Thanks for correcting me. Still 10 Inch screen way better for watching movies than 7 inch.
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I'd love to hear any argument against this (kindle fire)
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Thanks for correcting me. Still 10 Inch screen way better for watching movies than 7 inch.
It's $200 and 50 inches is better than 10 but not while holding 12 inches from your face. The iPad is great but it's hard to argue against a $200 tablet that actually has content.
That would actually be a bad idea. Amazon did their market research looking for a price point that would open up potential in volume for a decent product. If they priced it at $99, they'd be cutting corners and trying to maintain an unsustainable item. The HP tablets only went that low as a liquidation effort.
Give it some time. This is a launch product and even if it is successful, the ipad will still be there. If Amazon is successful with this venture, you'll see more things developed for it. The ipad app market grew quickly "partially" because many apps were already running on IOS via the iphone.
It's not actually aimed at killing the ipad.
I tried the Fire and bought it and returned it less than 2 hrs later. Very underwhelmed. Why? The lag. Maybe some can overlook it but I couldnt. Laggy browser zooming, pages, menus, etc. Nothing like the iPad. All of its other downfalls such as lack of storage space, and apps I Was willing to overlook. The Nook Tablet is much better, IMHO at a $50 higher price point.
The Fire made me appreciate my iPad more.
The Fire made me appreciate my iPad more.
Haven't tried it and unless my coworker's sony upgrades I probably won't be able to see it. But I'm sure it's going to be better because anything has got to be better than what they have now.
I think a lot of people are forgiving the rather limited Fire because of its price. I'll be interested to see how people feel after a few months of having used it comapred to having used an Android or iOS Tablet.
My face is 2 feet away from my 27inch computer monitor... 12 inch away from my face I would want at least 10 inch.
I think it comes down to what you need/want it for. I agree that the Fire is Perfect for some people. I think overall though for people who want everything an iPad can do will be disappointed with the fire.
The Fire is made for people who want to consumes content(Mostly amazons). You will not see college kids typing up notes on them, or Doctors filling out reports on them.
Unless the larger screen is 4:3 ratio and the movie is 16:9. Between my iPad2 and the Fire the same 16:9 movie is nearly the same size.
Ouch! Good point. Personally I prefer the 4:3 ratio of the iPad but that's because it constitutes a good compromise for a wider variety of functionality. But for watching most movies, tablets that mimic the 16:9 aspect ratio are definitely more watchable.
I see nothing to argue about. But then again, I rarely do argue or compare two distinctively different devices designed for _two_ very different target markets.
There will be a lot of shocked Apple iPad lovers when they see how successful Amazon becomes with this new device.
Amazon did their homework with a laser like focus beforehand. They know exactly what they are getting into and how to succeed just like they did when I witnessed thousands predicting that Amazon would never make it as an internet book seller in the very beginning of this companies existence.
Anyone who's paid any attention at all to the growth, the continual evolution and fresh new ideas that Amazon has implemented, knows this company is not about to let the Fire (or any other Kindle) flop.
I live in California, I travel all over the state. I've been to a vast number of Starbucks locations, book stores, and other public hot spots. Kindles are everywhere. Typically I see women using them for their ease of use. Light weight, and appeal of the brilliant and ultimately readable display. In all levels of light, Kindles excel at what they were designed for. A purpose built ebook reader. The Fire is simply another Kindle designed to enhance the lineup and sell more Amazon content.
My iPad 2 is tied to iTunes.
My Kindle is tied to Amazon.
Therefore the criticism by the Apple faithful is nothing more than the typical hypocritical position learned from Steve Jobs by those who view him as God. The hero worshipers who live vicariously through his image. The ones who will continue to idolize him for decades to come. And I'm not judging them, it is what it is. I really don't care. But it _is_ a huge part of the Apple experience.
I _really_ enjoy my iPad 2, and I can say the same of every single Kindle I've owned. For the avid reader in me there is nothing as fine as a Kindle.
For Web content, nothing, absolutely nothing is as good as an iPad in my opinion.
There will be a lot of shocked Apple iPad lovers when they see how successful Amazon becomes with this new device.
Amazon did their homework with a laser like focus beforehand. They know exactly what they are getting into and how to succeed just like they did when I witnessed thousands predicting that Amazon would never make it as an internet book seller in the very beginning of this companies existence.
Anyone who's paid any attention at all to the growth, the continual evolution and fresh new ideas that Amazon has implemented, knows this company is not about to let the Fire (or any other Kindle) flop.
I live in California, I travel all over the state. I've been to a vast number of Starbucks locations, book stores, and other public hot spots. Kindles are everywhere. Typically I see women using them for their ease of use. Light weight, and appeal of the brilliant and ultimately readable display. In all levels of light, Kindles excel at what they were designed for. A purpose built ebook reader. The Fire is simply another Kindle designed to enhance the lineup and sell more Amazon content.
My iPad 2 is tied to iTunes.
My Kindle is tied to Amazon.
Therefore the criticism by the Apple faithful is nothing more than the typical hypocritical position learned from Steve Jobs by those who view him as God. The hero worshipers who live vicariously through his image. The ones who will continue to idolize him for decades to come. And I'm not judging them, it is what it is. I really don't care. But it _is_ a huge part of the Apple experience.
I _really_ enjoy my iPad 2, and I can say the same of every single Kindle I've owned. For the avid reader in me there is nothing as fine as a Kindle.
For Web content, nothing, absolutely nothing is as good as an iPad in my opinion.
I have to disagree with your steve jobs quote. I think most people like apple because it's a quality product.
In answer to the OP, this review seems to have about thirty arguments against the Kindle Fire. Worth a read if you're trying to gauge the experience of the Fire vs an iPad.
http://www.marco.org/2011/11/17/kindle-fire-review
http://www.marco.org/2011/11/17/kindle-fire-review
I think we have to take the iPad out of the equation. The fire is $200 and 7 inches. It makes no argument other than for $200 you can consume the same amount of content that is available on $500 plus tablets. Its a brilliant idea
Im not trying to be argumentative but is that really true?
Factoring in the aspect ratio then a widescreen show would cause you to lose screen space or force you to zoom and crop your viewing space which wouldnt be an "optimal" playback. So you'd have something like this:
And while the ipad video still is bigger than the kindle, the kindle offers a more manageable size for overall handling and daily travel so it's definitely going to follow me to more places than the iPad ever did. In no way do I feel the Kindle Fire is superior to the iPad but as a Prime User then things like the lending library and Video on Demand were enticing.
And the final bit that made me take the bite is the price. Best Buy has a coupon to take $25 off any open-box iPad or Tablet. So for me then it was:
$199
- 20 (10% open box)
- 25 (Open Box Coupon)
$154 Total (+ 3x Reward Zone points coupon for buying a kindle)
Sure, its no iPad but it's still something worth owning.
If you only do basic stuff like read ebooks on your ipad, then yeah, you probably overpaid because there are many other features that the ipad could do, but you chose not to use (or have no use). In that case, you might be better off paying less for a cheaper tablet with fewer features (but all of which are relevant to you).
So I feel the ipad isn't expensive, just expensive for what you plan do do on it.
It's like if I paid $60 a month for an expensive data plan, but do not use the net at all. In this case, I may as well just pay $20 each month for a basic phone line which meets my needs.
I think the Fire is a great device to get out there. It's in the same general segment as the iPad (a tablet), but it's not in the same specific segment. It's smaller, slower and more limited. BUT, being cheaper, and smaller, it's still a good device for a certain segment of people.
It's the first tablet outside of the iPad that has marketing behind it. Amazon is a highly visible brand, it's in big box stores, it's set up to sell incredibly well.
I don't think it'll hurt iPad sales too badly, but I think Apple will take notice of it and I think the competition in general will *help* the tablet segment.
People should be happy the Fire is here, it's good for everything. We've seen how Android competition has improved the iPhone, hopefully tablet competition will further improve an already great iPad line.
It's the first tablet outside of the iPad that has marketing behind it. Amazon is a highly visible brand, it's in big box stores, it's set up to sell incredibly well.
I don't think it'll hurt iPad sales too badly, but I think Apple will take notice of it and I think the competition in general will *help* the tablet segment.
People should be happy the Fire is here, it's good for everything. We've seen how Android competition has improved the iPhone, hopefully tablet competition will further improve an already great iPad line.
The tablet segment has a lot of room to grow so I think a large portion of the market that will buy a Fire are people that would not buy an iPad.
If anything, I hope its popularity speeds up the iPad 7". I know many are against it but there isn't really much they could do to the iPad3 that would make me want to upgrade my iPad 2 so a size differentiator (even at $400) would probably be a good incentive to get people to buy yet another Apple product.People should be happy the Fire is here, it's good for everything. We've seen how Android competition has improved the iPhone, hopefully tablet competition will further improve an already great iPad line.
I'd gladly sell my Fire and iPad 2 for a 7" iPad.
It would be asking quite a lot for it to be 100% as good as the ipad. Wasn't the cost to build an ipad supposedly around $250?
I wouldn't. But my wife certainly would. And if you look at the almost 2000 reviews of the Fire on the Amazon site, you'll see that many, many other women feel exactly the same way. (Not to mention men in the same category.)
I spent about an hour with a "demo" Fire at Best Buy yesterday. Though I couldn't get a detailed impression of the device in that environment, I came away even more convinced that it will expand the tablet market beyond the segment served by the current iPad.
I also came away with a couple of other impressions.
() In contrast to the Fire, the iPad display at Best Buy had fully functional devices for consumers to play with. No "simulated" browsing. I could even use my mobile 4G hotspot with an iPad in the store.
In addition, the iPads were physically attached to table in a way that gave a customer a chance to "feel" how it works in the real world. In contrast, the Fire was attached by a heavy security device that made it difficult to evaluate in "real world" terms. Brilliant (and subtle) choice by Apple/Best Buy in the way the devices are displayed.
() I think it's very difficult for an experienced iPad user to tell the difference between a Fire's "inadequacies" and simply "differences" in the two devices. I think if I had an equivalent amount of experience with a Kindle as I have with the iPad I'd have a distinctly different (and more positive) view of the Fire. And that's from someone who was consciously trying NOT to make invidious comparisons between the two devices.
In short, it's very difficult not to assume what you're accustomed to is "good" and what you're unfamiliar with is "less good."
() Finally, I think that the 7" form factor of the Fire has a number of implications about the use of the device beyond the obvious display issues. For example, one review (cited here, I believe) complained that (a) the icons on the Fire were "too small" and (b) that the carousel presentation of apps on the Fire was "dated." You can't have it both ways on a 7" device. If you're going to present icons in a grid, they'll be small. If you want to see and interact with larger icons, there has to be a way to show you one or two apps at a time.
Perhaps that means as Jobs maintained that a 7" tablet is inherently "too small." But it may also mean that those who want more portability and less weight simply have a different set of compromises to make in the use of the device.
I really wish Amazon would post sell through figures and return rate percentage after the first month. That would tell us if this is a success or utter failure, and would give us an indication if Apple would persue a 7" tablet. If Amazon only sells a couple million and there is a 16% return rate, Apple won't build a 7" device. There is simpy no need. It will be proof that Jobs was right. But if Amazon sells 6 million and there is only a 4% return rate, then odds are we will see a 7.89" or whatever sized iPad.
A few points of interest
1. You witnessed thousands of people say waaaaay back in the 90s that Amazon was going to fail? Huh.
2. I think you see mainly women using Kindle's because women dominate the reading of fiction. As much as 4 to 1 in some reports. Plus they are cheap.
3. Does the Kindle work in dark rooms?
4. If the Kindle is a purpose built Ebook reader and the Fire is simply another kindle then I would argue that the Fire won't excel at what it's made for - reading. Because like the ipad and Co. it's not as good as easy on the eyes as the special ink system the Kindle uses. Plus it doesn't read in landscape mode.
But yeah, it is made to sell more content that isn't just books.
Personally I think it's a pointless purchase unless you are tied up in the amazon eco system and even then the memory is very limiting. That's not true of an ipad apart from the apps. You can put your own music, movies on it. Can you do that with the fire? I honestly don't know.