Wow, speculation was the price would be $250-300, it's $199 and free shipping.. speculation was it would have a single core processor, nope, dual core.. speculation was that the experience would suck like with the really drab Kindle readers, nope, it's probably going to be stellar.. the display is the same technology as the iPad but the pixel density is greater and the touch sense is IR, usually IR touch sense is used for tablets that are used outdoors, that points to the idea that they made the outdoor reading experience possible, maybe.. The browser is truly new technology too, Amazon's cloud computers are going to assemble all the stuff that makes up a web page in the cloud with 5ms ping times instead of the normal thing with the browser doing all that at 100ms ping times.. It doesn't have a camera, wow, who wants a tablet with a camera? Everybody's phone has a camera or two in it already... That thing is a game changer!! After awhile Amazon will bring out a bigger one and it will be game on with the iPad!!
No 3G. That's a deal killer. Wifi really sucks. I'm sure they will roll out 3G on the next model but it won't be 200 bucks anymore it will be 400 or 450. We'll see.
Am I reading this right? Not even 1 little crappy front camera for skype and only 8GB of storage with no expansion slot? A new Nook Color will be released soon at the same price and will probably leap frog Kindle once again. I understand Amazon's business model is to sell the Fire near cost and direct customer's to their online market, but how much could a 2mp camera and an expansion slot cost? And why not immediately run an open version of Android that allows users to customize and add apps to their heart's content? Their 'heavily customized version of Android' will be cracked and overwritten by the Android community a week or two after it's released anyway. I'm sure they'll sell a ton this holiday season, but I'm having a hard time getting excited. My android phone has a faster processor, more memory, a front and rear camera, GPS with navigation, streams netflix and outputs it via HDMI if I like, 4g/wifi/bluetooth connectivity, and it's a kindle reader, nook reader, aldiko reader, moon+ reader and any other reader I want to install. Maybe once I have my hands on one I'll change my mind but so far the stripped down 7" tablet that's unnecessarily bulky due to all that dead space (what's with that dead space on the screen? apple does it too) doesn't outshine my 4.3" phone that does everything and is with me 24/7 because it's slips so perfectly in my front pocket.
hmmm, which is better, a Kindle Tablet paired with a phone or a Phone with a portable display... The Kindle Tablet will leverage the cloud computers for the browsing experience, currently no phone, no tablet for that matter, will do that... and everybody always has their phone with them, it can do all the photos, gps stuff... and if the phone has wifi hotspot capability the Kindle can get internet via 4G...
Actually Opera Mini has done that for at least a year. Certainly a nice feature but not a discerning factor for me. Not to "poo poo" the Fire, I think it'll do just fine for Amazon, and will even steal a bit of the iPad market share.
It's the new Nook Color. No real threat to the tablet makers. A lot of hot air coming from the pundits. And WiFi is far superior to 3G when in a WiFi zone. 3G for riding the train or sitting in a park. If you really need it, tether off your Android phone.
This is perhaps a bad thing depending upon your "tin foil hat" threshold. http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/201...ires-silk-browser-sounds-privacy-alarm-bells/
Storage (free from Amazon) is meant to be in the cloud. From that point of view, 8GB is plenty. Where did you see that Android apps can't be added as per usual? They will I think. The main reason: price - nothing else comes close and many people feel priced out of the tablet market at the moment. I think this product is a smart move by Amazon. It's also not competing directly with the iPad. I don't think it's trying to compete with your phone - that's precisely why it doesn't have a camera. Reading "things" on a 7" tablet is a lot more comfortable than reading things on your phone. Be it: web pages, books, e-mail, movies....these will all look better on the tablet than on your phone. For other things, use your phone or your camera if you need to take photos. As for video chat....meh. It's also not about having the best specs of any device out there especially when those extra specs are not strictly needed for the main focus of the device. I have a Galaxy Tab 10.1 but so far the functions I use the Tab for 90% of the time can be handled by the Kindle Fire for 1/3 of the price. I would perhaps miss the 10.1" screen for movies though. In short, I think the Kindle Fire will be more than an also ran...
I was unaware of Opera Mini. Just installed it to my phone and it's 20x faster than the Dolphin browser... my enjoyment factor, annoyance factor, etc. with my phone all just got way better... people are going to like browsing with Silk... Edit: People rave about the Galaxy Tabs Display but it's GREEN.. and tiringly so... the iPhone has a dazzling blue-oriented display, comparing an iPhone to a Galaxy S device really shows how different the experience is.. if the Fire has a display that is as dazzling as the iPad [it's higher in pixel density] and somehow it's optimized for the reading experince it will be great.. Most likely it's more of a media thingy and reading will be better on the Kindles.. time will tell...