Should I get a G3 e-book? (1 Viewer)

There's not really a sub-forum where this thread should go, but this one seems closer than any other. It's a bit complicated but ......

My other half would like an e-book which I'm happy to get her (not least because she'll always have something to read when I'm birding!) As I understand it the latest e-readers also allow you to download emails, look at information on the net, etc. This would be a huge bonus when on holiday (usually in Spain). Some e-books are wi-fi enabled, but G3 versions allow you to download books and pick up emails wherever you might be. This service seems to be free in the country where you purchased the instrument, but is it so elsewhere? If not what are the charges for using a G3 enabled e-book for the services I want? (If on a par with G3 phones I'll soon be bankrupt!) Do G3 e-books still allow you to use wi-fi? If so it would make sense to buy one in Spain for that free connection and then use my home wi-fi link to download stuff in the UK. But would a G3 e-book purchased abroad come with the backlog of free English books?

I can only speak of the Kindle 3G but with that you can only do emails and browsing with the WiFi and then the browser is very basic. The 3G is only for downloading content from Amazon, this is free worldwide. You can email documents to the Kindle, each Kindle has its own email address, but you have to pre-approve the email addresses you want to send content from. If you download these emailed documents with WiFi it is free but if you use 3G Amazon will charge $0.99 per Mb.

Also bear in mind that one of the great plus points of the Kindle is battery life, they can go weeks of reading on one charge, but with WiFi and especially 3G on it will cut that down massively.

Kindles are great for reading books, that is what they have been optimised to do, but they are not really multi-function devices.

I use my Android smartphone for reading books downloaded from the Kindle bookstore. It's surprisingly easy to read and being smaller it is also very easy to hold. It also handles all my emails, links to Flickr, Birdforum etc. I can buy a 50Mb roaming allowance while I'm abroad within Europe and that lasts for up to 30 days and includes 3G connection.
I'd say it's worth trying the Kindle phone apps out before buying an eReader

... just as long as you don't use it for reading any books on birding ...

dantheman said:

... just as long as you don't use it for reading any books on birding ...

Click to expand...

I've both the Sibley and iBird Pro apps on my phone but nothing decent for Europe