# Kindle 3 browser - Outlook Web Access?



## ice-9 (Dec 7, 2010)

Hello, new to the forum. I'm about to purchase a K3, and in deciding between the WiFi only and WiFi + 3G versions, I'm assessing potential use of the browser outside of my home WiFi network.

I expect to do most of my reading and browsing at home and my book-buying via the WiFi, but as someone without a smartphone, I thought the extra $50 for 3G might be worth it depending on what the browser can do. I know enough not to hope for too much, but thought portable access to a few key things on the internet might be nice.

1. The most important thing that I might want a portable internet device for is checking my work e-mail, which can be done via Outlook Web Access. Can the Kindle 3 browser handle OWA? I noticed somebody asked the same question in August, but at the time nobody had a K3 to test on, so they couldn't answer. Anybody able to try this now?

2. Can gmail/hotmail/yahoo users access the Calendar feature of their free webmail via Kindle 3 browser?

3. This one's probably a long shot, but would be really cool if it works. Can gmail users access Google Docs (word processing, spreadsheet) via the Kindle 3 browser?

Thanks in advance for input on any of the above!


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

As web browsers, I don't recommend any of the kindles.  I have a 3G K2 and a Wi-Fi K3.  As readers, they are GREAT, but I wouldn't have bought them with the browsers as a reason.


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## ice-9 (Dec 7, 2010)

Thanks mlewis78!  To be clear, I am buying the Kindle for reading, but am considering the browser as a potential reason for the $50 upgrade to 3G.

I've read a lot of K2 users post that they were impressed with the improvements to the K3 browser.  I'm most interested about the Outlook Web Access, whether or not I can check my work e-mail on the Kindle.  If not, I'll probably save the $50 and get the WiFi only.

Anybody with firsthand experience trying OWA on the K3?


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## AmberLi (Sep 15, 2010)

Yes, you can go to Outlook Web Access.  At least I can with webmail.companyname.com
Not sure if yours is set up the same way.

When I typed calendar.google.com, it keeps taking me back to my inbox, even though on the computer it brings me to the calendar only. So I can't get that to work.

I can't click on my Google docs from Gmail because it says "Web browser could not open this link because opening multiple windows is not supported.

I don't know if there's a way to get directly there, though, I've never tried that even on a real computer.  I don't think you would be able to edit anything anyway, because it probably doesn't even have a way to display something like excel, much less edit it.


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## ice-9 (Dec 7, 2010)

Thanks AmberLi!


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## jmandoman (Oct 24, 2010)

People are getting too excited over the browser in the Kindle. The marketing hype is just that. Until you actually use it you don't understand that it's a very crude, slow, and limited browser. At home you'll use it once to see how it performs but you won't use it again at home because you have a PC of some kind which will have significantly more web capability and is much faster. I scout out books on the PC and either buy them there and have them sent via 3G/WiFi to my Kindle (the Amazon site) or download to my PC and later move them to the Kindle via usb cable. Also, I don't buy magazine subscriptions or download individual magazine issues from Amazon or other pay sites, I use Calibre to pull them for free and move them to the Kindle via usb cable. 

Traveling, I rarely use the browser to check my mail or do any browsing. I can access my gmail account.  However, viewing attachments doesn't work unless it's a jpg or pdf file (the Kindle doesn't have software that understands how to open/view a Word document, spreadsheet, etc). I don't have OWA so I don't know if it's possible. If you have a smartphone, you have a better and faster browser than what's on the Kindle. My phone (4 yr old Blackberry) is much quicker and better for getting to my email accounts or anything else on the internet. 

The only reason you need 3G or WiFi is to buy/download books, magazines, etc when you are away from your PC.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I used the browser once or twice when I first got it, just because.  Haven't since.

I have heard folks who have used the Kindle Browser in a pinch. . .usually to access a web based email service like Gmail. . .also to access this forum.  If you're willing to be patient and don't need to do anything too intense it'll work fine. BUT. . . .almost any other connected device is going to provide you a better experience.

Don't buy it for the browser:  buy it 'cause it's a great reader -- the browser is a thin layer of icing on the cake.


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## ApK (Feb 4, 2011)

jmandoman said:


> The only reason you need 3G or WiFi is to buy/download books, magazines, etc when you are away from your PC.


Maybe the only reason YOU need it, but you sure don't speak for everyone.

I think the $50 up charge to be able to check email, get movie times, or look up a topic I'm reading about, is an AWESOME feature.

I have no need to spend up $35 per month on a smartphone data plan, as I can do everything on the Kindle, on road trips, on the train, where ever.

Oh...and those Word attachments in your email? Forward them to your @kindle.com address....


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## ice-9 (Dec 7, 2010)

ApK said:


> Maybe the only reason YOU need it, but you sure don't speak for everyone.
> 
> I think the $50 up charge to be able to check email, get movie times, or look up a topic I'm reading about, is an AWESOME feature.
> 
> ...


This was exactly my thinking when I started this topic. And yes, I ended up getting the 3G + WiFi.

But I do sorta regret it. I haven't used the 3G much. The few times I'm tempted to look up something while I'm out, I'm usually close to WiFi - such as at a McDonalds or Starbucks. And, as I stated in another thread, there's this experience:



ice-9 said:


> I have WiFi at the house, and the power went out for two days during the recent snowstorms. "Hey, I still have internet access on my Kindle!" I thought excitedly as I shivered under a blanket on the couch. Earlier, I had tried surfing several sites with WiFi and it was OK - all of my e-mail accounts, facebook, various news sites. For some reason on 3G when the power was out, all I could access was one local news site. Facebook, gmail, etc all timed out before I could log in to them.
> 
> Fifty extra bucks and at least a week longer battery life sure sounds like a better deal now.


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## ApK (Feb 4, 2011)

ice-9 said:


> This was exactly my thinking when I started this topic. And yes, I ended up getting the 3G + WiFi.
> 
> But I do sorta regret it. I haven't used the 3G much. The few times I'm tempted to look up something while I'm out, I'm usually close to WiFi - such as at a McDonalds or Starbucks. And, as I stated in another thread, there's this experience:
> 
> ...


That is odd. Wifi is certainly faster, and can probably let you use sites that 3G can't, but I got hooked on the 3G with our K2, which doesn't have wifi, and we use Gmail's mobile view on it everyday, plus stuff like the web site of our local movie theater and of course Wikipedia and Google, and have rarely had any connection issues.
Do you know if 3G performance is generally good in your house for other devices like smartphones?

I sure hope you find value in your three 3G, but if not, consider this:
1. The $50 is equivalent to what you might have paid on some devices for just TRYING a 3g data plan for two or three months, assuming you had not contract requirements, just to see if you had use for it.
2. The 3G version should command higher resale value when you're ready for your next wifi-only reader.

As for battery life, we've taken to keeping wireless off on both our Kindles until we need it, whether in a wifi area or not. Battery last longer that way for sure.

By the way, did you ever get OWA working on the Kindle?
ApK


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## ice-9 (Dec 7, 2010)

ApK said:


> By the way, did you ever get OWA working on the Kindle?


It works, but it is very quirky. When I first log in, I can see everything, so I scan quickly to see if there are any e-mails I want to read. Then the screen flashes, and then the entire list of e-mails goes black. Then I must use the controller to hover over each name out of the blackness, and as I do it appears again.

Thanks for the items of value to take note of about the 3G; these are good points. I'm not terribly upset about getting the 3G, but I wouldn't advise anyone in the position I was in to get it.


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