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new amazon thing
- Thread starter jca24
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The fact that MacRumors allows weeks of TouchPad discussions to exist here, but instantly kill iPad-centric Amazon Fire discussions should indicate that Apple fanatics actually do have something to worry about.
I love my iPad and all but $200 for a tablet that offers all the main features people need on a tablet is a big deal that shouldnt be swept under the rug simply because "its legitimate competition".
Search B0051VVOB2 at Amazon to preorder.
I love my iPad and all but $200 for a tablet that offers all the main features people need on a tablet is a big deal that shouldnt be swept under the rug simply because "its legitimate competition".
Search B0051VVOB2 at Amazon to preorder.
I didn't post to kill. I posted to say I was not holding my breath for the device. Anything that pushes Apple to innovate and make things even sexier is awesome in my book. But, to answer the OP, I am not holding my breath. I didn't get the feeling anything revolutionary was forthcoming.
I agree with the quick closing of threads. Maybe they want to avoid having the forum littered like last time though. But perhaps we should have a separate sub forum now for competitive products.
But anyway, I ordered one of these for the wife. She has been clamoring for her own tablet and uses my iPad 2 often. This should work out just fine for that and save $300 off the iPads entry level price.
It is clearly not the same thing though. The iPad has twice the storage, 3 inches more of a display, 2 hours longer battery, and the advantages of iOS and the Apple ecosystem.
But for $199 the Amazon is a great deal for web surfing, book reading, music listening, etc. Amazons eco system is second only to Apple's so unlike the TouchPad or other competitors with Android, you will probably have a very good [integrated] experience with buying and consuming media on this device.
I am excited to play with it once it arrives for the wife, but I am going to stick with the iPad 2 for me.
Edit: whats also interesting is that Amazon has iOS apps, so any books you buy can be read on your iOS devices seamlessly (since the iOS apps support the whispersych feature). So this actually makes for a decent "starter" tablet, and you don't have to give up or rebuy your content if you ever upgrade to an iPad.
Versus an iPad, where iBooks will ONLY work on iOS devices (not even your desktop mac, at least not yet). I guess it remains to be seen if Amazon finds a way to make the other media like movies and tv shows more platform independent.
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Or maybe MacRumors should realize that, just like with computers, it's going to be common to own multiple platforms and that there's a LOT to learn from open minded discussions about what makes these products appealing.
Absolutely, Urkel I totally agree. I am just thinking maybe their logic is that they don't want to drown out iPad talk with dozens of Kindle threads that will largely be redundant.
I would certainly hope that shortly (once the frenzy of redundant posts ends I suppose) that they will allow threads to be made about the Kindle and how it impacts the iPad or compares to the iPad, otherwise that'd be just ridiculous.
I would certainly hope that shortly (once the frenzy of redundant posts ends I suppose) that they will allow threads to be made about the Kindle and how it impacts the iPad or compares to the iPad, otherwise that'd be just ridiculous.
it's not really competition for an iPad, it's basically just a kindle with a coupla minor extra features. there's so much more that you can do on an iPad in comparison. It'll suit the low end lot perfectly fine tho.
I think the Fire has a few things going for it, many of them common with the iPad, when it launched.
1) Unexpectedly low asking price
2) Great back-up from a company with above average customer service
3) Large installed user base (iPhone in Apple's case, Kindle in Amazon - although not quite the same)
4) App store, TV, Music all integrated with one-click purchasing - i.e. content driven.
The fire also has, what appears to be, great cloud back-up.
Sure it is not as fully featured as the iPad, but it has a great price and I think will do very well for amazon. I think Apple do need to keep a close eye on this, and perhaps consider launching an iPad 7" variant and/or an 8GB variant - in the interim attractive pricing on refurb iPad 1's might help. However, the biggest threat is not to Apple, for me the Fire all but kills the Android Tablet market. Amazon has brought many of the attractive parts of the iDevice proposition to the Android table and with a killer price, I can't see how the honeycomb and ICS tablets can compete with this.
1) Unexpectedly low asking price
2) Great back-up from a company with above average customer service
3) Large installed user base (iPhone in Apple's case, Kindle in Amazon - although not quite the same)
4) App store, TV, Music all integrated with one-click purchasing - i.e. content driven.
The fire also has, what appears to be, great cloud back-up.
Sure it is not as fully featured as the iPad, but it has a great price and I think will do very well for amazon. I think Apple do need to keep a close eye on this, and perhaps consider launching an iPad 7" variant and/or an 8GB variant - in the interim attractive pricing on refurb iPad 1's might help. However, the biggest threat is not to Apple, for me the Fire all but kills the Android Tablet market. Amazon has brought many of the attractive parts of the iDevice proposition to the Android table and with a killer price, I can't see how the honeycomb and ICS tablets can compete with this.
Sorry, I think you couldn't be more wrong, at least in the sense that it's "just a kindle with a coupla minor extra features."
The phenomenal sales of iPads didn't come primarily from attracting consumers who buy laptops. In fact, laptop sales continue to increase by double digits annually, even in the midst of hard economic times. The iPad's success came from expanding an almost non-existent market whose only real choice was an iPod Touch (whose sales have gone in the toilet since the iPad was introduced.)
Amazon's success, if it occurs (and I think it will), will come from expanding both the concept and the market for a "tablet." The "coupla minor extra features" added to the Kindle are, in fact, a way to bridge the gap between an e-Reader and a "tablet" (as conceived by Apple.)
What you call the "low end lot" Amazon sees as "premium" buyers willing to spend a bit extra to get a major functional upgrade compared to an e-Reader. What an e-Reader provides is books. An Amazon "Fire" expands and extends the content available to music, video, movies, magazines, and (most importantly) the web. And with Amazon "Silk," the web experience promises to be less jerky, laggy, and frustrating. Those are not "minor extra features."
FWIW, I have found Amazon customer service absolutely amazing. They go above and beyond every time I have needed them for something.
Of course, maybe they look at my account and see I literally spend thousands there every year. I'm a Amazon Prime whore. Love them.
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