Thoughts on the Amazon Kindle Fire

http://paulstamatiou.com/amazon-kindle-fire

by PStamatiou • 15 years ago

35 14 15 years ago

"At first glance the Fire looks like a hybrid between the failed Barnes & Noble Nook and the also 7-inch screen Samsung Galaxy Tab."

About 40% of the people I know who have e-readers didn't give a damn about eInk and chose the Nook.

The rest of this comes off as "Waaaah, I don't want Angry Birds on my Kindle" to which I say: buy one of the two new eInk models...

drivebyacct2• 15 years ago

No kidding! Even if I granted that a new brand-space might make sense, if you want a dedicated e-reader, then buy one. I love the e-ink, and I would not buy an iPad/Android/Kindle with a backlight as an e-reader device, but mostly people don't understand and say "wait, I can't read it in the dark?".

I feel the author missed the point almost entirely. Android has been hurting because Google repeatedly fails to deliver on an integrated media experience. Amazon can bring streaming video, TV partnerships, books, music and apps, today. All by themselves, in their own ecosystem on their own devices. This is the closest thing to an iTunes (and iTunes' library) competitor.

Yhippa• 15 years ago

I agree. I feel that the Kindle Fire is Amazon's physical manifestation of it's online services. Whereas Google provides Android as a foundation for other hardware manufacturers to use this is a distinct offering from any other tablet in the market. You have Amazon building a targeted consumption device for apps, games, books, and video.

This is indeed a compelling offering. It's a one-stop shop. Rather than content providers fighting with Apple. Amazon as the content provider is not doing that and making it easier for Average Joe's like me to consume content. Much like Apple did with music and iTunes years ago.

patrickgzill• 15 years ago

I think Paul is missing the point. It doesn't have to be one or the other (e-Ink vs color LCD).

You can't watch videos on e-Ink.

While the market for e-books is large, the market for e-books + videos + color magazines + other content is of course, far larger.

PStamatiou• 15 years ago

I was just hoping for Amazon to bring something new to the table:

"I was talking about the rumored Kindle Fire tablet with my cofounder the other day. My point was that for it to really work, Amazon would have to deliver on both the tablet/media aspect while simultaneously maintaining the solid reading experience — most likely through a hybrid screen that can easily switch to e-Ink when you are outside or wish to read in a glare-free, black and white mode. Such displays have been in the works since 2009 (search for Pixel Qi e-Ink / LCD hybrid), and it would be great to see Amazon pull a home-run with such tech in their latest device."

ChrisLTD• 15 years ago

A hybrid screen is a great idea, but the tech must just not be ready for mass production, especially in the sub-iPad price range.

mechanical_fish• 15 years ago

a hybrid screen that can easily switch to e-Ink when you are outside

I'm just not buying the utility of this. e-Ink-based Kindles are now at the $80 price point, which for someone who can afford Kindle books is darned close to the "afterthought" level. They don't weigh a lot -- under six ounces! -- because they have an enormous battery life, so they don't need a big battery. So why not just buy an e-Ink Kindle and an iPad?

Just toss them both in the bag. When the sun is out, pull out the one; when it's time for Angry Birds, pull out the other. When it's time to read a book while playing Angry Birds, use one in each hand. Or, when all I want to do is read, I get to save weight and theft risk and damage risk and distraction risk by just carrying the cheapo Kindle around.

Are we going to save money with the e-Ink/LCD hybrid screen? I doubt it: Even if it is ready for prime time, I bet it would tend to add more than $80 to the final price of a Kindle Fire. It's odd, it's new, it's more complicated, and (ahem) it's got twice the IP licensing costs, at least, because e-Ink is still patented, is it not? And, worse, it would introduce a big layer of complication into the development of Kindle Fire apps. Isn't Android fragmented enough? Do you really want to force Android developers who want to target the Kindle Fire to have to decide which layer of the screen their graphics should address? All for no greater purpose than pleasing the five users who desperately want a tablet, and who desperately want an e-Ink Kindle, but who can't bear to own both at the same time, one for each hand?

sliverstorm• 15 years ago

Just buy both? They are different products with different goals. "Kindle" doesn't mean they are both reading devices, "Kindle" means they are both media devices.

jstanderfer• 15 years ago

Can't we wait for reviews of the actual shipping product before making sweeping conclusions about its pros and cons?

potatolicious2• 15 years ago

> "One is great for movies with a larger screen (and that is just about the only thing my iPad gets used for"

And this is why I think Kindle Fire has a chance.

The author himself admits that his iPad is really only good for movie watching. Well, now you can do it for a shockingly low price of $200, and everything streams from the internet, no long download or sync necessary.

Remember all the people complaining about the iPad being a pure media consumption device, and how that will destroy the creativity of the world? Well, this is that idea taken to the extreme - this device practically does nothing else. And I think it will work.

daed• 15 years ago

Here's what I wonder, though - how often do people watch movies at home on a 7" screen? Don't they have a better (larger) option? The reason I ask is with no 3G and only 8GB of storage, the Fire doesn't strike me as being all that great for watching movies on the go.

potatolicious2• 15 years ago

I have this concern also. I'm imagining the really ideal use cases - chilling out at a coffee shop, waiting for a flight, etc... and all of the above have shaky/low-bandwidth WiFi at best. Really, it's only at home where you're likely to get the amount of bandwidth necessary to stream a movie at acceptable quality.

tmcw• 15 years ago

I can't agree more with this evaluation. I'm happy that at least Amazon didn't kill off the e-ink Kindle.

Doing a lot of testing, I use an iPad 1, iPad 2, MacBook, Galaxy Tab, iPhone, and a netbook near-daily. My favorite electronic device is definitely my Kindle, because it doesn't feel technical and encourages me to do things - to read often, and pay attention - that I want to do in my heart of hearts, not things I'm distracted into doing, like cheap games and so-called social networking.

Thoughts on the Amazon Kindle Fire

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