MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Kindle Fire - Review For Those Who Dislike Small Screens

poohbear_nc · 11-17-2011, 10:46 AM

[Disclaimer: as you can see in my signature, I have used every Kindle made by Amazon, but I am not affiliated in any way with Amazon. I simply enjoy & appreciate the convenience of Amazon's "works right out of the box" approach - and never having to load or use any software on my PC to use the Kindle.]

Prolog 1: I am a "mature" reader, and have worn glasses since I was 3 years old. My eyes are extremely sensitive to light levels, glare, etc. I also suffer from migraine headaches, and thus have exclusively read on eInk screens. I read constantly. I use NoSquint with FireFox for reading on a PC, laptop, or netbook - to manage text size. I hate prolonged reading on a PC screen.

Prolog 2: I currently own an ASUS Transformer that I bought to use as an ereader for books with lots of photographs, maps, illustrations, etc. that cannot be fully appreciated on a smaller screen Kindle. I do not enjoy reading on it - I find the text display is not sharp/crisp/clear - and my eyes fatigue rapidly. (Ditto for my previous iPad 1)

So I decided to order a Fire and try it out.

My first impression of the Fire was "It's way TOO small! I made a mistake!"
Then the screen popped up - and it was gorgeous! I've never seen such a sharp, crisp, clear screen - the resolution is wonderful. So I've been playing with it to see how my eyes like it.

The short answer is "I love it". It ain't perfect, but it's a winner for me.

1. Form factor
This is the perfect size for portability and easy reading. The iPad and Transformer are (for me) 2-handed devices, and are just plain clunky to lug around. The Fire (in the Marware case with the elastic band for holding in one hand) is easily portable and light enough for prolonged one-handed use.

2. Interface
For whatever reason, "intuitive' user interfaces are not intuitive for me at all. Trying to figure out how to do things on the iPad or Transformer drove me nuts. I'm basically a RTFM person, and have a stack of "Missing Manual" books in my house. It's very annoying to me to have to repeatedly visit websites to learn how to manipulate the device in front of me.

I am not having any problems navigating around the Fire. I've not had a lot of experience with music in the cloud or streaming videos, etc. - but I'm having a ball - and so far everything is working!
I agree with other reviewers that putting everything you own on the Carousel is ridiculous, but having your most recently used items at the front of it is helpful.

3. Reading books
There are enough options to modify font, type size, line spacing, brightness, etc. that I have found a combination that works for me. I agree with other reviewers that the unit as a whole is too bright, and would like to see a resident Amazon app to fine tune the brightness level other than using the sliding bar. Books, magazines, and documents are displaying very nicely - and the resolution for photographs & maps is very readable. I have found that tapping to magnify images only produces one larger size - I would appreciate the addition of the ability to "stretch" images with your finger tips [if I've missed this & it's possible, please tell me].
The crispness & clarity of the type on this screen is extremely readable - I have not experienced noticeable eye strain or headaches. I read just using ambient room lighting, and have not had problems with screen glare from reflected light.

4. Music
I'm using my Nano earbuds - works great.

5. Movies
Just for the heck of it, I tried streaming a movie - since it's free with Prime. I have a "regular" speed Roadrunner internet cable connection [didn't pop for the turbo speed] - and YouTube videos regularly stall for "buffering" on my PC - so I wasn't expecting much. But -- WOW! The Fire really does work with your internet connection speed - there was a small initial delay and then the movie played without pause or lag. The Fire screen is superb for watching movies - but I did notice significant screen glare from reflected light when the movie scene was dark - I have ordered a pack of anti-glare screen protectors for this. Again, aside from the glare problem [had to tip the unit a bit] I did not experience any eye strain or headache from watching the movie. I was simply stunned by the rendering provided on the small screen.

I will continue playing with, errrr....investigating, the Fire, but I am very impressed already.

11-17-2011, 10:46 AM	#1
poohbear_nc Now what? Posts: 59,333 Karma: 135181808 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	Kindle Fire - Review For Those Who Dislike Small Screens [Disclaimer: as you can see in my signature, I have used every Kindle made by Amazon, but I am not affiliated in any way with Amazon. I simply enjoy & appreciate the convenience of Amazon's "works right out of the box" approach - and never having to load or use any software on my PC to use the Kindle.] Prolog 1: I am a "mature" reader, and have worn glasses since I was 3 years old. My eyes are extremely sensitive to light levels, glare, etc. I also suffer from migraine headaches, and thus have exclusively read on eInk screens. I read constantly. I use NoSquint with FireFox for reading on a PC, laptop, or netbook - to manage text size. I hate prolonged reading on a PC screen. Prolog 2: I currently own an ASUS Transformer that I bought to use as an ereader for books with lots of photographs, maps, illustrations, etc. that cannot be fully appreciated on a smaller screen Kindle. I do not enjoy reading on it - I find the text display is not sharp/crisp/clear - and my eyes fatigue rapidly. (Ditto for my previous iPad 1) So I decided to order a Fire and try it out. My first impression of the Fire was "It's way TOO small! I made a mistake!" Then the screen popped up - and it was gorgeous! I've never seen such a sharp, crisp, clear screen - the resolution is wonderful. So I've been playing with it to see how my eyes like it. The short answer is "I love it". It ain't perfect, but it's a winner for me. 1. Form factor This is the perfect size for portability and easy reading. The iPad and Transformer are (for me) 2-handed devices, and are just plain clunky to lug around. The Fire (in the Marware case with the elastic band for holding in one hand) is easily portable and light enough for prolonged one-handed use. 2. Interface For whatever reason, "intuitive' user interfaces are not intuitive for me at all. Trying to figure out how to do things on the iPad or Transformer drove me nuts. I'm basically a RTFM person, and have a stack of "Missing Manual" books in my house. It's very annoying to me to have to repeatedly visit websites to learn how to manipulate the device in front of me. I am not having any problems navigating around the Fire. I've not had a lot of experience with music in the cloud or streaming videos, etc. - but I'm having a ball - and so far everything is working! I agree with other reviewers that putting everything you own on the Carousel is ridiculous, but having your most recently used items at the front of it is helpful. 3. Reading books There are enough options to modify font, type size, line spacing, brightness, etc. that I have found a combination that works for me. I agree with other reviewers that the unit as a whole is too bright, and would like to see a resident Amazon app to fine tune the brightness level other than using the sliding bar. Books, magazines, and documents are displaying very nicely - and the resolution for photographs & maps is very readable. I have found that tapping to magnify images only produces one larger size - I would appreciate the addition of the ability to "stretch" images with your finger tips [if I've missed this & it's possible, please tell me]. The crispness & clarity of the type on this screen is extremely readable - I have not experienced noticeable eye strain or headaches. I read just using ambient room lighting, and have not had problems with screen glare from reflected light. 4. Music I'm using my Nano earbuds - works great. 5. Movies Just for the heck of it, I tried streaming a movie - since it's free with Prime. I have a "regular" speed Roadrunner internet cable connection [didn't pop for the turbo speed] - and YouTube videos regularly stall for "buffering" on my PC - so I wasn't expecting much. But -- WOW! The Fire really does work with your internet connection speed - there was a small initial delay and then the movie played without pause or lag. The Fire screen is superb for watching movies - but I did notice significant screen glare from reflected light when the movie scene was dark - I have ordered a pack of anti-glare screen protectors for this. Again, aside from the glare problem [had to tip the unit a bit] I did not experience any eye strain or headache from watching the movie. I was simply stunned by the rendering provided on the small screen. I will continue playing with, errrr....investigating, the Fire, but I am very impressed already.