Please know that my comments are my personal opinion. These declarations are my thoughts and I don't mean to imply everyone feels the same way. I just didn't take the time to qualify many statements with IMHO. Thanks.
The first thing I noticed is it's noticeably heavier than my Sony Tablet. I spend a few minutes in awe of the Sony's weight or lack thereof and started to doubt my purchase based on this alone. Then I remembered why I got the Fire and settled in. It's not as light as I expected, BUT it doesn't have the heft and bulky look of the NOOKcolor. The NOOKcolor is unnaturally heavy. Meaning it just feels awkward holding it in one hand. The Fire's weight seems more balanced and quite similar to a small hardback book. It even looks well proportioned if that makes any sense.
Though the back has a nice rubberized feel, the weight prevents it from being used naked. I didn't order a cover yet because I wanted to hold it naked first and get a better feel for what type of cover I want. I'm leaning toward an ultra-slim case with stand because of the weight. I'm tempted to finally experience the beauty of an Oberon and this device is certainly worthy. Luckily, I have a universal case for eReaders (with four corner straps) on the shelf. I'm using it for now.
OK, so I put it in the cover before I bruise it, and plug it up. I left the AC charger in the box since I have something plugged into an outlet already that I use for other devices. The screen turned on automatically and WOW, the screen is drop dead gorgeous. I turned the light off to get the full effect. At this stage I'm still looking at the lock screen in amazement!
The keyboard is responsive and allows for accurate typing. I register and wait for an update to complete. Ten minutes later I'm at 87% and staring the screen, as if that'll make it update faster. I admire the crisp clean look of the small print. White on black, which should look really good in the reader app. Now it's 98%...still staring...done! Reboots automatically. Installs update. I look at the power button and notice the device is fully charged (green). Another reboot.
More staring. Huffing and puffing with anticipation. Arms crossed. The beautiful lock screen again. I quickly click past the welcome screens and FINALLY my home screen! The review videos don't do it justice. Absolutely stunning and inviting. What do I want to do first. I know, scroll through the Carousel! Fluid and visually appealing. I click on Books and the first thing I notice is the book icons are different sizes. Frown. At this stage I haven't sideloaded any books. Back to homescreen, click on Music and see my the content I uploaded to the Cloud. You get generic album covers if necessary which is nice. I was expecting blank thumbnails. Back to homescreen and click Videos. I'm once again reminded why I bought the Fire. I browse the movie rental section. Randomly choose a video to rent. View Rental & Purchase Details. Confirm a movie can indeed be downloaded to the device for offline viewing. Yes!!! OK, back to homescreen and click on Books. Here's the test. Can I read comfortably in the reader app? I know I can use a third party app, but would like to sync books with the Kindle touch. Here it goes. Select book for download. It's in the front of the Carousel with a “New” banner.
We have a winner!!! I can't believe I'm reading comfortably with the white background. I turned off the light and lowered the lid on my computer to make sure. Lowered the brightness on the Fire to 1/3. I'm blown away. I haven't even adjusted the formatting settings. The default stuff is on point. The margins aren't big like in the Kindle Android app. Line spacing looks great. Looking at the settings I see the font size is set to the 3rd smallest size out of 8. I normally prefer larger fonts, but it's not needed here! Wow. Text is crisp and clean. The white on black (night mode) looks really good. Can't wait to curl up with this one. The sepia is exactly like the Kindle Android app. I find the white on black much more appealing. The default typeface is Georgia. I check out the other ones just for the heck of it, but I'm happy with the default. Having the device in a book style cover adds to the reading experience. It truly feels like you're reading a small hardcover book. The minimalist approach to the device is a plus in this regard. Kudos to Amazon. You're not distracted by anything on the device. Neither visually nor tactilely. Highlights, notes, and dictionary work as expected. Nicely done. One oddity I discovered is you can only do a Google or Wikipedia search on one word. This doesn't seem right, hopefully this will change very soon. Back to homescreen. Books currently in progress show a bookmark icon with percentage read. Nice touch Amazon.
I took a quick look in Apps and saw all my stuff (mostly freebies) in the Cloud. The default apps on the device are Audible, Contacts, Email, Facebook, Gallery, Help & Feedback, IDMb, Pulse, Quickoffice, and Amazon's Shop app.
Well, that's it for now. Everyone's asleep so I'm anxious to have some quality time with my new buddy. Thanks Mr. Bezos!!!