News - Kindle lands at The Carphone Warehouse

[HEXUS]

Reportedly comes free with some contracts.

Read more.

[miniyazz]

TBH I think I'd rather have a WiFi only version - at least that way I can turn off WiFi unless I specifically want to download something and not worry about amazon unexpectedly deleting something at any time of the day.

[burble]

TBH I think I'd rather have a WiFi only version - at least that way I can turn off WiFi unless I specifically want to download something and not worry about amazon unexpectedly deleting something at any time of the day.

You can turn the 3G off too.

[miniyazz]

You can turn the 3G off too.

So you end up paying per month for something that's turned off

I stand by my statement.

[Saracen]

So you end up paying per month for something that's turned off

I stand by my statement.

Unless I'm misreading it .... no.

The £15/month relates to a phone contract, and service. The 3G in the Kindle relates to the service to connect you to Amazon and there are NO monthly charges for that.

There's two Kindles in the current generation, with about £40 difference in price. The Wifi only one connects to your PC, and then to the internet and/or Amazon via Wifi, or via USB cable. The more expensive one adds 3G but it still only costs about £150, with zero monthly charges.

So as I understand it, buy a phone with a £15 monthly contract for 24 months and you get a free kindle, but the £15/month relates to phone service, not Kindle connectivity.

So, £15 * 24 = £360.

Is £360 a good deal for whatever phone that gets you, and whatever the £15/month contract gives in minutes etc, if you get a free £111 Kindle thrown in, or pay another £15 (one-off) for the 3G model, which would normally be £41 more than the basic model.

At least, that's how I read the offer. And I guess the answer depends on what phone you can get, what you get in that contract and what your monthly phone usage is. I'd guess it might be very appealing to some, if they happen to be wanting a Kindle, and the phone deal appeals. My problem is that the phone deal doesn't appeal to me, so I'd rather just buy the Kindle.


As for preferring the Wifi only version, that I entirely agree with. The 3G option doesn't appeal to me at all, even if it's just £41 more.

[Lucio]

It's definitely a tempting offer, particularly if you can get it via an upgrade path. For example, if you're happy with your current phone model and are coming up for renewal, then value added enhancements are definitely worth it.

Not to mention, the WiFi model could be tethered to any decent smartphone to use their 3G connection if ever necessary.

[scaryjim]

Not to mention, the WiFi model could be tethered to any decent smartphone to use their 3G connection if ever necessary.

But probably not the phone that they're offering on the £15 a month contract that gets you a free Kindle

[TheAnimus]

The 3G kindle requires no contract, its effectively free.

They have a deal with Vodafone I think, so it will work in 150 countries. This means you can download a book (plenty of which are free) anywhere in those 150 countries without the need and comparative ballache of WiFi. Normally the radio is kept switched off to keep the battery life at a month.

Myself I thought that paying £40 for the WiFi with lifetime free usage anywhere in the world I happen to be was a good deal, but thats because I'm frequently reading ad hock, away from home.

[Saracen]

....

Myself I thought that paying £40 for the WiFi with lifetime free usage anywhere in the world I happen to be was a good deal, but thats because I'm frequently reading ad hock, away from home.

I guess that proves offering both models was a good idea - the 3G will suit and appeal to some people, and not to others. Personally, at £150, I would buy one at all, regardless of features. Even at £111, it's borderline for me, since I set my limit at £100. But that's just me, and it's the same logic that says I won't pay the price (in £/GB) for SSDs at the moment. When (and if) they drop enough, I'll buy. But not until.