Wife been dropping hints about a Kindle Paperwhite so going to get her one for Christmas. Can’t decide between 3G and non 3G version , £60 in it and was wondering if anyone got any experience of both and if you think the extra is worth it. We do go away camping etc a fair bit so it would be useful but I guess as long as you download what you want before you go the 3G bit is not really needed?
Any advice be great 🙂

Not worth it.

1) With the prevalence of free wi-fi you should never be too far from a network. Also, if your phone/network supports tethering, then you can just use your phones 3G.

…..but

2) At any one time my Paperwhite has 10+ books I am yet to read on it, so can never see a situation where I will be desperate to download a new book, and 1) is not the case.

As a aside, it’s worth signing up for the Kindle Daily email, as sometimes the odd gem in there for cheap.

Not worth it for me either.
You can buy a lot of books and a nice case for £60.

Prepare to want one yourself though, they really are excellent.

+1 for not worth it.

My wife’s original Kindle had 3g – she never used it. So her new paperwhite hasn’t 3g. She anticipates no problems.

I have 3G on my Kindle and use it quite a bit especially when abroad.

If she wants to read newspapers or other periodicals it would be worth it.

I never saw any point in it, for me personally anyway. If you’ve got a device that can hold several thousand books and you find yourself out of reading material without a wifi connection nearby, that’s not a failing of the tech, it’s bloody bad planning.

Some people have cited getting newspapers abroad, which makes sense, but I don’t read the rags when I’m here let alone in foreign climes.

Stupid question, apart from backlight is there any benefit to Paperwhite over normal Kindle?

Stupid question, apart from backlight is there any benefit to Paperwhite over normal Kindle?

Paperwhite is touch screen with no buttons, but apart from that not really, but the Paperwhite is sooooooooooooooo *breathe* ooooooooooooooo worth the extra £40. Also, the Paperwhite has just been updated.

Oh, and it’s actually front lit.

Science : http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/travel/amazon-kindle6.htm

Re: tethering – at least my older pre-Paperweight Kindle does not work intethered networks, haven’t tried with newer ones.

I have the 3g version as (at least when I bought it) I used it out and about to receive papers, journals etc.

Mrs D has the non-3g version as she can always wait till a wi-fi spot is available.

Note – if / when I replace my kindle I will get the non-3g version as there are a lot more wi-fi spots available than when I last bought.

Cheers

Danny B

I have the bogo non-paperwhite non-3g version. It’s about the best thing i own.

As above, plenty of scope for wifi access makes 3G superfluous. Especially if you also own a smartphone (which is pretty much everyone nowerdays).

Some people have cited getting newspapers abroad, which makes sense, but I don’t read the rags when I’m here let alone in foreign climes.

That may actually be a reason for me to get one, I always buy papers abroad, but you normally pay 3-5 Euros for the previous day’s paper.

If I travelled a lot for business, I would go for the 3g version. The only time I have connected to wifi away from home, the hotel needed authentication through a web page, as lots of hotels do. The webpage just didn’t render properly on the kindle and it was a pain in the arse.

However for 99% of users, I think it will be an unused extra.

The worst ones are where the wifi sends authentication codes via SMS, but only to local mobiles, which means you have to persuade a member of the bar staff to let you borrow their mobile to get logged on etc..

Thanks all , non 3G it is.