Kindle Fire Phone - Hands On Review

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I routinely charge it & my Fire HDX tablet overnight.

I only charge my Samsung Galaxy s5 once every NINE days on average. It has an Ultra Power Savings Mode which allows full telephoning and messaging but disables all other apps when the other apps are not being used.

Does the Amazon Fire Phone have that mode? Tap "Help" and then "Mayday" to see if the Amazon Fire has that feature. It may be buried in one of the menus.

I don't believe any other smart phones or tablets had that feature prior to the s5 in April, 2014. However, its likely that, since then, almost all the new smart phones and tablets will have it.

That feature benefits light users like me. Very active users would probably never notice since their apps are being used most of every day.

Even without that feature I charge my Fire HDX 7 2013 every 9 days as well and my PW 2013 every 15 days.

[poohbear_nc]

No Ultra Power Saving Mode - yet .... but the recent updates do address the power hog nature of the FirePhone and offer some first steps at reducing battery drain:

1. The new Quick Switch feature lets you close running apps from the Carousel - you bring up a strip of recently used apps that may still be running in the background and can 'dismiss' (or close) them with a finger swipe.

2. You can now control how often your Fire Phone checks your linked email accounts for new Inbox items - the original setting was automatic (push) - which would wake up your phone and notify you every time a new item arrived in the Inbox - if you have multiple email accounts loaded - this could be quite frequent. Now you can set specific time intervals to check all accounts and then go back to sleep mode.

So evidently I'm not the only light user noticing the significant daily battery drain.

[poohbear_nc]

In addition to the above mentioned power saving updates, there are some nifty new features. Amazon is moving more functionality to the Carousel and actually making it useful!

1. You can now 'pin' apps to the front of the Carousel. So now, no matter how many apps you use, or if you buy a bunch of books on one day, you can now pin your most accessed apps to the start of the Carousel. I hope they port this to the Fire Tablet - the Carousel is now functional, rather than an annoyance.
I have pinned the Phone app, Email app, Notes app, Maps app, and my Photo gallery. This is a real help if you're driving and absolutely need to make a call or pull up directions - the apps are now on the first screen at your fingertips. No more searching through a list.

2. On the app grid view you can now make collections by type: you can only have one type of item in a collection - put all your books into a "library" collection, put all your games apps together, etc. This really reduces the number of screens you have to page through on grid view, and cleans up the display. You can't put apps & books into the same collection.

3. You can now delete emails directly from the Carousel - without having to open the email app. So you can quickly clean up your Inbox or browse new emails while on the Carousel without opening an app.

These updates clearly (IMHO) indicate that Amazon will be distinguishing its smartphone from other brands by enhancing/improving the Carousel - part of its emphasis on one-handed or gesture/eye controlled functionality. It's amazing what you able to do holding the phone in one hand and using your thumb and wrist movements to access content/apps from the Carousel. All smartphones have the grid app view (as does Amazon), but only Amazon offers the Carousel - and I'm going to be eagerly watching for how ingenious future updates will be.

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

In addition to the above mentioned power saving updates, there are some nifty new features. Amazon is moving more functionality to the Carousel and actually making it useful!

1. You can now 'pin' apps to the front of the Carousel. So now, no matter how many apps you use, or if you buy a bunch of books on one day, you can now pin your most accessed apps to the start of the Carousel. I hope they port this to the Fire Tablet - the Carousel is now functional, rather than an annoyance.
I have pinned the Phone app, Email app, Notes app, Maps app, and my Photo gallery. This is a real help if you're driving and absolutely need to make a call or pull up directions - the apps are now on the first screen at your fingertips. No more searching through a list.

2. On the app grid view you can now make collections by type: you can only have one type of item in a collection - put all your books into a "library" collection, put all your games apps together, etc. This really reduces the number of screens you have to page through on grid view, and cleans up the display. You can't put apps & books into the same collection.

3. You can now delete emails directly from the Carousel - without having to open the email app. So you can quickly clean up your Inbox or browse new emails while on the Carousel without opening an app.

These updates clearly (IMHO) indicate that Amazon will be distinguishing its smartphone from other brands by enhancing/improving the Carousel - part of its emphasis on one-handed or gesture/eye controlled functionality. It's amazing what you able to do holding the phone in one hand and using your thumb and wrist movements to access content/apps from the Carousel. All smartphones have the grid app view (as does Amazon), but only Amazon offers the Carousel - and I'm going to be eagerly watching for how ingenious future updates will be.

All those features are part of the Fire HDX 7 2013 firmware except that favorites are saved below the Carousel in the Home Area. Collections can also be saved in that area.

I fully expect that Amazon will have Ultra Power Savings Mode for the 2014 model of the Fire HDX and probably in a firmware upgrade for the Fire Phone. That would probably extend my Fire HDX charge cycle from 9 days to about 30 days.

Amazon uses a subset of Android and the Samsung Galaxy s5 phone uses full Android.

The problem may be that it will not be added to old models until 6 months after the new model sales cycle starts. Thus, I will be buying the Fire HDX 7 2014 and give away my Fire HDX 7 2013. Since the Fire Phone is a 2014 model, I would expect its firmware to add that feature in eary 2015.

[tubemonkey]

Amazon Slashes Fire Phone Prices by $200

On Monday, Amazon took a drastic step to avert disaster, announcing that it would charge 99 cents for the phone, basically giving it away if users signed a two-year contract with AT&T, the exclusive carrier.

Amazon has money to burn, and a relentless determination. But some analysts still wondered if a price drop of almost $200 was enough.

[poohbear_nc]

I actually got an email from Amazon announcing this - I'm thinking of asking for a refund, or at least a credit on my account, for having paid full price. I don't regret buying it early - I have become inseparable from it since day 1 - but I'll see if I can guilt them into a credit.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I actually got an email from Amazon announcing this - I'm thinking of asking for a refund, or at least a credit on my account, for having paid full price. I don't regret buying it early - I have become inseparable from it since day 1 - but I'll see if I can guilt them into a credit.

Who did you get it from? The article mentioned refunds:

Amazon said on Monday that earlier buyers should contact customer service to apply for a refund. An AT&T spokesman said that it had a 14-day return policy, meaning that the handful of customers who bought directly from the carrier in the first month were out of luck.

[tubemonkey]

I want Amazon to drop the unlocked prices more than $200. The 32GB went from $649 to $449 and the 64GB went from $749 to $549. I'd like to see those prices dropped to Nexus 5 levels ($349 & $399). I'd seriously consider getting one then; but to be used strictly as a mini tablet.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Amazon Slashes Fire Phone Prices by $200

Very Interesting.

Although the article you sourced was written by noted anti-Amazon reactionary David Streitfeld (he of the Hachette fame), so I am not sure his further conclusions of doom and gloom are warranted. His opinion is literally worth dirt at this point.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Amazon Slashes Fire Phone Prices by $200

FIRE sale...

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Who did you get it from? The article mentioned refunds:

The newsletter was from Amazon - and DID NOT mention refunds.

So I emailed Customer Service with a link to the article - and this morning I received a full refund - for the entire purchase price -

so now I have a free phone - but still tied to the ATT 2-year contract.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

The newsletter was from Amazon - and DID NOT mention refunds.

So I emailed Customer Service with a link to the article - and this morning I received a full refund - for the entire purchase price -

so now I have a free phone - but still tied to the ATT 2-year contract.

Congrats on the refund. That should take the sting out of the sudden price drop. At least Amazon isn't as greedy and crass as Apple.

Remember when Apple slashed the price of its 1st gen iPhone by $200 just two months after its release? Then poor cash-strapped Apple had the temerity to only offer a $100 credit to early adopters, instead of a $200 refund like they should've done. Greedy b*******!

Score another win for Amazon customer service

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

The newsletter was from Amazon - and DID NOT mention refunds.

So I emailed Customer Service with a link to the article - and this morning I received a full refund - for the entire purchase price -

so now I have a free phone - but still tied to the ATT 2-year contract.

You got a great deal. No one offered me a refund on my Samsung Galaxy s5 phone with ATT. I purchased it from Amazon.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

You got a great deal. No one offered me a refund on my Samsung Galaxy s5 phone with ATT. I purchased it from Amazon.

And Amazon didn't cut the price of your phone by $200 less than two months after release.

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

And Amazon didn't cut the price of your phone by $200 less than two months after release.

I wish they did. All the original purchasers of the Amazon Fire are now getting REFUNDS.