Amazon Disables 3G Web Browsing For New 3G Kindle Touch

destinyland writes "Amazon's going to disable 3G web browsing on their upcoming 'Kindle Touch 3G' — even though it was a prominent feature of the last generation of Kindles. Amazon will still allow web browsing on the Kindle Touch 3G using a local Wi-Fi connection, but it's one of many unsettling details emerging from Amazon's announcement last week. Apparently Amazon's cloud will now also include a list of personal documents that you're mailing to your Kindle. And the on-screen keyboard for Amazon's bargain $79 Kindles won't be a touchscreen keyboard, so users will have to nudge the controller repeatedly to gradually navigate from one key to the next."

Re:Uhh...

[Anonymous Coward]

Because the Amazon Book Store is still available over 3G.

Re:Kindle touch* 3G**

[MrZilla]

The Kindle Touch still has touch. This article complains that the Kindle that does not include a touch screen, can not handle touch input.

Re:Oblig. XKCD

[Anonymous Coward]

Except that Wikipedia browsing is still allowed according to TFA.

Re:heh

[drolli]

Yes. sadly mine was stolen in 2004. i bought a z31 and was disappointed. Thing i liked about the m105:

*well readable under any lighting conditions
*long stand by time
*long battery life
*no charger, you could get batteries for it at the end of the world (and have a pack of spares in your pocket)
*back lighted display was extremely eye-friendly and could be used in complete darkness in the plane without disturbing your neighbors.
*built-in PIM was better and faster than anything i have seen for Android or Symbian
*Email could be read via modem/irda on mobile phones
*beaming vcards by irda was fast, much faster and more reliable to initiate than by bluetooth (between siemens, nokia, palm)
*the design of the protective cover was *brilliant*. when i had the m105 i did not need another watch
*it did not crash on built-in applications (unlike my android or my nokia e63)
*i miss the memo function to scribble with the stylus

So yes. they did squeeze every bit of user experience possible to achieve with a resistive touch screen of 160x200 pixels, 5 hardware buttons, 8MB of ram and 16MHz of processing power. Sad to see where their road took them.

Re:"Unsettling"

[N1AK]

It's the same hyperbolic bollocks that led them to call 3G browsing on the current Kindle "a prominent feature". I bought a 3G kindle in no small part because access to travel information and wikipedia anywhere abroad made the price worthwhile. I wouldn't have bought it if it didn't offer that functionality. However, it was never, NEVER, made out by Amazon to be a prominent feature. I doubt it was mentioned anywhere on the box and the whole fucking brower was a 'test/beta' feature and comparitiely hidden away.

In short. If you can't find something interesting enough to submit that it doesn't require hyperbole, don't submit it.

Re:No 3G and No Touchscreen Keyboard?

[somersault]

The 3G model [xkcd.com] will still be able to download books for free, internationally. It just won't have free international web browsing any more. I thought the free web browsing was an insanely good deal for anyone who needed it (I don't need it since my phone's data bill is paid by work). I'm not surprised they're taking that feature away, it must cost them a whole lot of money if a lot of users are generating roaming charges.

Anyway, I've ordered my mum one of the new low-end Kindles. I'd be happy to give her my keyboard version if she wants the keyboard, since I didn't even want a keyboard on mine in the first place. There is no need for it. Whether I'm using my actual Kindle, or the Kindle app on my tablet or phone, I never need to type anything. Most people with a Kindle will already have a much better device for general browsing to hand, and simply selecting the links (or browsing to words to see the dictionary definition - my favourite feature of Kindle by far) with the directional controller will work fine anyway.

It's not a fail, it's the basic part of the design

[sirwired]

If you want a touchscreen keyboard, they'll sell you a model with one for not a lot of additional money. Amazon's made it perfectly clear that there is no keyboard with their dirt-cheap $79 device. The device holds enough reading to last for years, so what do you need the keyboard for? This model is designed so you buy your books with a computer and then retrieve them on the device the next time you have a wi-fi connection. (Or, if you are the bestseller-reading type, you don't need a keyboard to buy books, the four-way controller will be just fine for scrolling down the list and hitting "buy".) If you don't like that, there are plenty of Kindle models to buy that will take care of you.

Re:heh

[joebok]

Kindle 1 was out long before nook (2007 vs 2009). The original Kindle has no wi-fi radio - it is 3G only. It is 100% clear that use of the web via the 3G connection was not only permitted, but actively encouraged.

Re:No 3G and No Touchscreen Keyboard?

[edremy]

Actually, I already have it and no, I don't regret it in the slightest. E-ink's come a long way- the updates are not sluggish, and I spend about 1% of the time with the device actually using a menu. If I want a touch device I have an iPad. I don't want another iPad- I want something to read books, and the lighter weight of the $79 model is worth the tradeoff.