Who posed the question, John Hindraker?

/that guy is a prophet

Fire was a direct counter attack on the Nook Color.

I've played with the Nook Color and it's spectacular looking at pretty color magazines. Would not and will not buy one, though.

There is almost nothing about the Kindle Fire hardware, or sales strategy, that wasn't first done by Barnes & Noble with the Nook Color, a full year ago.

The major exception might be Amazon's cloud-based Silk web browser, but initial reviews of its performance don't make it seem like much of a selling point.

Asa Phelps: I would say they have fragmented the android market not more substantially than samsung, motorola, or HTC has.

It's difficult to fragment a bucket of sand.

Amazon and B&N are using android to do their own thing. They're not out to sell android devices.

I have to admit that I've become annoyed with the Android universe as of late. It's becoming confusing to get the content I want in a localized place.

I want to read a book, I use one of 3 stores that have their proprietary formatting.
If I want to read a magazine, I can use one of 2 stores (Nook store or Zinio) Amazon has the product but only for the fire. I don't want the fire, I like the 10in format.
I want a comic book, I have to go to another store that uses a different format.

All I wanted originally was to have one device that could hold my books, mags, comics so that I didn't have to keep the stuff piled up in the house. I don't want to own a Nook, Fire, Hulu device, Netflix device and etc. You aren't helping me solve a problem. Plus you are losing money on the devices per sale.

On the subject of tablets...

The BlackBerry Playbook is going at a decent price... but the 7 inch might be the deal breaker.

Anyone with one that cares to share their opinion on it?

_{/would still prefer to get an HP Touchpad but not at ripoff prices}

ShawnDoc:

And that's what you have with an Android tablet. Boo farking hoo that you have to use a couple different apps to read completely different types of content. Oh my god, I had to......switch apps.....when I wanted to go from reading a comic to reading a book.

I'm not buying it.
Now I have to maintain multiple online accounts and risk the extra exposure from a security standpoint, plus technically (unless you have the ability to root and the desire to void warranty) each device is designed to be a standalone. Amazon's fire has specific kindle features that are not available on the android kindle app. Hulu and Netflix don't work on all devices and etc.

I'm not a fan of apple, but there has to be a better way to do this. Somewhere between a walled garden and a war zone.

Gilligann:

For $200 it's a great device. Perfect for steaming video in bed at night.

What kind of "steaming" video are you talking about? Better make sure you invest in a screen protector.

poot_rootbeer: There is almost nothing about the Kindle Fire hardware, or sales strategy, that wasn't first done by Barnes & Noble with the Nook Color, a full year ago.

B&N was missing the huge media ecosystem that Amazon offers. For books they were fine, but out of the box their music and video offerings weren't that great. It's gotten better, but they still don't quite have anything that compares to the MP3 Store/Amazon Cloud drive or Amazon movie rentals, unless you root the device and go with Google's equivalents. I'll give it to the Nook that it is a better tablet if you root, but out of the box the Fire is a better experience for your typical consumer who wouldn't know CyanogenMod if it bit them in the ass.

ShawnDoc: Virtual Pariah: I want to read a book, I use one of 3 stores that have their proprietary formatting.
If I want to read a magazine, I can use one of 2 stores (Nook store or Zinio) Amazon has the product but only for the fire. I don't want the fire, I like the 10in format.
I want a comic book, I have to go to another store that uses a different format.

All I wanted originally was to have one device that could hold my books, mags, comics so that I didn't have to keep the stuff piled up in the house.

And that's what you have with an Android tablet. Boo farking hoo that you have to use a couple different apps to read completely different types of content. Oh my god, I had to......switch apps.....when I wanted to go from reading a comic to reading a book.

Yes, but the original idea of the kindle (an easy to use ebook reader) has been lost. This becomes just another android tablet.

imfallen_angel: On the subject of tablets...

The BlackBerry Playbook is going at a decent price... but the 7 inch might be the deal breaker.

Anyone with one that cares to share their opinion on it?

/would still prefer to get an HP Touchpad but not at ripoff prices


I think the PlayBook has the same issue the Touchpad had: Nice hardware and OS undermined by a lack of good apps. For that price range, the Fire or the Nook makes more sense because you instantly have access to a wider range of useful Android apps as opposed to waiting for apps to be ported or for the Playbook to get Android support.

ShawnDoc: Virtual Pariah: I want to read a book, I use one of 3 stores that have their proprietary formatting.
If I want to read a magazine, I can use one of 2 stores (Nook store or Zinio) Amazon has the product but only for the fire. I don't want the fire, I like the 10in format.
I want a comic book, I have to go to another store that uses a different format.

All I wanted originally was to have one device that could hold my books, mags, comics so that I didn't have to keep the stuff piled up in the house.

And that's what you have with an Android tablet. Boo farking hoo that you have to use a couple different apps to read completely different types of content. Oh my god, I had to......switch apps.....when I wanted to go from reading a comic to reading a book.

But first, I had to drill down to the application menu and kill the comic reader because it locked up and made my tablet take 30 seconds to respond to each touch. Then the bookreader crashed 6 times, so I rebooted the tablet, and now the text is all farked up but at least I can see my book.

Android is the most spectacular clusterfark of recent times.

Still waiting for my Fire to arrive (I used the free shipping option because I'm cheep) so I'm getting a kick out of this thread.

SphericalTime: WTF, why do I have to go through three screens to get to a place where I can buy ebooks? And why is it not clear which ones are optimized for the Fire?

And, even when I search for the book that I'm looking for, can I not switch to the Kindle version from the product page? Grrrrrr. . .

/fail, Amazon.

I just received mine yesterday, and it really doesn't seem like rocket surgery to buy a book on the device. From the home screen you tap Books, and from there you tap Store. I don't think it is possible to make it any easier. Also, all the ones I am seeing in the store are Kindle versions, so I'm not sure what you are talking about regarding not being able to switch to the Kindle version on the product page. Are trying to do it the hard way and buy the book via the Amazon website on the device?

Surly U. Jest: Yes, but the original idea of the kindle (an easy to use ebook reader) has been lost. This becomes just another android tablet.

If that's really what you want, they still sell those for cheap. The Fire is a device for people like me who have become Amazon's biatches, and really want to make the most out of out the Prime Membership we bought because we get so much crap from Amazon. Also, I travel quite a bit for work, so it makes sense to replace my Kindle with something that will also do video and web browsing.

The only problem I see is that some people may have to double dip and buying the same apps again for Kindle Fire. So... I don't know, I think it's very underhanded on Amazon's part. Essentially, if you want the bang for the buck, you should always buy the same apps on Amazon instead of official Android Market.

Kuroshin: This is what an Android is.

/hummina hummina hummina...

That's a nice looking tablet. Wait 2 months after it's initial release. You'll probably get it for $50 to $100 less.

Disposable Rob: Masso: The only problem I see is that some people may have to double dip and buying the same apps again for Kindle Fire. So... I don't know, I think it's very underhanded on Amazon's part. Essentially, if you want the bang for the buck, you should always buy the same apps on Amazon instead of official Android Market.

The Fire allows sideloading out-the-box, so most apps shouldn't need to be rebought. Unless you are referring to something else?

You can't download .apk file from Android Market directly, that's what I mean. The apps you bought legitimately from official Android market can't be used unless you download apk file from somewhere else.

Gilligann: The fire is pretty cool. I'm happy with it so far.

I'm a contrarian asshole but as a long time prime user I have to say I love the damn thing more than I thought I would. I put all my music on the amzn cloud the first night. Borrowed a book for free I'd gladly have paid for. I downloaded a bunch of comics that look beautiful. And I've taken it to the gym a couple of times - perfect size for reading on the treadmill. And oh, I can watch any episode of star trek ever released for nothing. If you're a nerd who is already addicted to amzn as I am the thing is a dream for $199. I don't mind rooting and messing around under the hood from time to time but this thing is just fun and I'm gonna leave it as is.

I am thinking about buying a Kindle Fire. If anyone is willing, EIP and tell me what you think please. I've read a billion we compare it to the Nook articles but those aren't helpful. I am mainly concerned with the web browser. Thank you in advance.

Masso: The only problem I see is that some people may have to double dip and buying the same apps again for Kindle Fire. So... I don't know, I think it's very underhanded on Amazon's part. Essentially, if you want the bang for the buck, you should always buy the same apps on Amazon instead of official Android Market.

I can't say I've followed the marketing of the Fire real close, but it seems like they aren't really advertising it as an Android tablet. More like a tablet that happens to run Android and can do Androidy things if you know what you're doing. I'd be more annoyed if they were making a big deal about it being Android and having a big ecosystem which it's mostly locked out of (or hard to make use of), but they're really keeping it more its own closed thing.

I'm determined not to try to make this thing do every thing under the sun and just take it for what it is and actually consume the vast content it does have rather than making sure it will do everything that can be done. That said, I did download easy installer from the amzn market yesterday. Then I gmailed myself an unblessed apk file and it installed the app just fine. I'm sure some things will work properly and some won't but the one I tried was just fine.

No it's fragmented it no more than it already is. The Fire is probably the first, true, iPad competitor to hit the market. I say that as someone who owns an iPad, so save the righteous indignation.

bingethinker: Silly article. The Fire hasn't been available long enough to tell if it's fragmenting the Android market yet. Wait three months, see what happens.

My thoughts on fragmentation have evolved somewhat. Basically I don't give two shiats. I got the amzn tablet, slate, whatever the hell you want to call it, to read books and comics, watch netflix and amzn prime movies, browse the web, read my read it later articles at the gym, and email from my couch without a laptop and a cord on my lap. It'll do all those things out of the box so I'm good to go and the price was more than right.

Braindeath: I am thinking about buying a Kindle Fire. If anyone is willing, EIP and tell me what you think please. I've read a billion we compare it to the Nook articles but those aren't helpful. I am mainly concerned with the web browser. Thank you in advance.

I have a Fire, ordered it the day it came out. Disclaimer: I admit to being an Amazon addict...my wife and I buy pretty much everything from there now.

As for the browser, I find it to be fast, and I to the extent I've used it I haven't seen it have any problems with any of the websites I typically go to. CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, Fark, Wiki, local newpaper sites all work without any problems.

One of the big complaints I hear from people that don't have it is the size. There's this mentality that the iPad is the perfect size for a tablet, thus anything smaller is 'too small.' But I find it to be much preferable than a larger tablet. I snagged one of the $99 HP Touchpads and I've always found it to be too big. You can't hold it with one hand, it's a bit cumbersome if you're trying to read or watch video on it in bed, things like that. So I find the size to be a plus.

The UI isn't bad, but could stand to be optimized which I assume will come along at some point. There's no physical home button, so you have to get used to navigating, and as someone else pointed out, you have to drill down a little bit to get to some content you'd expect to be easier to reach. Part of me wanders if that will be less noticable as I get used to it, as opposed to HP tablet or iPhone I'm used to.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what else there is. The integration with Amazon's content and the cloud is very smooth and fast. There's essentially no difference in startup time between playing a video on the device vs. cloud storage, and it's easy to tell where content is between the two as well. I find the 8 GB of storage to be fine. I have 5 movies, a crap ton of books and apps on it, and i still have plenty of space left. At any rate it's far more content than I'd be able to go through in the time I'm usually away from a wifi hotspot or simply unable to charge it....the battery would be long gone before I'd burn through the content I have on it even now.

Like I said, I'm certainly biased given how much I use Amazon, but for $199 it's worth every penny in my opinion.

Shrugging Atlas: I have a Fire, ordered it the day it came out.

Thanks, this answers my questions. I really appreciate it. I don't have a smart phone or any other tablets so I don't already have a built in expectation of where things should be so maybe that will work in my favor.

BohemianGraham: If you're asking about size and such, the 7" screen is much better than browsing on a smartphone, and you can zoom in and rotate the screen. It's easier to view websites in landscape mode than it is to view in portrait mode IMHO, as it's at a bigger size to begin with.

That was what I was wondering about - and the speed rate. Thanks so much.

I went on there to get a farking program and now they want to know if I want to buy a program, a movie or a song. I don't want google itunes goddammit

Shrugging Atlas: Like I said, I'm certainly biased given how much I use Amazon, but for $199 it's worth every penny in my opinion.

Exactly. If you're already an amzn whore as I am, the shiat just works. I'm loving the portability.

AmazinTim: I didn't know anyone bought the fire? I work at a fairly (dread the term) "cutting edge" agency full of early adopters or agency bought toys where people are parading them around regularly... and this Fark headline is only the second time I've *ever* seen the Fire mentioned. The first was in the elevator on that little news screen a few months ago.

They just hit retail Tuesday and the preorders were shipped out on Monday. I only just got mine last night, and I have Prime 2-day shipping. Give it a few days.

For fark's sake, the whole point of open source software is that it fragments.

JohnBigBootay: Shrugging Atlas: Like I said, I'm certainly biased given how much I use Amazon, but for $199 it's worth every penny in my opinion.

Exactly. If you're already an amzn whore as I am, the shiat just works. I'm loving the portability.

Same here. Your relationship to Amazon pretty much determines how much you'll like the device.

Mad_Radhu: JohnBigBootay: Shrugging Atlas: Like I said, I'm certainly biased given how much I use Amazon, but for $199 it's worth every penny in my opinion.

Exactly. If you're already an amzn whore as I am, the shiat just works. I'm loving the portability.

Same here. Your relationship to Amazon pretty much determines how much you'll like the device.

I'd even say the same for Android and your Google relationship. I'd already gone all out for Google, Mail, Docs, Voice and now (FREE) Music.

/I'd like to see Android work a little better with Docs and Voice, but I'll wait.

My understanding is that "one click purchasing" is always on and there are no parental controls. If your child picks up your Fire there is no way to prevent them from maxing out your credit cards.

Can anyone confirm?

Got one and as a family we love it. Got Netflix for watching shows during late night infant feedings, side loaded Mobo Player and Droid Comic Viewer so all my cbr files look freaking gorgeous and we have episodes of Blue's Clues to keep the toddler happy in restaurants. For $200 this thing is a winner. Amazon doesn't stop you from side loading apps not in their app store, which is really all I wanted. So far, I have no desire to root this or install CM7/9 on it. It worked great out of the box and we have no complaints. Screen is very sharp, it feels great in your hands, and makes playing Angry Birds on the crapper a blast. (No pun intended)

Can someone explain to me why the Fire UI is so "radically different" that it requires apps written specifically for it?

I've got 2.3 running on the HP TouchPad. It has soft buttons that seem to be very similar to the softbuttons on the Fire. It runs any phone app out there and also handles the tablet ones that I've put on it fine.

What's the BFD?