AT&T will soon offer the Amazon Kindle 3G at its stores March 6 and the move shows how the carrier will position itself in a world where it no longer has exclusivity to devices like the Apple iPhone.
The Amazon Kindle 3G will land in store in about a week for $189 and the advantages over the iPad and other tablets is that the e-reader is easier to read in direct sunlight, the battery life can last for weeks on a single charge and the selection of books from Amazon is actually quite good. Thanks to the ubiquity of Kindle apps, you can also bring your e-books with you to most devices.
“We’re excited to work with AT&T to offer Kindle 3G to AT&T customers across the country,” said Mike McKenna, Vice President, Amazon Kindle, in a prepared statement. “Customers tell us they love Kindle 3G because of its light weight, battery life of up to one month, and advanced paper e-ink display that works in direct sunlight. Customers love being able to think of a book and be reading it in less than 60 seconds thanks to AT&T’s wireless network.”
AT&T offering the Amazon Kindle 3G shows how the company can also make money in a world without always having to have halo devices like the iPhone. I’ve spoken with the embedded devices team before and these people tell me that the market for this could be huge. Of course, things that come to mind are the iPad, tablets and e-readers but the carrier is aiming for even more devices.
Just think about how useful your car would be if it had a persistent mobile data connection in it. Sure, it would probably be expensive but you’d be able to not only stream content via your radio but also have your car’s computer send diagnostic information to your mechanic or home computer. Now, also think about how power meters, dog collars, medicinal containers and more could benefit from a data connection.
[Via AT&T]