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AT&T to sell Kindle Touch 3G

Looking to buy a Kindle Touch this holiday season? Well, Amazon.com won't be the only place the new device will be available.

Starting next week, AT&T said it will sell the 3G version of the Kindle Touch e-reader, one of three new e-readers recently announced by Amazon. The Kindle Touch offers a new touch screen. AT&T will charge $149 for the device, the same price as Amazon.com.

This is the first time AT&T will be selling the Kindle e-reader in its retail stores. And it will give people an opportunity to … Read more

Sprint: 'We're taking the iPhone 4S speed issue seriously'

Sprint Nextel is working with Apple to figure out the connection issue affecting some iPhone 4S devices on its network, but doesn't yet have an answer for the problem.

"We're taking the reports of problems from a small number of customers seriously," Fared Adib, head of product development for Sprint, said in an interview with CNET today. "There's nothing of significance to report yet."

Some Sprint iPhone 4S users have reported suffering dramatically slow connection speeds--an issue that sprung up almost immediately after the device hit stores. The problem remains a top topic … Read more

iPhone 4S real-world data speeds: What Siri won't tell you

Cool as she is, the iPhone 4S' new personal assistant Siri hasn't been able to tell me in a meaningful way which iPhone 4S offers the fastest data speeds. In the end, I resorted to the usual do-it-yourself approach: a real-world test. And the results were interesting.

Prior to the testing, I expected some big differences between the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S (both GSM versions), since the iPhone 4S supports AT&T's faster HSDPA 14.4 network, which is capable of reaching an upload speed of 14.4Mbps and download speed of 5.8Mbps, theoretically twice the speeds of the iPhone 4.

This wasn't always the case, however, and sometimes it was quite the opposite. But first let's talk about how the testing was done.

How we test It's generally hard to figure out the way to get the best picture of how fast a mobile cellular Internet device's data rate is. The truth is that the speed of a cellular Internet connection varies a great deal from one location to another. It also depends on the server on which the app's data resides and sometimes even on the time of day.

For the testing, I used the Speedtest.net mobile app, which is the most popular app for the purpose. The app automatically connects to a nearby server to download and upload data. How busy the server is during the test affects the scores, but the app still offers a good representation of data speeds in a local area.

I gathered iPhone 4Ses from AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, and tested the three smartphones against an iPhone 4 at a few well-known places in San Francisco: CNET's lobby, Union Square, and the Fisherman's Wharf area of Pier 39. I picked the first location for an obvious reason: it's the lobby of the building where I work, which is near the Financial District. The others are two of the most popular spots in the city, with lots of people using their phones. Also, I tested three 4G hot spots from various carriers for a comparison.

Keep in mind that these tests only evaluate data speeds for these phones in San Francisco and are not designed to be representative of data speeds you'll find in your area. However, they at least should show how the data speeds compare between each carrier version of the iPhone 4S, as well as the difference between AT&T's iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4.… Read more

Sprint, Apple said to be cooking up iPhone 4S 3G speed fix

Sprint and Apple are said to be working on a possible software fix for slower-than-expected wireless networking speeds affecting some users of Apple's latest iPhone.

The issue has been the topic of a now 60-page support discussion thread on Sprint's site that began the day the phone was launched. There, users have been complaining of slow 3G speeds and posting photos of speed tests, including ones showing differing handsets to suggest the problem is limited to Apple's recently launched iPhone 4S hardware.

The Next Web today points to an alleged internal memo making the rounds to Sprint representatives saying that both Sprint and Apple are both aware of, and working on, a fix, suggesting the problem could be software-related. … Read more

Apple offers first-generation iPad at cut-rate prices

Currently, the iPhone 4S is selling at a rate of nearly 1,000 per minute, putting it on pace to quickly become the best-selling consumer electronic product of all time. That title is currently held by Apple's iPad; the company is now selling refurbished first-generation models at deep discounts.

If you've been eying an iPad, but don't want to drop the $600 or so to get one, head on over to Apple's online store and pick up a refurbished first-generation iPad at savings of $200 or more.

A refurbished iPad Wi-Fi 64GB can be had for $… Read more

AT&T confusing some iPhone 4S buyers about unlimited data

Editor's note: This story was updated at 12:33 PT with a correction. The error message preventing iPhone 4S buyers from keeping their unlimited data plans was limited to the company's mobile site. The story was also updated at 12:50 p.m. PT with a comment from AT&T and further clarification.

Are you one of the many iPhone-owning AT&T wireless users pre-ordering a new iPhone 4S today?

If so, you may want to hold off from ordering through AT&T's mobile Web site, for now anyway. Those looking to upgrade their existing iPhone 3G, 3GS, or 4 will notice that AT&T removes the option to grandfather in their existing Data Unlimited for iPhone plan when moving up to an iPhone 4S. Fortunately, everything seems to be fine when attempting the upgrade process in a non-mobile browser.

Even on the regular Web site, it seems the wording on the AT&T page is a bit confusing, according to GigaOM. Some users are getting tripped up over this statement they see while checking out: "Your new device requires a different Data Add-on Plan than you currently have. We selected a compatible Data Add-on Plan for you. If you want a different plan, you can change the Data Add-on Plan by selecting Change here or from within my AT&T after you receive and activate your new device."

An AT&T representative reached out to CNET regarding this story with this clarification: "We're working on making the online page more clear. We are not removing grandfathered unlimited data plans."… Read more

Pricier Kindle Fire orders outstrip other models

The Kindle Fire outsold the other three new Kindles combined despite the higher price for the Fire, according to a market research firm.

Kindle Fire sales hit an estimated 95,000 units in the first day of sales, according to eDataSource, a marketing research firm that tracks orders via e-mail confirmations of orders placed. The projected numbers are based solely on orders placed with Amazon's Web site, according to Carter Nicholas, CEO of eDataSource, which released the report on Friday. eDataSource tracks 800,000 inboxes, according to Nicholas.

The Kindle Fire launched last week at $199 and was made available for preorder immediately on the Amazon Web site. Shipments will start in November.

Along with the Fire, Amazon announced three other new Kindles, with prices of $79 for the new Kindle, $99 for the new Kindle Touch, and $149 for the Kindle Touch 3G. But those models combined still did not outsell the Fire, according to eDataSource, which estimates that sales of the other new Kindle units totaled approximately 25,000 units during the same period.

Alas, the Fire and the other Kindles can't hold a candle to sales of the original iPad. Apple reported that 300,000 were sold on the first date of sales in April 2010. … Read more

Kindle Touch won't browse Web over 3G

Over the weekend, Amazon broke a bit of bad news to prospective buyers of the upcoming Kindle Touch 3G, which starts at $149: you won't be able to the surf the Web using the "experimental" browser over 3G (outside of Wikipedia). Web surfing is a Wi-Fi-only affair on the device.

Amazon, as it sometimes does, delivered the news on its Kindle message board after someone read the fine print on the Kindle Touch 3G product page and noticed the small disclaimer, "Browsing available only in Wi-Fi mode."

Here's the official statement from the Amazon Kindle Team:

We apologize for the confusion. Our new Kindle Touch 3G enables you to connect to the Kindle Store, download books and periodicals, and access Wikipedia--all over 3G or Wi-Fi. Experimental Web browsing (outside of Wikipedia) on Kindle Touch 3G is only available over Wi-Fi.

Amazon's new Kindle Fire

Kindle Fire could disrupt iPad's tablet dominance, Facebook cookies track users after logging off, the Facebook iPad app could be announced next week, and Sprint will be rolling out its own 4G LTE wireless network.

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Amazon Kindle Touch 3G vs. Kindle Touch vs. Kindle (2011)

(Updated November 17, 2011) In addition to the Kindle Fire tablet, Amazon has a new lineup of three e-ink readers for 2011 to update the Kindle released in 2010.

The devices' lower price points represent an aggressive push by Amazon to boost its lead in the e-book space as competitors like Barnes & Noble's Nook, currently $99 for the latest touch-screen version and a CNET Editors' Choice, pose a growing threat.

All three new non-Fire Kindles offer the same 6-inch e-ink Perl screen found on the previous-generation Kindle. According to our hands-on review of the $79 Kindle: "In other words, the text on the screen looks exactly like it did on the previous model, which is to say: it looks good, but don't expect any improvements in contrast or sharpness."

The biggest difference between old and new is that all three 2011 e-ink Kindles ditch the physical keyboard (although the company is calling the older, still-available versions "Kindle Keyboard"). They all also have built-in Wi-Fi to download books and deploy other Internet-dependent functions when in range of a hot spot.

Amazon also addressed one glaring shortcoming compared with other e-readers when it enabled the ability to download and read e-books for free through participating local libraries and public schools. Unlike the Nook or Sony Reader, the Kindle still does not support the EPUB format, but nonetheless more than 11,000 public libraries now allow Kindle borrowing via industry leader Overdrive. You can search the site to see whether your local library or school is onboard.… Read more