Will you buy the Kindle 3G or Kindle WiFi?

[BobLenx]

WiFi only here. I have WiFi in my home, whereas 3G rots where I live.

[pchrist7]

As a total newbie I ordered the 3G + Wifi version. Have no idea how the Kindle 3G will work in Denmark. Just wanted to have as many options as possible. Just in case.
Cheers, Per

[mngharry]

I will get the WiFi-only version and use my iPhone's data plan as a WiFi HotSpot when necessary.

[matt314159]

Originally Posted by mngharry

I will get the WiFi-only version and use my iPhone's data plan as a WiFi HotSpot when necessary.

see my previous posts in the thread. Don't plan on this unless you know your software will broadcast the connection in infrastructure mode and not the typical ad-hoc mode. Otherwise you're going to run into problems.

[mngharry]

Originally Posted by matt314159

see my previous posts in the thread. Don't plan on this unless you know your software will broadcast the connection in infrastructure mode and not the typical ad-hoc mode. Otherwise you're going to run into problems.

Oh, thanks. I think MiWi creates a peer-to-peer network? Well, then let's hope Amazon enables ad-hoc support through a software update soon after release.

[matt314159]

That would be ideal, if they allowed the ad-hoc connections. There are certain other devices that are programmed to only connect in infrastructure mode, like the PSP, and I'm not entirely sure why that is. I think part of it is that there are some people who run a rogue p2p network to collect people's data, and it's easier, from a security standpoint, to just disable the ad-hoc connection altogether. A lot of big corporations disable it on their employees' laptops, as well.

[RDaneel54]

Decided on the WiFi. Don't travel anymore and any connectivity will be more than I have on my Sony 505.

Dean

[SteveEisenberg]

Usually we are slow to adapt new gadgets; I waited until a used Palm PDA went down to $30, and if my employer hadn't pushed an AT&T 3G BlackBerry on me about a year ago, so I could be hailed down 24/7, I would not yet have a cell phone. And yet I just ordered the 3G Kindle, which could mean Amazon has a hit on their hands (or could just mean I'm weird.)

I use the miserable BlackBerry browser a lot, and my theory AKA ignorant hope, for at least some purposes, is that Kindle's WebKit may be better. Most Wikipedia articles are too big to load on my corporate-configured highly locked-down BlackBerry, but Amazon says they will work ("experimentally") on their gadget. That will have the admittedly dubious benefit of settling factual argument between kids in the car.

I suppose that Amazon can't let the browser be too good, or else I won't spring for a newspaper subscription. But I don't like the idea of paying maybe $9.99 a month to read news that is 12 hours old. Is there any plan to integrate Kindle newspaper subscriptions with the 3G so you can have a newspaper reading experience that is superior to free web content, and just as up to date?

[trekchick]

Originally Posted by digiridan

I have no idea, I'm confused. Just this morning I pre-ordered wifi only. 10 minutes ago I canceled that order and ordered 3g + wifi...

I did the same thing. I'm usually somewhere with wifi, and the lower price is appealing. But, I think that for only $50 more the 3G will probably come in handy often enough to make it worth having. And if the new browser is as improved as it appears to be, I'm sure I'll be using it a lot more than I use the current browser.

[trekchick]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

I suppose that Amazon can't let the browser be too good, or else I won't spring for a newspaper subscription. But I don't like the idea of paying maybe $9.99 a month to read news that is 12 hours old. Is there any plan to integrate Kindle newspaper subscriptions with the 3G so you can have a newspaper reading experience that is superior to free web content, and just as up to date?

You can get subscribe to news blogs that are updated throughout the day. Reuter's Top News, New York Times Latest News, AP US News, and others are under $2 a month.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by matt314159

see my previous posts in the thread. Don't plan on this unless you know your software will broadcast the connection in infrastructure mode and not the typical ad-hoc mode. Otherwise you're going to run into problems.

With respect, I think this is fear-mongering and inaccurate information.

Most places that have wifi -- at home, at a coffee shop, in a hotel -- are gateway connections which provide an access point, either thorugh a login with password or are just open. The Kindle 3 fully supports this method.

See points 4, 5 at http://kindle.ipadlibrarystore.com/k...dle-3-insights

This has been discussed and confirmed elsewhere. Most mobile phones which broadcast wifi provide an access point as well -- so you are good to go.

[mewmartigan]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

With respect, I think this is fear-mongering and inaccurate information.

Most places that have wifi -- at home, at a coffee shop, in a hotel -- are gateway connections which provide an access point, either thorugh a login with password or are just open. The Kindle 3 fully supports this method.

See points 4, 5 at http://kindle.ipadlibrarystore.com/k...dle-3-insights

This has been discussed and confirmed elsewhere. Most mobile phones which broadcast wifi provide an access point as well -- so you are good to go.

I agree. I'll be using my Droid X to cover 3G if I happen to need it....although I don't anticipate much need. The 3G on my Kindle2 stays off most of the time.

[SensualPoet]

Some decisions in life are easy ... which college? which guy/gal to invite to the prom? which car? which spouse?

Some decisions in life are really, really hard ... which Kindle 3 -- WiFi only or WiFi + 3G?

*wrings hands*

I have excellent 3G coverage in Canada and have directly tested my Kindle 2i in Toronto, Montreal and St. John's, NL ... plus I spend about 4 weeks a year in Mexico, primarily Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara and on the last trip 3G rocked in those places. (And Kindles do fall back to 2G where necessary.)

But, really ... I also have 25 mbps Internet gateway with a home wifi network and that's where I read my Kindle for 11 months of the year. And the places we stay in Mexico have always had very good free WiFi ... good enough for my corporate VPN access. And, short of being stuck on a snow-bound train in the dead of winter, I can't think of anywhere I might be that I actually "need" 3G.

(Overlooked tidbit? The WiFi + 3G model defaults to WiFi and only invokes 3G when WiFi is not available. Very smart network management, Amazon!)

So ... do I spend the extra $50 on 3G ... or invest that cash in the Burgundy Red case with built-in book-light instead? And, heavens! What to do with the Kindle 2i?

[matt314159]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Most mobile phones which broadcast wifi provide an access point as well -- so you are good to go.

This is complete misinformation. More often than not, in fact, I daresay, 90% of the time, the phones that share their internet via wifi do so in "ad-hoc" mode, and not "infrastructure" mode, as required by the specs on the k3. To call it fear-mongering is laughable. It's a simple fact that anybody familiar with cell phones understands.

I think the hangup you have might be over the term "infrastructure" mode...all that refers to is a wireless client connecting to a fixed base-station like a router or an access point, as opposed to another wireless device (peer to peer/ad-hoc)

Amazon has a good return policy, so go ahead and buy the wifi version and then try to tether it to your phone. If it doesn't work, you can return it and get the 3g version.

If it means anything, as far as my credibility goes, i'm on staff at howardforums.com, a million-member cell phone forum: http://www.howardforums.com/member.p...574-matt314159 I don't know everything, but when it comes to cell phones I tend to have my finger on the pulse of their capabilities. If the kindle says it doesn't connect to peer-to-peer networks, you're going to be SOL with software like wmwifirouter, mywi, and probably even the droid. I repeat: unless your phone supports sharing its connection in infrastructure mode.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by matt314159

More often than not, in fact, I daresay, 90% of the time, the phones that share their internet via wifi do so in "ad-hoc" mode, and not "infrastructure" mode, as required by the specs on the k3. To call it fear-mongering is laughable. It's a simple fact that anybody familiar with cell phones understands.

I think the hangup you have might be over the term "infrastructure" mode...all that refers to is a wireless client connecting to a fixed base-station like a router or an access point, as opposed to another wireless device (peer to peer/ad-hoc)

I was concerned you were implying the Kindle 3 would not connect to the most common WiFi access points -- home routers, cafes, hotels. My understanding is that it does. Surely this is the method almost everyone will use almost all the time.

A tiny fraction of folks with mobile phones will also want to do this and, if they have an iPhone, can easily create a "mifi" with an app. No doubt many Android phones have the same capability; I believe running phones running Android 2.1 already do. This isn't HowardForums and the vast number of Kindle 3 WiFi users will not be impacted by these details.

When Kindle 3 says "wifi" they mean the most common usage and there is no need for caveats which imply it is sub-standard.