Just this morning I downloaded 10 personal documents using onto my Voyage using 3G, and I wasn't charged.

Shari

The way it used to work at least is that you aren’t billed per download. They wait until the total amount reaches some limit (I think it might be $5) and then bill you.

I’ve certainly not heard of charges being abolished (which is of course not to say that it hasn’t happened!).

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by shalym

I don't believe that they charge for downloading personal documents over 3G anymore--I'm sure that they don't in the US, at least. Just this morning I downloaded 10 personal documents using onto my Voyage using 3G, and I wasn't charged.

Shari

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...deId=200767340

"Amazon doesn't charge fees for delivery of personal documents to your Kindle e-readers over Wi-Fi or that are transferred via USB. "

So implying that 3G is charged

I was charged in the UK. Except that if the document was already in the cloud I was not charged.

So if you have multiple Apps or devices, email to one that uses Wi-Fi, then ask for delivery over 3G on the 3G Kindle.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The way it used to work at least is that you aren’t billed per download. They wait until the total amount reaches some limit (I think it might be $5) and then bill you.

I’ve certainly not heard of charges being abolished (which is of course not to say that it hasn’t happened!).

So...I think that the difference is that the documents that I downloaded over 3G were already in my cloud. Usually I send documents to the cloud only, and download to my device from there. Doing that, I've never been charged.

I just now sent another document directly to my Voyage that was delivered over 3G, and I *was* charged. I got a receipt for it and everything. I've never seen a receipt like this before, and I've downloaded many personal documents from my cloud to my Voyage over 3G.

Shari