Besides reading, how has a Kindle helped you travel in Europe?

I have the newer version of the 3G Kindle. You can, and I have, downloaded the Sat. edition of the Wall St. Journal (I already pay extra (to the WSJ) for the electronic version. Downloading it in Europe incurs an extra fee levied by Amazon (therefore the once a week thing). I keep my wireless connection generally turned off while in Europe except while actually reading so the device knows the last page read etc. Jotting down the last page read on a post-it note would be a lot less expensive than a new Kindle don't you think! I just load up my Kindle before leaving home (downloaded all the works of Mark Twain for free). My husband no longer takes his iPad. You're always having to worry about losing it and it's bulky (relatively speaking). He just takes his old Kindle as well. As for e-mail most hotels B&B's etc. have a terminal you can use, generally for free in order to check e-mail. You're on vacation, in Europe, how connected do you really have to be, seriously. I have an elderly mother so my cell phone works internationally for that "just in case" excitement.

I also have the newer Kindle but won't be taking it to Europe. I'm already taking my netbook for all the advantages that offers and I can also read anything I've got on my Kindle on the netbook by using Kindle for PC. I figure it will be one less device to carry with me. And yes, you can send email and access the Internet on the latest Kindle, but I find it quite painful to do. I might break down and take my iPod so I can listen to podcasts in museums, although I'm rather disenchanted with my 32GB iPod, for various reasons. Was that TMI?

Apparently the keyboard Kindle with both wifi and 3G will work in Europe and other countries for email and web browsing. It is still considered "experimental" but I've read that it works fine and is free. It will use wifi if available but if not will pick up the 3G signal. I bought one for my daughter who is going for a semester abroad so that when she is traveling on weekends she will have a way to communicate other than a phone. The Kindle has some great travel guides as well with excellent maps so it's not necessary to bring a heavy book everywhere.

I haven't tried email on the Kindle, but web browsing is completely useless. The pages load very slowly, and the screen is completely unreadable, because the text is so small. I suspect it will always be considered "experimental";)

I haven't used it yet, but I plan to email documents to my new Kindle (the $79 version, just wifi) for storage purposes - maps, some notes for sites to see, etc. There are instructions on Amazon how to do this (you have to set it up to have the email function work). I have most trip info in my iPhone, but this will allow me to read some of it in a bigger font. I'll also put some books on the Kindle before I leave, but don't plan to sync it on the road. I'll use a wifi connection for the iPhone to email, search the web, access offline maps, and other handy travel gadgets.

I also have the older Kindle, which I took to Europe last spring for two weeks. Just pre-loaded any material I thought I might need (couple of Rick Steve's books, Michelin guides, etc.) Didn't worry about getting web access. In fact, we decided not to worry with cell phones, laptops, anything. It could be a generational thing ( I was 58 at the time) and I consider myself fairly "current' on technology. But decided I wanted to concentrate on sightseeing, and not having my nose in the tech. We were able to stay in touch with family back home by popping in to the occasional internet cafe, which are everywhere over there (even if the keyboards are sometimes foreign, you can still figure it out enough to say "hi,.") Guess it boils down to how dependent a person is on the tech side of life.

Has anyone taken a Kindle Fire to Europe yet? If so, were you able to use it to watch movies on the plane? ..........Were you able to download movies to the Fire while in Europe? ............. And is there any way a person who's a bit of a luddite would be able to accidentally rack up huge charges on it like those horror stories we hear about people who get stuck with $5000 cell phone bills when they get home? I'm about to buy one but would like to know the answers to those questions first. Thanks for the help.

KG, Other than the Kindle Fire, Kindles are not good for web-browsing or email. I'm surprised your 3G Kindle won't download (books I assume) in Europe - I've had no problem, but maybe that's because the one I had was a newer model. Obviously, you can preload your Kindle with books before you go and read to your hearts content, since just reading books on a Kindle does not require either 3G or wi-fi connection. Cynthia, The Kindle Fire is not a phone, it is an e-reader. It does not connect to service in the way a cell phone does, and therefore cannot rack up those international roaming charges you fear. It can only connect to the outside world via wi-fi internet (and you can turn that feature on or off), and downloading books to it, streaming movies to it, and emailing to/from it has no charge (other than the cost of the book or movie itself, of course). In order to stream movies or download books to your Kindle Fire, you need a wi-fi connection. Can you stream movies while on a plane? Yes IF the plane has wi-fi service and if you are willing to pay to log on to that service. Can you download books in Europe? Yes IF you have a wi-fi connection. If you're unsure, the best thing to do is to purchase/download books and/or movies to your Kindle Fire before you leave on your trip and enjoy them while you're away.

OK tekkies, here's a question. I have a Kindle, the $139 one (or thereabouts). If I buy an I-pad can I transfer the Kindle books that I already paid for (but haven't read) to my I-pad?

I think this is still on-subject. The electronic devices are most helpful if they can lighten my packing load and take up less space than books. Uses that I value: an alarm clock (IPod), audio guides (IPod), all sorts of reading including travel guides (Kindle). Other electronic needs: phone, camera. I have a Mobal phone for this year and haven't decided about carrying a camera. I may just use a disposable as in the past. One of the advantages of having many functions in one device is that you need only one charging setup. Also, there is less weight to carry around and traveling is simpler in terms of keeping track of everything. Ideally, one small device would do everything. IPhone?

I don't use the Kindle for any "web features" I do like the fact that I can have LOTS of tour books and notes loaded. So before I leave a museum I do a quick scan to make sure I didn't miss anything I wanted to see. As for moving Kindle books to your IPAd. Download the Kindle reader from the Apps store. You then "login" to your account. (I am pretty sure it just prompts you do to this, it's been a while however) Then the books on your Kindle show as "archived" Just tap to download them to the Ipad. That said since my Ipad weighs a HECK of a lot more then my Kindle and costs a lot more it doesn't tour with me. It stays safely locked up in the hotel room :)

My wife and I both have the Kindle Fire and we loaded it up with movies for the plane. AWESOME!! We also took a small two-plug adapter with us, and the charging cables, so we could recharge at the airport layovers. We're now in Italy, and loving having the Kindle Fire. I used the wifi in France, on the hotel's network, and it was great. I find the Kindle Fire just fine for e-mails, if you're not writing a long missive. I just LOVE have the Kindle Fire for the Rick Steves' books. I have France, Italy and Florence/Tuscany. The Florence/Tuscany was a bit of waste, to be honest, as it seems to just duplicate the Italy book. Being able to highlight, search, UNhighlight and such is awesome. I needed a place to stay in Florence, so I highlighted a bunch of places in the book and e-mailed them. As they responded I unhighlighted the ones that would not work for us. Now I just have what I need highlighted. GREAT!! Also, I'll be going on to Hungary. I plan on buying that RS before I go. But with the Kindle I can wait until before I go until I order it. Nothing extra to carry around before hand, and nothing extra to carry around once I do order it, with it being digital. Go for the Fire!!