Amazon introduces 2013 FIRE tablets

[beckywc]

I use the calibre companion app on my kindle fire hd.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by mewmartigan

I would hope the new OS comes to last year's Fire considering the new Fire HD comes with the software it is just last year's model in a new case!

Also has no 32 GB option, or the fancy MiMo dual antenna.

[kevinp]

The idea that the HDX goes into "low power" mode while you read is nice. Unfortunately (for Amazon), I will never buy something without Google Play. I'm already invested in Google's eco-system because of my phone. I can install almost all of the apps that are on my phone onto my Nook HD+. I won't be getting a new tablet any time soon.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by kevinp

The idea that the HDX goes into "low power" mode while you read is nice. Unfortunately (for Amazon), I will never buy something without Google Play. I'm already invested in Google's eco-system because of my phone. I can install almost all of the apps that are on my phone onto my Nook HD+. I won't be getting a new tablet any time soon.

That is one of my issues with getting a Fire. Last time I checked it was possible to get Google's apps (e.g. Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Play Books etc.) running on a Fire, but that would seem to rely on Google's largess in not locking things down more. Google has been offering various app services that stand apart from the Android API and to the extent that their own apps require these, it might make it more difficult to make them run correctly on a Fire in the future.

And I don't like the way Amazon does not allow some of the apps in their own Appstore to be downloaded to a Fire. These are mostly alternate browsers (Puffin, Dolphin), epub reading apps, Dropbox and the like. It's annoying, and perplexing. Fire users should have full choice of what is there.

This is not entirely a deal breaker for me but it comes close.

[spellbanisher]

Originally Posted by kevinp

The idea that the HDX goes into "low power" mode while you read is nice. Unfortunately (for Amazon), I will never buy something without Google Play. I'm already invested in Google's eco-system because of my phone. I can install almost all of the apps that are on my phone onto my Nook HD+. I won't be getting a new tablet any time soon.

If there is an app in google play that i want on my fire, i go into my apk extractor app on my phone, click on the desired app, send it to dropbox and from dropbox install it on my fire. That's how i got the latest version of play books on my kindle.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Also has no..., or the fancy MiMo dual antenna.

Another feature they removed.

[spellbanisher]

Originally Posted by tomsem

That is one of my issues with getting a Fire. Last time I checked it was possible to get Google's apps (e.g. Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Play Books etc.) running on a Fire, but that would seem to rely on Google's largess in not locking things down more. Google has been offering various app services that stand apart from the Android API and to the extent that their own apps require these, it might make it more difficult to make them run correctly on a Fire in the future.

And I don't like the way Amazon does not allow some of the apps in their own Appstore to be downloaded to a Fire. These are mostly alternate browsers (Puffin, Dolphin), epub reading apps, Dropbox and the like. It's annoying, and perplexing. Fire users should have full choice of what is there.

This is not entirely a deal breaker for me but it comes close.

The inability to download dropbox directly from the store baffles me. I thought it was becayluse Amazon wanted to push people towards its own cloud services, but other cloud services such as sugarsync and copy are available.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

The Mayday instant support is probably a boon for those with a little more technophobia than MR membership. I could probably get back a few hours of my life every week now. It's also kind of typical that Amazon will come up with this feature.

And a boon for the NSA. They'll now be infiltrating Kindle support with their agents.

Big brother's watching you

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

And a boon for the NSA. They'll now be infiltrating Kindle support with their agents.

Big brother's watching you

Who knows, maybe NSA is already a big "customer" at Amazon?

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by pl001

Actually, Samsung is going a step further and developing their own OS, Tizun, which is not based on Android at all.

Whether or not Tizun will be able to rival Android remains to be seen. However I don't think there is any doubt about their intentions. OEMs are no longer content to just sell hardware.

What Samsung wants to do and will do are different things.

Samsung is behaving very true to form: One variant of the new GS5 is expected to run Tizun.

Samsung knows the majority of the market will be Android's but spins out different versions of their kit hoping for the best. Meanwhile, Samsung's software record has been terrible so far; they know they can't depend on it just yet. Even Sony's had to embrace Android, and they've been far more stubborn than Samsung about software development.

On the nether hind, Amazon knows they can sell Kindles to people without being Android purists. The retail business is complex, but their hardware output isn't nearly as baroque as Samsung's.

* * * *

Three pages in and no one's noticed that the monkey shown below appears to have swallowed a rather small and chartreuse manbot? So that's what happened to chambermonk's Nexus 7.1.

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I know; and I'll get monkey mad if they don't upgrade my Fire HD.

[MV64]

I hate sounding crochety, but new tablets are less and less impressive. Ever year you can almost predict the press releases: higher resolution screen, better audio, lighter and faster. Except, none of those things are usually astronomically different than a previous model.

I'd rather they stop doing annual releases and just release when they actually have a significant upgrade.

Although the X-ray feature sounds cool, I'd never heard of it before. But will that make the prices of the movies go up?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by MV64

Although the X-ray feature sounds cool, I'd never heard of it before.

Kindle books have had X-ray for a couple of years now. It's quite nice.

[tubemonkey]

This explains why there wasn't a press event this year.

This year, instead of doing its typical staged event to unveil the company's next-generation products, Amazon gave several press outlets the opportunity to fly out to Seattle and meet with Amazon executives, followed by a 30-45-minute small-group meeting with "Jeff" himself. I ended up with Mashable's Lance Ulanoff and Consumer Reports' Donna Tapellini.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

Three pages in and no one's noticed that the monkey shown below appears to have swallowed a rather small and chartreuse manbot? So that's what happened to chambermonk's Nexus 7.1.

sometimes, one needs to go chartreuse to get a point across

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

This explains why there wasn't a press event this year.

I miss the big hoopla from past years. This was too quiet.