Up to this point, Whispernet gets relatively little traffic per-device (initial book download being the biggest bandwidth use). While there is the experimental browser in the Kindle, it had limited functionality and is fairly well hidden. With the introduction of Video on Demand and full web browsing in the Fire, I'm sure Amazon's 3G provider is hesitant to allow lifetime access to their network for a one time fee of $50.
Does anyone have much experience with the browser? I've been thinking about buying a kindle 3 3G, with one of the major motivations being the free worldwide web access. I know it is limited and slow, but it would at least allow for email access / chatting / google voice.
It's an alright browser that will do in a pinch. It's fine for google mail, hacker news and simple sites like that. What's great is that you don't need to recharge it every night with moderate use, so it's great while travelling.
It's free worldwide whispernet access, not web access. Web access doesn't work in Greece, for example (it can access Wikipedia, though, which is very useful too).
Chatting and Google Voice don't work well because those are relatively real-time activities, and the Kindle can't handle those well. E-mail, however, will work just fine.
I have a Kindle 2 with cellular access. I used it for GMail communication while bicycling down the Pacific Coast last year. Rendering glitches aside, it's tolerable for reading email, though writing takes a ridiculously long time due to screen redraws. Also, it absolutely sucks battery life down if you do much writing. I can't imagine using it for chatting, and I don't know how GVoice could be used at all.
Unless the Kindle 3 is radically different, I can't see how it would be a significantly different experience.
I was just thinking of using GVoice for sending/receiving SMS messages. The Kindle 3 has a webkit browser that is supposedly better than previous versions:
I use it from time to time. It's ok when you need to read something on the go, but it's not pleasant to use, and it renders like crap, often incorrectly. It's ok for reading HN.
