I was going to get one of these, until I got my "free" iPad 2. Some place (I think it's Microcenter) is currently offering $50 off of iPads. I think there are others as well, but can't think of them off the top of my head. I read some of the Fire reviews on Amazon, and concluded it would be best to wait for version 2, if any at all. Pugs
Got my Fire on Wednesday, and have been playing with it since then. I will add my two cents here as well. First, just like the OP, the Fire was not already set up with my Amazon account, which they had originally claimed would be the case. A tiny bit disappointing, but not a big deal really, since all it involved was simply logging into Amazon, and there you go. Before I get too in depth on this, full disclosure: I already have been using the EVO for over a year, so I am quite comfortable and familiar with Android, and also with both the Amazong App Store and of course the Android Market. So even though the interface on the Fire is almost totally unrecognizable, under the hood it is still clearly an Android device. So, to start: The Good It's fast. By that I mean, the programs I have been running for some time on the EVO (any of them which I had ever gotten from the Amazon App Store at ALL) were already listed, and just needed to be downloaded to fire them up. And while the EVO is no slouch, the Fire is clearly superior performance-wise. Just for example, take Fruit Ninja, and try it on an EVO. It's nice, it works, and works well. But then try it on the Fire, and the difference is not even subtle, it's large. In other words, you can tell that the program pretty stresses the EVO at times, but the Fire does not break a sweat. This same under-the-hood smoothness has been there for everything I have tried so far. It Boots Quickly. Maybe not that big a deal, but for me, whenever I have to restart the EVO, or the Touchpad, I know it is going to take what seems like forever, especially the EVO. But not so on the Fire. Granted, there is less to boot up, but still, it's quick. The Screen Is Awesome. It's sharp and clear, and even reading text on it is not a chore. Of course an E-Ink reader is still the best, but when using the Fire just to *read*, it was just fine. Video Is Superior Whether streaming from Prime or Netflix, the content begins streaming very quickly and takes full advantage of the screen's sharpness and clarity when it can. I watched some Ip man 2, and some Daniel Tosh, just some random tests, and I could easily watch for hours without any complaints. It's Solid. It's not a fingerprint magnet because of the rubberish back, and of course it is Gorilla Glass in front, so it should eb able to stand up to hands, nails, keys, etc. Don't TRY to scratch it, and you probably never will. Managing Setups Is Easy. Connecting to my wifi was as simple as possible, and it works well. Setting up email was very simple.Getting into other things such as FB, simple. A lot of that owes more to Android than the Fire specifically, but it's still worth noting. The Lukewarm Like I said, I was already an Android user, so while I already know and use Android all day long, I am not terribly excited by the Fire's custom interface. I understand why they did it this way, but I think it would have been better to at least give advanced users the OPTION to switch to a more conventional user interface. But as it is, the interface works, and works fairly well, especially if I try to place myself in the mindset of a user who is brand new to Android, to tablets, to all of this mobile 'stuff' (instead of a well-seasoned Android user). I would not necessarily go so far as to call this interface 'dumbed-down', but it is definitely custom, and it is definitely designed to be more of an 'entertainment center' rather than a mobile computing platform. So just keep that in mind. What it does, it does well. BUT. But Android can DO a lot more than the Fire has been designed to do. What I mean by that is, the big brains at Amazon said, 'If we are going to get into this market, we are not going to make 'just another tablet'. We are going to make a device which ties the users with an umbilical cord into our Amazon website and services, and which focuses almost solely on what we do and on what we can make money from.' This means that the fire is very good at buying nooks, buying music, buying videos, buying apps, and using all of those things. And that is all fine. HOWEVER... The Head Scratchers ..this also means that there are a LOT of things that Android can do that the Fire has not been designed to do. At all. No camera. None. not on the front, or the back. No Microphone. At all. No GPS. No Bluetooth. Now I realize that the Fire is only $200, and in order for them to reach that price point, certain things had to be left out. But the fire leaves a lot out. No picture-taking. Ok, but the Fire is small enough that I can see how there will probably be many times where I will wish I could just swing it around and snap a picture. But, I have the EVO for that, so, ok. No voice communication at all. Again, I have the phone for that. But it would have been nice. No GPs. well, again, the EVO has that, but the Fire would have been awfully nice to use with Google Navigation. But the EVO will do it. No Bluetooth. Not that big a deal. Again, EVO has it, Touchpad has it, most devices have it. Here's the biggie though: No Android Marketplace. Huh? Ok, again I understand that Amazon didn't make these 'so people can have a cheap nice little tablet'. Amazon made these to sell stuff on Amazon. So, I get it. But Amazon has ALREADY released the source code for the Fire, and as early as Thursday, people were already working out ways to break the Fire's chains and get the Android Marketplace onto the Fire. Amazon should have gone ahead and just shipped it ready to at least add the Marketplace, instead of having to rely on outside devs to tinker with it. Buttons (or lack thereof) and Weight This little bugger seems a bit heavy to me. And I don't care what anybody had to have said to the suits at Amazon when they were finalizing specs, Amazon you need to listen to me now: DO NOT *EVER* MAKE ANOTHER PRODUCT LIKE THIS WITHOUT EXTERNAL VOLUME CONTROLS. NEVER. EVER. NEVER EVER. DO YOU HEAR ME?? Absolutely TERRIBLE idea to make you have to go digging into menus just to change the volume. Naughty naughty naughty. As for the one button (the power button), it has not bothered me so far. Time will tell. BOTTOM LINE: I like it. Because I understand what it is designed to do, and I understand the gamble they are taking at Amazon by trusting that enough people (such as myself) already HAVE a camera in their pocket, they already HAVE a voice communication device in their pocket, and they probably already HAVE a GPS device in their pocket, so they just didn't NEED to build those in. This let them make a fine little device at a good price point. But temper your expectations. If you are expecting a full-fledged Android tablet, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. I know the primary use for mine would have ended up being 99% just the stuff they built into it anyway, so I am ok with it. It gets my EVO out of my son's hands, so I already feel better about the situation. The Fire is obviously a fledgeling device, but fortunately, most of the complaints I would have at this point in time, I feel very sure can and will be addressed by firmware updates very soon. It will b interesting to see what the Nook is like though. We'll see.
Mine has no issues with Wi-Fi connectivity. Weird. I have the 3Gversion so maybe thats the difference? It is heavier than later the iPad2 but not overly so (everyone has there own opinion) and my battery lasts for a good 10 hours of constant video use before dying. MUCH longer for reading, surfing or anything else. I love mine. One example of why: About 6 months ago, I was on an all day car trip from Billings, MT to Denver, CO as a passenger with my iPad. I was able to stream the movie Public Enemies from HBO GO on the way.
He probably did one of those 'free ipad' deals online. I did one for $1000 a few years ago. You have to jump through a series of hoops, but if you're diligent, it comes through in the end. Also, you get a tax form for it at tax time.
The Fire was never meant to be a full-blown tablet. It was meant to be a way to consume crap Amazon sold. It's basically another middle-man for Amazon sales. If you want a "real" tablet, you may want to go elsewhere.
How? It does not show up in any search on the Amazon App Store in the Fire. It does show on the EVO, but not on the Fire.
Yeah, I just noticed that. I WAS there (that's where I got it) but they must have taken it down. There is still the Claystone Launcher, though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItX1eF55O7Q I read a thread where you have to choose to install apps from unknown sources and then Go Launcher Ex shows up but I have not tested that yet.
Whats a good free program to use to convert Avi files into MP4 ones? Ones that dont leave a watermark on the converted video...
Handbrake is a very popular open converter, plus they have profiles with preset resolutions to save on space even more. Or you can find an app that plays avi's. Not sure if Amazon app store has it, but two very popular droid players are rockplayer lite and moboplayer.
I'm not crazy about the idea that the only thing the Fire seems set up for is to buy stuff through Amazon. That could get tiresome real quick. I'm also not crazy about a screen that reflects light like it was born for that sole purpose. What I'm looking forward to is hearing about people getting the Fire to operate as more of a "generic" tablet. Something that will do more than sell Amazon products. Hopefully, some folks will hack into the operating system and make it more useful than it appears to be at the moment (at least to me).
This. It's a glorified E-reader. With Angry birds for the kiddos. Just a heads up to people who are desiring the Fire. Staples is selling their Accidental ESP (covers all damage, cracked screens etc.) that covers the unit for 2 years for $39. Some holiday deal. I normally am never one for the ESP's, but that one is a damn good deal.
I saw a radioshack ad yesterday that had the Blackberry Playbook for 199.99, should I buy it? I'm going to buy it for my sis and I'm wondering if blackberry has amazon kindle apps. What's do you all think would be the best buy, Nook Tablet, Kindle Fire or Playbook?
