New Amazon Fire Tablet killing the iPad? We think not.....

[Kaykaykay]

HP was a nonstarter from what I could see as a non-techie. I don't care if your hardware can do Mach 12 if I can't easily access content. Maybe there's a niche for tablet buyers who like to tinker, but that niche clearly isn't what Amazon is targeting. It's selling easy access to content.

Who knows, maybe Fire will flop. But Amazon has shown that it's willing to think long term, and it's shown with Kindle that it has hardware as well as content chops. Anyway, competition is good, even for iPad diehards. More pressure on Apple to ease prices and boost features.

 

[dogxa]

Well, no camera, no microphone, for $199 to buy an lighter, thinner e-book reader is OK, but if compared to the iPad, I think the iPad have much superiority, not only have got many users, but also the hardware is better I think.
Maybe to be a ereader and video&movies watch device is great! And want to know if all common format are supported, then I don't need the Aneesoft video converter to do converting for my movies enjoy anymore.

 

[Padholdr]

Check out this article Gizmodo wrote up. He comes up with some good points...

Why the Kindle Fire Beats the iPad 2 (For Me)

 

[scotland66]

Just Seen a Review, and gotta say wow! For the Price its Pretty Damm good, i mean i could myself Never think of replacing my ipad2 with One of These, but for my Kids or someone that just wants to Surf and Watch vids, its well Worth the Money!
Its a shame that its not available in Austria!

 

[jsh1120]

Check out this article Gizmodo wrote up. He comes up with some good points...

Why the Kindle Fire Beats the iPad 2 (For Me)

Excellent piece. My favorite comment is..

"The Kindle Fire fills that tiny tablet gap in my life. It only has the features I really care about at a price point that's reasonable. It's more than reasonable, it's pretty great. But more importantly, it's the color Kindle I've been waiting for. I don't care about built-in 3G. That's what Mi-Fis are for. The camera on our iPad was used the first week just to point out how horrible the pictures looked..."

That sums it up, I think. One's reaction to the Fire depends completely on how "tiny" (or gigantic) a "gap" a tablet fills. Even among those who grant the potential of the Fire there's often a qualifier that amounts to, "for low end users," "for the masses," or "a gateway device." In fact, the real issue is how wide a functionality gap exists between devices for a particular user. The iPad is a great device for me, but I now have three keyboards on my desk; one for my desktop, one for my laptop, and one for the iPad. (At least I don't have a 3G iPad that, like the author of the article, would overlap in functionality with my broadband connection at home and my mifi portable 4G/LTE hotspot.) I have music available from all three devices with varying levels of quality. Email comes to all three devices. And with Skype I can even make phone calls on my iPad or my smartphone. Redundant? You bet. If my wife only know just how redundant these devices are she'd give me even more grief for my "hobbies."

I wouldn't give up my iPad for the Fire. But if it had been available when I bought the iPad I would have thought seriously about how big a "gap" in functionality I needed to fill and the price to do so.

 

[info]

Yes, it was a good article. I also suspect that after Amazon sells a ton of these, Apple will reconsider the idea that they don't need a seven inch tablet (a Kindle Fire killer ). Interesting that reporters were not allowed to touch the new device yesterday, they may not be quite ready.

 

[jsh1120]

Yes, it was a good article. I also suspect that after Amazon sells a ton of Kindle Fires, Apple will reconsider the idea that they don't need a seven inch tablet. Interesting that reporters were not allowed to touch the new device yesterday, they may not be quite ready.

Having been involved in a number of software product "introductions" over the years, I'd have to say that if the Fire were "ready," it would be one of very few products that was "ready" on the day it was introduced. Additionally, I noted in one of the many "first look" articles I read this morning was a reference to occasional "response problems." So I'm guessing you're correct.

Also interesting that I have not yet seen a single promo photo for the Fire that shows it being held in two hands. Subtle message...Maybe not so subtle...The 7" form factor may have a place, especially among the Kindle lovers.

 

[Wookiee2cu]

I was wrong when I posted earlier about no apps, turns out Amazon will have their own app store but it will not be the Android Market; though they will have some of the same apps. One point that was made about this is an app purchased in the Android Market on your Android phone will not transfer over to the Kindle Fire, you will have to re-purchase the app which is a shame. Another point was made that because the OS is a watered down version of a full Android OS, you can expect the hacking community to figure out a way to flash it and get a full OS on the Kindle Fire which will open it up to be able to do a lot more. Reportedly Amazon has already said that they will not interfere with the hacking. Lastly, an Amazon rep said it best when he said don’t think of it as purchasing a device; think of it as purchasing a service. $79 a year for the Amazon Prime is also a very nice service available. As another member posted I wouldn’t replace my iPad with this device but for say children, it’s a great book reader/movie player/game device at a very reasonable price.

 

[info]

One point that was made about this is an app purchased in the Android Market on your Android phone will not transfer over to the Kindle Fire, you will have to re-purchase the app which is a shame.

I had not noticed this aspect of it. So it seems that they will re-create the Apple App Store in this regard... interesting.

 

[ArtWench]

Considering powerhouse hardware manufacturer HP only sold 20,000 tablets before bailing out and dumping them below cost, Amazon will have to do something very creative to grow beyond the already defined Kindle market.

-t

.

HP no longer has the following that Amazon Kindle has, and to be honest, is sadly a company in it's decline. The recent extremely poor management of HP is a large part of their tablet's failure. The Amazon fire, on the other hand, has a huge Kindle fan base from which to draw... Me being one of them. ;-). I adore my iPad; however, I prefer to read on my Kindle! And the new Amazon Fire gives me the opportunity to spread the joy to my daughter and mother while sharing the same huge library of eBooks. There is no way I could afford to buy an iPad for them both!

 

[Diane B]

It really is a stopgap product according to many with them coming out with larger, more featured tablet first quarter 2012. It would have to be much much better than my Ipad 1 (and I'm anticipating buying gen 3 in the Spring). I use mine for a lot more than web surfing, email and reading but I know I'm more in the minority. For me, its all about the apps and the ease of use. I also love Air Play with Apple TV but using many apps with Dropbox means I can do most things I need to without using my laptop, but syncing between PC and Ipad. I am a photographer so need my PC for photo processing but love to transfer my portfolio to the Ipad. I would hate the 8GB--I have 64 GB and only have 15GB left. Cloud be da***d. I already use Dropbox but I don't want to stream when I'm somewhere like a park without wifi.

My husband could probably get along with the Fire but I don't think he'd like the size compared to his Ipad. It will be a great product for many, but not for me anytime soon.

Diane

 

[Wolfpuppies3]

Now that it is out we know that it in no manner competes with the iPad

WiFi only, too small screen, small storage, and no access to the 350,000 apps we all know and love. Not sure it's even worth the heavily subsidized $200 price tag. Oh, did I mention all the other missing things like cameras?

It's just a Kindle, for heaven's sake.

 

[scotland66]

WiFi only, too small screen, small storage, and no access to the 350,000 apps we all know and love. Not sure it's even worth the heavily subsidized $200 price tag. Oh, did I mention all the other missing things like cameras?

It's just a Kindle, for heaven's sake.

Hey come on it's not that bad! Ok we all love are iPads here that's for sure, but there are others that would be completely happy with these specs, we don't need to put everything else down that isn't an iPad. and yes I do love my iPad and wouldn't change!!!

 

[Bob Maxey]

Not sure what I should say here. I love the Fire because it is another tablet to choose from. Never seen one, never will own one. I can't see why this device is called an iPad killer. Perhaps lazy and not at all creative writers writing too much about just another small Android tablet they have not seen or know much about.

It is smaller and, well, it is smaller, so it ain't for this cowboy. I think some people (perhaps Amazon even) wants it to be an iPad but it also wants to be be an Android tablet. I think it will sell and I think if it fails to meet customer's expectations, it will be returned and then bashed by unhappy users that thought it was an iPad in terms of capabilities.

At least they will sell in vast quantities when Amazon stops making them and offers it at bargain closeout prices. Remember the HP TouchSomething?

What really bothers me is how we seem to describe new products in terms of their killing power. Can't we just have an alternative without people blasting the web with unfair comparisons and telling us that Product "Z" will kill Product "A" or "P" or "P" or "L" or "E?"

I do wish Amazon luck.

 

[Bob Maxey]

Hey come on it's not that bad! Ok we all love are iPads here that's for sure, but there are others that would be completely happy with these specs, we don't need to put everything else down that isn't an iPad. and yes I do love my iPad and wouldn't change!!!

Millions of tablet users are pleased with their purchases. We are biased so Apple rules and all others are also rans or pure crap. Smiley.

I think there are potential buyers out there expecting to buy what they think will amount to a 7-inch iPad. They might have issues when their Fire arrives and it can't meet their expectations. I am eager to join the Fire Forums and poke fun. Smiley. Just a guess, perhaps, but I see this as one possibility: unhappy customers. The Fire apparently has 8Gig of memory and no ports. It is a device built for the Cloud and as for me, well, I hate the stinking cloud. I was once asked, "What is the color of the sky in your world?" It is black, and it rains shards of broken glass stained with the blood of kittens and death is waiting round every corner. Smiley Smiley.

Then again, only a tiny percentage of tablet users read forums or give a rat's red arse about how stupid they were to by that POS. And every tablet is a POS depending on the forum.