Amazon Kindle to enable book lending

[randomlinh]

I use the 3G. I often buy books when I'm not at home - traveling, on the bus, on the tarmac of a runway waiting to take off. I've used the 3G for simple web browsing (like the email example I mentioned above) from time to time too.

If the price for the 3G add-on were high, or if you had to pay for the service, I would understand going with wifi - but for $50, its definitely worth the upgrade.

eh, I think it really depends on the person. I did not find it worth it at all. I figured web browsing on the kindle will suck terribly, and it does. Rarely will I not have enough to read. It's mostly used at home and on the metro. If I travel, it's mostly to friends and family, who all have wifi.

I felt it was better to put that $50 toward a couple of books and a case, heh.

 

[gorcorps]

eh, I think it really depends on the person. I did not find it worth it at all. I figured web browsing on the kindle will suck terribly, and it does. Rarely will I not have enough to read. It's mostly used at home and on the metro. If I travel, it's mostly to friends and family, who all have wifi.

I felt it was better to put that $50 toward a couple of books and a case, heh.

Agreed. I have a wifi only nook and have never once wished I got the 3G. There's enough internal storage to keep lots of books on, so I rarely need to download anything. If I do, it's rarely from the online store and usually just transfers from my PC via USB.

 

[Griffinhart]

I got my Kindle only a few weeks ago. I ended up getting the $139 WiFi version.

I thought about getting the 3G version, but I have a MiFi router (Virgin Mobile) that I use for my laptop, and I figured If I really needed to download stuff while I was away, I could just use that. So far, I just haven't found a need.

I'm looking forward to the loan a book thing. I have friends I know that would love this feature, though 2 weeks is a bit limiting. I think a Month would be a bit better.

 

[Bateluer]

I'm looking forward to the loan a book thing. I have friends I know that would love this feature, though 2 weeks is a bit limiting. I think a Month would be a bit better.

They don't want your friend to finish reading the book, they want your friend to read a little bit of the book, decide they like it, then buy their own copy.

 

[corkyg]

Looks like the swap has a work around. Your Kindle and your friend's kindle. Load 'em up, both read - then swap kindles. Then it's no different than swapping regular books.

And, no time limit that way.

 

[akugami]

I think some people disregarding a digital book lending feature is being shortsighted. We all have relatives or friends that may live a bit of a distance away. Something like this would be great for lending books to said friends and relatives. Just lend it to their account and they could be in Europe while you're in the USA and they'll be able to borrow it instantly.

Kindle is on different platforms which means a high level of portability and no need to coordinate what devices each user has. Just get your preferred device and you're set.

This is a feature that all users can say enhances the ebook product vs traditional print media. That's why publishers will screw this up and turn it from an awesome feature into an afterthought.