Amazon introduces 2013 FIRE tablets

Originally Posted by Blossom

You forget I own 5 Kindles. I have a library of 5000+ of Amazon content for me the Kindle Fire is the better choice and it has the better hardware and Amazon's Customer support.

I somehow broke my first Kindle Fire and Amazon sent me a new one that I use to this day. If I am going to pay that much money I want it back by a good company. I may or may not get an extra Warranty.

I however don't like those covers. Anything that goes in several pieces will probably stretch after prolong real use.

I know it will make a good reader and if your are comfortable with the Kindle app on it I can see buying one. But for most people, I think there are better alternatives for a 7" Android tablet.

[Scarpad]

Originally Posted by Julius Caesar

With 2560x1600 resolution, people forget that there is no content sold by Amazon or by anyone at such high resolution. Current Amazon HD content is limited to 720p, a far cry from 2560x1600, and it must be stretched to fill up the whole screen.

And no press conference this time. Not for the Kindle Fire and not for the Kindle Paperwhite. Perhaps Amazon itself doesn't think it's worth a press conference since the upgrade is evolutionary and not revolutionary.

wonder if this means Comixology will offer their content in HDX version like IOS now?

[Scarpad]

Originally Posted by Istvan diVega

Nice hardware, but no thanks. Forked Android, no folder organization and most importantly no SD card slot means it's of no interest to me whatsoever. And yes, screen resolution is indeed pointless and overkill for screens of that size. It's a shame, since with standard Android and an SD card slot I'd have jumped on it without delay.

I think more importantly it's only a matter of time until Asus or some other manufacturer comes up with a stock android device that has a very high resolution screen and the ability to add storage cheaply. Plus the Kindle app, albeit a less featured one, is still available

[Scarpad]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

No SD card slot means no sale for me as well.

But no device anywhere has gone beyond what would be useful for viewing photo albums. So there is no such thing yet as overkill for screens.

If you are invested in the amazon ecosystem you don't need more than 64gb everything is available in the cloud

[Scarpad]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I might understand buying a Fire if the content was very affordable. I've got Amazon Prime, and I rarely use it for content. Why? Because it is insanely expensive. One episode of a TV series show from five years ago costs $1.99 in SD and $2.99 in HD. Why buy SD when you have mega-pixels? Get the HD, even though it might only be 720p, or it won't look very good on all those mega-pixels! So $3/episode to watch reruns! WTF! With prices like that Amazon can afford to give away the Fires!

I realize the new Fire 7 HDX will have a terrific screen for reading books, but the last time I saw Kindle on a Fire it wasn't anything to get excited about. The iOS app was better. And if you are into non-Kindle reading apps then you don't have any advantage in getting a Fire.

As far as the carousel, the video I watched late last night showed it still there. You can swipe upwards to make it scroll up and out of view to display a screen full of icons, but it is still there. I bet it will be the default view every time you turn the Fire on.

content prices are set by the providers,. still I find usually the content is cheap for movies, books and audio on amazon

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Scarpad

If you are invested in the amazon ecosystem you don't need more than 64gb everything is available in the cloud

I think that I am capable of deciding for myself whether or not lack of a card slot is a deal breaker for me. Anyone one else is free to decide their own weighting of various factors.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Oh, and their forked OS now has a Name of its own: Mojito.

Sounds delicious

[hrosvit]

Originally Posted by Scarpad

If you are invested in the amazon ecosystem you don't need more than 64gb everything is available in the cloud

...as long as the cloud is available to you. Universal internet access hasn't arrived yet, and doesn't seem to be coming anytime soon to my locale.

[poohbear_nc]

If I understand the description correctly, Screen Magnifier (in conjunction with the increased level of glare control) will be tremendously helpful - for those with visual impairments, or just old tired eyes -- the ability to magnify the entire screen, including menu choices and control buttons on apps, rather than just 'pinching' on content -- will increase the tablet's usability.

I moved from a 7" to the 8.9" tablet for just this reason - I simply couldn't clearly read the menu bars/control options on many apps -- and still have problems with the 8.9" screen.

[tubemonkey]

I wonder how many of these new software features will port over to the Fire HD?

edit: also, will the HD get OS 3.0?
.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

If I understand the description correctly, Screen Magnifier (in conjunction with the increased level of glare control) will be tremendously helpful - for those with visual impairments, or just old tired eyes -- the ability to magnify the entire screen, including menu choices and control buttons on apps, rather than just 'pinching' on content -- will increase the tablet's usability.

I moved from a 7" to the 8.9" tablet for just this reason - I simply couldn't clearly read the menu bars/control options on many apps -- and still have problems with the 8.9" screen.

Here's Amazon's page on its accessibility features.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I might understand buying a Fire if the content was very affordable. I've got Amazon Prime, and I rarely use it for content. Why? Because it is insanely expensive. One episode of a TV series show from five years ago costs $1.99 in SD and $2.99 in HD. Why buy SD when you have mega-pixels? Get the HD, even though it might only be 720p, or it won't look very good on all those mega-pixels! So $3/episode to watch reruns! WTF! With prices like that Amazon can afford to give away the Fires!

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here--If you have Amazon Prime, lots of TV Episodes are free. Yes, there are still episodes that cost money, because the network has decided to not allow that show to be part of Prime, I'm curious as to what show from five years ago you are trying to watch that costs $1.99?
Here's a link to the list of TV shows available for free if you have Amazon Prime: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_il_to...125828&lo=none

Shari

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by shalym

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here--If you have Amazon Prime, lots of TV Episodes are free.

Only if you happen to be among the 5% of people who live in the US. None is free for the other 95% of us.

[shalym]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Only if you happen to be among the 5% of people who live in the US. None is free for the other 95% of us.

Ah, but JSwinden, who is the person that I was addressing, does live in the US, at least according to the location information he lists in his profile.

Shari

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by shalym

Here's a link to the list of TV shows available for free if you have Amazon Prime: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_il_to...125828&lo=none

OOOOOOH! Duck Dynasty!