Amazon tipped to launch three new Kindle tablets in 2012

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by ApK

Umm...when, outside of a production studio, does ANYONE use ANY video WITHOUT compression?!?

UNCOMPRESSED video of any quality is in measured on the order of gigabytes per MINUTE.

Hobbyists.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

So? Even Blu-ray is compressed. Really, it's just a question of the degree of compression and efficiency of the codec used. How many non-video professionals or hobbyists actually watch uncompressed video? You'd need a multi-SSD/HDD RAID set-up to get enough disk throughput for HD video.

Another thing, 128GB is certainly enough for a week's worth. Surely you won't just be watching videos on your tablet for the entire duration of your vacation?

We've cancelled cable TV at home and just use streaming sources to supplement free OTA. Our bandwidth usage is around 250GB per month (I reckon 80% of that is either Netflix or Hulu). Usage is around 5~10 episodes of Family Guy or Futurama or Simpsons and 2~3 full-length movies per day.

A standard DVD is about 4-6 GB. You can obviously forget HD. Sure you can compress, but that takes a long time. (we are talking about ADDITIONAL compression BY A USER here after buying the file or disk, not compression at the studios, lol). Anyway, this is just ONE example. An expansion slot is always a good thing. And we shouldn't accept that companies are charging more for giving us less. If companies realize that users want expansion slots they will bring them back. So users here are right to make a big stink about it. The only way to change things.

There is always enough space to include a micro SD slot on any tablet, and nobody can seriously tell me that the very same tablet with exactly the same dimensions would not be better with such a slot? You personally may not care (just like someone living in Hawaii may not care if a car has no heater) but it would improve the functionality of the device, period. They leave it out to save money, make extra money on selling you additional cables or adapters, and to lock you into their clouds. Not for our benefit.

They are also shortchanging us in other ways -- by now the top-of-the-line models should be on 128GB memory for virtually the same price as the old 64 GBs. The manufacturers just want to keep us from storing a lot of our own data on the devices. Which is why they are not aggressively upgrading those specs as they have in the past.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

No card slot is a huge deal when traveling and wifi is unavailable.

Online stores are irrelevant for unlocked Android tablets, because they have access to both ecosystems. Not only does my Galaxy Player have access to Google's ecosystem, it also has access to Amazon's ecosystem.

Amazon loses on both of these points.

hmmm... why you can't download a book BEFORE traveling? ;-) ...

You will really have to download thousands of books, or hundreds (really big) to fill up Kindle Fire local space.

Regarding comparing Galaxy Player vs Fire, I believe the Galaxy Player is smaller. Also, I do have a Galaxy SII smartphone. The experience is richer on Fire. To give you an example: checking reviews is easier on Amazon proprietary tablet.

But you got a point. It is a locked tablet, however, not as locked as others. Also, if you use it as pure ereader instead of a full feature tablet, it actually does a good and decent job, at least in my opinion.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by jocampo

hmmm... why you can't download a book BEFORE traveling? ;-) ...

You will really have to download thousands of books, or hundreds (really big) to fill up Kindle Fire local space.

Regarding comparing Galaxy Player vs Fire, I believe the Galaxy Player is smaller. Also, I do have a Galaxy SII smartphone. The experience is richer on Fire. To give you an example: checking reviews is easier on Amazon proprietary tablet.

But you got a point. It is a locked tablet, however, not as locked as others. Also, if you use it as pure ereader instead of a full feature tablet, it actually does a good and decent job, at least in my opinion.

Disclaimer: the following statements are my opinion; YMMV.

1- I don't read books when traveling; I watch videos. Reading is an at home activity.

2- I don't read books on backlit devices; I read them on eInk devices.

3- A 5" device is easier to travel with; but I would consider a 7" device with access to Google Play, a card slot, and a sub $200 price point.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

As time pass you will see that card slots not a basic function. people will accustom to not have them and manufactuers will not include them. this part of tech world is changing fast.

Not me. 8GB and no card slot means the device stays at home. It's worthless for traveling.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by ApK

You take a week long vacation out of range of wifi and spend every day watching movies? Doesn't sound like an SD card is the answer to the root problem there...

I stay in state parks along the Oregon coast - no wifi. I don't read while on vacation and prefer watching videos. A few 16GB cards gives me lots of video choices.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I stay in state parks along the Oregon coast [...] watching videos

Thoreau would be proud.

[ScotiaBurrell]

As I've said previously, Apple has raised the bar with the iPad's Retina Display. The time for average display quality in a $500 tablet is over, the bar has been raised.

-*/


Amazon needs to get its bigger screened tablets out fast before the price on current iPad drops to 399. Not now able to make screens look as good.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5688/a...-2012-review/4

[BeccaPrice]

Originally Posted by jocampo

No card slot is not a problem with Amazon cloud. And I doubt Google's online store surpasses Amazon in titles.

It is for people who don't have unlimited broadband.

[sadievan]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I stay in state parks along the Oregon coast -

Totally off topic but, I bet that is beautiful scenery.

Carol

[anamardoll]

OK, I'm just going to sum this "Kindle Fire on Vacation" thing up before this becomes a dead horse.

IF YOU GO ON VACATION FOR A WEEK TO A LOVELY SCENIC VISTA AND DON'T SPEND THE **ENTIRE TIME** GAZING AT THE SCENERY, PREFERABLY WHILE WEARING VICTORIAN-ERA CLOTHES, YOU ARE A BAD PERSON.

Because if you just want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and drink in some clean air while maybe catching a flick that you didn't have time for whilst at home, you have failed to live up to other peoples' expectations of how to live your life.

And you all need to get a haircut and get off my damned lawn.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by sadievan

Totally off topic but, I bet that is beautiful scenery.

Carol

Absolutely gorgeous! Two of my favorite parks are Fort Stevens (190 miles from Seattle) located at the mouth of the Columbia River and Cape Lookout located 75 miles further south. I like staying in yurts; which are perfect for year round "camping". Hikes along the beach and in the forests are great activities; while sitting on the beach watching the sunset is a fantastic way to end the day.

• Oregon Coast
• Cape Lookout State Park
• Fort Stevens State Park

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

A standard DVD is about 4-6 GB. You can obviously forget HD. Sure you can compress, but that takes a long time. (we are talking about ADDITIONAL compression BY A USER here after buying the file or disk, not compression at the studios, lol). Anyway, this is just ONE example. An expansion slot is always a good thing. And we shouldn't accept that companies are charging more for giving us less. If companies realize that users want expansion slots they will bring them back. So users here are right to make a big stink about it. The only way to change things.

With modern hardware, conversion doesn't really take a lot of time nowadays. Hardware accelerated encoding has also improved by leaps. However, I do agree that having an expansion slot is a good thing. The only acceptable reason for leaving out an expansion slot is if a device is supposed to be waterproof.

Originally Posted by HansTWN

They leave it out to save money, make extra money on selling you additional cables or adapters, and to lock you into their clouds. Not for our benefit.

You left out the pricey annual subscriptions to cloud services.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

OK, I'm just going to sum this "Kindle Fire on Vacation" thing up before this becomes a dead horse.

IF YOU GO ON VACATION FOR A WEEK TO A LOVELY SCENIC VISTA AND DON'T SPEND THE **ENTIRE TIME** GAZING AT THE SCENERY, PREFERABLY WHILE WEARING VICTORIAN-ERA CLOTHES, YOU ARE A BAD PERSON.

Because if you just want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and drink in some clean air while maybe catching a flick that you didn't have time for whilst at home, you have failed to live up to other peoples' expectations of how to live your life.

And you all need to get a haircut and get off my damned lawn.

I've seen the scenery enough to not have to spend every waking moment looking. It's a nice getaway. I especially love going there in the winter to catch the storms - pounding rain, high winds, crashing waves. Most of that time will be spent indoors, with occasional jaunts outside.

Besides, it's quite easy to escape Seattle and find yourself surrounded by nature. A 30-45 mile drive easily lands yourself in the mountains surrounded by forests, lakes, and rivers.

[tubemonkey]

An expansion slot also allows one tablet to be used by several individuals. Just swap cards and tailored content is ready to go.