Thanks very much for all your feedback, folks.

Judging from your experience, I've come to the conclusion that I was trying for too much. What made the Kindle 3G potentially interesting was the free web facility, though the web display was already disappointing when I tried it.

I guess I'll have to lug my laptop around after all. AFAIK (which may not be very much), alternatives require $$$ when roaming internationally. I use data SIMs when in one place for more than a few days - e.g. Switzerland @ 5 CHF a day 'unlimited' - but was hoping for a 1-2 days solution without laptop.

And of course the free 3G service at Kindle is described as temporary. If too many people used it, Amazon would probably be looking for an additional revenue stream.