Update June 2012:
Don’t like the fact that when editing typos, I can’t move to a particular letter as I can with my iPhone, but have to delete the entire misspelled word.
Almost left it behind at the Delta Club in Atlanta. I’m not sure I’m going to take with with me when I travel anymore!
Update May 2012:
I received a Fire for my 50th birthday from my family.
Video and book downloads are very very fast on Wifi.
Audio could be louder, and while watching video changing volume requires being right on top of the audio slider control or the control vanishes.
No SiriusXM app; only Pandora.
Not sure the Kindle Fire doesn’t provide page numbers; rather, only location numbers when reading books.
Just received the Marware Lightweight Microshell Folio Cover ordered from Amazon. It fits like a glove and does just what it’s advertised to do: protect and provide a stand for viewing in landscape mode.
What’s behind the drop in Kindle Fire shipments?
First-timer guide for the Kindle Fire from Mashable.
Update 11-18-12:
Here’s a review of the Kindle Fire from ZDNet.
Update 11-16-11:
Here’s Walter Mossberg’s review of the Kindle Fire in the Wall Street Journal. I think I may now wait until the next generation of the Kindle comes out:
To be clear, the Kindle Fire is much less capable and versatile than the entry-level $499 iPad 2. It has a fraction of the apps, a smaller screen, much weaker battery life, a slower Web browser, half the internal storage and no cameras or microphone. It also has a rigid and somewhat frustrating user interface far less fluid than Apple’s.
But the Fire has some big things going for it. First, the $199 price, though the Fire’s seven-inch screen is less than half the surface area of the iPad’s display. Second, the Amazon and Kindle brands, already known and loved for e-readers and more. Third, Amazon is the only major tablet maker other than Apple with a large, famous, easy-to-use content ecosystem that sells music, video, books and periodicals. The Fire can be thought of as a hardware front end to all that cloud content.
When compared to the iPad 2, I suspect the Fire will appeal to people on a budget and to those who envision using the iPad mainly to consume content, as opposed to those who see the larger tablet as a partial laptop replacement. For instance, while the Fire has a decent Web browser and a rudimentary email program, it lacks basic built-in apps, such as a calendar, notepad or maps. However, for people primarily interested in reading books and periodicals, the Fire may seem too heavy and costly when compared with a low-end Kindle or Nook.
Original Post 9-28-11:
Okay, there is no way Karen is going to let me purchase any more electronics soon, given that I recently purchased a new Macbook Air. Nonetheless, bookworm that I am, and the fact that I already love my Kindle app on my iPhone and Kindle device, I’m wondering how I’ll be able to convince her that the new Amazon Kindle Fire is worth buying sometime. After all, I am 49 and reading all my books on the iPhone does induce eyestrain (iStrain?) after a while.
Perhaps when the inevitable Kindle Fire 3G comes out, coupled with Amazon’s new browser Silk, and the fact that Jack and I could then get rid of the iPad 3G data plan, I can show that the cost savings justify it. I’m open to suggestions!
For a video interview from The Wall Street Journal on the new Amazon Kindle Fire, please go here.
To order one of the Kindle models, you can go to Amazon’s webpage here.
The Wall Street Journal’s take on how the Kindle Fire could affect Amazon’s financials.
Aneil
