So I Bought a Kindle Fire

My wife showed me the Big Lots ad this morning with an Android tablet for $99.99. Instead, I pre-ordered a Kindle Fire for $199. I’m not expecting it to blow me away, and I can write-it-off as a game dev expense, but still, am I destined to be disappointed?

I"LL be interested in heating your impressions

I am totally stoked.

I’m going to get one as well.

As some one who writes about Apple for money, I’ve owed it to myself to get an Android tablet to at least have a reference point. The $199 is worth it.

I’d prefer them chilled.

Sorry, Swype failed big time there, and I wasn’t really paying attention.

Bah, no one continued with the punning.

I bet you won’t be disappointed, especially at that price. Kindles tend to have a really good user experience (their implementations of purchasing and consuming content are among the best there is), and now that they’re getting into providing their own device for other media consumption (not to mention apps) they’ll be hitting the sweet spot of tablet usage at a really great price.

All of their new devices look attractive… I’m thinking about a Kindle Touch. If they were shipping I’d have bought one already.

Some of those puns weren’t so hot to begin with. You need a bit of spark to really make these things catch light, you know?

When Amazon says “you wouldn’t know the Kindle Fire is running on Android if we hadn’t told you” it’s probably a bad choice for a reference point. Go with something more typical like a Galaxy Tab for comparisons.

But if it’s just for personal use, KF all the way.

I feel like their use of Android is purely so they can tie in their Android App store, and not out of a desire to provide an Android tablet.

Yeah, I know. But it’s more for apps and the like. It’s a good justification, too.

Things like the Galaxy Tab are just too expensive for my needs.

I think having someone else (besides Amazon) develop and maintain a stable OS might be factor too.

Yeah, and this is just me justifying the purchase to my wallet :)

I’m very curious how the 7" compares to the 10" form factor. I’m not going to spend $500 on a device that’s the same size as my iPad.

The closest I can see that fits both is the new Galaxy Tab 7 that comes out in a couple of weeks for $399. And that might not be a bad way to go. It’s running pure Android and has 16gb of memory.

But, money is tight so I’ll be saving the $200.

It depends on what you expect out of it - if you compare it to an iPad, yes, you’ll be disappointed. If you wanted a portable web-surfer outside your home, the lack of 3G might be crippling. If you use it as primarily a media dispenser and are content with hot-spot surfing, then the main problem would be the screen size. For $200, it’s a great deal if you can live with those limitations. I simply ordered the Kindle Touch (I’m going through withdrawal not having a dedicated e-reader), and will wait to see what the Kindle Fire II in-house design looks like.

Don’t forget there’s a 10 inch Fire coming out early in 2012. Anybody’s guess what the price will be but it can’t be less than $299 and I’d be surprised if it’s as high as $399.

A 299 10 inch fire would kill. That is the price these other stupid ass tablets should be coming out at.

It’s also anybody’s guess as to what its capabilities will be. Put a camera(s) in? 3G availability? Android system designed for tablets? Basically, will they have it as a major or even minor step-up for someone wanting something closer to the iPad in capability, or just simply a larger tablet (trading price and ease of portability for a bigger screen and nothing else). I expect it to fall between $299 at the low end and $349 at the high (for sans 3g models), so how much room there is for adding anything within the price range will probably be the subject of much futile speculation.

I’m going to show my complete ignorance of Android here, but don’t most manufacturer’s skin the Android experience differently?

Is the Samsung Tab the same UI as a the Xoom?

If it’s as barebones as the 7 inch, $299 sounds right.