Why buy a 3G version of the Amazon Kindle?

Nope, for me, the 3G is definitely worth the extra.

I don’t always plan what I read. I download a book that someone has recommended and, if it appeals, then i want the author’s other stuff – fast, wherever i am – and I’m often out of WiFi range.

Anyway, what with all-I-can-eat 3G on my smartphone, i don’t actually need WiFi at home, so, for me, the extra cost for wireless access at home is something I can cheerfully live with out (I’m a chap on his own – i can see, for many, the money-saving boot would be on the other foot).

But there is other stuff too. I have Kindle on my smartphone, my laptop and my, err… Kindle. I like the fact that, even if i close my kindle when it’s well out of Wi-Fi range and open the app on my phone, hey presto, I’m at the last page I read without skipping a beat.

Glad I paid the extra.

Surely only an idiot wouldn’t want a free connection wherever they are. Can you imagine spending a couple of weeks abroad paying over the odds to read day old newspapers all the time. That is the sort of thing I dislike about holidays. The extra for 3G is negligible for what it gives you, even if they have stopped the web browsing abilities, which so far I hadn’t heard they had done.

What a patronising article. “…. I’d sit them down and ask them whether they really needed web access on-the-go ….” I HAVE bought a 3G Kindle, and if you did that to me, I would tell you to ‘go forth and multiply’. I am an adult and think for myself, and can do research myself before I buy something. I do not need some self-styled protector to make sure I make the right decisions. Newspapers delivered abroad, access to web email and the internet free (no data plan) whilst abroad (some of us go abroad ….) are just two reasons for making it worthwhile – for me. Admittedly the web access is ‘experimental’ and not as swish as on a laptop or smartphone, but it works fine, and costs nothing. I would hesitate to pontificate by suggesting that others should follow my lead – what is right for me is not necessarily right for others.

I can wait to download books but I work away from home regularly and get The Times and the FT straight to the 3G Kindle every morning and the Economist every Thursday evening – wouldn’t be without it!

I have no issue with having bought a 3G Kindle and it is up to me how to spend my money. If anyone was so patronising in telling me that my decision was unnecessary and a waste of my money, I would soon send the arrogant know-all packing. Did I really need a 3G? May be not but so far it has served me well.Not everyone has access to the internet, particularly when out on holiday miles away from civilisation. My rucksack was light, I had some books on my Kindle but knew that if I felt like something different or try out a book or two, my 3G would come in handy and it did.

I think one or two on here are missing the point of the article. It is not whether or not one should buy a 3G or not but whether the 3G offers good value for money. Or is a non-3G better vaslue than a 3G …. Nothing about telling you how to spend money. As for sitting down and asking you “if you really need 3G” is really only a small extension of the Which? remit!

Personally, if I’d bought the non 3G item, I know there would be a time when I wished I had and at an extra 40-odd quid, I would have regreted it.

If you can afford it and if you would like it …. I’d have it!

Clearly, Ben Stevens isn’t such an avid reader as I am, and doesn’t do as much travelling. For me, the 3G was worth every penny. I’ve already read 49 books on my Kindle, which I bought 14 months ago. While I could, of course, plan my book buying in advance, I like the freedom the 3G Kindle gives me to buy a book whenever and wherever I want. But the main reason that I consider the 3G version a bargain is that I travel a lot on business. Wi-fi isn’t always available when travelling abroad, but I’ve been able to access the Kindle store using 3G in France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the USA. It’s so much more convenient to pull out my Kindle while waiting for a flight than to pay over the odds for a limited selection of books and magazines at an airport newsagent.

Love the Kindle, easy to get the hang of. Bought the 3G version and love having the paper delivered everyday no matter where we are. Free sample books to tease me into buying them, just perfect

If you never go abroad, never stay in a hotel, and never use a bus or a train the 3G version may be rubbish to most people. I’ve just been to China, and wi fi was difficult to impossible for my Ipad2 in many hotels and elsewhere including McDonalds! My Kindle picked up 3G everywhere from city centres, Shanghai was especially brilliant, to way out in the countryside travelling by coach. I could access my email and the internet virtually anywhere in the country and at no cost. In China you are taken, not quite frogmarched, to a variety of Government shops as part of the days entertainment to learn about silk duvets, embroidery and jade etc. In Beijing when we were told with ex-cathedra solemnity that it was impossible to buy a silk duvet in London I got a comparative quote from Amazon and John Lewis within seconds. China had far better 3G reception than London Heathrow! When I visit my 90 year old dad who is now past using computers I can remain on line. When I use my bus pass I can read something on the internet. If I’m in a shop I can compare prices. My son has had exactly the same experience visiting Israel and Turkey. The “experimental” browser is clunky, slow, and keeps freezing but most of the time it works. It won’t pick up my tesco.net email on webmail or using mail2web.com (Kindle 3 doesn’t open multiple windows) but if I forward my email to a hotmail address I have no problems then using hotmail other than the fiddly bit of logging into hotmail. After signing in to hotmail if you get a message about upgrading your browser click the link at the bottom next to “got a mobile device” for the best display. The general benefits of the Kindle are well documented. The keyboard is reasonable, I hope the key markings don’t rub off in time. When my son bought me the 3G version for Christmas I thought he was daft. Now I think he’s a genius.

My Kindle won’t connect with my router and Amazon’s experts (?) couldn’t help, nor could the manufacturer of the router. So I’m very glad it has 3G ~ which works a treat, even in Norfolk where my mobile struggles.