Uh oh, the Kindle's on Fire...

My thoughts Re: Kindle Fire

So I love my Kindle. As an avid reader, I used to spend inordinate amounts of money on books. I read quickly, so most of my purchases were once hardcover, on pre-order. The Kindle saves me a lot of money, time and space. I still purchase some books due to sentimental value or completion of a set, but most of my reading is done electronically. I have had two Kindles and hope to purchase a new one soon (Kindle # 2, 2nd gen, is cracking from use, lol!)

The new Kindle Fire, a full color, 7”, touch Kindle with Wi-Fi only, will be released on November 15^th.  I could read my books, watch movies, use apps, play games and listen to music. It’s linked to Amazon’s Cloud web browser (interesting that I just learned all about that recently…). Check your email, read your documents, store life on the Amazonian cloud... It all sounds pretty cool.

Pros:

Amazon Cloud = pretty darn great.

From the specs the battery life sounds nifty. Eight hours of continuous reading, 7/5 hours of video with the wireless off.

There’s a touch screen.

It’s in color. Whoa.

Better web browsing-cloud accelerated

As far as a tablet goes (it’s almost a tablet anyway) it’s pretty cheap. $199. That means people can try and afford something with this technology without break the bank. It’s got some great applications and content that will really be useful to those who can’t buy an IPAD.

Reasons I haven’t pre-ordered the monster now:

You can only use Amazon created content. Not too much of an issue considering I already subscribe to Amazon Prime (cheap shipping, free instant streaming, pretty cheap rentals). I have purchased all but one of my Kindle books from Amazon. However, if I used this as a music device I am unsure how I would make my music that I already own work here.

It’s only Wi-Fi. Nuff said.

I keep reading things about ads on the $199 version, which makes me nervous

It’s V-1. The first version of the regular Kindle was neat, not great. They just kept getting better. I need to see one to check if it’s a great update to a regular Kindle, or if it’s a less than awesome V-1 of an Amazon tablet.

Check it out:

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Color-Multi-touch-Display-Wi-Fi/dp/B0051VVOB2/ref=amb_link_357575542_7?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=gateway-center-column&pf_rd_r=0NRHBE7PV4RVRKEKZ87W&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1321408942&pf_rd_i=507846

Daily Tech’s great article (with some great comments too. I really love the Vader/tablet discussion near the end) http://www.dailytech.com/Amazon+Launches+199+7+Kindle+Fire+Tablet/article22869.htm

Edit:

For those wondering, I don't mind about the lack of the camera and microphone. I honestly would not use either on a tablet. These may even be a plus. I am sure they were a small factor in driving down cost.