I'd Like To Share My Thoughts After A Brief Hands-On

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

I worked yesterday with the Fire browser and I am NOT impressed. If I want to access the internet, I'll use my PC, thank you.

Try Opera Mini. It's my choice of Android browser.

[monkeyluis]

Originally Posted by kennyc

And the tech boys have already rooted it as well.

It's ok to use the device out of the box as it is intended. It is a very capable device and I have enjoyed it so far just fine.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

I worked yesterday with the Fire browser and I am NOT impressed. If I want to access the internet, I'll use my PC, thank you.

Is it the browser's speed, the screen/text size, or something else that makes the Fire browser difficult to use? I'm curious because I've been considering the Kindle Fire as well as other tablets, and I'm concerned that web-browsing on a 7" screen may not be so great—in particular, having to zoom in all the time. I'm also not sure if I'd enjoy watching movies on such a small screen. But maybe I'd adapt quickly, given the convenience of the device and the lighter weight in comparison to larger tablets?

I don't own another tablet (or any Android device), so I don't have much to compare it to from personal experience. In one of the review videos I watched, the Fire and iPad screens were compared while watching a movie. It really didn't look like the Fire movie screen was all that much smaller than the iPad's.

I think the browser is okay--just okay. It is NOT stellar, and it is NOT rubbish. I do NOT find it to have the greased lightning speed that was advertised, but it is comparable in speed to my iPad Safari browser. But I did encounter a several minutes session last night where the Silk browser refused to load any web pages or update the ones loaded. That included the MR pages! I thought my Wifi connection might be bad but then I noticed that the Fire had no issue with the apps that connect to the internet. I picked up my iPad and was able to connect via Safari. Finally the Fire got over it and started connecting again. Later on I encountered the same issue again. I am wondering if this was due to the server farm Amazon uses to supply the Silk browser with web pages? Perhaps their servers went gaga for a few minutes. I think I'll try Opera.

[covfam]

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

At Engadget.com there's a video that shows a side-by-side browser performance comparison of the iPad2, Kindle Fire, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. One of the websites visited is CNN, so you can get an idea of performance from that. The video is on this page in the "Performance" section. There was a pop-up window warning during the CNN test that may have slowed the Fire down. Also, the Silk browser is cloud-accelerated. It aggregates the results of millions of page loads so it can push content faster. Since the videotaped browser tests were done before the device was released to the masses, browser speed may be faster now. I don't have a Fire, so I can't test it myself.

the problem dream is that most personal reviews seem to say that they get better performance than the tech reviewers had (possibly because there was a day 1 update to improve performance) so currently i trust real world result over pre-release techblog results

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by covfam

the problem dream is that most personal reviews seem to say that they get better performance than the tech reviewers had...

I've noticed that too. In that Engadget video review that I linked to a few posts back, I didn't think Fire's Silk browser performed bad at all, and it was being compared to devices that cost at least twice as much! I am curious how easy it is to read web page text without zooming. One of these days I'll probably take a look at the Fire at Best Buy or elsewhere (hope their demo connects to the internet).

[=X=]

Originally Posted by jswinden

I think the browser is okay--just okay. It is NOT stellar, and it is NOT rubbish. I do NOT find it to have the greased lightning speed that was advertised, but it is comparable in speed to my iPad Safari browser. But I did encounter a several minutes session last night where the Silk browser refused to load any web pages or update the ones loaded. That included the MR pages! I thought my Wifi connection might be bad but then I noticed that the Fire had no issue with the apps that connect to the internet. I picked up my iPad and was able to connect via Safari. Finally the Fire got over it and started connecting again. Later on I encountered the same issue again. I am wondering if this was due to the server farm Amazon uses to supply the Silk browser with web pages? Perhaps their servers went gaga for a few minutes. I think I'll try Opera.

There are two Operas, Opera Mini and Opera Mobile. The mini has the same setup as silk. Mobile renders the pages directly on your device, however it does have a setting to use the Opera farm.

You might also want to try Dolphin HD it's also a very good browser.

=X=

[=X=]

Originally Posted by kennyc

And the tech boys have already rooted it as well.

Amazon dropped the code today, we might have a full Android tablet sooner than later.

=X=

[covfam]

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

I've noticed that too. In that Engadget video review that I linked to a few posts back, I didn't think Fire's Silk browser performed bad at all, and it was being compared to devices that cost at least twice as much! I am curious how easy it is to read web page text without zooming. One of these days I'll probably take a look at the Fire at Best Buy or elsewhere (hope their demo connects to the internet).

Thats the problem with best buy half the time thier demo units arent charged arent working, the other half of the time the sales person running the area doesnt have a brain thats working.

[maxsassy]

Maybe we will be able to use Firefox as a browser. I like Firefox and use it on my cellphone and PC. I will try Opera Mini and see what it is like. Should have my Kindle Fire Friday I hope.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by covfam

Thats the problem with best buy half the time thier demo units arent charged arent working, the other half of the time the sales person running the area doesnt have a brain thats working.

I've read so much about the Fire (and watched many review/instructional videos) that I probably know more about it than most of the sales people. Last time I was at Best Buy, I was teaching the saleswoman how to use the other Kindle devices. She wanted to know because she was interested in purchasing one for herself.