I just want to add…after a month, I am still enjoying my Fire. I have a tablet and it was only 199. That’s still awesome to me. I use it every day over coffee in the morning for my newspaper, weather and mail. I catch up on my random Netflix movies at lunch and at nite, I read my PC Gamer subscription.
On funny thing…after the first week, I have never accidentally turned the Fire off while using it. Either I just got used to where the power button is, or it really is not an issue but not since the first week.
Arise from the depths because, well, I still dig my Fire.
I know one of the big complaints was the on-off switch. After the first week, I never hit it accidentally again.
WiFi- it does seem to really suck the life out of the battery- I just found “WiFi turn on,WiFi turn off” app- you stick this on your favorites bar and you have one button access to on and off wifi- huge saver- and convenient. Very simple.
The biggie that I saw today was the Netflix update. The volume control is now ON THE SCREEN…yes you no longer have to go into the settings to change the volume, there by resetting the movie and having to have it re-cache. The volume bar is right on the screen when you tap it- again very simple but so very necessary. I watch movies at lunch at work and the wifi here is only soso- and that re-cache thing was killing me. This fixed it.
Another arise because I’m seriously buying an inexpensive tablet in the next few months and the Fire is on the list with the Nook Tablet. What is the current thinking on these? Everything that pops up on Google seems to be focused on initial impressions from last fall.
To be clear, my interest in a tablet would be for gaming and reading. I’m inclined towards the Fire because of my happy experiences with Amazon, but I’m a bit concerned about a) the app store not (apparently) not giving access to everything in the Android app universe and b) the limited memory and lack of expansion opportunities. So any opinions are welcome.
I’d wait being there’s been fairly serious rumors of a Google tablet in that size and price range this summer. If Asus is working with them on it, I’d take it over the Fire in a heartbeat.
I should also add the Samsung Galaxy Tab is in the mix as well since it offers access to the same books via apps and seems to have more apps overall. I’m not an Amazon Prime member at this point, so the additional stuff that gives you with the Fire isn’t a major concern.
As for a Google tablet, seems like they would have announced that by now if it was imminent. More likely in the fall, then?
I’ll chime in that I just got one for my mom for Mother’s Day. She wanted something for her sewing room and her phone and mp3 player are both awful, so I’d recommended she look into a cheap tablet. A couple days later I saw a deal on one, so I jumped. I have an Android phone (original Droid, and now RAZR Maxx), so am familiar with them, but haven’t played with an android tablet before. What follows are my impressions.
She unwrapped it, thought it looked great and we plugged it in/turned it on. Initial setup was quick and easy, and it goes to the Amazon desktop (basically their fancy Home replacement). Part of what she wanted it for was so she could just upload all her music to The Cloud and just stream it from wherever, so we look into that. It turns out Amazon wants $20/year for that service. We’re both amazed at this, so we look into google. Except, you can’t get to the google store on this thing. So we hem and haw a bit, and I finally decide to just root the damn thing and stick all the google apps on it. Small hiccup there, but mostly twenty minutes later it’s done- it also installs a new home screen (Go Launcher or something. Seemed fine). I walk her through it and how to connect to her google account (she has some sort of crappy Android phone, but is unfamiliar with apps for it because it’s so shitty), and we get to uploading all her music (around 20gigs).
After that, it seemed pretty nice. She loves it- small enough to throw in a bag, and it seems plenty fast- apps launch quickly, Netflix plays fine, etc. I honestly can’t imagine having one and keeping it stock- it would seem pretty useless to me to not have access to widgets/music/google apps- the things Android is good at.
Even with the iPad 3, I find myself using the Fire a lot. It’s easier to read in bed with it, I think, and at work I just toss it in my back pocket to read at lunch.
Not sure what your timeline is for buying something, but there are tons of rumors about Apple launching a smaller iPad in October, and the latest chatter is it will be in the $200-$250 price range.
Anyway, other than the price the compelling thing about the Fire is plugging into the Amazon ecosystem. If that doesn’t matter to you then look at other options. And both Amazon and Barnes and Noble sell refurbished units.
Couple of noob questions on rooting. While I like my Fire, I am convinced that the shortcomings of the OS are in fact shortcomings. This I have questions about rooting.
Do I still get my kindle books and magazines? Do I just add the Kindle app? Is this the same for most apps? Do I still have access to the app store? Do I now have access to the non-amazon only app store like my Android phone does?
Yeah rooting for noobs, that’s me. Thanks.
20 minutes to root? Is it kosher to post a link of directions or do I just google?
When I did the research a few weeks ago, and in my cursory playing with the device after, the answer to all those questions is pretty much ‘yes’.
Yes you now have access to the Google Play store. Yes you can still access the Amazon store and everything you bought there, including Kindle content. Rooting does not delete any apps or content (or anything else) on the device.
Just google it. It really isn’t hard. You install some software on your PC. You connect the Kindle. You press a couple buttons and it does its thing. That’s pretty much it.
You can still access books and magazines through the kindle android app, but you lose the kindle device-specific stuff like the lending library. You can use both the amazon appstore and the google play store.
If you root your Kindle Fire, when you buy an Amazon ebook does it still sync with your Fire and deliver the book to the device, or do you have to side load?
I may be rooting my wife’s Fire tonight then. She pretty much uses her Kindle Touch for any reading, so it’s not like the loss of the lending library is going to matter at all.
