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Amazon Introduces 8.9-Inch and 7-Inch Kindle Fire HD at $299 and $199, Updated Kindle Fire Drops to $159
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We can't?
Apple has been selling non-DRM'ed music for years now. The music format is AAC, which is an ISO and IEC standard, part of the MPEG specifications. It's not something that only Apple uses exclusively, contrary to what some people might want you to believe.
I knw that, IT professional here and owned some of those devices, but this does not make it 'playable on any device'. There is one format that can claim that, and that's MP3. Not AAC, not wma, just mp3
I pulled the trigger on the 16GB version as soon as I scrolled through the page on Amazon. 32GB seems nice, but I've got a $60 32GB Kingston Wi-Drive that basically bumps the capacity to 48GB, and after half a year with the original Fire, I've found that I don't tend to buy video content from Amazon - I buy books and audiobooks, and I get (mostly free daily) apps. Video is still an iTunes thing for me and the kids... so 16GB will be fine.
The sponsored ads mean nothing to me - it's a screen display that will be there for a second when I open the case flap and until I swipe to unlock. If it saves me $20 or so, great. I really could not care less about them.
The dual top-and-bottom (left-and-right in landscape mode) speakers will be great for streaming video, which I use often on the Fire when watching a bit of it before bed. The better definition and battery life will be great for reading. The sync of audiobooks and Kindle books will be awesome, as I do on occasion get both so I can read at home and listen while commuting.
I really love the original Fire. I don't love it the same way I love my Air or my other Macs or my iDevices, but I love it just as much. And this new one? It gets rid of all the issues I had with that Fire - which I'll give to my oldest daughter - and has more than enough for me to not want the iPad mini unless that ends up just blowing away what I expect it to be - which is a shrunken iPad 2.
I have no interest in the 8.9" HD - I'd rather have an iPad - but I similarly have no interest in (what I expect to be in) an iPad mini - the Fire does a better job, in my mind. Kindle pwns iBooks, and the Fire just makes it easier to get at that content and at audiobook content. Plus, it's nice being able to experience something that's not Apple-made, unlike pretty much everything else I own.
The sponsored ads mean nothing to me - it's a screen display that will be there for a second when I open the case flap and until I swipe to unlock. If it saves me $20 or so, great. I really could not care less about them.
The dual top-and-bottom (left-and-right in landscape mode) speakers will be great for streaming video, which I use often on the Fire when watching a bit of it before bed. The better definition and battery life will be great for reading. The sync of audiobooks and Kindle books will be awesome, as I do on occasion get both so I can read at home and listen while commuting.
I really love the original Fire. I don't love it the same way I love my Air or my other Macs or my iDevices, but I love it just as much. And this new one? It gets rid of all the issues I had with that Fire - which I'll give to my oldest daughter - and has more than enough for me to not want the iPad mini unless that ends up just blowing away what I expect it to be - which is a shrunken iPad 2.
I have no interest in the 8.9" HD - I'd rather have an iPad - but I similarly have no interest in (what I expect to be in) an iPad mini - the Fire does a better job, in my mind. Kindle pwns iBooks, and the Fire just makes it easier to get at that content and at audiobook content. Plus, it's nice being able to experience something that's not Apple-made, unlike pretty much everything else I own.
For me that's awesome because i'm an Amazon junkie and they regularly have sweet deals. Putting up ads on the screensaver is a good idea. Also that's why the Kindle HD 32GB model is $249 so this subsidizes the hardware.
Btw this is not a new idea. Remember back in the mid to late 90's with all the free internet services? They too were funded by ads. I love the Amazon ecosystem so upgrading to the Fire HD is a no brainer for me.
You mean a business model that was roundly rejected by consumers? Good example.
I got the first Kindle Fire
I was interested in seeing if it could serve as a low cost platform form some simple business tasks, and just to evaluate it overall out of curiosity.
It was so awful, I was tempted to take a sledge hammer to it and mail the shards back to Amazon.
Amazon does retail really really well. They do books better than anyone on the planet. Their hardware is an embarrassment.
I was interested in seeing if it could serve as a low cost platform form some simple business tasks, and just to evaluate it overall out of curiosity.
It was so awful, I was tempted to take a sledge hammer to it and mail the shards back to Amazon.
Amazon does retail really really well. They do books better than anyone on the planet. Their hardware is an embarrassment.
Do you have numbers or stats to back that comment up or did you just pull that statement out of the air?
I used those internet services a lot back in the 90's and the ads never bothered me. I also bought a few things that were of interest. And you failed to mention that around that time consumers wanted more speed from the internet. Consumers were moving towards faster internet speeds and back in 2002-3 Microsoft began promoting DSL for their XBL service and high speed internet began to catch on. And those freebie services were basically built around dial up.
I trust Amazon who has had record sales to run the numbers and factor in a lot more data than us guys and gals on an internet forum. When the Kindle Fire was released they claimed kindle book sales increased. I also signed up for Amazon Prime because of the Kindle Fire, once I tried the service.
These guys know what they are doing and if they think ads will subsidize their new tablet i'll side with their business model.
The iPad mini needs to start at $199 otherwise it'll be be a hard sell and a possible failure.
Hard to see Apple hit such a low price, if they did I see a lot of people freaking out and very long lines.
Not very concerned about MSFT. They don't really do hardware. I haven't seen anything in Windows 8 so far that would make me want to switch back. IOW, they don't have leverage.
Amazon concerns me because of the vast media library they have - books, video, audio. I get a LOT of my content from Amazon. As do many other people I know. Basically, they have everything that Apple had that made their hardware a success, and then some. Up until now, they didn't really have the hardware to leverage it. Based on today's introduced tablets (and their price points), they just might have it now.
Yes.
Because they'd be worried about the iPad Mini taking sales from the full-size iPad.
Just like how they've held back updating the iPod Touch because people were picking it over the iPhone for the lower price and no requisite cellular contract and expensive data plan.
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And in contrast, I have very little media from Amazon. I use Amazon a lot for non-digital goods (mainly because of Prime). But more often than not, books that I want aren't available on Kindle. Their delivery interface for video is downright ugly compared to Apple's, and there's no comparing anyone else's music delivery ecosystem to Apple's.
I'm not sure why it was so bad you felt the need to destroy it. I'll assume you rooted it and then didn't like the hardware.
On the other hand, used as intended - reading, streaming video, etc. - it is a great deal, and even more so now. If you don't buy into the Amazon ecosystem, then, agreed, less of a deal. But far from an "embarrassment."
I know a particular user on here who keeps saying that Apple wont' do a 'race to the bottom'...but...if they have a mini....they kind of are.
But it just depends on what the 'Mini' has if it does exist. Too early to tell.
1. That would devalue apple products as a whole.
2. It would be inconsistent. Why pay 200 for a touch when the iPad is 200? Why spend $500 on the iPad when the mini is $200? It just wouldn't fit the product line. Btw, tons of people happily spend 300 on the iPod touch
3. People said the exact same thing about the original iPad. "WHAT? $500? What does it even do?" Etc.
4. Apple doesn't make mediocre products for people who can't afford great products. The mini will be an option for people who prefer the smaller size.
$350 feels right to me, but that's a weird number, so I'm guessing $300. That's almost half the iPad entry cost, but still gives the illusion of a premium product compared to the fire.
Did u read anything in my statement that made you think I cared anything about what you or most people and their habits are? I know exactly what I do. Most places "I",keyword "I" go to and actually want to use my iPad has wifi. So 250mb will be fine, especially for googling something real quick. That's all 250mb is good for.
Why couldn't Apple take the next announcement to also drop the cost of the new iPad by $100 and release a $199 iPad mini at the same time?
What you have here are two tech giants utilizing their biggest strength to lower the cost of their products. Amazon uses their ads to subsidize their costs, and Apple utilizes their monopoly on supply lines to lower theirs.
What this Amazon announcement says more than anything is that the iPad mini will have a retina display. And if you think Apple didn't know about Amazon's products before today, then you are fooling yourself. They already knew it would be foolish to release a low res tablet months ago.
What you have here are two tech giants utilizing their biggest strength to lower the cost of their products. Amazon uses their ads to subsidize their costs, and Apple utilizes their monopoly on supply lines to lower theirs.
What this Amazon announcement says more than anything is that the iPad mini will have a retina display. And if you think Apple didn't know about Amazon's products before today, then you are fooling yourself. They already knew it would be foolish to release a low res tablet months ago.