3 ms·

Only a matter of time before devices come with 5G data connections...

• mikro2nd 6y ago
  ...which would require a valid SIM. So just don't add one. If the device comes with a pre-inserted/hardwired/virtual SIM, well... several countries in the world require KYC-style registration of the SIM owner before networks are allowed to activate the SIM, so there'd still be an opt-out path for the user in such countries. eta: My point being: Now you're in a twisty little maze full of corner cases, all different. Not the sort of thing much loved by Amazon (or any of the GRAFT).
  • gvjddbnvdrbv 6y ago
    Does this work with Teslas?
  • falcolas 6y ago
    FWIW, the original kindle used a cellular connection to do position syncing and book downloading. No user-provided SIM needed.
  • PeterStuer 6y ago
    Not in the IoT world. The 'owner' of the Sim, the company that sells the device, would have a deal with one or more network providers to allow access, and take care of facilitating data retention and identification regulation.
• falcolas 6y ago
  AKA, the original whispersync. Yup, this was once a thing - you didn't need wifi for sync or downloading books at all.
  • iso1631 6y ago
    Kindles at one point apparently came with free cellular access https://xkcd.com/548/ https://xkcd.com/548/
    • sct202 6y ago
      I had a kindle keyboard and it had 3g. It worked in a bunch of countries--slowly though. I remember reading blogs where people were taking the sim cards out and tethering using them.
    • int_19h 6y ago
      They still do - it's an option on more expensive devices (Paperwhite and Oasis).
• vhold 6y ago
  To save money they could come with LoRA radios and sync when the opportunity arrises to a LoRA gateway, including meshing with each other to aggregate data to increase the likeliness of encountering a gateway. LoRA modules are pretty cheap. https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/ https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/