What's the deal with 3G?

el.astrologo · 09-30-2009, 07:36 PM

I mean, honestly, what's with all the fuzz about readers getting 3G and the like?

From a manufacturer's point of view you are narrowing down your market because you make it so that no one outside the US will buy it (if you live in, say Italy, why would you buy a device that won't work as it could); from a consumer's point of view you are being chained to a company with fees that may or may not burden you...

Granted, the company gets the possibility of selling you books on the go (which you would buy simply because you now can) and we can now buy books anywhere anytime.

I understand the advantages of having wireless capability but I think 3G is just plain overkill. I live in Argentina and even here you get wifi hotspots every couple of blocks when on big cities. Why go with 3G when you can have wi-fi and it'll do?

I know that Sony isn't precisely interested in selling readers here (or else I wouldn't had to get mine when my girlfriend went to the US last winter) but why lose out on Europe? It's fine for Amazon to focus on the States because Kindle isn't being sold anywhere else.

Just my two cents...

wallcraft · 09-30-2009, 07:51 PM

The reason for wireless is to make money off selling ebooks, and to tie you to the preferred stores that provide wireless downloads. Geographic restrictions on ebooks make 3G viable, since vendors can't be seen to be selling ebooks outside their region.

It seems that the wireless providers don't like WiFi, because they don't make money off WiFi downloads. However, there will be ebook readers with 3G and WiFi (e.g. BeBook 2 is supposed to have WiFi).

The lack of WiFi on the Kindle DX is one reason why it is failing at universities, that all have pervasive WiFi.

el.astrologo · 09-30-2009, 09:55 PM

I know, that's why I was ranting :P

Lilly · 10-01-2009, 12:52 AM

I have a friend that has the Kindle DX and he would not buy any reader now without a 3G. That's because he gets his newspaper subscriptions without turning on his computer every morning. He turns on his wireless every morning as he drive the 10 minutes to the train station. His subscriptions downloads and he reads them on his way to work. So for people like him, the convenience is priceless. I in another hand have a K2 and no subscriptions and use the wireless simply to send books to my Kindle when I shop at the Amazon store using my computer. I love that convenience but since I shop using the computer anyway, it would be just an extra step to manually load the book to the reader.

Loose_Appeal · 10-01-2009, 04:53 AM

If my PRS 300 had 3G I'd be sitting at home all day reading wikipedia. Then re-reading the articles to see if they have been updated.

09-30-2009, 07:36 PM	#1
el.astrologo Groupie Posts: 164 Karma: 462 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina Device: PRS-700BC	What's the deal with 3G? I mean, honestly, what's with all the fuzz about readers getting 3G and the like? From a manufacturer's point of view you are narrowing down your market because you make it so that no one outside the US will buy it (if you live in, say Italy, why would you buy a device that won't work as it could); from a consumer's point of view you are being chained to a company with fees that may or may not burden you... Granted, the company gets the possibility of selling you books on the go (which you would buy simply because you now can) and we can now buy books anywhere anytime. I understand the advantages of having wireless capability but I think 3G is just plain overkill. I live in Argentina and even here you get wifi hotspots every couple of blocks when on big cities. Why go with 3G when you can have wi-fi and it'll do? I know that Sony isn't precisely interested in selling readers here (or else I wouldn't had to get mine when my girlfriend went to the US last winter) but why lose out on Europe? It's fine for Amazon to focus on the States because Kindle isn't being sold anywhere else. Just my two cents...

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09-30-2009, 07:51 PM	#2
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	The reason for wireless is to make money off selling ebooks, and to tie you to the preferred stores that provide wireless downloads. Geographic restrictions on ebooks make 3G viable, since vendors can't be seen to be selling ebooks outside their region. It seems that the wireless providers don't like WiFi, because they don't make money off WiFi downloads. However, there will be ebook readers with 3G and WiFi (e.g. BeBook 2 is supposed to have WiFi). The lack of WiFi on the Kindle DX is one reason why it is failing at universities, that all have pervasive WiFi.

09-30-2009, 09:55 PM	#3
el.astrologo Groupie Posts: 164 Karma: 462 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina Device: PRS-700BC	I know, that's why I was ranting :P

10-01-2009, 12:52 AM	#4
Lilly Guru Posts: 688 Karma: 2090 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Sony PRS-505, PRS-900 & PRS-950, Amazon Kindle2	I have a friend that has the Kindle DX and he would not buy any reader now without a 3G. That's because he gets his newspaper subscriptions without turning on his computer every morning. He turns on his wireless every morning as he drive the 10 minutes to the train station. His subscriptions downloads and he reads them on his way to work. So for people like him, the convenience is priceless. I in another hand have a K2 and no subscriptions and use the wireless simply to send books to my Kindle when I shop at the Amazon store using my computer. I love that convenience but since I shop using the computer anyway, it would be just an extra step to manually load the book to the reader.

10-01-2009, 04:53 AM	#5
Loose_Appeal Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiish? Posts: 85 Karma: 162 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: Current: PRS-650, Previous: Books	If my PRS 300 had 3G I'd be sitting at home all day reading wikipedia. Then re-reading the articles to see if they have been updated.

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