Reasons to Buy the Kindle Fire

A Kindle Fire as a Christmas Gift

Reasons to buy the new Amazon Kindle Fire. The new Kindle may set the world on fire, just as the first Amazon Kindle did. It is obviously an alternative to Apple’s overpriced products but what makes it so attractive ?

Amazon Kindle Fire Video Review

Price

It is a lot cheaper than the iPad ($300 cheaper – mainly because Apple overprices its products to create the idea that you are buying something ‘chic’).

The Kindle Fire sells at $199 which may be a good price for a Christmas present for kids or for partners.

Screen size
The Kindle Fire display is 7 inches – small than the iPad but that does have the advantage of making the Fire lighter and easier to carry about. The Samsung Galaxy Note screen will be 5.3 inches.
Clearly a good big ‘un beats a good little ‘un bigger but weight is also a factor.
Features
The Fire doesn't have a camera but most people have cameras in their phones these days. It doesn't have a microphone, so no chatting over the Fire.
It is Wi-Fi-only.
The Kindle Fire promises 8 hours of battery life, (10 hours for the iPad 2).
Finally it has 8GB of storage but offers free cloud storage on Amazon.

Apps
The Fire runs on a modified Android operating system so you get access to several thousand apps in Amazon's app store for Android.
Amazon has optimized the Fire for streaming movies, e-books and music and a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime, the premier service that offers free 2-day shipping of products from Amazon and free streaming from a choice of over 11,000 movies and TV shows.
The fact of the matter is that the Kindle Fire is not supposed to be an iPad. It’s designed for consumers not chatters and surfers. It’s aim is to allow you to read books, listen to music and watch videos. It’s most direct competitor is likely the Barnes & Noble Nook Color.

Amazon Kindle Fire Technical Details
Display
7" multi-touch display - in-plane switching technology - anti-reflective treatment, 1024 x 600 pixels at 169 ppi, 16 million colors.
Size
190 mm x 120 mm x 11.4 mm (7.5" x 4.7" x 0.45" ).
Weight
14.6 oz (413 grams).

System Requirements Wireless – no computer required.

On-device Storage 8GB internal (approx. 6GB available for content). Enough for 80 apps, + 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books.

Cloud Storage Free cloud storage for all Amazon content

Battery Life Up to 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback, with wireless off.

Battery life depends on wireless usage - web browsing and downloading content.

Charge Time Full charge in approx. 4 hours via U.S. power adapter (included). Allows charging from your PC via USB.

Wi-Fi Connectivity Supports private and public Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or enterprise networks with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.

USB Port USB 2.0 (micro-B connector)

Audio 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, top-mounted stereo speakers.

Content Formats Supported Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.

Documentation Quick Start Guide (included in box); Kindle User's Guide (pre-installed on device)

Warranty and Service 1-year limited warranty and service included. Optional 2-year Extended

Warranty available for U.S. customers sold separately. Use of Kindle is subject to the terms found here.

Included in the Box Kindle Fire device, U.S. power adapter (supports 100-240V), and Quick Start Guide.

For more details from Amazon click here - Kindle Fire, Full Color

For details of the reduced price 'ordinary' Amazon Kindle click here -
$79 Kindle

Kindle Price Cut to $139

Ebook Readers - Amazon Cut Kindle Down to $139

I've always thought that as ebook readers go the Kindle was too expensive, even if it is Oprah's favorite gadget, now it appears that Amazon has admitted as much by cutting its prices to fight the threat from Apple in the electronic reader market.

CEO Bezos says that by focussing on features that facilitate downloading and reading books Amazon will distinguish its the Kindle e-reader from Apple’s multipurpose iPad.

“We’re trying to build something that’s great for long- form reading -- something you’d use if you want to sit down and read for two hours,” Bezos said “Our mission on the device side of the business is to use the latest technology to make the very best purpose-built reading device. We think that’s a mass product.”

The latest Kindles are lighter and thinner than previous versions, page turns are faster and resolution is sharper. They’re easier to read in sunlight and the batteries last for a month on a single charge -- two weeks longer than previous Kindles.

Kindle and e-book sales amount to $2.38 billion that's quite a chunk of change but only 7% of Amazon’s total revenue. However, the company has chosen to go on the offensive to ensure it keeps its market share as digital books start to dominate the known universe. Amazon said sales of e-books are now more than sales of proper hard books and Bezos says they will overtake paperbacks in 9 to 12 months.

“All media over time is going digital,” said Heath Terry, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets Corp. “Amazon saw that building a large base of customers would ultimately become a competitive advantage in dealing with publishers. They want to get there as fast as they can, before the competitors do.”

Competitors are catching Amazon fast and according to Yankee Group the market by Christmas will be split into thirds between Amazon, Apple and Barnes & Noble Inc., makers of the Nook reader.

Bezos said sales of the Kindle got a boost when the price was cut by 27% to $189 in June, a further $50 cut to $139 will spur adoption even more. Hell I might even get one myself when they get below $100 !

“We think at that price point people will buy multiple units for their households,” Bezos said. “We’ve sold millions of the prior generation of Kindles and we’re going to sell millions of this third generation.”

Amazon is also testing color screen technology and Amazon bought Touchco this year, which specializes in touch- screen technology, though strangely it kept the acquisition a secret.

Bezos is not convinced the Kindle needs a color or touch screen right now. A color screen doesn’t make a novel any better, he said and a touch screen glares at you, and reading on the iPad’s LCD is like “reading with a flashlight shining in your eyes.”

With the price getting down to more afforadble levels at last I predict a bright future for the Kindle especially with school kids and college students who are tired of carrying a ton of paper on their backs and women who read Jane Austen novels, as it is a well-known fact that real men don't read books! Does the Kindle have any video games on it ?


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