Why Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet are Only Wi-Fi | Jeff Kagan Tech Analyst

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Jeff Kagan

Tech Analyst

     

The Tablet marketplace is about to transform. Apple may lead with the iPad, but everything is about to change. Both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble are introducing their new tablet devices next week.

The news is both the Amazon.com Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook Table are only Wi-Fi, not 3G or 4G.

What? Why? Didn’t we think everything was moving from Wi-Fi to 3G?

The wireless carriers like Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, Sprint Nextel and others are very disappointed. Tablets would be a great new revenue stream. They know that watching movies and television and all of the other bandwidth sucking applications would be great for their revenue stream.

There are several reasons for no 3G/4G at this point.

Customers don’t want to sign up for another wireless plan and write another check every month.

Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com want people to spend money with them on content, not on the other guys wireless network for usage.

Customers have seen how these broadband heavy wireless devices can suck the life out of a network and cut into the enjoyment of the device. Think iPhone and AT&T over the last few years.

The good news is the vast majority of users don’t use the 3G/4G service. They do however all use Wi-Fi since it is around wherever they use the device including their home, office, coffee shop, airports, hotels and so on.

As 3G/4G matures and the plans are more affordable and networks more robust, perhaps then we will see these tablets move toward this.

3G or 4G will likely play a role in future devices, but much has to change before that occurs.

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These comments may be quoted in news stories.

Please attribute to Jeff Kagan, Tech Analyst with www.jeffKAGAN.com

If you would like to discuss, call me at 770-579-5810 or send an email to jeff@JeffKAGAN.com

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Jeff KAGAN| Tech Analyst w Atlanta based jeffKAGAN.com

Analyst sharing perspective on the changing industry for 25 years

~ Also Columnist, Author, Consultant, Speaker

~ Column http://www.ectnews.com/perl/section/jeff_kagan/

Phone 770-579-5810 Email jeff@jeffKAGAN.com Web www.jeffKAGAN.com

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