Amazon Kindle Fire

Bomo

Bomo

Gawd
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Mar 9, 2010
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So the Amazon Fire has been confirmed. At the size, 7", it almost seems more like a gadget than a mobile device, but it's packing some heat. $199 for IPS and dual core seems pretty legit.

I'm thinking I may get one once it gets rooted (also giving me time to see if B&N update the NC as the holidays get closer).

Engadget's article on it can be found here.

The new Amazon line-up definitely seems reactionary to B&N's current devices. All screen, no keyboard on their base device. Color Android tablet being introduced. The prices are really nice though.

Any one thinking of picking one up?
 
If I didn't already have a kindle and transformer I probably would. Those prices are hard to beat.
 
Solid price. I had been following it for a while now and I always thought I'd pick it up if it was $200 or less, but I'm up in the air as it really ended up without a SD card slot. My phone may only be 3.7" but it can hold an awful lot more video with a 32GB Micro SD. Use on long airplane rides with no internet is important to me.
 
I went ahead and got on the pre-order list. Not sure if I'll keep it, cancel it or sell it. Probably depend on the demand in a month, lol.
 
I per-ordered one too (with an est delivery date of 11/20 wtf?). If I'm not happy with it my girl will probably take it and use the crap out of it.
 
Mine is pre-ordered as well. For $200 it can't be beat. Plus Amazon is great.
 
MrMike said:
Solid price. I had been following it for a while now and I always thought I'd pick it up if it was $200 or less, but I'm up in the air as it really ended up without a SD card slot. My phone may only be 3.7" but it can hold an awful lot more video with a 32GB Micro SD. Use on long airplane rides with no internet is important to me.
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I didn't realize that it was lacking an SD slot. Definitely a bit of a mood changer for me. I think Amazon's official model makes heavy use of syncing and cloud storage. So if you plan on using it the way Amazon intends, not having an SD slot shouldn't be much of a problem.

That said, I prefer to have my data stored on the machine I'm using it on. There are times I'm not around internet access for long chunks of time, being able to have more than just a few movies would be nice. I also don't plan on using it the way Amazon really intends, but I guess it's not valid to complain that it may be more difficult to use a product in ways other than what was intended.
 
Yeah, neat looking device but to get to the $200 the hardware is as focused on the basics as it gets but I'd say it's stiffest competition that iPad has gotten to date just from the price point and it'll probably rival the iPad in sales this season if it's reasonably good. It was even mentioned on ABC World News, so it's a game changer, probably the biggest one to date since the iPad and then next year Windows 8. The iPad is going to do well still but its days as clearly the best option are just about over.
 
Jaerb4 said:
512 ram, I'll pass.
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The iPad 2 also has 512MB of RAM. I don't think that's a necessarily a problem or deficiency that will impact usage.

What I'd like to know if USB devices such as card readers, USB thumbdrives, keyboards, etc can be mounted. Is the micro USB port powered?

I have one on order and will cancel if the USB support won't handle card readers (for Compact Flash/SD).
 
mybsetsmyshrts said:
decent price, glad I did not buy the kindle.
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Of course the screen isn't e-ink, so for the majority of users it's not the ideal device to use for reading books. For now most of us wil need an e-ink reader and in addition a tablet/laptop/netbook.
 
Knew that Kindle was finally going to go to touchscreen with their new series but Fire looks better than I expected. It's small enough that I can easily slip into a jacket pocket, too. Been waiting a long time for an ereader device, though... at 199 for a color touchscreen Kindle, the price is right! I'll check it out again when preorders become available on the canadian amazon site.
 
heatlesssun said:
Yeah, neat looking device but to get to the $200 the hardware is as focused on the basics as it gets but I'd say it's stiffest competition that iPad has gotten to date just from the price point and it'll probably rival the iPad in sales this season if it's reasonably good. It was even mentioned on ABC World News, so it's a game changer, probably the biggest one to date since the iPad and then next year Windows 8. The iPad is going to do well still but its days as clearly the best option are just about over.
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I was watching/reading Engadgets live blog of the event, and from the pictures I saw even the announcement screamed "I'm Jeff Bezos, and I want to be Steve Jobs." And all the power to him. It's a functional model and Bezos is probably the one to introduce a decent iPad competitor. I just think he looks REALLY crazy.

I do think it's hard to say that it's days of being the best option are just about over. It's not out yet. I'm definitely waiting for the reviews now that I know I'm locked at 8gb of on device storage.
 
I'm usually not a single-feature-guy, the lack of an SD card slot makes it kinda eh for me. Hopefully the Nook Color 2 will be similar but also retain that functionality.
 
Bomo said:
I do think it's hard to say that it's days of being the best option are just about over. It's not out yet. I'm definitely waiting for the reviews now that I know I'm locked at 8gb of on device storage.
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I said CLEARLY the best option. It was simply an inevitability that Apple was going to face more and better competition. The biggest problem Apple is going to face is the $500 price point for it's base model iPad. Sure the iPad is a better device but it is 250% more expensive. For a lot of media tablet folks that just want to consume media the Kindle tablet will be just fine, why would they need to spend another $300 on a device that will be obsolete in a years time?

And on the higher end Windows 8 is on the way. Big questions remain there obviously but my guess is that by this time next year there all be a metric ton of Windows 8 tablets at the $500 price point. Still far too early but the iPad is going to get tremendous price pressure in the next year. We'll see what the iPad 3 holds in store but something tells me that there will be iPad 3 models under $500 unless the iPad 3 is some sort of amazing piece of hardware.
 
Falling Anvil said:
I'm usually not a single-feature-guy, the lack of an SD card slot makes it kinda eh for me. Hopefully the Nook Color 2 will be similar but also retain that functionality.
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My biggest fear with the Nook Color 2 (if there is one, still haven't seen any news/rumors on this) is that it'll be much more locked down than the first. I have no idea how big the rooting crowd was in terms of overall NC sales, but my guess would be that it's a pretty large chunk. Hopefully B&N keeps it pretty open. Right now my main tablet/e-reader book store is the nook store simply because I like the nook color so much I want to support B&N.

The complete lack of buttons on the Fire is another turn off for me. I don't want to have to use menus to change the volume. Especially on a tablet that seems to be very media centered. Having a hard button is SO useful. There's a reason it's on just about every device with an audio port.
 
Bomo said:
The complete lack of buttons on the Fire is another turn off for me. I don't want to have to use menus to change the volume. Especially on a tablet that seems to be very media centered. Having a hard button is SO useful. There's a reason it's on just about every device with an audio port.
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It's pretty obvious that Amazon is cutting just about every corner it can to hit that $200 price point and turn a little profit. This is a cloud connected media consumption device plain and simple and will probably be great in that role. People looking for anything else except hobbyists looking to tinker will probably need to look elsewhere.
 
Bomo said:
The complete lack of buttons on the Fire is another turn off for me. I don't want to have to use menus to change the volume. Especially on a tablet that seems to be very media centered. Having a hard button is SO useful. There's a reason it's on just about every device with an audio port.
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Yea I really wasn't impressed with that. I like the page buttons on my kindle 2. I'd rather not leave finger prints on the device when I can help it.

Anyway overall I'm not impressed with the fire. I see it the same as I see the nook color. It is a book reader second. The eink screen is going to work in bright sunlight and in other situations the lcd screen will not or not as well. Also I like my battery life on my kindle.

I am really hoping they come out with a color eink screen next round. Also I'd hope they bring back some buttons(and move the power button back to the top).
 
swatbat said:
Yea I really wasn't impressed with that. I like the page buttons on my kindle 2. I'd rather not leave finger prints on the device when I can help it.

Anyway overall I'm not impressed with the fire. I see it the same as I see the nook color. It is a book reader second. The eink screen is going to work in bright sunlight and in other situations the lcd screen will not or not as well. Also I like my battery life on my kindle.

I am really hoping they come out with a color eink screen next round. Also I'd hope they bring back some buttons(and move the power button back to the top).
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I think the big difference here is that the Nook Color is marketed as a an E-reader first, tablet second (which it isn't) while the Fire is marketed as a media consumption device. From what I've read, the Fire is all about Amazon's app store and media streaming, not it's book store (which will also be available).

Overall pretty smart on Amazon's part.
 
Amazon came out packing the heat with this (no pun intended). It needs a SD slot though, with a SD slot and decent play back I would be willing to go $250 on this.

For $200 you can't beat this ... honestly thats a hell of a price point.
 
With the Kindle Fire, the stage 2 cycle is now complete.

1. Apple with iPad/iOS $499 10" IPS Screen
2. Amazon with Kindle Fire $199 7" IPS Screen
3. B&N with Nook Color $249 7" IPS Screen

The basic segment is now partially locked.
For any mass consumer media consumption oriented tablets, it appears now it is down to fundamental.

4. Between $199 and $499.
5. Archos 80 G9 (some suggest Archos has most complete Media Codec support) $300
6. Toshiba Thrive 10 (Japanese, no short-change, all expansion ports provided, use as you like, miniUSB/Full-USB/Full-SD/Full-HDMI) $380-400 (8GB or 16GB)
# Toshiba demonstrates it can be done per expansion ports. The rest is up to interpretation.

Above is per mass consumer oriented tablet. The situation is similar as the original PC scenario.
1. With only the original x86 scenario, it takes grand effort to progress.
2. After ARM/iOS and ARM/Android dual paths, Apple and Google are resource rich for sustained outlook.
3. With Apple, Amazon/B&N dual paths, full-scale-ecosystem-integrated. Apple/Amazon are resource rich for sustained outlook. (B&N sold several millions units as well I think so sustain effort is there)

Consumers have chance to use better screen, or any other comparable/superior screen technology now or down the road. Good for your eye-sight. Sometimes eye-glasses are more expensive than these tablets. Protect your eye-sight.
 
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Without any doubt the price point is what the Fire is all about. It simply needs to be decent to sell like hot cakes and I think it will sell better than the iPad this holiday season as long as Amazon has enough to sell.
 
The Fire does 90% of what most people need from a tablet at < 1/2 the price of an iPad, has a better ecosystem (for media) and will likely have much more free content and apps (like free app of the day). Good for Amazon, this thing will rock. In a year (or sooner) they'll have a 10" version, add usb/sd ports etc and drop the price even further.

Most people won't care if this gets rooted or has CM7 ported. Tablets are for content consumption and email/browsing. Steve Jobs and his 'iPad is the post-pc era and replaces your desktop' is nonsense.
 
MrCrispy said:
The Fire does 90% of what most people need from a tablet at < 1/2 the price of an iPad, has a better ecosystem (for media) and will likely have much more free content and apps (like free app of the day). Good for Amazon, this thing will rock. In a year (or sooner) they'll have a 10" version, add usb/sd ports etc and drop the price even further.
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While I don't disagree with most of your points, I find it hard to believe that Amazon will make a 10", with extra ports AND drop the price.

As far as free apps and free apps of the day, if you own an iOS device, I highly recommend Appshopper. It tracks all changes in App prices, and there are a lot of paid apps that drop to free for a day or two all the time. I have only ever paid full price for one app (Machinarium). Also considering that the Amazon app store will be their primary mode of profit on this device (a device which is already being sold very cheaply), I wouldn't expect much change in way of the Amazon App Market (which I just loaded onto my GS II, today).

I'm curious about the ecosystem comment. Admittedly, I know very little about Amazon's Prime service on the digital side. Is it just the pay to stream anything vs. buying individual shows and tracks that you're reffering to? Or is there more content on the Amazon side that isn't on the Apple side?

Further on your post pc comment, I'm not sure if you realize this but the Kindle Fire is a PC-less device. It does not require a computer to use. At all. I'm not saying that PC's are dead/dying or otherwise. But I just don't really see what you bringing that up has to do with this product.
 
Bomo said:
Further on your post pc comment, I'm not sure if you realize this but the Kindle Fire is a PC-less device. It does not require a computer to use. At all. I'm not saying that PC's are dead/dying or otherwise. But I just don't really see what you bringing that up has to do with this product.
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I think his point was that a tablet doesn't replace a PC, it is an accessory device and a $200 tablet without all the bells and whistles is fine because many if not most people will still have a PC for the heavy lifting when needed. Heck at $200 a person could buy the Fire and a low end laptop for the same price as the cheapest iPad. For a lot of people in tough times that's pretty compelling.
 
heatlesssun said:
I think his point was that a tablet doesn't replace a PC, it is an accessory device and a $200 tablet without all the bells and whistles is fine because many if not most people will still have a PC for the heavy lifting when needed. Heck at $200 a person could buy the Fire and a low end laptop for the same price as the cheapest iPad. For a lot of people in tough times that's pretty compelling.
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Ohh, I get it. I thought it was just supposed to be some random unintelligible shot at the iPad. Totally agree with your point though. This is a much more economical scenario. And I do agree PC's are still necessary in general.
 
Well I'm excited about it, and went ahead and pre-ordered one. Great size, can use Amazon movie service, which I can't on my Ipad, price is amazing, interested on their take on Android, since it seems they arent running a Google branded version but there own... http://thisismynext.com/2011/09/28/editorial-amazon-android-google/
All in all a great device. I can't go wrong for two hundred bucks.
 
My biggest beef is that they didn't include a 3G option. I would gladly pay $249 for a 3G version, but oh well. Gonna have to fiddle with wireless tethering if I happen to need something while out.

Pre-ordered anyway to replace my aging white Kindle (which, if I recall correctly, I paid a heck of a lot more than $199 for!). Been doing a lot of reading on the Kindle app on my iPad recently so I don't think the non e-ink screen is going to be a big deal for me.
 
After looking at videos, this thing looks very responsive. I'd have to use it to be sure, but I don't see how any other tablet is better than this at the basic tasks of web browsing, email, movie watching, games, etc.

Obviously, no video conferencing, but I'm not a fan of video conferencing anyway to be honest.

This is not the cheap, slow chinese tablets that typically populate the $200 range at all.

Man, if this just had that SD Card slot I'd already have pre-ordered.

Anyone know more about Amazon Cloud Storage and putting your own audio/video on it like MP3s and ripped DVDs? Just going to start reading up now.
 
Just a short note,

1. The were flurry of strong opinions everywhere a few days ago about certain company.

2. With the latest announcement of Amazon Kindle Fire, perhaps warrants a more tolerant view now.

3. As noted earlier, it is not an easy task to change course on short notice.

4. With these developments, this consumer tablet business you need to prepare to face Apple/Amazon/B&N and probably other similar global firms for long-term efforts.

5. Notice they usually have minimal number of models.

6. The generic motto is "get the job done"

7. Others are maybe 50 configs "which one you like?"

8. No preference, different markets different circumstances.
 
Bomo said:
Ohh, I get it. I thought it was just supposed to be some random unintelligible shot at the iPad. Totally agree with your point though. This is a much more economical scenario. And I do agree PC's are still necessary in general.
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Yup, that's what I meant. I know people who have bought an iPad or Android tablet, excited that they could use it every day instead of their laptop, and then realize its just not as efficient for some tasks. Tablets are a nice accessory, not a replacement right now.

As for ecosystem, Amazon has a slightly bigger catalog than iTunes and its terms are better, and cheaper to stream (using Prime), and playback is more flexible (many devices support it, whereas with iTunes/Zune you're tied to Apple/Microsoft hardware).
 
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