Best Kindle for Traveling?

Kindle books, or Kindle e-readers are a fantastic travel companion. If you're hoping to get the most out of your Kindle book while traveling, I suggest purchasing a Kindle Keyboard with Wi-fi and 3G. This was the Kindle model I chose to bring with me on a 3 month journey around the world. This was a great decision for travelling. This model is truly the best option for world traveling for several reasons.

After doing a ton of research, I decided to purchase and Kindle Keyboard with Wi-fi and 3G. Weighing it an 10 oz., I can load it up with hundreds of free classics and free library loans of popular titles. Travel the world culturing myself in classic literature? Heck yes! Sign me up, I thought.

But that's not all. After doing some careful research, I found out that this model, and no other Kindle book model, would allow me to access the internet from all over the globe. I'd been thinking about purchasing a small netbook, but since my Kindle book would be capable of checking email, looking up bus timetables in foreign cities, and even pulling up Google Maps, I might as well save a few hundred bucks to spend on dining out in exotic locales instead.

A few things you should know about the 3G on Kindle

When you use the 3G on your Kindle, you're essentially bumming a free data plan off of Amazon. Amazon isn't too crazy about people using data plans for free, which is why you can't have unlimited browsing on the newer 3G models (i.e. models that are not Kindle Keyboard with Wi-Fi and 3G). However, the unlimited browsing is still enabled on the older Kindle Keyboard with Wi-Fi and 3G. Hence why it's the best model to purchase if you want 3G internet access through your Kindle.

Other Kindle models with 3G will only allow you to browse the Kindle store, read on Wikipedia, and download Kindle books, but that's about it. Many of these Kindle models have wi-fi as well, so as long as you're in a wi-fi hotspot, you will have unlimited browsing, as the data won't be on Amazon's dime.

Is the Browser Any Good?

I'll be honest, it's not a terrific browser. Pages load slowly, and the javascript is a bit iffy. Nevertheless, it was invaluable for me when trying to find my way to a restaurant or tourist hotspot in a foreign city. I had to be patient, and the Kindle browser interface was finicky, but I was able to find maps, bus timetables, restaurant hours, hostel phone numbers, etc. The time spent waiting on the browser to load saved me from getting lost and made for some very enjoyable touring.

Good luck, and happy travels!