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Old 11-17-2011, 11:17 AM   #1
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Thumbs up So, on a scale of 1 to 10 - ARE YOU HAPPY?

UNBELIEVABLE! I am happy on a "12" level.

I had bought a Kobo tablet (2 weeks ago), and received my Fire tablet yesterday at 17:00. The Kobo was neat, but irritating in so many little ways (I realize this is my own opinion, though).

No in-betweens, no reservations, this thing is SO much sturdier and I find the interface is so well-thought out.

If you are a beginner, you can keep all their screens - and be fed the easy way everything you like - or, if you are nosy and curious like me, it will take you about a minute to start changing the setup to suit your needs.

I AM SOOOOO HAPPY with this tablet!

And thank you, from an Android newbie (although not a computer newbie) for all the tips and tricks and especially those of you who mentioned DropBox ...
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Old 11-17-2011, 11:20 AM   #2
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Try the following and see how happy you are.. make a Skype call.
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Old 11-17-2011, 11:24 AM   #3
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Try the following and see how happy you are.. make a Skype call.
Lol, you need a tablet to make a Skype call? Am I missing something?
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Old 11-17-2011, 11:26 AM   #4
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yahoo: times 10!

Last edited by SCION; 11-17-2011 at 12:11 PM.
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Old 11-17-2011, 11:27 AM   #5
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JSWolf is right. It's a travesty that the Fire doesn't do skype calls after Amazon advertised that it would.

Oh wait.....
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Old 11-17-2011, 11:28 AM   #6
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Very limiting.

The table is very limiting IMO. One of the most crippling limitations is that you can't just download MOBI files from third party websites and have them open with reader app. Such functionality is built in into IOS and other Android devices. With Kindle Fire you have to jump through couple hoops to get the file in your Docs.

Its also missing the normal Android dedicated buttons. The buttons appear when you tap on most of the screen, but it impares the usability IMO. In addition there is no SD slot. Also is has very limited networking capabilities. No VPN, DLNA or other media sharing. And no camera (although this is low on my list)

Id rate it around 6. Great construction and feel though.

Last edited by xsaero00; 11-17-2011 at 11:36 AM. Reason: more Info
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Old 11-17-2011, 11:28 AM   #7
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JSWolf is right. It's a travesty that the Fire doesn't do skype calls after Amazon advertised that it would.

Oh wait.....
At least he didn't mention .epub! Just playin' with ya JSWolf.
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Old 11-17-2011, 11:30 AM   #8
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The table is very limiting IMOP. One of the most crippling limitations is that you can't just download MOBI files from third party websites and have them open with reader app. Such functionality is built in into IOS and other Android devices. With Kindle Fire you have to jump through couple hoops to get the file in your Docs.
It's not an "open" tablet in that sense. Surely you knew this already.
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Old 11-17-2011, 11:45 AM   #9
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It's not an "open" tablet in that sense. Surely you knew this already.
Yes. I know that. but thats no reason for crippling behaviour. This functionality exists in their simple Kindles. You can use their "expiremental" browser to download MOBI files and have them added to your library automatically. Why would they remove this functionality from their flagship product.

I reported this issue to Amazon and they were stumped. They had no answer, said will get back to me.
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Old 11-17-2011, 11:48 AM   #10
jswinden
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I give it 8 or 9 overall.

Reading

I primarily bought it for reading, and I give that a solid 9. Amazon definitely needs to refine the reader app a bit, but they are closer on the Fire than ever before, and compared to stock reader apps from other manufacturers it is pretty darn good. But they need to offer things like:
  • Two-page landscape mode
  • Bottom status bar needs to show chapter/section divisions
  • Posting book quotes to Facebook and Twitter

Apps

I give it a 7 or 8 because it is somewhat limited. For example, I would like to be able to sync with my Google Calendars but this is problematic due to the inability to set up Google accounts/services.

Interface

I give it a 6 or 7. The Carousel is the absolute most useless feature they could have, at least as it is currently implemented. This need to be modified or perhaps completely deleted. I cannot imagine how cluttered and useless it will be when you have thousands of books, songs, videos, et cetera. At the very least, allow it to be toggled on/off and give it categories (collections).

I understand why they dumbed down the interface so people could learn it more quickly, but it would be nice to have fuller access to the Android settings.

Web Browsing

I give it a 7. It is a small screen device so I understand there will be limitations. However I had to turn off the browsing acceleration as the Amazon servers seemed to drag down performance, often causing pages to refuse to load. With acceleration off, ironically, the browser works much better but it is still not great by any means. Opera Mini loaded and works a bit better in some cases.

Music, Video, Games

No comment as I don't do these on my Fire, at least not yet.

Build Quality

I give it a 10 as this is a solidly built, well designed device. And it is priced below what it is worth.

Overall

It has a few faults, but nothing that cannot be overcome with time. Since it works out well for all the tasks I use it for, I give it a 9 overall. I hope to sell my iPad as the Fire is much more to my liking as far as size and weight, but time will tell. If after a few weeks I realize I no longer pick up the iPad much, then I will sell it. I do think the Fire has a good chance of filling in for everything I use my iPad for, but again only time will tell.
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Old 11-17-2011, 12:01 PM   #11
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Web Browsing

I give it a 7. It is a small screen device so I understand there will be limitations. However I had to turn off the browsing acceleration as the Amazon servers seemed to drag down performance, often causing pages to refuse to load. With acceleration off, ironically, the browser works much better but it is still not great by any means. Opera Mini loaded and works a bit better in some cases.
Gotta agree there. I had to turn that feature off as soon as I started browsing. It prevented form data to be correctly sent. Once I turned it off, it worked.
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Old 11-17-2011, 12:06 PM   #12
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I'm at about a 7, personally. I don't fault the lack of certain hardware, but I am finding the limitations and bugs in the OS frustrating. I know Amazon will be working to fix the problems, but I feel like I run in to some pretty basic problems far too often. And the Cloud is just disappointing, which makes me feel the sting of the limited memory all the more. I'm still in the wait-and-see mode; if there are some big software updates within the next couple weeks, and everything starts doing better, I'll keep it. But if things aren't significantly improved in 27 days, I'm sending it back and just getting an Android tablet of some sort.
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Old 11-17-2011, 12:14 PM   #13
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times 10!
I'll qualify this by adding $199, tightly knit access to the entire Amazon ecosytem, ability to download movie rentals for travel purposes, reader app better than Android app, syncing of sideloaded books, outstanding customer service, AND the ability to sideload apps with no fuss.

Yes, the Carousel needs to be improved. Some people want shelves or something within books, but I probably wouldn't take the time to manually organize stuff. If something doesn't recognize book metadata (tags, etc) I'm not gonna bother. I didn't do it with the NOOKcolor for the same reason. But don't the eInk devices have collections that can be synced?

There are quirks. I have a Sony Tablet, so my expectations may be different than someone who doesn't own an open Android tablet and was hoping this would fill the void. The limitations and shortcomings compared to an open tablet don't detract from me having a great experience with the device.

If it were more than $199 perhaps I'd feel differently. I paid the same amount for an eInk device a few weeks ago.

Last edited by SCION; 11-17-2011 at 12:18 PM.
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Old 11-17-2011, 12:21 PM   #14
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Another reader issue is that the Fire does not seem to recognize Personal Documents in the Archive yet. At least some of us are experiencing this issue. I'm not sure when Amazon promised to have the Fire support this feature, but I and others too assumed it would be on release. The K3 and K4 NT models do support archived Personal Documents so I'm disappointed that the Fire doesn't also. I think it will at some point, though.
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Old 11-17-2011, 02:22 PM   #15
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I know a lot of people love Skype, but I just can't get into it.

I have a MagicJack at home, paid in advance 5 years $69.95 (I think it was) all included.

Can't complain ...


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Try the following and see how happy you are.. make a Skype call.
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