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Originally Posted by nmenaker
(Post 17464476)
So, the first few hours of use now and I would say, it is NOT like reading on one of the e-ink kindles for sure. As expected it is a backlit screen and backlit screens just don't look that way. To me it is really like reading on an ipad (which i have) and so the overall after a while eye strain that might occur could still occur with this device - the fire.
the device does work pretty nicely, it isn't as snappy and polished as the ipad but it is pretty good for an android device. It IS nice to have the amazon prime and my amazon cloud content right there to access and can use it for movies/tv shows streaming, etc. The netflix player also works quite well. Moving around the device is a bit sluggish (this is androids fault not the Fire) and the touch screen seems a little bit picky, trying to touch on the settings in the top menu requires a couple touches sometimes. For most things there is a TINY little delay. The form factor to me is a BIT odd. Of course not as large as an ipad one tries to hold it differently, in one hand say like a phone - but of course it is MUCH larger than a phone. It also has a heft to it that you don't expect while holding it. Somehow the ipad actually feels LIGHTER (which it isn't) but maybe that is because one is normally holding IT with two hands or setting it down. As for storage, yes it only has about 6.5GB and there is no additional storage slot, so something like the 16GB Nook color is much better in this respect (albeit 250$ and no great amazon prime content access) I'll download a move later tonite to see how big they are and get an idea for just how many one could download to the device for travel. For me, it probably doesn't represent the best combination of form factor, readability, battery life, weight and elegant use to remain a keeper. The best I can say is, it MIGHT be going out as a gift and not back to the mother ship. But, I'll give it a little more time. :-) Yes the Fire has Amazon Prime, which I think is awesome. BUT...the Nook has both Netflix and Hulu Plus (both of which I already subscribe to), so streaming content isn't really an issue. And I can access my Amazon Cloud Player from any internet device...including the Fire and the Nook. But the final deciding straw for me is the storage capacity of the Nook. I will mostly be using it to watch movies while I'm killing time at the lounge or on the plane. 8gb is just too small, and would force me to constantly offload one movie just to make room for the next. |
Played with the Fire for a few hours yesterday - as others have said, when it was first handed to me I was startled by the heft of it - it's a lot heavier than you expect it to be, but it feels solid and well made.
I agree with another poster, although it isn't, it feels like the same weight as the iPad, but I think it's because as you are holding it, the weight density of the Fire makes it "seem" heavy. Flipping pages in the Kindle app seemed a little sluggish, it's much snappier on the iPad2, which you would expect, but i was surprised that the lag was so noticeable. I'm surprised that given all the people here on FT that go crazy stating they would never use Dropbox because it holds all their secure data, would use the web browser on the Fire that puts 100% of the data through Amazon. Do you really not think they are going to mine that data? I didn't see any speed increase over just hitting the same sites with the iPad, btw. Overall, it's not bad for $200. I don't think the comparisons to the iPad are fair, unless you are the type that says "My Honda is just as good as a Mercedes", but for $200, that's a throwaway price and probably great for kids. Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update had a bit on the Amazon Fire. At the end they said "It's perfect for parents that always buy the wrong thing for Christmas." I think everyone can related to that one. :) I was waiting to see the Fire first, but after using it for several hours I think I'm going to pick up one of the new Kindle e-readers instead. I knew the Fire wouldn't be as good of a pure reader, but I thought the rest of it would tilt the scales. But I think the readers are perfect for when I don't want to take the iPad2. I love the new Kindle Touch with the two-month battery life, but is it worth 2x the weight of the non-touch Kindle with one-month battery? Hmm... |
Originally Posted by DMSFCA
(Post 17465615)
I'm surprised that given all the people here on FT that go crazy stating they would never use Dropbox because it holds all their secure data, would use the web browser on the Fire that puts 100% of the data through Amazon. Do you really not think they are going to mine that data? I didn't see any speed increase over just hitting the same sites with the iPad, btw.
They also say you can turn off the cloud function and just use it as a regular browser. Or install Opera mini (which may have its own privacy issues). I've read a lot of reviews and forums and have not seen any posts in which anyone saw a speed increase. Apologists say the system needs time to cache more pages and that the Fire uses Flash which slows it down. Neither of these seems right. Amazon's PR says part of the benefit is that you're only downloading from one server. Many tested sites don't use Flash. |
I'll just add a point about the browser on the FIRE. It needs to get better. While the cloud layer (ala opera, skyfire ((hmm, that one sounds familiar))) might be compelling once it gets up to speed, the browser itself I find somewhat slow and the UI to be a couple generations behind at least.
We all know how the safari browser on the ipad works, nearly perfectly (sans flash of course but don't get me started) tap tap and boom it magically zooms to show perfectly the text/area that you want to read. Or, use the new READER functionality in the 5.0 version for ios 5. compare that to the fire which when reading sites like nytimes, cnn, espn, it couldn't figure out what I wanted to read and really simply zoomed A level. It doesn't alter that page orientation to the zoom level and pinching and moving becomes necessary. I THINk this might have something more to do with the CLOUD aspect of the browser. It isn't really as smart as the ON DEVICE browser so when one zooms it MAY requery the server for more data as opposed to simply re-orienting the ON DEVICE data. After using it for a half an hour, I figured "well, I probably wouldn't use the browser on this device anyway." :-( |
I think we are only a week away from a full clean Google Rom for the fire anyway :D
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Originally Posted by thegasguru
(Post 17463060)
For my money, the Nook Tablet is a way better device for travelers. The Fire only has 6mb of storage built in. That is NOT very much. It is designed to be a cloud device, and is therefore dependent on a wifi connection. As a traveler, there are just too many times I'm either not near wifi, or the connection is not reliable. The Nook has more built in storage, and also supports a 32mb SD card (which the Fire does not). I'd rather just preload whatever music, books, magazines, movies, and tv shows I want, and watch at my leisure. And the 7inch form factor is PERFECT for travel...I've always found the iPad just a bit too large.
http://gizmodo.com/5860494/the-16gb-...use-1gb-freely Without rooting it, the 16GB seems like a waste of money... |
Originally Posted by ScottC
(Post 17467798)
May want to read this before investing in your Nook Tablet:
http://gizmodo.com/5860494/the-16gb-...use-1gb-freely Without rooting it, the 16GB seems like a waste of money... |
Originally Posted by ScottC
(Post 17467688)
I think we are only a week away from a full clean Google Rom for the fire anyway :D
http://androidforums.com/kindle-fire...ml#post3479956 |
Originally Posted by richarddd
(Post 17468247)
One of the main selling points of the fire is amazon's cloud services, such as streaming video.
http://androidforums.com/kindle-fire...ml#post3479956 |
10$
Originally Posted by ScottC
(Post 17467798)
May want to read this before investing in your Nook Tablet:
http://gizmodo.com/5860494/the-16gb-...use-1gb-freely Without rooting it, the 16GB seems like a waste of money... |
Originally Posted by ScottC
(Post 17469264)
Sure, but once it runs CyanogenMod and the full Android market, I suspect that may be a pretty big selling point too - albeit one with a more limited market.
This teardown suggests it's selling for current cost http://allthingsd.com/20111117/kindl...eardown-finds/ We'll have to wait until a CM for the fire is released to see if it runs well. And we'll have to compare the alternatives in its price range. |
Originally Posted by nmenaker
(Post 17467582)
We all know how the safari browser on the ipad works, nearly perfectly
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Originally Posted by richarddd
(Post 17470233)
At that point, it's a question of whether the hardware is good value.
This teardown suggests it's selling for current cost http://allthingsd.com/20111117/kindl...eardown-finds/ We'll have to wait until a CM for the fire is released to see if it runs well. And we'll have to compare the alternatives in its price range. |
Originally Posted by ScottC
(Post 17470525)
Other than the Nook Tablet, I can't think of any other dual core capacitive screen tablets in that price range.
It might be able to stream amazon video, although I have no idea if this actually works http://forum.xda-developers.com/show...6&postcount=86 |
another fire review: not very promising
http://www.marco.org/2011/11/17/kindle-fire-review I will say, I can't agree with the netflix streaming but some items ring true. At the moment, I have to say I haven't felt any urge to pick up the device again in the past 24 hours, that might be telling. |
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