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Amazon Set to Unveil $199 'Kindle Fire' Tablet
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I pre-ordered one just now too. Can't wait for it to come. I have a Kindle 3G right now and absolutely love it. The Fire will be awsome.
Clear mobile internet?
Amazon actually advertises that you can browse "on-the-go"
http://obamapacman.com/2011/09/amazon-releases-7-color-kindle-fire-review-good-bad-ugly/
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720P on a 7" tablet is overkill. Heck - it's pretty much overkill on a a 9" and up through 19" But that doesn't stop people from expecting it.
I'd rather have a higher bitrate than resolution. Just like I'd rather have blu-ray vs streaming HD. It's not about image size. It's not JUST about image size. it's more about bitrate...
The iPad forum of this site won't even allow discussions regarding the Fire and it's relation to future iPads (something they've never done with other competitors). It's odd because it seems this is may be the competitor that Apple fans have been egging on for so long. So now that it's here then why not evaluate/discuss it for what it is rather than find ways to criticize what it's not.
I've both recommended and turned people away friends from buying iPads because the iPad is a costly gadget that doesn't fit everyone's lifestyle or budget. I've also told many friends that the Touchpad isn't what they want even at $100 because price is only a part of what makes an intelligent purchase decision. The people I recommended iPads to love it, but the ones I dissuaded would probably be very happy with a $200 kindle fire because it's not only about apps and hype. Sometimes it's about the ecosystem and for many then Amazon offers exactly what they need.
I just watched the hands on video from Engadget and it appears that the screen does not rotate from vertical to horizontal, if thats the case it's a total fail.
I hope I'm wrong but it doesn't look like it will.
http://www.viddler.com/explore/engadget/videos/3290/
I hope I'm wrong but it doesn't look like it will.
http://www.viddler.com/explore/engadget/videos/3290/
Then they can show the two Fire owners getting buyer's remorse when they realize they have to pay nearly a hundred bucks a year for Prime (which only makes sense if you're a hardcore Amazon user), they have a small number of apps to download, can't use apps that require an accelerometer, can't take pictures or video, can't Skype, can't surf the web without Wifi, can't do anything that requires more than two fingers for input, can't read it at the beach or in any bright sunlight (a former selling point of the Kindle), can't store more than 8GB worth of media (which sucks I'd you're gonna be out camping or somewhere without Wifi), and can't even turn the volume up or down without using the onscreen controls (which can be touchy on most touchscreen devices).
Oh, and there's no built-in email app. The Playbook was crucified for that. Sure, it cost more than the Fire, but my $30 Sanyo Katana phone has freaking email.
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I expect it costs them in the $160 - 180 range to make it.
The rest gets eaten up in marketing and such and they are selling it at cost or loosing a few dollars to start.
Since the tablet is setup to make you purchase Amazon content I think they will make a decent return on the investment unless a huge number of the users root the device. (doubtful)
Teach them how to read? I would never allow my kids to watch 8 hours of video on anything. Not even my iPad.
Yes, it supports Wifi. So just use your iPhone 4's Wifi hotspot or a Mifi device or any other public hotspots. What's your point ?
Ad-hoc does not mean what you think it means I think.
How much per year do iPad owners spend on iTunes content? Remember you don't have to buy Prime membership to use the Fire. You can still stream all your Netflix, Hulu, Youtube content through this. You are a typical iFanboy hating on the competition.
Only it's not 100 bucks for prime each - it's $79. And newsflash - you can have ONE account and share amongst devices. My wife and I don't buy two copies of the same ebook. We buy ONE and we can both read them on our kindles and other devices.
And oh yeah - the 79 is not JUST for content. It also gets you free shipping on most of what Amazon sells physically.
I have no idea about any of that, I was just trying to help.
When I'm dealing with a portable device for video, I generally target decent bitrate balanced against file size. I personally wouldn't want to start with a HD version of any of those movies and have to resample it from 1080p.
Cheers.
The Fire is a content consumption product, not a content creation product. Chances are it won't have a camera any more then the low-end Kindle will ever have one.
The only potential iPad customers that will buy the Fire are (1) customers that only want to consume content; books and movies, and do nothing else of any consequences. (2) customers that don't know the limitations of the Fire and buy these for gifts for relatives who really want what an iPad can do.
This is classic misdirection. This has nothing to do with presenting a limited utility product that is designed to make Amazon money by being a portal into the consumer's home. The Apple product is designed to be a powerful interactive, post PC device. I would be surprised if the Fire even becomes a K-12 useful teaching device.
Of course, it's under the price of an iPad. It's like being surprised that a crippled and limited netbook is under the price of a MBA.
If you only want to consume content, then buying an iPad is over-buyiing for your needs. If you want to DO anything, then be prepared to be underwhelmed with a Fire.
Yeah, Amazon will rake in the cash from all the shopping people will do with it. The Fire is like being awarded a store-specific credit card instead of a more useful VISAcard.
If you think the Kindle line-up is well priced now, just wait until all these "impulse" purchases show up on garage sales next spring.
Yeah, sales of products from the Amazon web site. I love to shop Amazon, but danged if I'll spend $200 for a way to do that when I already have a computer that does other things.
If it could be done, then it would have been done already. For what the iPad will do, it is impossible to beat the retail price and meet the specs. Apple makes money because they have bought massive amounts of parts and production capability from their sources.
Amazon is a great retailer and has a huge customer base. They also do right by the customer and don't have any bad past history to overcome. Amazon has also moved from books to an extensive array of goods. They will do well and the Fire will only help them do so.
At least it'll make Apple sweat a little.
I doubt Apple will sweat. Apple has it's own growth plans and they only overlap with Amazon in small ways.
Yeah, the iPod line is being squeezed hard by other devices that do more then just play music. Apple has dome well with this now-mature product category.
I do disagree with you when you say "that Apple is unable to do with their prohibitive pricing." Apple would rather add capability to their table line than de-feature it to go after the bottom-end of the table market. Full color 7" touch-tables have been available at Walgreen's for months. They are real crappo, and only serve to show that there is no bottom-end to cheapness and price.
It's more likely that this will be the Holiday season for a lot of disappointed gift receivers that wanted what an iPad can do, but will end up with something much more marginalized.
If you think you are getting something equal to an iPad for half the cost, then I have some gold bars that I need to unload to you for only $100 an ounce.
Haven't read through all the comments, so sorry if this has been repeated.
For those eyeing this for a real purchase, I want to inform you of some of the detailed specs behind this device. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to bash the Fire, I just wish to inform those who are expecting a real tablet, because the Fire is not one.
Amazon released this for a stopgate because it wasn't ready to release its "real" tablet. This is essentially a tweaked Blackberry Playbook running android 2.1, with half the memory and storage space. It was built and outsourced to the major ODM Quanta. Amazon's kindle team was busy with next gen kindles so they couldnt design their own tablet in time for the holiday season. So they outsourced it..
This is not a full fledged android tablet, like I said it running 2.1 and thats where it ends. It doesn't have the same functionality as a real android tablet. It's a complete closed garden wall experience, more so than iOS. You browse the web off of a compressed feed from amazon's SC2 servers. You don't connect to the web directly. That may be why browsing is faster, as Amazon's servers are caching the web and streaming it to you, leaving you tablet's hardware free to do whatever..Its running Amazon's custom silk browser. You get your movies and music from Amazon Prime and its video rental and cloud services. It is unknown if you can load content directly, locally (USB storage mode).
For those who know what this is, an e-reader with a few tablet like features (music/web/movies) and you still want to buy it, go ahead. Just know the real version will be out shortly next year.
For those expecting a tablet experience for $200, you're better off trying to find an HP Touchpad, because a full tablet this is not.
For those wanting to test it before you buy..go pick up a blackberry playbook..Because thats what the fire is..cept using an old version of android w/ half the ram.
source 1
source 2
For those eyeing this for a real purchase, I want to inform you of some of the detailed specs behind this device. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not trying to bash the Fire, I just wish to inform those who are expecting a real tablet, because the Fire is not one.
Amazon released this for a stopgate because it wasn't ready to release its "real" tablet. This is essentially a tweaked Blackberry Playbook running android 2.1, with half the memory and storage space. It was built and outsourced to the major ODM Quanta. Amazon's kindle team was busy with next gen kindles so they couldnt design their own tablet in time for the holiday season. So they outsourced it..
This is not a full fledged android tablet, like I said it running 2.1 and thats where it ends. It doesn't have the same functionality as a real android tablet. It's a complete closed garden wall experience, more so than iOS. You browse the web off of a compressed feed from amazon's SC2 servers. You don't connect to the web directly. That may be why browsing is faster, as Amazon's servers are caching the web and streaming it to you, leaving you tablet's hardware free to do whatever..Its running Amazon's custom silk browser. You get your movies and music from Amazon Prime and its video rental and cloud services. It is unknown if you can load content directly, locally (USB storage mode).
For those who know what this is, an e-reader with a few tablet like features (music/web/movies) and you still want to buy it, go ahead. Just know the real version will be out shortly next year.
For those expecting a tablet experience for $200, you're better off trying to find an HP Touchpad, because a full tablet this is not.
For those wanting to test it before you buy..go pick up a blackberry playbook..Because thats what the fire is..cept using an old version of android w/ half the ram.
source 1
source 2
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Most of new smartphones wifi hotspots are not ad-hoc nets so there is not problem
Imagine if Blockbuster Video decided to rent their entire movie catalog and TV shows for free for an entire month?
Amazon is doing even better because it will always be available unlike video rental stores or even the public library where they are more limited on what to choose from and the limited number of movies to borrow. And this is FREE for an entire month.
Amazon already giving us a dual-core tablet for $199. They are the world's largest online bookstore. They throw in Amazon Prime. They shrug their shoulders and are like, "Now go watch some Mad Men, Bridesmaids, Japanese softcore porn, or whatever we have for most of December for all we care. Merry Christmas and enjoy!" They are giving us a free sample on renting and buying content from them compared to Netflix and iTunes.
That rocks. Amazon is like the cool parent that lets us use their pool and do whatever the hell we want in their backyard if we want to throw a party. Very generous.
Amazon is doing even better because it will always be available unlike video rental stores or even the public library where they are more limited on what to choose from and the limited number of movies to borrow. And this is FREE for an entire month.
Amazon already giving us a dual-core tablet for $199. They are the world's largest online bookstore. They throw in Amazon Prime. They shrug their shoulders and are like, "Now go watch some Mad Men, Bridesmaids, Japanese softcore porn, or whatever we have for most of December for all we care. Merry Christmas and enjoy!" They are giving us a free sample on renting and buying content from them compared to Netflix and iTunes.
That rocks. Amazon is like the cool parent that lets us use their pool and do whatever the hell we want in their backyard if we want to throw a party. Very generous.
I love my iPad 2, especially its size as I read comics on it, but this Kindle Fire is awesome for 200 bucks.
Here's hoping the aggressive pricing causes Apple to lower the price on future iPads (though I doubt it as I think a retina display for the iPad is going to cost a pretty penny to produce).
Here's hoping the aggressive pricing causes Apple to lower the price on future iPads (though I doubt it as I think a retina display for the iPad is going to cost a pretty penny to produce).
Fanboy..
Wifi is everywhere.
Who could not be excited by a good quality $199 surfing/movie watching/music tablet?
I love Apple and the iPad is great but I'm not going to hand an iPad to my baby son to let him play with. There is a market for inexpensive tablets that do basic tasks.