A QUICK LOOK AT THE KINDLE FIREI'll add to this blog article later.
Now that things have settled down some, here are some additional facts on the Kindle Fire 7" tablet (isn't it odd this is not just another Rumor story and that Amazon actually announced this?)
Except that there's no SD slot nor functional USB port (except for cabled access), what it IS able to do, otherwise, has exceeded my own expectations for a speedy $200 device.
First I was glad to see it was a dual-core processor instead of the almost insane-sounding single-core processor suggested in the earlier hands-on that Tech Crunch had and that the screen resolution is 1024 x 600 resolution at 169 ppi, with IPS (in-plane switching) technology (it should be beautiful on this size screen), AND anti-reflective treatment (which works well for the NookColor I have)
It's not even a pound, at 14.6 ounces.
Unlike the 6 GB storage guessed earier during the Tech Crunch hands-on that was given, it's 8GB internal, enough, Amazon says, for 80 apps, plus either 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books.
As mentioned before, it could be that Amazon was lowering expectations when Tech Crunch received that unit.
Most of us would like 16-64 gigs but the Cloud technology focus along with Amazon's Silk web browser feature that lets the Cloud do half the work in presenting your content promises a Cloud-accelerated experience on the Web.
Adobe FLASH player is directly supported. (Most know that a primary tablet doesn't support it.)Update1 The image at the right is from Engadget's photo gallery yesterday, and I was struck that, taken from the side, the image is very solid, with all the overhead lights. Normally these won't photograph well from that angle. {End Update1]
The Speakers are top-mounted for once, so maybe we can hear the content rather than let the desk absorb it. Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX) is supported, as are DOC, DOCX, the usual image files, and non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VPB.
The warranty is 1-year Limited (will need to look at what that means). Optional 2-year extended warranty.
*BUILT-IN EMAIL* app "that gets your webmail (Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, AOL etc) into a single inbox." You can import your messages and contact lists from other email accounts. Additional email apps are available in the Amazon Appstore.
FREE PRIME TRIAL for one month. That gets you 10,000+ commercial-free movies and tv shows (not the most current ones) and free 2-day delivery on Amazon orders.
It's $79/year after that, something under $7/month. Students are eligible for Prime, at half that price, currently.
Amazon offers now over 100,000 streaming videos, including NEW releases and current TV shows (for a price of course but it has been less expensive than most places that do single item sales).
Amazon has 800,000 book titles at $9.99 or under as well as there being over 2 million free, out of copyright, pre-1923 books also available to the tablet, as many know.
They now have over 1000 "beautifully-illustrated children's books" (NookColor had the lead on that one).
FREE CLoud Storage for your Amazon digital content. That's for all books, movies, music and apps purchased from Amazon. 5 gigs of cloud storage for each customer, globally, have come free for some time -- it's about $1/mo. more for each gig beyond that. Amazon digital purchases never count against the maximum storage selected. So, of course they're banking on customers buying more from Amazon.
Extra Durable Display
Amazon calls this their "state-of-the-art" Kindle Fire display -- "chemically strengthened to be 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic, making it extra durable and resistant to accidental bumps and scrapes.
Amazon's Whispersync technology - "automatically sync your library, last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across your devices."
On Kindle Fire, Whispersync extends to video. Start streaming a movie on Kindle Fire, then pick up right where you left off on your TV - avoid the frustration of having to find your spot. Here is more information on Kindle Whispersync
Update2 - CAVEAT - 3G: Although the iPad did not have a cellular network 3G model for a few months when it was first released, Amazon Kindle users are used to being able to access the Net with free (very slow e-Ink-style) 3G web browsing and that has worked well for me for Net lookups when out and about. I don't do data contracts for my phone as it's not worth it for me.
This first Amazon tablet, like the first iPad, also does NOT have 3G network access. So if you are not near a local WiFi network, you won't be able to access the Net, much less that Cloud and its Amazon Silk browser service.
You saw above how many videos or books will fit on the device locally -- 80 apps plus "10 movies" (that could NOT be at HD size though) "or 800 songs or 6,000 books" -- you would view those without a Net connection
However, you will also be able to store your videos on Amazon's Cloud storage and redownload them as needed for offline viewing. While there is basic storage given for any customer, it's "only" 5 gigs/yr but any movie, music or books bought from Amazon will get free storage that doesn't count against storage limits.
At one point they offered unlimited storage (in a year) for all your music received from anywhere, in addition to storing other files within the max) for $20/yr and I wouldn't be surprised if they make similar offers for the Kindle Fire.
I'll keep a watch on those, as usual though, to make sure people are aware of that type of promo. While Kindle users had little reason to care about music or video storage, that'll be different for the tablet. [End of Update2]
Will look over more carefully the other new devices and update the pages on this site also.
Attached is the usual footer that shows what types of book-buying deals exist at Amazon -- and the Kindle 3 keyboard models and the larger DX Graphite are still for sale and in-stock, for those who don't want touchscreens.
Kindle 3's (UK: Kindle 3's) K3 Special ($114) K3-3G Special ($139) DX Graphite
Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources. Top 100 free bestsellers. Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.
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