So, on a scale of 1 to 10 - ARE YOU HAPPY?

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by carld

I bought my Kindle Fire yesterday, and I'd probably rate it a 7 or 8. Overall I'm happy with it, but there are a few negatives. The screen is very reflective, the speakers are both on one side, and I don't really like the carousal very much. Still, it's very useable. Oh, and the default browser doesn't automatically spellcheck.

I totally agree with everything you said. I gave it a 9 because of battery life. I thought I was going to have to charge it nightly like other tablets and devices but nope it works so well in sleep mode I am at how well it works. I wish my other Kindles worked like that.

[robertc88]

Originally Posted by wizwor

I wonder why a person with a pocket device and a tablet would get a Fire. I'm surprised at the number of iPad owners who have decided to take the Fire for a ride.

I wonder too how these people feel about the 7" form. Apple once said that there was no market for a device between the iPhone and the iPad. Is this still true?

Most here probably don't have justification for the KF, myself included owning the SGT.

Folks that don't own a tablet (the majority by far), I'll just quote from the CNET review on the KF's value:

"The Kindle Fire is not the best tablet I've seen this year, but I have to give credit to Amazon for seeing something that no other manufacturer--not even Apple--was able to grasp. When you look at the gap between what tablets are capable of doing, and what people actually use them for, you'll find that most people just want to be entertained".

And I'll quote Crowe from Gladiator after a match or two in the arena, "Are you not entertained?"

With that said, this product has a great chance of selling millions upon millions simply because of the price and entertainment value if does offer IMHO with many sitting on the fence with regards to spending the money on a tablet. Time will tell overall but I feel currently it would make a great holiday gift.

I purchased it from Best Buy. They offer no interest for six months on their credit card since it was equal to or greater than a $150 purchase. And I have till January 24th with their extended return policy because of the upcoming holiday! So there was a good method for this man's madness to take the plunge.

[jocampo]

Not to spoiled the thread , lol ... but just came home after drinking a coffee with my wife at a B&N close to home. The new Nook Color feels and works really nice. Granted, is more expensive, but I'm talking about the UI and software design and layout.

I wonder if people can install Kindle app without rooting the device, like same thing you can do on Kindle Fire with Nook apk.

[SCION]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Not to spoiled the thread , lol ... but just came home after drinking a coffee with my wife at a B&N close to home. The new Nook Color feels and works really nice. Granted, is more expensive, but I'm talking about the UI and software design and layout.

I wonder if people can install Kindle app without rooting the device, like same thing you can do on Kindle Fire with Nook apk.

Not a thread spoiler. Many folks are weighing their options. There's a thread in the NOOK forum about being able to download .apk files via the browser. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Some folks are successful, some aren't. B&N will most likely close this door with the first firmware update.

Edit: Here's the thread. Posts 35 and 36

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=156484

There's another one somewhere.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by SCION

Not a thread spoiler. Many folks are weighing their options. There's a thread in the NOOK forum about being able to download .apk files via the browser. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Some folks are successful, some aren't. B&N will most likely close this door with the first firmware update.

Edit: Here's the thread. Posts 35 and 36

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=156484

There's another one somewhere.

Great, great post and link, thanks for sharing SCION!

As you and others already know ... I am not a big fan of original NC. I bought it and returned few days later. That opinion has not changed, but when comparing new NC against Kindke Fire ... wow! It actually feels better on my hands. Not as bulky as before and its LCD screen is really responsive and bright. I'm impressed.

However, I'm against rooting, wonder if Kindke app runs there without rooting the device, like side loading or calling the app file via browser or internal storage. The B&N kid said its doable, but I don't trust him ;-)

[SCION]

Originally Posted by jocampo

...but when comparing new NC against Kindke Fire wow! It actually feels better on my hands. Not as bulky as before and its LCD screen is really responsive and bright. I'm impressed...

I'll take the time to check it out so I can recommend it to others. Yeah, the bulk of the NOOKcolor was noticeable to put it nicely. From what I hear, the Tablet is a big improvement (not just specs).

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

I've been working on my bookreading roommate to purchase an ereader. She's been playing with the Fire and I think she's just about convinced herself that this is the one she's getting.

Oh yeah!!!... Roommate just informed me she's buying a Fire this week. She loves amazon and knows the great customer service and is excited to start loading books. Another convert from paper.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I abbreviate a lot when sending text messages and the autocorrect will go nuts with abbreviations and acronyms!

You probably know this already, but it's my understanding that auto-correct can be turned off on the Fire. According to the Kindle Fire User's Manual (pages 15 and 16):

• Tap the Quick Settings icon on the status bar
• Tap "More"
• There's a "Kindle Keyboard" option, where you can control sound on keypress, auto-capitalization, and quick fixes.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

You probably know this already, but it's my understanding that auto-correct can be turned off on the Fire. According to the Kindle Fire User's Manual (pages 15 and 16):

• Tap the Quick Settings icon on the status bar
• Tap "More"
• There's a "Kindle Keyboard" option, where you can control sound on keypress, auto-capitalization, and quick fixes.

Noooo I need my autocorrect! My fingers would get very tired typing posts if not for it.

[Danariel]

Not sure where I'd rate it, probably not a 1, but I'm unhappy enough with it that I sent it back. I hate the UI, hate the lack of dedicated buttons (these didn't have to be hardware buttons, but could have been capacitive like my HTC's.) At the very least, a HOME button or BACK, AND dedicated volume buttons.

I guess I got spoiled for Android with my Incredible and Thunderbolt. I've rooted them, and have them set up exactly as I want them. I certainly don't want the main UI screens to look like a book application.

I wanted a different keyboard. I use Swype on my Droids, and I knew it was technically possible to get it working on the Kindle Fire. I sideloaded the Swype Installer .apk onto the device, installed it, and there's NO OPTION to enable it. WTF?

So I went to XDA Developers forums, found the threads there, and saw it required root. No biggie, I can do that. I couldn't figure out how to do it myself, but I'm a dab hand at following directions.

I rooted it Thursday afternoon, and tried to get my GApps working on it. Got Gmail and Talk working, but every time I tried to download an app from the Android Market, it would force close. I went back through the directions multiple times, still no luck.

Then I heard about the price drop on the Blackberry Playbook. For the same price, you get double the memory, double the RAM, bluetooth, and not just 1 but 2 cameras. For $100 more, you get 4x the memory. So I'm sending the Fire back and getting something that looks like a tablet, functions like a tablet, and that will soon run Android Apps too. Let's hope I don't hate BB's OS too much, since I can't root it.

Other gripes: screen touch recognition seemed VERY spotty, sometimes I would click on the carousel part, and get nothing, click on the bottom "dock," and get what I clicked on. Overall responsiveness seemed laggy (not Android lag, I'm used to that.) Browser was SLOW on my 20mbps down cable internet connection, even after disabling acceleration.

I guess I wasn't expecting them to adulterate the Android experience as much as they did. I was expecting something along the lines of the difference between HTC Sense, MotoBlur, and AOSP (Android Open Source Project, or base Android) not this stripping out of everything I loved about Android.

Sorely disappointed. I really wanted to love it. :-(

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by Danariel

....

Sorely disappointed. I really wanted to love it. :-(

Except that you (like some others) wanted it to be something it is not - a full android tablet. It that is what you want then that's what you should buy.

[robertc88]

As I mentioned earlier, I thought the NC was very good and it didn't give me any problems when I was trying it. But I was not going to root it and I knew the honeymoon would be shortly over if I kept it as a result of it being too locked down.

So now there is the NT but the scenario remains the same for me.

The sale on the Blackberry Playbook started last Sunday at Best Buy for $199 and it is no longer in stock at my local stores. And I didn't even see it on their website a day or two ago when I checked when I was prompted to order it online.

[Blossom]

The Kindle Fire is not a full Android tablet. People do expect too much with it. It's a wonderful device with a few quirks but for it's price, It's amazing!

I cannot imagine going for a tiny "walled garden" like the Blackberry then having to rely on those guys at XDA to rewrite the firmware. IMO they did a lousy job on the NookColor. They never adequately addressed major issues like battery drain.

[asb2164]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I cannot imagine going for a tiny "walled garden" like the Blackberry then having to rely on those guys at XDA to rewrite the firmware. IMO they did a lousy job on the NookColor. They never adequately addressed major issues like battery drain.

I would go to XDA and ask for your money back.
Most people who develop things on these devices do it for free or accept donations, To say someone did a poor job for something that is offered for free is flat out rude.