Kindle Fire. Data plan or WiFi? I'm confused. (3G, play, connect)
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In the Amazon device realm, there are Kindle E-Readers and there are Fire tablets.
The Kindles use an electronic ink screen, which renders in black only. Unlike a full color lcd display, e-ink displays only use energy when the page is initially displayed; because of this, the battery life on a Kindle can run for several days. The top of the line Kindle Oasis is the only one that offers "free cellular connectivity". There were Kindles in the past that used a free 3G network for purchases, downloads, and synching, but 3G dies/died this year in the US, and these Kindle now are WiFi only. The "free cellular connectivity" appears to be the same concept, but uses a free 4G network. Again, this is only for purchases, downloads, and synching - you're not going to be watching movies on a Kindle.
The Fires use an LCD display, providing a full tablet experience (within the Amazon commercial space) and allowing the user to view movies, surf the web, and purchase, download and use apps from the Amazon store. Because LCD displays use more power, the battery life on a Fire is significantly less than a Kindle, maybe 12 hours or less. Fires in the past used to offer a 4G LTE option, but the current offerings appear to all be WiFi only.
If you really want your Amazon Fire (or any tablet with WiFi connectivity) to have cellular connectivity, the general advice is to use the HotSpot feature on your smart phone, and connect your Fire to your smart phone's HotSpot. Then there's no need for an additional cellular plan from ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. Just be aware that you may need to increase the data caps on your cellular plan if you find yourself constantly using your smart phone Hot Spot for your tablet.
And he clearly stated it's a Fire tablet. What's with the wall o text?!?!
Rony just read ... uh... Reed's link.
Rony (or RDub) used the exact phrase 'Kindle Fire' in both the title and body of his OP.
Reed refers to a Kindle in his response. And Reed's link is to tablets in general and to a discussion of WiFi vs 4G LTE tablets, not to any Amazon Fire tablet, none of which currently have cellular connectivity.
For the tldr crowd, just tether your tablet to your smart phone's HotSpot.
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Yes, I do get long-winded. My advice is to avoid my posts in the History forum.
If you have a cellphone then just buy wireless devices and hotspot your phone when you aren't at home.
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