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I'm considering getting a Kindle, but am still doubting as to whether the 3G model is worth the extra expense. As I'm also considering getting an iPhone later: on the off chance that I'd ever want to buy a book without a WiFi hotspot nearby, wouldn't it be possible to share an iPhone's 3G connection with the Kindle through WiFi and hence buy a book and read it on the WiFi-only Kindle?

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Just saying, but the Kindle has free lifetime 3G. Your iPhone does not. – daviesgeek Jan 19 '12 at 21:37
"Free lifetime 3G for downloading books." Check the fine print, however. The Kindle 3 (or "Kindle Keyboard") and earlier has 3G which can be used for web browsing. The Kindle 4s which have 3G can only use it for downloading books from the Kindle store. Is the ability to download books if you are away from Wifi worth the price difference? If yes, get it. If not, save your money. Personally, I keep my entire Kindle library on my Kindle anyway, so the need for 3G would only be if I needed a new book while away from Wifi. – TJ Luoma Jan 19 '12 at 22:44

6 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

You have to jailbreak the iPhone and install an expensive program called MyWi 4.0 (check spelling) from Cydia. This allows the iPhone to host a wifi network that a Kindle can connect to.

Ask if you need more details, I'm on my iPhone now so don't want to type much :)

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Pitty to hear it can't be done with the iPhone out-of-the-box. The name of the app is enough of a hint to figure it out ;) Though can you confirm that it works in combination with the Kindle? I don't see a reason for it not be able to connect to an iPhone-hosted WiFi "hot spot", but well, I also didn't think it would require a jailbroken iPhone :s – Rinzwind Dec 31 '10 at 1:20
I can confirm it works, and have done so below, but was voted down for some reason. – mankoff Dec 31 '10 at 4:01
Yeah it should work. The best part is it will also tether to a laptop and/or an iPad too, so you get the best of both worlds without having to pay ridiculous fees to your carrier! – SeniorShizzle Dec 31 '10 at 10:56
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There is one other way to do it. You have to enable tethering from your carrier (AT&T if in US, which I'm guessing) and then tether the iPhone to the mac using USB or Bluetooth. Unfortunately, WiFi tethering to Mac isn't supported OTB. Then you basically set up Internet sharing over AirPort, and create your own wifi network from your Mac that shares the iPhone tethering plan. It takes a lot of set up and is VERY finicky but it can work, although because a computer-to-computer WiFi network is unusually set up, a Kindle might not cooperate well. I can help if you want do to this. – SeniorShizzle Dec 31 '10 at 11:01
up vote 2 down vote

For information about the full article “iOS 4.3 lets iPhone 4 host wifi over 3G” http://devicegadget.com/apple/ios-4-3-lets-iphone-4-host-wifi-3g/1320/ Thx.. ;)

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1  
Can you add a short clip of the article to your answer so that we can figure out you're answer based on just this post? Thanks. – Nathan Greenstein♦ Apr 24 '11 at 15:38
up vote 1 down vote

Tethering isn't allowed for the iPhone or iPad (at least not without jailbreaking it, I believe). At the same time, I have a wifi-only iPad, and I have yet to find myself in a situation where I was 1.) in a public wifi-less area and 2.) I just had to have a book for the Kindle app at that very moment. The chances are more "off" than "on", realistically, and a little planning gets obviates the scenario you describe. I feel the 3G is a bit of a boondoggle, at least for me.

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Thanks for the answer. I did a search on the Apple site to see whether you are right about tethering being disallowed on the iPhone, and seems that is not always the case. Tethering is allowed on the iPhone depending on the carrier: support.apple.com/kb/HT3574 That still leaves me with the question of whether the Kindle can make use of the iPhone's tethered connection though. – Rinzwind Dec 30 '10 at 15:06
Just noticed the Apple support document I referred to above only mentions tethering via USB or Bluetooth, not WiFi. This non-Apple article does mention that tethering via WiFi is possible too (without requiring a jailbroken iPhone): brighthub.com/mobile/iphone/articles/78105.aspx – Rinzwind Dec 30 '10 at 15:14
up vote 1 down vote

My mom has a kindle wifi only and when tethering wifi on iPhone 4 kindle says it doesn't allow connecting to tethered connections

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up vote 1 down vote

I have an iPhone 3G with MyWi 5 on it. I can confirm that other devices such as my laptop (Sony VAIO FWIW) connects well over the WiFi hotspot of the iPhone and can access the internet but that the Kindle WiFi 6" device I also have will not connect. It seems to detect that this is a 3G wifi device rather than a WiFi network and gives me an error message saying I am not allowed to connect to devices of this type.

I dont know if the iPhone 4 or iPhone 4s will enable you to connect (as they have built in WiFi hotspots in the operating system) but an iPhone 3G with MyWi 5 definitely wont. Not sure if Android devices will allow you to or not.

Hope that helps folks

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up vote 0 down vote

  1. You can create a mobile hotspot with an iPhone (if you pay your carrier for the privilege and your carrier supports it)

  2. A Kindle Fire (which is WiFi only) can connect to a mobile hotspot created by an iPhone to connect to the Internet.

Given 1 and 2, I assume a "regular" Kindle can do the same.

ps - The mobile hotspot prices are insane, and both AT&T and Verizon have done nothing but raise prices as time goes on. But it's possible to do, and if you only need it for a short while you can cancel it when you are done. I would not spend the money on a 3G Kindle unless you wanted to get a Kindle 3 (aka "Kindle Keyboard") where the 3G can be used for more than just downloading books. The new Kindle 4s which have 3G do not let you web browse using 3G, only WiFi. (And if you have an iPhone, there's no way you would ever want to use the horrible Kindle browser anyway.)

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