Huh, since thats the exact same map that shows up on amazon's site when you check whispernet coverage I'd say amazon did notify him of this when he bought it

[www.showmycoverage.com]

RE: "Hey Stupid! Keep This in Mind Before You Buy a Amazon Kindle"

When you're calling anyone stupid, it's best to use proper English. That would be "an Amazon".

TANDE: You're right. As soon as I saw the Kindle's whispernet used sprint I checked around to see coverage. Doesn't everybody check that? Well, I guess geeks do.

blows goats...thats funny

"Sprint's network blows goats" hahaha so true.

Well I guess Sprint users don't have as much of a problem, because Sprint allows generous data roaming on partner networks. But sounds like the Kindle is confined to their native network, which don't look so good from that map above. Sheesh, how could they be losing money when they aren't spending much on new towers?

They just need to get bought out, and quick!

uh oh. Hawaii isn't even on that map.

Why is the coverage in Western Kansas so good? The terrain is almost identical in Eastern Colorado and Southern Nebraska. That's really interesting.

I just recently drove through that area and my GSM phone switched between a handful of regional carriers fairly often.

@honozooloo:

Just check the Sprint website. Oahu has good coverage, the other islands are iffy.

Alaska is just SOL.

@rollinghills: Why is it so good in Western Kansas? Maybe because Sprint has had their headquarters in KC, Kansas for years and years.

You can always sync by USB, but you should be able to get about a $200 discount for that, since that's my off the cuff estimate of the amount going to Sprint (in addition to a likely per book).

I'm guessing Amazon won't be shipping many to Wyoming. I live in a county of 250,000 and Sprint has no EV-DO here at all.

Guess I should clarify I don't live in Wyoming. My Engrish is broked tonight.

@rollinghills:

Sprint started out as an independent local phone provider in Kansas. When they got into cell phones, their first customers were their long-time landline customers.

Keep in mind that the Kindle will also work on Sprint's 1xRTT network, which is much more wide-spread. It's not as fast, but it's usable.

@nocar:
LMAO
So true!

I was curious why Idaho got that smiley face across it, so I overlaid it on a US map. Turns out you're well-covered if you need a new book while driving I-84.

Odd that it cuts off so immediately at the state line. State subsidies?

Wow, Sprint pretty much hates Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas.

I guess we Alaskans will have to continue dipping our raven quills into crude oil, writing on tanned beaver and caribou hides and distributing them by dog team instead of hoping to download a book.

Oh well, at least we'll be able to get the iPhone in our state soon, once AT&T moves in next week.

@Windhawk:

...as do T-mobile, Cingular, Verizon and all the other majors. Rural=regional carrier. This is a good thing, national carriers SUCK when it comes to rural coverage.

@TVGenius: No worries, all the folks in those whitespace areas wouldn't be ordering one anyway. They'd just be watching Springer re-runs.

But seriously - Sprint has the vast majority of the US population covered. For the rest... paying half or less than Sony's eConnect will still be an advantage.

Remember this is only the Sprint high-speed data network that the map is showing coverage of. If it doesn't have EV-DO coverage then the area is not on the map.

It is odd that the actual data shows the fewest dropped calls on Sprint but that is now how the market sees it. I guess the curse of Sprint Customer Service and their above the "fray" marketing is not what American customers are ready for in a wireless carrier.

Sprint's network blows goats in most of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area too.

It's cool. Actually, no one can read in the white areas anyway.

SHANIAC: It is odd that the actual data shows the fewest dropped calls on Sprint

I think a dropped call is when you make a call and it cuts out.

However, if you don't have a strong enough signal to make a call in the first place. Boom, no call to drop.

/When I moved here 6 years ago, I didn't have a signal with sprint in my condo. Despite living ~1 mile from a major college. I dropped sprint, switched to verizon and never looked back.

In San Diego CA

Verizon, t-mobile, AT&T, leap and even cricket all get a signal in my condo.

@rollinghills: Maybe it's because Sprint is headquartered in Kansas City.

Thanks for all the ideas. I'm not sure I buy them. I know sprint has headquarters in KC, I used to live there. If that's the reason why does coverage stop just outside of KC but cover almost the entirety of Western KS? If it's because the original Sprint customers became cell customers, well OK. But if you've driven through the area towns are separated a dozen to a hundred miles, and the population density is very very low. I could understand Sprint providing coverage to towns in the region, but why is there coverage for all that open land. If you haven't been there, it's OPEN LAND.

Is it some technical reason, can their towers cover huge distances of flat lands?

@Hitchcock: no it's not in KCKS it's in Overland Park and that is eastern kansas so the western Kansas Signal is probably due to terrain

I think I'm screwed. AS USUAL.
Only CDMA works in my area, no GSM, EVDO, or any of that stuff. I still can't get DSL.

"you wouldn't expect your phone company to do that right?"

I wouldn't expect my phone company to tell me that they don't have coverage in my area??

Heck yeah, I would! That would be the first thing I would want to know. And if they failed to tell me that, the phone would go right back to them [and I would be expecting a full refund]!

@ideaman2020: Oh, wait. Did you mean the phone manufacturer..?

I'd call that a false analogy, since the Kindle is essentially a webservice lookup device, that would make Amazon the service provider [ie, phone company], right?

If you had your hopes set on getting a Kindle this holiday season, I hate to break it to you but you may be outta luck. Not only because they are sold out till after Christmas, but because you may not get wireless connectivity where you live, making your Kindle virtually useless.

No Kindle in Nevada desert testing grounds!?! WTF! Hulk ANGRY! Not GOOD to make Hulk angry!

Looks like good coverage in most Texas cities and along 35 and 10... too bad I don't care about the Kindle, but my parents might... methinks a good Christmas present it may make, will have to research...

As Amazon has now admited and posted on thier Kindle site, There is absoltuely No Coverage in Montana, as well as in other areas, yet their map (shown here in this article) still shows coverage (the green areas) in all of the major Montana cities. There may be many other areas arround the country where there is also no coverage, even if the Sprint/Amazon map shows green coverage. I would suggest that no one purchase a Kindle until the lack of wireless coverage issue is fully dealt with. There are some complex technical issues at play here and the provided maps are, obviously, not correct.