Amazon's Kindle Fire Tablet

Feathers · November 16, 2011, 09:14:46 AM

Yeah, it's not the registration as such that people seem worked up about but the knowledge that someone else has effectively used their password to achieve the registration.

If it's as you suggest, however, then I think it's a bit of a storm in a teacup.

Bromptonboy · November 16, 2011, 09:38:54 AM

Quote from: Rico on November 16, 2011, 09:10:47 AM
Oh - and it really isn't touching your password, login info. The Kindle has a unique identifier - serial number or some such thing. When you buy one, that hardware is just added to your account.

- at least I think that's the way it works. :)

I think that is how it worked - since the Fire was already in the 'Manage My Kindle' area on Amazon.
Another interesting observation, is that to get documents (spreadsheets, PDF's, etc), you can send an attachment to your Kindle Fire via an 'YOURACCOUNT@KINDLE.COM'. You have to authorize external email accounts to send documents to this account - or they bounce back. This is a neat feature - and will keep spam away (unless someone spoof's my account).

KingIsaacLinksr · November 16, 2011, 09:50:55 AM

Interesting contrast to the iPad which requires you to fill out your account info when you first set it up. That does make it slightly more secure, in case the hardware was stolen or accidentally lost.

King

Jobydrone · November 17, 2011, 11:51:14 AM

Ars Technica posted their full review of the "Fire" today. I have to say, after reading the review, I am actually pretty impressed with Brian's abilities as an analyst: it seems he called it well before anyone else. Here's some quotes from the full review:

"Before it was announced, the Kindle Fire was rumored to be Amazon's entry into the Android tablet market. To get a serious tablet, even a small one, at the Kindle Fire's price of $199 would have been a holiday miracle. But in our time with the Kindle Fire, it fell far short of what tablets should be able to accomplish. As a vector for Amazon's video and music stores and huge e-book selection, it's great. As an e-reader, it's merely OK. As an Internet and app portal, it falls short of Amazon's promises."

"Ultimately, the $200 Kindle Fire lacks many features I consider essential in a serious tablet: the ability to work on it using a keyboard, browse the Internet quickly, view whole magazine pages, and so on. But we can't fault it for not being an iPad. It's only a few hundred fewer dollars, and Amazon has never marketed it as a tablet. This is a basic media consumption device...The best way to think of the Kindle Fire is as a decent e-reader that can do some extra stuff—namely, play videos and browse the Internet. For $200, that's not a bad deal—but just make sure that it's one you're willing to make."

Link to the full article is below...hats off to Bryan, you're not just an Apple fanboy, you're actually pretty smart! ;)

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2011/11/dont-call-it-a-tablet-the-kindle-fire-reviewed.ars

Bryancd · November 17, 2011, 02:19:20 PM

As much as my ego would like totals credit, I came to that conclusion after reading some real analysts reports. I agreed with their conclusions and added Amazon to my portfolios.

KingIsaacLinksr · November 17, 2011, 05:42:38 PM

Yeah, this just didn't scream iPad-equivalent once I looked over the specs. It doesn't have anything that makes the iPad the powerhouse that it is. Its rather lackluster as a tablet, but no doubt great for those that want to read/listen/watch Amazon content.

King

Ktrek · November 17, 2011, 08:47:18 PM

Quote from: KingIsaacLinksr on November 17, 2011, 05:42:38 PM
Yeah, this just didn't scream iPad-equivalent once I looked over the specs. It doesn't have anything that makes the iPad the powerhouse that it is. Its rather lackluster as a tablet, but no doubt great for those that want to read/listen/watch Amazon content.

King

I bet if it was jail broke and you had access to the Fire and all the Android Market Place you would feel different. I think it has the potential to do everything and anything an Ipad can do. Only with a smaller screen. It wouldn't surprise me at all if there is not a softroot for it within a week.

Kevin

KingIsaacLinksr · November 17, 2011, 09:20:10 PM

Quote from: Ktrek on November 17, 2011, 08:47:18 PM
Quote from: KingIsaacLinksr on November 17, 2011, 05:42:38 PM
Yeah, this just didn't scream iPad-equivalent once I looked over the specs. It doesn't have anything that makes the iPad the powerhouse that it is. Its rather lackluster as a tablet, but no doubt great for those that want to read/listen/watch Amazon content.

King

I bet if it was jail broke and you had access to the Fire and all the Android Market Place you would feel different. I think it has the potential to do everything and anything an Ipad can do. Only with a smaller screen. It wouldn't surprise me at all if there is not a softroot for it within a week.

Kevin

I said specs, not software specs. Even rooted the Fire wouldn't be close enough. The fire will not come anywhere close to usability because it lacks things like bluetooth, the screen makes a difference, the lack of a camera...to a degree and the CPU/GPU is not the same as the iPad. Plus on-board storage is a joke, 8GB would easily be taken up by apps alone to make it the same as the iPad.

I think I mentioned all that before, but uhh no it doesn't have the same potential as the iPad. Not as a personal computer turned tablet. This is straight up a tablet solely designed to consume media delivered via Amazon. It may be able to do some of the things the iPad can, but it is limited by its hardware which is why it is so cheap.

King

KingIsaacLinksr · November 17, 2011, 09:34:47 PM

I guess I should also put it this way. As the Kindle is concerned for educational use, it won't ever work. The 7" screen size makes typing even remotely quickly enough for notes/papers is not enough. The lack of bluetooth kills any possibility of using a full-sized keyboard. Lack of apps that have to be run through the Amazon app store also makes it less than education-friendly.

Its a good tablet, but lacks multi-purpose uses. Although it would be nice if we could push digital books with the fire now and encourage publishers to make them available.

King

Feathers · November 18, 2011, 12:57:18 AM

Quote from: KingIsaacLinksr on November 17, 2011, 09:34:47 PM
I guess I should also put it this way. As the Kindle is concerned for educational use, it won't ever work. The 7" screen size makes typing even remotely quickly enough for notes/papers is not enough. The lack of bluetooth kills any possibility of using a full-sized keyboard. Lack of apps that have to be run through the Amazon app store also makes it less than education-friendly.

Its a good tablet, but lacks multi-purpose uses. Although it would be nice if we could push digital books with the fire now and encourage publishers to make them available.

King

This is only the 'Fire 1'. It wouldn't surprise me if the iteration 2 and 3 of this started to close the gap. Apple have always been evolutionary rather than revolutionary developers so with a bit of work, it shouldn't be too hard to close the gap in a year or two. Unless Apple take a sudden step...

KingIsaacLinksr · November 18, 2011, 01:39:32 AM

Who knows. Certainly possible, and I never said Amazon couldnt make a true competitor, it's just not this device :).

King

Rico · November 18, 2011, 04:23:52 AM

I don't think the Fire was meant to be able to do everything something like an iPad could do. But it is less than half the cost so if it can do about that percentage of what the iPad can do and that's mainly what you need it for then it's not a bad deal. Like all things, it really comes down to what you need a portable computing device to be able to do for you.

Feathers · November 18, 2011, 04:49:16 AM

Quote from: Rico on November 18, 2011, 04:23:52 AM
I don't think the Fire was meant to be able to do everything something like an iPad could do. But it is less than half the cost so if it can do about that percentage of what the iPad can do and that's mainly what you need it for then it's not a bad deal. Like all things, it really comes down to what you need a portable computing device to be able to do for you.

I agree, but I think it will inevitably grow towards that sort of functionality. Maybe it will never catch the iPad but even if they hold the price point, I believe the functionality will inevitably grow.

billybob476 · November 18, 2011, 04:55:49 AM

Yesterday Steve Gibson of GRC.com was tweeting that his had both his Kindle Fires become bricked during the initial firmware updates. he wasn't very impressed, I imagine that will be reoslved soon enough. 1.0 products are always fun!

Bromptonboy · November 18, 2011, 06:08:05 AM

Yes, this is going for a more narrow - yet deep - part of the market. Not being able to use a Bluetooth keyboard on this device doesn't phase me - since I wouldn't want to use this device for any serious data input.
I took my Fire on it's maiden voyage on my commute today. It worked great, and was easy to stow into the internal pocket of my jacket. I love the iPad, but this 7" footprint is better for my daily use. I would like to have 3G - but I would think that will be addressed in the next generation.