32 replies to this topic

[TCKev]

I already own the 3rd gen Kindle but just pre-ordered the Kindle Fire. Now just a waiting game. Anybody else buy the Fire?

[BritinUSA]

I saw that they have introduced a touch screen e-reader (like the Kindle but without the keypad). Now if we can just write software that runs on it, we could replace the PALMS that we use with something that has a larger screen, and can be read in bright sunlight... just a thought.

[TCKev]

That would be cool.

[bbncu]

That is a pretty good price for a tablet...$199 and it also lowered down their basic kindle to $79 bucks...man I might try starting to read more

[D.Hayden]

I'm really llooking forward to a decent competitor to Apple

I need to try one before I buy it, but I'm croissing my fingers... I know other people that have pre-ordered already

[Merlin Orr]

Truth about Kindle...?

I have ~500 books on my iPad II now.... Are Kindles still available?

Edited by Merlin Orr, 29 September 2011 - 12:39 PM.

[BritinUSA]

Truth about Kindle...?

I have ~500 books on my iPad II now.... Are Kindles still available?

Sales are expected to hit $6 billion in 2012 (source), I'd say the device is here to stay. I use mine every day, I love reading books, years ago I had a whole bookshelf of them. I would read them and then donate them, now I can get them cheaper and they don't take up any shelf space...

Anyone trying to read a book on an iPhone is asking for nothing but eye-strain. The iPad is great but that glare on the screen is not good for long term reading.

[sfinney]

Truth about Kindle...?

I have ~500 books on my iPad II now.... Are Kindles still available?

Well considering that that article was written 2 and half years ago, and they are still selling basic Kindles (and will sell MANY more for the new price of $79!) I'd say he may be right in the long run, but missed his mark a bit on the timeline.

Our family owns an iPhone 4, an iPod Touch, an iPad 1 (wifes) and an iPad 2 (mine!), AND a Kindle (and a Blackeberry my work makes me carry... uggh). I take the Kindle to the beach,pool, or places I don't want to handle or risk the iPad getting lost or damaged. The Kindle has an eye friendly non-backlit screen, the battery lasts weeks (if I don't use the built in WiFi and FREE 3G), and the Kindle library I have now is fully synced over all my devices throug hall the Kindle apps.

Is the Kindle a great Tablet? Not hardly. But its GREAT for reading books. I'll take the iPad 2 all day over a Kindle if I have to choose just 1, for everyday use..... but owning both, they both serve a role for me.

The new Kindle Fire is Amazon's way of acknowledging the old Kindle hardware format is likely a dead end, and launching a cheap Android true tablet will keep them in the race.... but rumors of the old Kindle's death is greatly exagerated.

[Wakal]

I have been using a Kindle DX for the last three years now...love it. Having 2000-odd books on "tap" is pretty sweet. My new phone (yeah, I finally got a phone that does other things besides...phone calls)...had far more memory even in the hardwired storage (much less the microSD) than I needed to dump all of my Kindle books to the phone. Now I have a nice big easy to read book thing, and a...paperback?

I don't care much for Amazon's pricing on new books, but Baen has my back




Alex

[Racer377]

The Fire looks pretty sweet, but it won't be replacing my 3rd gne Kindle anytime soon. I love the e-ink screen, so much easier on my eyes. The Touch screen versions are quite nice. I nearly bought the Sony PR650 e-reader for that feature when I was in the market a few months back, but the content was lacking. The touch Kindle is pretty close to my dream e-reader. I do wish they'd have made the screen 7" though.

Edited by Racer377, 29 September 2011 - 02:03 PM.

[TCKev]

The Fire looks pretty sweet, but it won't be replacing my 3rd gne Kindle anytime soon. I love the e-ink screen, so much easier on my eyes. The Touch screen versions are quite nice. I nearly bought the Sony PR650 e-reader for that feature when I was in the market a few months back, but the content was lacking. The touch Kindle is pretty close to my dream e-reader. I do wish they'd have made the screen 7" though.

It is a 7" screen same width as the 3rd gen's but an 1" taller

[maddox]

Does it accept SD cards?

[TCKev]

Does it accept SD cards?

Don't think it does

[diehli]

I have been using a Kindle DX for the last three years now...love it.

I'd like to get one to supplement my Kindle 3 (actually, it'd probably replace it for most stuff since I mostly use it to read legal cases), but I can't see doing that when they're nearly double the price of the frickin' Kindle Fire. They need to do a *cough* fire sale on the DX.

[Graham Smith]

I stopped reading books several years back because I spend 8-10hrs a day glued to a computer monitor (several actually) and the last thing I wanted to do in the evening was have to sit in a bright light and strain my eyes even more. Instead, I have a subscription for audio books which are great because I can just turn down the lights and close my eyes and let someone else do the work for me.

That worked really well for a long time but the Kindle got my interest a few months ago when I agreed to help someone (not very computer savy) choose which reader (Kindle or Nook) to get and then help set it up. As part of the process, I had them give me a list of books that they really wanted to read and we'd compare. That's when I found out just how huge the selection really is. Quickly, I found that there were a lot of books I wanted to read that were available for next to nothing (or sometimes nothing). Then, we got the cheapest Kindle and I got them set up and I had a look at this thing for myself. Then I found out I could play my Audible audio books on that as well. I was hooked and I got my own.

That was just a few months ago and now I see that no only have they suddenly released a new smaller lower cost model but have several new ones plus a tablet of their own on the way. I'll save my judgement on that till they've been out a bit and I can find out just what might be available that's worth while.

As a final comment, let me just say that the one thing that they really messed up on with the Kindle is the app that plays the Audible audio books. It's simply awful. It's difficult to fast forward or back because the controls are awkward and rather than scrolling like it does on a MP3 player, it moves in jumps of a few seconds each. Imagine trying to go back 3 minutes to re-listen to something you missed and having to do it 3 seconds at a time. Frustrating. Also, I found out that I should have never, ever, ever, linked my Amazon and Audible accounts. I now have several hundred audio books listed in the catalog of my Kindle and I can't make them not show up - read that as, you cannot unlink the accounts or filter what is and is not listed on the Kindle.

[Wakal]

You can make folders on the Kindle...that at least keeps stuff grouped a bit... Of course, I have a page and a half of folders but it is easier to find things than 25 pages of "stuff"...



Alex

[fortyshooter]

Seriously thinking about it - I use a Color Nook right now that I rooted and modified to run full Android. It's a bit slow so I'm curious how much faster the fire's dual core will be. I really like the 7" form factor - for me the IPAD and other 10" tablets are too big for the casual reading I use them for.

[vluc]

Seriously thinking about it - I use a Color Nook right now that I rooted and modified to run full Android. It's a bit slow so I'm curious how much faster the fire's dual core will be. I really like the 7" form factor - for me the IPAD and other 10" tablets are too big for the casual reading I use them for.

Likewise rooted a Nook Color, running CyanogenMod 7 on it. Overclocked and undervolted kernel and the puppy flies. I read both kindle and Nook books on it, surf the web, watch movies, listen to audible books, the whole 9 yards. I take it to out of town matches now instead of my laptop.

When the fire gives unlimited access and can be tethered to my android phone, then I might consider it. Until then....

[lugnut]

I ordered on a couple weeks ago and I don't currently own a Nook or a Kindle currently. It sure sounds like a nice device and I can't wait to get one. I have the Kindle app on my Mac now but I think the smaller form factor will be real nice. Having the books in the cloud is neat really... I have way too much clutter as it is!

[raz-0]

Truth about Kindle...?

I have ~500 books on my iPad II now.... Are Kindles still available?

That article falls into all the traps it warns about.


I have an iphone, nook with e-paper, and nook color. I use a lot of e-books and e-texts.

Especially with the retina display, I'd argue the iphone makes a great replacement for paperbacks especially if you liek to read before nodding off and the wife likes to go to sleep earlier than you.

However, it STINKS for texts, lots of technical books, electronic periodicals, and comic books. It's also pretty unsatisfying for extended video. The ipad does all those better, but it is EXPENSIVE for a device that you goof off on. tablets are a good fit for these tasks, but they need ot be reasonably priced. Personally I like the 7" form factor more than the 10" 4:3. However the 10" 4:3 beats that for texts and technical books quite often. I'd kill for a 7" with retina display pixel density, but that would be a seriously high res screen to drive from a GPU standpoint.

The fire does not have an SD card slot. Amazon wants to control what you can do to the device, so they omitted it.

[wgnoyes]

I've handled one; my son-in-law's. For the smaller size of it compared to an iPad, the KF seems like it weighs a ton, even more than the iPad, though that could be the perception of the smaller dimensions v. substantial weight screwing with me. It seems like wouldn't work as a successful e-reader for no other reason that fatigue in holding it for long periods.

[JKSNIPER]

I have a Kindle DX and its fine.

I like that I can take it to the beach in the summer and still read it in bright sunlight.

Plenty of books available for it.

JK

[lugnut]

I love my FIre. I think the streaming vids they give you for the free trial are also awesome.

[Mark K]

At the price difference between the KF and the IPAD, I could live with a couple of ounces. Not a slam on either device. I am using a new Samsung Galaxy 10.2, from work for some testing, and it has convinced me that that though I could not use it instead of my laptop, if I spent more time on the road, I could use it for a Laptop substitute a good deal of the time. But, again, it is near the IPAD price.

Mark K.

Edited by Mark K, 27 November 2011 - 05:43 PM.

[birdzman]

I've been thinking about the Fire but just don't know if I would use it as much as I like to think I would, more than one toy sitting in a box in the closet that I thought I would use more.