Archive for the ‘microphone’ tag
The Curious Case of the Kindle 3 Microphone; Wi-Fi Only vs Wi-Fi + 3G no comments
Ever since the revelation that the Kindle 3 ereader has a built-in microphone there has been speculation as to what it might mean. One bandied-about theory has been that the Kindle 3 might turn into a mobile phone.
The microphone is described on page 29 of the Kindle 3 User Guide as being “not currently enabled but is provided for future use.”
To my mind there is no way the Kindle 3 will work as a substitute for a dedicated cell phone. Not many people will be trading in their cell phones to get cellular service on their ebook reader. Not only are ereaders much less portable than mobile phones due to their size, they are much less durable. The feature set is also much different.
The microphone is on the bottom edge – not the ideal position if it was intended for telephony, but it could work. And if God had intended the Kindle 3 to be used as a phone surely he would have included a numerical keypad.
The only way I see the Kindle 3 being used as a cell phone is if Google Voice or maybe Skype could be integrated to use the Wi-Fi connection. Using Wi-Fi would mean that Amazon would not be paying for your call time. Being able to use Google Voice on the Kindle 3 might be an interesting feature – you could temporarily transfer your calls to your Kindle if you wanted to go read on the patio and did not want to carry your phone with you. . . . OK, I’m reaching here.
There are much more plausible uses for the microphone:
- Voice recording and note taking: This is a very obvious and useful application of the microphone – especially if voice notes could be linked to annotations and bookmarks.
- Voice controlled menus and navigation: This would be big for those with vision impairments. The NFB has already commended Amazon for the improved accessibility of the Kindle 3. Being able to make menu choices and navigate by using voice only would be a killer accessibility feature.
- Future apps: The microphone gives app developers a bit more hardware to play with. We might see the microphone put to some interesting uses when the Kindle App Store launches.
We shall see.
Wi-Fi Only vs Wi-Fi + 3G
With both the Barnes & Noble NOOK and the Kindle 3 ereaders we now get to choose between Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi + 3G connectivity. At first glance the Wi-Fi + 3G makes more sense – 3G will cost you $50 more initially to buy the hardware, but after that the 3G connection is free and adds convenience when you are out and about or if you don’t have a Wi-Fi network at home.
In some cases the Wi-Fi only option may be enough for you:
- If you will primarily use your ereader at home and you have a Wi-Fi network there, or, if you have ready access to a Wi-Fi network when you are on the road.
- If you have one of the newer mobile phones that can generate a Wi-Fi hotspot and you are already paying for this feature for your other devices.
- If either of the above apply and you don’t get a good AT&T signal anyway. Believe it or not, there are actually people that don’t get a good AT&T signal
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In general I try to get as many features as I can afford when buying a new device. I’d rather have features that I don’t use than find out later on that I’m missing a needed feature that was on a slightly higher priced model that I did not spring for. However, in the case of ereaders, 3G may not be needed by some users who have easy access to Wi-Fi connections.
