2014 Fire?

[nynaevelan]

My wireless on my 2012 seems to be dying a slow death. I am trying to hold off and see what the 2014 Fire will have before replacing it with either the latest Samsung Tab or Nexus. Has anyone heard whether there will be a 2014 Fire or not??

[jhempel24]

Amazon's been pretty tight lipped about it if there is one. Although they've ordered MediaTek 8135 quad-core processors, so maybe by the end of the year.

My guess is they're going to focus on the Amazon Fire smartphone for now.

[jgaiser]

And if it happens it will be around Christmas.

[nynaevelan]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

And if it happens it will be around Christmas.

Yeah but they've made their announcements in the fall, I am still debating if I want another Fire or not because honestly I want a device that uses both Google Play and the Amazon app store. But I ultimately want something that can handle the Cloud Collections. But since the android app now has the Cloud Collections and the Audible whispersync I am seriously considering abandoning the Fires and gong back to the Samsung Tabs.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by nynaevelan

Yeah but they've made their announcements in the fall, I am still debating if I want another Fire or not because honestly I want a device that uses both Google Play and the Amazon app store. But I ultimately want something that can handle the Cloud Collections. But since the android app now has the Cloud Collections and the Audible whispersync I am seriously considering abandoning the Fires and gong back to the Samsung Tabs.

I couldn't agree more. The Fires are far too limited for me. But what's so great about the Samsung tabs? Why not go with a Nexus 7?

[nynaevelan]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I couldn't agree more. The Fires are far too limited for me. But what's so great about the Samsung tabs? Why not go with a Nexus 7?

Right now it is a debate between the Nexus 7 and the latest Tab, I was holding out to see if the 2014 Fire would have something that would sway me but I am leaning more and more away from them. I've really enjoyed my 2012 Fire but honestly the loss of my Google apps has been quite annoying. The last time I was looking at both of them I cannot remember if the Nexus was winning out over the Tab, they are only winning because I am familiar with their reliability, since I had two of them prior to getting my Fire. Actually my hubby still uses my old 10" one.

But either way I plan on buying myself a replacement on my birthday in October if this one does not fully die on me before then.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by nynaevelan

Right now it is a debate between the Nexus 7 and the latest Tab, I was holding out to see if the 2014 Fire would have something that would sway me but I am leaning more and more away from them. I've really enjoyed my 2012 Fire but honestly the loss of my Google apps has been quite annoying. The last time I was looking at both of them I cannot remember if the Nexus was winning out over the Tab, they are only winning because I am familiar with their reliability, since I had two of them prior to getting my Fire. Actually my hubby still uses my old 10" one.

But either way I plan on buying myself a replacement on my birthday in October if this one does not fully die on me before then.

I'm very happy with my Nexus 7. Excellent device.

[nynaevelan]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm very happy with my Nexus 7. Excellent device.

Do you use the kindle app, how responsive is it in the Collections view?? What about streaming videos? Or listening to audibles? Those are the three main things I am looking for in my Fire replacement.

[Bilbo1967]

Originally Posted by nynaevelan

Do you use the kindle app, how responsive is it in the Collections view?? What about streaming videos? Or listening to audibles? Those are the three main things I am looking for in my Fire replacement.

I can't speak for Harry, but I use my Nexus 7 for streaming video and it works great. Just yesterday my son and I watched a film I had downloaded onto my Nexus on the TV via Chromecast. No problem at all. Audio's fine in my opinion, although better through head headphones I think.

My books are all Epub, so I can't comment on the Kindle app.

I too recommend the Nexus 7 2013 as well. Great tablet and great price. The fires are too limited and not very good, IMO. I don't read on my Nexus 7 though, I prefer reading on my iPad mini Retina. But I use to read on the Nexus and it was great for that purpose. Better reading apps though on iOS IMO.

But as far as Fires go, Amazon has traditionally announced new Kindle and Fire models in September or October time frame, then released them by mid-November in time for Xmas shopping. No clue if they will release new ones this year, but my guess is that they will. As long as Fires are making money for them, they will most likely release new ones each year. I assume Fires are still profitable for Amazon.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I too recommend the Nexus 7 2013 as well. Great tablet and great price. The fires are too limited and not very good, IMO. I don't read on my Nexus 7 though, I prefer reading on my iPad mini Retina. But I use to read on the Nexus and it was great for that purpose. Better reading apps though on iOS IMO.

I think the reading apps are good on both Android and iOS, but the "killer app" - at least if you have a large library and maintain it using Calibre - is Calibre Companion, and that's Android only. The combination of CC to manage your library backed by a decent reading app (I use Moon+, but there are many good reading apps) is hard to beat.

[nynaevelan]

Thanks guys for the recommendations. As far as the reading app goes, I do not need a good one, I just need the kindle app to maintain my cloud collections so I can leave my wifi off on my pw2. I just do backup reading on my tablet. The streaming though, I do watch a lot of videos. And my Fire is my primary Audible device. I am thinking that the Nexus is leading the pack now. I am starting to think that the only way the Fire 2014 will win is if Amazon adds the ability to use Google Play. If not, I am moving away from them because I really have a lot of Google apps that I want to natively use on my device without jumping through hoops to get them on there.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by nynaevelan

And my Fire is my primary Audible device.

Have you considered using a more portable device, such as a Sandisk Clip Zip, for your Audible books? I can't imagine tethering to a tablet to listen, unless you are using the speakers?

[nynaevelan]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Have you considered using a more portable device, such as a Sandisk Clip Zip, for your Audible books? I can't imagine tethering to a tablet to listen, unless you are using the speakers?

Nah the Fire works well for me because I use it for the Immersive Reading while at home so I do not need to be holding it. I use it with bluetooth speakers so I am good. When I am out and about I use my Note 3 to continue listening. For my Audibles I like to stick to Audible apps because it makes it easier to sync between my Fire, Note and pw2 since I jump between the ebook and audible with 95% of my audible books.

[sirmaru]

I go down both lines. I use an Amazon Fire HDX 7 2013 tablet for the Amazon stuff and a Samsung Galaxy s5 2014 phone for the Google Play stuff.

Actually, I do most of my eBook reading on my Amazon Paperwhite 2013.

I'll probably buy the 2014 models when introduced in October and then give away my 2013 models as Christmas presents to family members.

I have to keep the s5 two years per my contract and then will buy an Amazon Fire Phone.

I find each device has its own particular advantages and disadvantages.