HDX Did you a buy a Kindle Fire HDX yet?

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Do you guys think that the new iPad mini and iPad air release will affect Kindle Fire sales numbers?

Personally, I think all smart phone, tablet and eReader sales will plummet soon. How many of them do we really need? Why do I really need FOUR eReaders to be able to read 2 eBooks in 2 months?

I think the economy won't help either once the Fed buying of Treasury securities collapses as folks realize it was just a huge manipulation of the world currencies.

The Kindles and iPads we have today may have to last for another 10 years like the fancy radios and cars of the 1920's had to last folks for the entire 1930's.

This reminds me of 1928 when the latest RCA radios and Victrolas were sweeping the planet and there was no end in sight. Everyone and his brother had to buy those Model "A" Fords soon to replace the Model "T" Fords as the wave of the "future."

I find this poll highly significant showing that 17 are not interested in a Kindle Fire HDX at all versus only 6 who purchased one. It could be the canary in the coal mine.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Do you guys think that the new iPad mini and iPad air release will affect Kindle Fire sales numbers?

I think it might affect HDX 8.9 sales, as they are the same price as iPad mini and only $100 less than iPad Air. So there is not as much price differentiation as last year, at least on the base models (add memory and that changes fast though). But not so much with HDX7.

Despite the price hike on the mini I think it's going to do well. The first one had lackluster specs but now it is equivalent to the full sized iPad, which itself has gotten a nice spec bump.

I'm seriously considering an iPad myself. The problem is that I think I need 32GB and Apple charges WAYYY too much for that additional memory.

Originally Posted by jocampo

Do you guys think that the new iPad mini and iPad air release will affect Kindle Fire sales numbers?

Maybe not that much. I think the Amazon customers are sold on the Amazon eco-system and buy the Fires to use with Amazon media. Besides, the price ranges are quite different.

[FanciFreez]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Are you kidding me!?! I do not have cash to burn. I live paycheck to paycheck most weeks. I worked my tail off on Swagbucks since July to make enough money for the HDX and Case. That 10 hours a day doing nothing but Swagbucks, missing sleep and having no time to read. I love my HDX and I am still working my tail off to make money for Christmas and more books. I've made close $700 since July.

I didn't know you worked.. I had you visualized as a stay at home housewife that read books and played on the internet all day.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by FanciFreez

I didn't know you worked.. I had you visualized as a stay at home housewife that read books and played on the internet all day.

I'm a multitasker. I do stay at home. I'm sure you have heard of the term work from home. That's me. I have a small web/graphic design thing I do on the side from a list of existing clients who I've known for years. Right now I'm working for Christmas by doing Swagbucks on top of that. I normally have free time to read before midnight and early morning before bed.

My hubby works a full time job and goes to school so we live on his paycheck mine could buy half a week's groceries. lol

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Maybe not that much. I think the Amazon customers are sold on the Amazon eco-system and buy the Fires to use with Amazon media. Besides, the price ranges are quite different.

Apple over charges for every product they make AND over protects them from competition.

On the other hand, Amazon UNDER charges for everyone of their products and does not protect them from proper use.

This goes all the way back to 1978 when the Apple 2 was three times the price of the Radio Shack TRS 80 which continued into the 1980's when the IBM PC was half the price of the Apple equivalent.

Plus, I remember Lotus 1-2-3, a NECESSITY for business uses, was blocked on the Apple but freely usable on the IBM PC.

I remember when song files could not be used freely if purchased from Apple but could be used anywhere one wanted if purchased from Amazon.

Just recently Apple was a defendant along with 5 book publishers for price fixing. Amazon was NOT a defendant in that suit. To this day, Amazon indicates if the publisher forced a higher price on eBooks. Those without that warning usually sell for $ 9.99 or less.

In addition, the brains behind Apple, Jobs, is dead. The brains behind Amazon, Bezos, is still alive and his ingenuity benefits all his customers.

I haven't used a local brick and mortar store in years since Amazon undersells every product in those stores PLUS having a great return policy even applying to third party vendors at their site. Purchases at brick and mortar stores were almost impossible to return without sending them an attorney's letter.

Frankly, if I wanted to buy one of the new iPads, I'd buy it through Amazon rather than at the Apple site.

Since I first posted and voted in this thread, I've purchased a Nexus 7.2 tablet. It is pretty good for reading, though I probably would have gone for a Fire HDX if I had bought it for reading and media consumption. I chose the Nexus 7.2 simply because it has USB host capability so I can connect it to my Canon EOS 60D camera. The Fires and iPads do not have USB host capability, so they were not options in my case.

Having said that, I think the Nexus 7.2 and the Fire HDX are very similar as far as their screens. I haven't read anything about which has the better screen, but they are probably close to each other. Both have 1920 x 1200 pixels for 323 ppi which is comparable to my iPhone 5 ppi. The Nexus 7.2, and I assume the Fire HDX, make good readers as the high resolution displays very sharp, crisp, focused text, even on tiny font sizes. I read for a few hours last night on it in the Kindle for Android app with the theme set to night (black background and light grey text). I had less eyestrain than I do with the new PW2. So this might become my dark room, night reader. The only drawback to reading on both the Nexus 7.2 and Fire HDX is that the Android reading apps are not as good as Marvin (iOS only). The Kindle for Android app (not the native app on the Fire HDX) is way behind in features from the other Kindle apps and the PW1 and PW2. Like I said, if you want a 7" Android tablet primarily for reading, the Fire HDX is probably the best option for those who like the Amazon eco-system.

[sirmaru]

The HDX 2013 has a "mirror" system which is supposed to control other devices via a wireless network.

I am not sure how it works and have never tried it. Supposedly one can project its screen to another device like a TV.

Originally Posted by sirmaru

The HDX 2013 has a "mirror" system which is supposed to control other devices via a wireless network.

I am not sure how it works and have never tried it Supposedly one can project its screen to another device like a TV.

That is a streaming feature that allows you to view on another device, usually a TV, whatever is displaying on the Fire. My guess it requires Amazon Instant Video prime and has a very limited number of devices with which it will work.

On the other hand, a USB host allows a device to connect to USB devices like hard-drives, flash RAM, cameras, memory card readers, etc. The OS has to support those devices though, and Android might not support some. But through USB host I can directly connect my dSLR camera to my Nexus 7.2 and then control most of the camera shooting functions directly from the Nexus 7.2. In theory, that is. I won't know for sure until my OTG cable arrives today.

[WillysJeepMan]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

Personally, I think all smart phone, tablet and eReader sales will plummet soon. How many of them do we really need? Why do I really need FOUR eReaders to be able to read 2 eBooks in 2 months?

I think the economy won't help either once the Fed buying of Treasury securities collapses as folks realize it was just a huge manipulation of the world currencies.

The Kindles and iPads we have today may have to last for another 10 years like the fancy radios and cars of the 1920's had to last folks for the entire 1930's.

This reminds me of 1928 when the latest RCA radios and Victrolas were sweeping the planet and there was no end in sight. Everyone and his brother had to buy those Model "A" Fords soon to replace the Model "T" Fords as the wave of the "future."

No iPad or Kindle in use today will last 10 years. No way.

The difference is, with iPads and Kindles, you are not completely in control of that decision. The longer a person stays with a particular ecosystem, the greater the investment (time/money/devices) and the greater the incentive to keep with them.

Apple is in a position where they can essentially institute a forced march of iOS devices to 7.x (for those device capable of running it) by providing/requiring a 7.x-specific API that would render the app incompatible with older versions.

My iPad 4 is still running iOS 6.1.3. I have 100 apps installed and daily there are 2-3 updates to those apps that require 7.0. So the pressure increases each day to forgo the enhancements of those apps or give in and install 7.0.


Amazon isn't quite there... they don't have the pull at this point that Apple does. But once they DO get there, they'll do the same thing.

Originally Posted by sirmaru

I find this poll highly significant showing that 17 are not interested in a Kindle Fire HDX at all versus only 6 who purchased one. It could be the canary in the coal mine.

I believe that you are right about that. There's been too much churn, IMO, with the Kindle Fire line. Too many and confusing options. That is compounded by the various deals on refurbs of all those options/models. Amazon in a sense is competing with itself. Anyone interested in a Kindle Fire something-or-other (any model/gen) new or refurbed can find it.

That's the dilemma that Amazon finds itself in. It can't do the new-release-a-year model for devices that are primarily geared towards Amazon services. Amazon's services don't change that much to warrant a new device.

I really like the KF UI, including the carousel, but it needs to be customizable. Updates to the UI have been minimal and slow so I've lost hope in seeing the UI ever get to a point that would be acceptable to me.

So in the meantime, I'm running my KFHD with Nova Launcher but stock OS... that combo, IMO, is still superior to the Nexus 7.

[Blossom]

I agree with what you said but the HDX is a big upgrade from the HD. I think soon maybe in two years Amazon will have to rethink their tablet. Right now they are still in its infancy stage.

We now have a screen that can rival any eReader. I think the tablet is as thin as it can get. It's really light! I mean when I hold it I would say the K3 weighs more even though the specs say different you wouldn't know it.

This blue haze they forgot to mask isn't going to fly with alot of people. That is one big reason to go with a Nexus instead. Next year they will find a way to fix it or mask it.

The UI sucks hands down. It is marginally better than the Original Kindle Fire but it's super clutter and there is buy me menus everywhere it makes me feel like I am living in a store.

Let me arrange my tabs please! Not that would be awesome!

Books | Audiobooks | Docs | Music | Videos | Apps | Games | Shop

Right now I feel pretty lost when I am navigating my way through.

Like if i am in Docs there is a Back to Books button but there is a button in Books to get to Docs. I get lost in the process!

Originally Posted by Blossom

I agree with what you said but the HDX is a big upgrade from the HD. I think soon maybe in two years Amazon will have to rethink their tablet. Right now they are still in its infancy stage.

We now have a screen that can rival any eReader. I think the tablet is as thin as it can get. It's really light! I mean when I hold it I would say the K3 weighs more even though the specs say different you wouldn't know it.

This blue haze they forgot to mask isn't going to fly with alot of people. That is one big reason to go with a Nexus instead. Next year they will find a way to fix it or mask it.

The UI sucks hands down. It is marginally better than the Original Kindle Fire but it's super clutter and there is buy me menus everywhere it makes me feel like I am living in a store.

Let me arrange my tabs please! Not that would be awesome!

Books | Audiobooks | Docs | Music | Videos | Apps | Games | Shop

Right now I feel pretty lost when I am navigating my way through.

Like if i am in Docs there is a Back to Books button but there is a button in Books to get to Docs. I get lost in the process!

Agree with that! the Nexus 7.2 is the first Android device I've owned that didn't have a rewritten UI (Fire and Fire HD) or a bunch of carrier crap added to it (Moto phone). It is actually a huge improvement to have an Android device without all that added crap and marketing stuff. Plus the Fires don't have USB host capability.

[sirmaru]

It should be noted that news just came out that Amazon sales surged 24% from a year ago to $17.1 billion. You can Google that news for all the links.

Thus, that implies that 2013 HDX and PW sales are going through the roof even though Amazon does not publish individual sales numbers for their products. However, they are still losing money indicating a huge purchase of more warehouses to get to a one day delivery standard fpr Prime users. I heard somewhere else that Prime annual membership fees will be raised soon. I don't know if that is only for new users or all users.

Apple technology was based primarily on the genius of one man: Jobs. He is DEAD.

Thus, I wouldn't underrate Amazon potential to have their eReaders totally dominate the market in a few years.

Apple used to base their business plan on premium prices for their projected higher quality. Amazon is basing their business plan on underselling the market with quality as good or better than anyone else. In addition, I buy huge numbers of other products from Amazon at very cheap prices from household hardware, software, songs, car technology products, bedroom and bathroom products and everything under the sun. I haven't been to a retail store in years. Apple does not offer that wide variety of products.

By the way, the HDX 2013 does allow one to permanently hide the Carousel for those who would rather not see it. Plus, their stereo, high quality playing of music beats the quality of music on my internet radios.

With an HDX 2013 for dim light reading and a PW 2013 for bright light reading, a dedicated reader of books cannot go wrong.

Finally, as new technology emerges for eReaders, Amazon does NOT make their old eReaders obsolete. That is in sharp contrast to the policy of many other eReader manufacturers.

I own four Kindle eReaders now and may choose to KEEP all of them as I buy new ones each year. In the same manner as many use Calibre to collect eBooks and I use Media Money to collect songs, I may start collecting Kindles as a goal in and of itself aside from their use to read eBooks. Plus, with four eReaders I can go for weeks or months before having to charge any of them if I rotate between all of them. Four batteries last four times as long as one battery especially if WiFi is off most of the time for all and location based services are always off on all.

[jocampo]

This may sound crazy but I prefer Kindle for iOs than Kindle for Android. I think that the iOs version is more elegant and smooth. More refined. I wish Amazon could make something like Nook for Android; that version is nice.

[WillysJeepMan]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I agree with what you said but the HDX is a big upgrade from the HD. I think soon maybe in two years Amazon will have to rethink their tablet. Right now they are still in its infancy stage.

Yes, from a technical perspective the HDX is a big upgrade from the HD. But the question is... what does the HDX do better than the HD when interacting with Amazon's services? In other words, what benefit is there to current HD owners to upgrade? I see nothing compelling. At the same time, those who bought an HD now feel a twinge of obsolescence that a "new and improved" version of what they bought has been released.

They apparently decided that they're going to try and out-Apple Apple and out-Samsung Samsung. Bad move IMO. This yearly introduction of new devices with new features (exclusive to the new device) are not going to generate customer loyalty.