3G Kindle on the ship

[BoardwalkBabe]

Hello,

 

Has anyone taken their 3G Kindle on the ship and had access to Amazon? It says it works internationally so I am wondering if you still need to buy an internet package through the ship or not.

 

Thanks!

[gometros]

Hello,

 

Has anyone taken their 3G Kindle on the ship and had access to Amazon? It says it works internationally so I am wondering if you still need to buy an internet package through the ship or not.

 

Thanks!

 

Question, why don't you download whatever you want to read before departing, this was you won't need to pay the exorbitant internet charges on board?

[DisneyKidsDad]

Hello,

 

Has anyone taken their 3G Kindle on the ship and had access to Amazon? It says it works internationally so I am wondering if you still need to buy an internet package through the ship or not.

 

Thanks!

 

If the 3G Kindle is like the 3G Nook, then you would have to be in range of cell towers for whatever carrier the kindle uses. The Nook happens to be ATT. So I don't think it will work out in the middle of the ocean. But it may work in some ports.

[Carolla5501]

I took mine and just out of curiosity turned on the "wireless" just to see. Didn't connect. (I had downloaded in advance :) )

[BoardwalkBabe]

Thank you! I am trying to decide between the Wi-Fi and 3G versions, hence my question about access.

[DisneyKidsDad]

Thank you! I am trying to decide between the Wi-Fi and 3G versions, hence my question about access.

 

I just bought one for myself and one for my daughter. I went for the 3G version of the Nook. This way I don't have to worry about finding a WI-FI hot spot to make a purchase, even at home. I can connect anywhere there is a ATT cell phone signal. I figured that was worth the extra $50.

[gometros]

Thank you! I am trying to decide between the Wi-Fi and 3G versions, hence my question about access.

 

I bought the WiFi version for exactly that reason. I figured that there would be only rare occasions where I would want a book right away. In most cases, especially when I'm going on vacation, I would pre-download more than enough books to read. I figured 3G access wasn't enough justification to pay $50 more.

[BoardwalkBabe]

Thanks, everyone!

[DisneyKidsDad]

Let us know what you decide and how the cruise went.

[jrsegrl]

I just ordered my 3g kindle and am cruising in January on another line. So we'll see what kind of access there is. Was curious to see if the 3g will work in some ports - not to download books but so I can email/go online if I need to .... It uses AT&T so I'm assuming it will work anywhere my phone works. Not sure about extra charges though. I think St. Thomas is free but not sure about other ports.

[hmp2z]

If the 3G Kindle is anything like the 3G Nook, the 3G (not wireless) only works for downloading books. It does NOT work for the browser, just for book purchases. The browser runs off of the wireless network, not the 3G network, which is how it was explained to me by the BN people, and I've found this to be so. I can purchase books when I'm out and about town (without having access to wireless network, only to the 3G network), but my browser doesn't work on the Nook.

Cheers!

Heather

[Carolla5501]

I just ordered my 3g kindle and am cruising in January on another line. So we'll see what kind of access there is. Was curious to see if the 3g will work in some ports - not to download books but so I can email/go online if I need to .... It uses AT&T so I'm assuming it will work anywhere my phone works. Not sure about extra charges though. I think St. Thomas is free but not sure about other ports.

 

 

IMHO the Kindle is NOT a good "go online" tool VERY lmited web browsing. That's just not what it's good for SORRY!

[jrsegrl]

I'll find out in a few weeks what works and report back. The ereaders are great though, aren't they. Brought my sony ereader with me on our last 2 Disney cruises - so much better than the bag a books I used to bring.

[jrsegrl]

Boardwalk - I checked about the 3g kindle and supposedly the browser does work with the 3G (Nook's doesn't). I checked the coverage map - florida is definitely no problem, and Puerto Rico. The other islands have some coverage but it isn't the faster 3g but still covered. Found good reports about people using it with gmail and using the browser to find local info, etc. Perfect for my needs. The other thing - I was assuming that 3g access would be no charge only in the same places my ATT phone would be....not sure about that though. It seems to be no extra charge whereever you can get it. Don't expect there to be any coverage at sea.

 

My kindle is arriving Monday so if there is anything you want to know just ask. I have the kindle for pc and have been buying books for the last few months. Found it interesting that once I ordered the kindle, amazon automatically tied it to my books. They are already on my reader or will go on as soon as I get it.

 

Enjoy your cruise - I have 3 Dream cruises booked but they aren't until fall so will be looking forward to reports from all you early Dream cruisers.

[bnickle]

IMHO the Kindle is NOT a good "go online" tool VERY lmited web browsing. That's just not what it's good for SORRY!

 

 

Gotta agree with you there. I have a nook, and actually using it to browse is useless. It sounds like a good selling point, but the reality is that it's just not a truly efficient function.

[Mist_ynight]

I just got my Kindle 3G today and the web browser does work on the 3G setting. I don't even have mine connected to wi-fi. The browser works for hotmail and facebook if you use the mobile site of both. If I can get 3G in the ports it will work for me to stay in touch without paying for he ships Internet. It will be interesting to see if it works.

[FunCruiser56]

LOVE my Kindle!! Got it for christmas last year and it is the best gift I ever got..

Mine is WI-FI and 3G and if I were to buy another one sometime I would get the same again.

When we went to WDW last month I was able to check my mail and do some internet searches with the 3G, no free WIFI at WDW :confused: Not the best tool for the internet but will do in a pinch

As for a cruise I would have the books I wanted downloaded before hand, at sea it is probably not going to be easy to access anything on your e-reader.

 

Visit the kindle form/blogs on Amazon where you will find lots of great information.

Bev

[so_oregon]

I used my 3g kindle while on PR cruise without paying ship's internet. Now, it only worked a couple times but since it uses Sprint's network, had to be within range for sprint for it to work. I managed a couple emails through gmail and yahoo, but not much else.....so Kindle rocks!!!

[jean95404]

Having a 3G now, if I were to replace it, I would opt for the wifi model. Have greatly enjoyed the Kindle.

[jrsegrl]

Just returned from an Eastern Carib. cruise. I have the new Kindle 3g + wifi. My books were already loaded but I think what you want to know is about internet access while onboard. Didn't try to use it at sea because would not expect any access without using the ships internet. The wifi didn't pick up any access points in ports while on the ship but I did notice some places offered free wifi areas offship that might work with kindle. The 3g however did work. This was an NCL 10 day cruise with different ports than DCL - but here goes. New York 3g yes wifi no (assuming Pt. Canaveral will be the same), Puerto Rico 3g but did notice free wifi area off ship which might work with kindle or ipod touch, St Thomas - oops forgot to check, Antiqua/Tortola and St.Maarten all yes on 3g. St. Maarten did have a few food places that offered free wifi though.

 

Kindle 3g uses AT&T's network. If you check the coverage map on ATT's site you can see what is available on each island. You should get something in Nassau but not sure about Castaway Cay. To find out about that, just ask if anyone has used an ATT cellphone on CC. If that works - Kindle should get something. PR has 3g coverage but most of the other islands have a slower access. I used gmail and it worked on both. Reliable on the 3g but the slower access sometimes took a few refreshes. So if you just want to email home or look up simple things - kindle 3g works...if you want to hangout on the internet or post photos, etc you'll need the ships internet. Hope this helps someone.

[jrsegrl]

also... As soon as I used it outside the US a download appeared in my books list about global rates. (If it can do this it can probably download books too) It said experimental (which browser is) is no charge. No charges appeared on my account for the emails using gmail through the browser.

[Mist_ynight]

Thanks for the info jrsegrl, I'm glad to hear it worked for you. I'm not going to any of those ports so hopefully it will work for me as well.

[Brandis]

I have the old (first) version of the Kindle 2 which only has GSM. Used it last year on Royal Caribbean during a repo cruise from Barcelona to Dubai and I had coverage even in the middle of the Mediterranean and could also use the web browser to download mails. It was deadly slow though. But still better than pay $.75 in the onboard internet cafe.

[Bristol Pirates]

Did your Kindle 3g work on board? Which cruise line did you go on?

[Host Mick]

Because it's a Kindle thread, it's not really off-topic.

Someone noticed that the price of the base model Kindle has been decreasing in a linear fashion since it was introduced. It will cross the $0.00 line in November 2011. Is it possible that the revenue from the books will cover the Kindle hardware price?

Remind me to revisit this in December.