Kindle update

Apparently, the Kindle is another device we can pass on when we live in Montana. I was looking at some more of the Kindle reviews on the Amazon.com website. Steve Gibson had asked Security Now listeners to locate his review. After we read it, if we thought it was helpful, we could help raise its ranking by indicating so, and thus make it more accessible to people looking for genuine reviews rather than opinion pieces. In so doing, I ran across a review by a woman in Missoula who said she liked her Kindle even though the Whispernet wireless connectivity was not available in Montana.

Not available in Montana?! This was certainly different information from the coverage map I looked at when the Kindle first came out. Sure enough, if you check the coverage map today, you'll see that Montana is just one big blank spot on the map. And there's the following:
Note: There is no wireless coverage available currently on Sprint’s data network for Kindle in Montana and Alaska.

I called the Kindle help desk this morning to verify the information and find out why the coverage maps had changed. He said the initial map showed coverage based on roaming (access via other networks). The coverage map changed when Amazon decided it would not be paying for roaming charges. That makes sense. But I think it also makes sense for us in non-covered areas to be able to reconsider whether or not we want to pay full price for a device when we won't have full access to the services. I think I would have felt cheated had I purchased a Kindle only to learn that I had to download titles and periodicals via my computer and then transfer them by USB connection.

We sure do get opportunities to save money in Montana - we don't have to waste our money on iPhones that don't have coverage in our state. Nor do we have to spend top dollar for Kindles without wireless connectivity. Perhaps by the time these devices work in our state, the prices will have come down and they'll have worked out the bugs!

Think positively, fellow gadget geeks!