Display and Audio Quality, Interface
Display and Audio Quality
While Amazon may not have spent any money on luxurious design, they’ve spent money where it counts the most. As such, this budget-priced tablet comes equipped with a solid IPS display sporting a resolution of 1024×600, which is typical for a 7” tablet. Test images revealed that it offers excellent contrast and relatively deep black levels. It’s definitely an above-average panel, not only for a tablet, but also for electronics in general. I would be over-joyed to find inexpensive laptops shipping with display performance on par with this $200 tablet.
The only notable issue is a somewhat dim backlight that, in certain situations, fails to overcome the glossy panel. Unlike a Kindle eReader, which is designed to work in many lighting conditions, the Fire tablet is most at home indoors. Attempting to read books or browse the web while outdoors means you’ll be on the hunt for shadows, as using the device in direct sunlight is miserable.
Sound comes courtesy of two speaker ports located at what is the “top” of the device, when held in portrait mode. This location is a bit unusual, because when the device is in landscape mode, it’s very likely one of your hands will cover one or both of the speakers.
Quality is good, and the tablet is capable of producing a tiny bit of bass without ear-killing distortion. However, to accomplish this, the maximum volume has been kept low. This means any sound produced by the Fire can be lost in a noisy environment. As with most any tablet, headphones will be a requirement – so it’s a good thing the Fire is actually capable of driving a nice set of cans. Now, if only there was a software equalizer included in Amazon’s music interface.
The Interface
Amazon, despite this new product, is not a software or hardware company. Their previous experience in the arena is limited to the Kindle, a device that is obviously made for the purpose of reading books bought through the Amazon eBook store.
The software installed on the Kindle Fire reflects that. Rather than going with a standard Honeycomb interface, a custom Android 2.3 interface is included. And when I say custom, I do mean it. There’s nothing about it that is similar to what you’ll find on other Android tablets, and all of it is influenced by the only device Amazon has had experience designing – the Kindle.
Most of the normal Android interface buttons such as back and search are gone as a result, but home still remains – as a virtual button, not a physical one. Press it, and you’ll be delivered to the first of many bookshelf-esqe views. The home screen includes a scrollable horizontal display of recently opened items, text links to other views such as “Books” and “Apps,” and a number of favorites icons which are simply shortcut.
While the favorites work fine, I found the scrollable display to be fidgety. It often scrolled further than I had wanted, and in my first attempts to open an item by tapping it, the Fire instead scrolled one further to the left. In order to open an item you have to long-tap it, an action that feels counter intuitive.
Other parts of the interface make more sense. The bookshelf view works predictably well for the Newsstand, Books and Docs sections, and adapts well to the Apps section, but Amazon was not so attached to it that it tried to cram Music and Video into the same. Instead, both of these have their own interfaces, which feature large panels with prominent thumbnails.
But this doesn’t mean the long-tap strangeness disappears. In both the Video and Apps sections, opening content requires a long-tap, as a short-tap will only scroll. Yet in Music, you don’t have to long-tap anything. Most interface navigation elements don’t require a long-tap, either. I have no idea what criteria Amazon used when deciding what does and does not require a long-tap to open. Nothing about the interface is confusing besides this frustrating decision, which rears its head continuously.
All of the interfaces are of course linked to stores where appropriate, with some being more direct than others. Opening the Video view, for example, immediately presents you with a section of video to stream, buy or rent, while most other areas of the interface have a specific Store area that the user must enter. All of the Store interfaces work well, and connect easily with your Amazon account, but the lack of uniformity between them is off-putting.
Strange review.
The Kindle
Strange review.
The Kindle plays Android games just fine, allows free internet access to all kinds of non-Amazon content, and the aps also do the same. Sounds like a review from a reviewer who read a bunch of reviews but did not do one on his/her own.
I think the main drawback
I think the main drawback point is that, unless you expect a user to hack and root their device, they don’t get access to the Google Marketplace.
I had my first opportunity to
I had my first opportunity to go hands on with the Kindle Fire a few days ago, and had very low expectations due to the number of underwhelming reviews there were floating around the internet at the time.
There are other, cheaper Android tablets out there such as the Velocity Micro Cruz, etc. The Kindle Fire, in my opinion, is far from an entry level tablet as it has a fantastic display, a real marketplace to access, it is fast, and has a capacitive touch screen. That right there sets it apart from the $100-$200 “budget” Android tablets that have no marketplace access.
The fact that Amazon loses about $5 on each fire it sells, is proof to me that at this point in time, the Fire is the best tablet out there at this price point. I think what will make the fire a winner will be a large adoption rate, which I think they have the price point to achieve. If there are lots of Kindle Fire users out there, developers will be anxious to port their apps in the Amazon App store for them.
As mentioned, I think a
As mentioned, I think a user’s perspective on this device will vary drastically based on where you’re coming from.
The Fire has received a lot of so-so reviews because it is so restricted and because it breaks no new hardware ground. I generally agree with that view. Okay, so a Eee Pad Transformer is twice as much. But is it more than twice as good? Frankly, I think so.
But with that said, the Fire might become very popular with consumers. It does offer a lot of content at a low price and consumers will probably put up with the interface quibbles, and they certainly won’t care about the hardware.
Still, PC Perspective has an enthusiast audience, so I feel it appropriate to approach it from that view. And I think if you’re a geek who is familiar with the hardware and the software available in other tablets, you will be disappointed by some of the Fire’s shortcomings.
Good tablet!excellent price!
Good tablet!excellent price! I love it!
I have a 12 year old that
I have a 12 year old that loves to read. We were thinking about getting him the regular Kindle, but we are also looking at the Fire. So he can play games and stream movies. The regular Kindle uses an e-ink screen? I guess that’s what they call it. Could he use this to read books? Or is the screen not good for that?
In my personal opinion (I
In my personal opinion (I have a Kindle Fire and previous Kindles as well), I still think the eInk is better for long term reading, but so far, after a handful of 30-45 minute reading sessions on the Fire, I haven’t had any complaints.
If you have both the Kindle
If you have both the Kindle Fire & the original Kindle can you share books previously purchased between both devices?
In general, yes you can. The
In general, yes you can. The exception to this is that some publishers restrict how many copies you can have authorized at a time.
i think the kindel looks so
i think the kindel looks so cool and if i get it 4 christmas i will coment a whole lot more!!!
hopefully u can do the same
hopefully u can do the same things on it like an ipad but more fun stuff!!!
If they added a webcam, it
If they added a webcam, it would blow IPAD out of the water!
You mention that price can’t
You mention that price can’t explain everything away then you go to mention competitors that in some cases cost 65% more. Even the next cheapest option is still 25% more than the Fire, and it was priced mainly in response to Amazon. Something that costs 25% more is not in the same class.
A 25% price difference is
A 25% price difference is nothing to laugh at, but when we’re talking about devices between $200 and $600 dollars, its also not budget-breaking. This is not a car or a house – even doubling the price results in a mere $200 increase.
The Blackberry Playbook at
The Blackberry Playbook at $200 Kicks Kindle Fire’s butt.
The Playbook’s price will probably go back to $300/$350 after the holidays, and even at that price point it’s a better tool.
Dual Cameras, Microphone, and HDMI are a start.
Buying into a walled garden, anyone’s, is ultimately a failure. Playbook may not be as wide open as GNU/Linux/Android but it is based on QNX ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QNX ), and is the foundation for the next gen Blackberry Phones. So even though they’re having a Playbook fire sale, I don’t think it’s going to completely vanish in less then two years.
Heck, Compared to the development history of Android, I think RIM has done a stunning job with the Playbook, it is the only FIPS 140-2 certified tablet, a security requirement necessary for use by U.S. federal government agencies, and historically, RIM has a better track record of OS updates for it’s older devices then any manufacturer of “Android” devices.
Have a security flaw on your android device? Buy a new one with a newer OS, the one you bought isn’t likely to be updated.
In my experience, Blackberry has always rolled security updates and sometimes even functional updates back into it’s older devices (with-in reason)
I’ve used Windows Phone(Win CE/Mobile/whatevera), IOS and Android devices, and I keep returning to Blackberry phones because they work as a phone first, and are hard for me to crash, I’ve not managed to crash my Playbook either.
Yes, RIM is in trouble, mostly though, it’s just PR. They are engineers right down to their DNA, and have never been able to market their tech well. RIM has pretty solid engineering, but it’s not flashy, no manic Svengali’s with reality distortion fields whipping that masses (sadly) at RIM, just stodgy old engineers hacking away at problems.
In FY 2010-2011 RIM recorded a revenue of $19.9 billion and net income of $3.4 billion (EPS = $6.34). Currently RIM has a market cap of about $9.6 billion, trades at 3.4x trailing earnings, and is priced below its book value of $18.92 per share.
In FY 2011-2012 the first half revenue and net income for the company is $9.1 billion and $1.02 billion respectively. Even with the current run rate the company should achieve a net income of at least $ 2 billion in the current fiscal. At $18.92 the stock price is discounting fiscal 2012 EPS by better then 6.25 times.
Ugggh, what I was trying to say, the Playbook is still a competitive device, that is, in reality, from conception to now, what 2 years old? That’s a stunning achievement, by a solid, reliable and tested vendor.
The PlayBook is not a better
The PlayBook is not a better buy for most consumers. It has a substantially worse display and a much slimmer catalog of apps. Those two factors alone disqualify it from competition even when the PlayBook is priced at the same, and they’re much more relevant than the inclusion of cameras, microphones, or even HDMI.
I LOVE this device – it has
I LOVE this device – it has exceeded all my expectations and I can clearly see where Amazon will take the next generation of Fires – larger and with 3G and still likely less than the IPad
The Fire looks to be perfect
The Fire looks to be perfect for our family. I want a tablet for the couch and on the road, this is perfect for what I need, especially at the price.
My wife is a fb nut, loves being able to watch tv and browse fb. Meets that need.
And our second one is for our daughter to play games, watch the movies we buy on amazon and take in the car on trips.
The only question I have is do I need 2 or 3? lol
I can buy 2.5 of these for the cost of an iPad. Couple it with my or my wifes iphone hotspot and its exactly what we need. And this review makes me want to pick it up more.
I think the best reviews
I think the best reviews should come from the owners of the fire. I have an iPhone 4s, and love to surf the web and use apps on it, but I hate how small it is. My friend has an iPad 2, and it is awesome, but I just can’t justify spending $600. I purchased the fire yesterday and love it. I have no need for a camera or microphone, my phone goes with me everywhere and does that job nicely. The fire is fast, surfs the Internet just fine, plays movies and games with no problem. Plus it actually plays flash, which as an apple user is very nice and refreshing. Interface isn’t as easy as apple, but it’s still smooth and manageable. For the price it was a great buy, and I have no complaints.
Ordered two units when they
Ordered two units when they were announced. I thought one would be a great present but now I’m already considering of returning both units. The battery life is poor and I don’t want to buy electronic version of books that cost more than discounted or used paperbacks.
It’s a really nice looking device though. Just wish they actually carried magazines I read and wouldn’t charge so much for books.
I also can’t believe that the charging cable can’t be used on a PC. It’s a single fixed unit. This device would have been great for a 24 hour flight…
For now my old iPad will do. Can’t say no to gifted tablets!
I have had the Kindle Fire
I have had the Kindle Fire from day one and I have not regretted my purchase one bit!
I did a good deal of research before I made the choice to get the Kindle Fire, saw the positive and negatives of the hardware, interface, style and price point.
When you look at all the 10″ tablets, the size was not what I was looking for, too much bulk for me. I did not need or want cameras, I have the cameras I want on my Motorola DX2 in a smaller, easier to handle package.
Comparing to the other 7″ tablets, and my voracity for reading and viewing movies from netflix, the Kindle Fire won all around.
I held off buying until I saw for sure it would have NetFlix, and Hulu Plus. Now if they can just port Vudu to it as well…
Oh.. and the $200 price point was a big deciding factor as well.
So , go ahead, compare for yourself, then choose!
Why pay $200 for a Kindle?
Why pay $200 for a Kindle? You can get a certified Amazon Kindle that is refurbished for $20-$60 cheaper.
http://www.squidoo.com/refurbished-amazon-kindle
The kindle has withstood all
The kindle has withstood all the criticism it got since the first kindle and has proven to be a great tablet. Good for you. http://www.gadgetstron.com/kindle-fire-hd-8-9/