Quote:
Originally Posted by ApK
No Android tablet is a 'real computer' by my standards. None could replace any 'real computer' for various 'real computer work' like development, video editing, controlling various hardware devices, design, even 'real' word processing and other office work.
If you need a 'real computer', get a 'real computer.'
Can you please give any specifics here? Yes, Fires don't have Google services, but for the most part, they run all the Android apps most people want. Not that I disagree that in many cases, people will run up against their limitations. -- I did, and I too no longer use Fires because of it-- but I think the price, support, etc, combined with the fact that they do indeed run most Android apps that folks seem to want just fine will make those limitations moot for many folks.
Plus if you are a serious Amazon content consumer, the Fire has added benefits, like really good Prime video support.
An 'inexpensive' tablet, depending on your definition of that word, may not meet those criteria, starting with 'decent screen' and could easily result in a far worse experience than with a Fire.
ApK
|
Last week I was running Android 4.4 x86 on my netbook and you would be surprised at how useful Android is on a larger screen with a keyboard and touchpad. I even did some word processing on it using Google Docs and was impressed at how well it worked. Indeed, I expect in the next few upgrades of Android we will see it on more laptops and desktops, and also more convergence with Chrome OS (Chromebooks).
I think heavy lifting will always need software like Windows, Apple, and Linux, but the people who actually need that kind of software and hardware are a small percentage of users outside of Enterprise.
Working from memory, most Google apps are not available on the Kindle Fire, Google Music, Youtube, Play Books, Play Videos, Chrome browser, and if you are invested in Google's Ecosystem, or Apple's, or even Microsoft's, other devices are probably going to be more useful. As I said, primarly as an ereader and especially if you have a large Kindle books library, the KFires are fine, but I think many people will want a device that will do more and has a much bigger app store.
I recently purchased an Acer B1 710 for $79 and liked it so much I gave my KFire HD away. The battery is kind of lame, but the screen and everything else is quite nice for the price, and it has a micro sdcard slot. It would be a small investment in a name brand tablet if someone just wanted to see if they like tablets. The price has bumped up a few dollars, but still a decent tablet for the money:
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Iconia-B1.../dp/B00DKFF386