Is Wifi a deal-breaker for you?

[cgk]

Is wifi a deal-breaker for your selection of a ereader?

I ask because I recently purchased a Kindle 3 for my other half - within ten minutes it was set up to access my Calibre library wherever she is and of course she can buy books off amazon as she likes. She's away today and forgot a PD book that she's using for a course, she got it off the content server in seconds.

I have a Sony PRS600 and thought after seeing the new generation screens that I'd get a PRS650 and use that. I was amazed to see it has no wifi connection - so instead I ordered myself a kindle as well.

Where do you stand on Wifi? Must have or don't care? Or are you a step beyond and 3G is a must?

[patrickt]

I had a 3G only and switched to a WiFi only.

[cgk]

Originally Posted by patrickt

I had a 3G only and switched to a WiFi only.

But would you go back to a device that had neither?

[feenix1363]

I keep a 'library' of fiction books on my ereader so don't have to be concerned about 'missing' a book that I need.

Combine this fact with the fact that I use a tower as a pc, not a laptop and it's understandable that I'd don't really see any need for WiFi as the data-exchange/charging lead is always ready for use.

[Asawi]

Absolutely not! I have no use, whatsoever for Wifi! I get my books in different stores and libraries and don't mind hooking up the reader to the computer. Things are so much easier to do on the computer (laptop at home or netbook when on the go).
And where would I find any wifi? 3G - possibly/probably, Wifi when not at home or workplace - forget it!

[rhadin]

After all the comments over the years on this forum regarding the "necessity" of WiFi and/or 3G, and in reviews that focused on the inclusion/absence of WiFi/3G as being the deal breaker, I opted to buy the Sony 950 that comes with WiFi/3G. I also own a Sony 505, which lacks the WiFi/3G, and used it for 3 years before giving it to my wife when I bought the 950 last October.

My experience has been that the WiFi/3G is vastly overrated as a "necessary" feature. I almost think it was and is classified as necessary simply because it exists and some devices had it whereas others didn't.

Since receiving my 950, I have used the wireless connection maybe 6 times. Of those uses, only 2 would be in the "required" category to my way of thinking -- the 2 times I was away from home and wanted to purchase that day's New York Times. Over the 3.5 years that I have had a dedicated ebook device, most of my purchases have been from Baen, Smashwords, and Fictionwise -- all places that required sideloading; having wireless made no difference whatsoever.

Also over that period of time, I have bought 107 ebooks directly from the Sony eBookstore, 13 of which I have bought since receiving my 950 with wireless capabilities. What I discovered was that having the wireless capability made it easier to add the books to my 950, but not so much easier that not having wireless capability in the future would be a deal breaker. During that same period when I bought the 13 ebooks that I could obtain wirelessly, I also bought 150+ ebooks from other sources for which the wireless was useless and sideloading required.

Like feenix163, I keep a library of ebooks on my 950 -- about 250 currently -- so I have plenty to read and not having wireless access is neither here nor there.

The only way I can currently see that wireless would be a deal breaker would be if the wireless allowed me to directly purchase and download ebooks from any ebookstore. But with access limited, I do not see wireless as a deal breaker or deal maker -- it just is or isn't.

[Sweetpea]

The Wifi on the K3 is never turned on...

So, it's not a dealbreaker. I'd probably buy a non-wifi version before a wifi-version, because the non-wifi version would be cheaper...

[Solicitous]

Pre K3 I would have said no, wifi isn't a spec that I look for in an ereader. Post K3 I would say yes. I don't surf the web, and while I have all my ebooks on my internal web server, I tend to just email them to myself if I need them. The fact that I don't need a PC to use the Kindle if I so chose because of the wifi is great.

[HarryT]

I find the 3G extremely useful on my Kindle for buying books - so very much easier than the horrible, horrible Sony eBook Library software. However, I also have a Sony PRS-350 with no WiFi or 3G, and use that extensively for reading ePub books. If it was my one and only reading device (but why would anyone only have one?), I'd certainly stick with the 3G Kindle.

[GreenMonkey]

I avoid DRM'd books like the plague for the most part.

Any that I do buy I strip the DRM immediately.

So everything gets sideloaded via Calibre. I don't use the 3G or Wi-fi at all on mine. Because I'm not buying full MSRP, DRM crippled books on it...that's about all it's good for. I mean, what else is it good for?

I'm sure my wife loves the wi-fi and 3G on her Kindle...but it's me she'll come begging for help when the DRM screws her over (and it always does, eventually) since she just buys and doesn't worry about the DRM.

I'll probably upgrade to a Sony 650 at some point...maybe when prices go down a lot further. For now the Nook does the job, but I couldn't care less about 3G or Wi-fi.

On my rooted NC, well, that needs wi-fi, but that functions as an Android tablet half of the time.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I'd probably buy a non-wifi version before a wifi-version, because the non-wifi version would be cheaper...

For a Kindle it would be likely to be more expensive without the wifi because Amazon would know that its target audience wasn't really interested in buying ebooks from Amazon. Like with games consoles or inkjet printers, the cost of the hardware is heavily subsidised against expected future software sales.

[speedlever]

I find wifi extremely useful for file transfer purposes. I send all my books via email/wifi except for the few that are too large to email.

Being aware that lithium polymer batteries have a finite number of charge cycles before battery life becomes affected, I much prefer to use wifi vs hooking up to the computer via USB and taking up a charge cycle, no matter how brief, just to sideload a book.

I have yet to shop for books with the K3 itself, but instead shop on my PC and either d/l from Amazon directly to the K3 or d/l to my PC and email via calibre if purchasing from other than Amazon.

So yeah, I consider lack of wifi to be a deal breaker.

[DiapDealer]

The wireless is the least used feature on my kindle, but I don't think I'd want to get rid of it entirely. I'm 3G-only currently, but whenever I replace this ereader, WiFi will be a requirement (but I still won't use it very often).

[covingtoncat73]

My Kobo is actually the WiFi Kobo and I don't use the WiFi. I tried it once. No keyboard does make it hard to search and it only does the Kobo store. I'm not complaining, understand. I got it for 1/2 off at a closing Borders store to which I also had a gift cert and it is a fine little device.

I am used to my iPod, anyway, which doesn't have WiFi and I had conceived of using the Kobo for books like I use the iPod for music. So, I buy from Kobo (or another eBook store) or get a free book from Gutenberg, or check out a library book, then hook the Kobo up to the computer and load. I really don't see the need for the WiFi and certainly see no need for 3G.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by HarryT

. . . If it was my one and only reading device (but why would anyone only have one?), . . .

Harry, why would anyone want more than one dedicated reading device? I only read on one device at a time and see no reason why I need spend hundreds of dollars to have multiple dedicated devices that all do the same thing.

I admit I'm a bit behind the times. I don't own an iPad, an iPhone, or an iPod. I don't own a portable MP3 player or a smart phone. I don't read for pleasure on my PC (it's a reading for work only device) and I don't use apps to let me read on anything anywhere anytime. Rather, I take my Sony 950 with me everywhere. Other than the desire to own more than one dedicated device, I don't see either the need to do so or the logic in doing so.

And I don't find the Sony software so very terrible. In fact, I find the shopping experience at Amazon to be atrocious, which is one of the reasons I avoid Amazon. I personally prefer shopping for books at Barnes & Noble; I like the online interface much better than the Amazon interface.