Fire and card reader?

[TomTeaPack]

Anyone have an idea if the Kindle Fire will be able to use a USB card reader?

[susan_cassidy]

As far as is known, the Fire cannot act as a server/host. The USB port is only for connecting as an auxiliary drive to a pc so that you can move files around.

[RyanO]

This article explains what is in the Fire. From the sounds of it, it seems the Fire will be pretty restrictive in terms of what it can be plugged into it since there isn't even a memory expansion slot.

I think it is safe to assume so that people will have a more difficult time "rooting" it to base Android OS it is based on. Then again, you never know and might be one of those things people figure out once it is out.

[susan_cassidy]

That article has less information than is on the product page.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by RyanO

This article explains what is in the Fire. From the sounds of it, it seems the Fire will be pretty restrictive in terms of what it can be plugged into it since there isn't even a memory expansion slot.

I think it is safe to assume so that people will have a more difficult time "rooting" it to base Android OS it is based on. Then again, you never know and might be one of those things people figure out once it is out.

I have to keep repeating how disappointed I am in the Fire. Sure you can fool with the software, the Android underbelly, but the hardware limitations are awful.

6GB usable internal memory
No SD card port.
No usable USB2 port.
No limited free 3G service.

Bezos wants you to be shackled to his cloud, but with only WiFi, a connection can not be guaranteed.

Frankly! Pretty pitiful!!

He actually has given his competition a way to sink what had been a pretty formidable operation. If not sink, then at least poke some big holes into it.

[Jessica Lares]

3G service for the Kindle Fire would be really expensive to the point unusable. It would bring the battery life down really quickly too. You can't download apps very efficiently using that kind of connection either. It lags, it loses the connection, and can corrupt things.

You CANNOT watch a movie or TV show in peace with internet that slow.

As for the extra slots... People don't end up using them and it forces the device to be much thicker to make room for it. Most of us have had various phones for YEARS with mini SD card slots, yet never bothered to use them. The slots on my MacBook Pro have actually started decaying and getting fluff in them because I never use them... And I'm a photographer.

This is a consumer tablet, not made for anyone in particular except the ones that want it for entertainment purposes.

[gweminence]

Frankly! Pretty pitiful!!

He actually has given his competition a way to sink what had been a pretty formidable operation. If not sink, then at least poke some big holes into it.

I lol'd at this. Amazon isn't going anywhere. Amazon isn't going to sink. Amazon isn't even going to suffer any holes.

What they ARE going to do, is sell millions of Fire units to the millions of people for whom the tech specs will be just fine. Then, because they've sold such millions, they'll reap hundreds of millions in content sales.

Could the FIre have been better? Sure. And it certainly will be in the future. But it is, in this first iteration, even, going to do just fine.

[Jessica Lares]

And the best thing? You'll be able to upgrade twice and a half for the same price of the iPad.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

3G service for the Kindle Fire would be really expensive to the point unusable. It would bring the battery life down really quickly too. You can't download apps very efficiently using that kind of connection either. It lags, it loses the connection, and can corrupt things.

You CANNOT watch a movie or TV show in peace with internet that slow.

As for the extra slots... People don't end up using them and it forces the device to be much thicker to make room for it. Most of us have had various phones for YEARS with mini SD card slots, yet never bothered to use them. The slots on my MacBook Pro have actually started decaying and getting fluff in them because I never use them... And I'm a photographer.

This is a consumer tablet, not made for anyone in particular except the ones that want it for entertainment purposes.

Originally Posted by gweminence

I lol'd at this. Amazon isn't going anywhere. Amazon isn't going to sink. Amazon isn't even going to suffer any holes.

What they ARE going to do, is sell millions of Fire units to the millions of people for whom the tech specs will be just fine. Then, because they've sold such millions, they'll reap hundreds of millions in content sales.

Could the FIre have been better? Sure. And it certainly will be in the future. But it is, in this first iteration, even, going to do just fine.

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

And the best thing? You'll be able to upgrade twice and a half for the same price of the iPad.

First, I said "limited 3G" like is on the Kindle 3-3G which I have. You can't watch movies on that. You can't watch video. You can't download stuff without paying for it. (15 cents per MB), but you can be out somewhere beyond WiFi and look at Google, look at a map.
Since the browser is easier to use, they may have to charge even more, but it could be minimal compared to what a cellular company would charge.

As for the use people make of their devices, speak for yourself. I have 250GB of personal web space and a hosted web site that I like to check on and when I am out but not carrying my work notebook with a company provided wireless card which is on the weekend, and on vacation because of the responsibility, then I am out of luck. Sure I have a phone, but I don't like the limits that imposes. Hell I would like to tether to the phone, but how do you do that when there isn't the hardware on the Kindle?

[Jessica Lares]

The people who complain about the Kindle Fire's limitation only like one thing... The price. Honestly, Amazon can't afford to lose more money on adding the other things everyone wants. Adding paid 3G is a joke, people would just complain about having to pay for another bill. You can't limit it either because someone will eventually find a way around it.

This is a CONSUMER product geared towards mommy bloggers, parents who THINK their 1 year-old deserves a fancy tablet to drool all over, and the people who want to own yet another device to watch TV and movies but want to play games on it too. It's also a book/magazine e-reader. Most of these consumers will be able to tether the Fire to use on the go if needed. Most of these consumers are going to be using the Fire standalone. When you have things like iCloud, Google Docs, and SkyDrive, there is no need for USB drives or SD cards.

If you don't like what you're getting with the Kindle Fire, then DON'T get it. You get what you pay for and spending $100 more on something that has everything you need and want is more worth it.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

As for the extra slots... People don't end up using them and it forces the device to be much thicker to make room for it. Most of us have had various phones for YEARS with mini SD card slots, yet never bothered to use them. The slots on my MacBook Pro have actually started decaying and getting fluff in them because I never use them... And I'm a photographer.

This is a consumer tablet, not made for anyone in particular except the ones that want it for entertainment purposes.

My flip phone has a card slot and I don't use it because it only has a 2.5mm headphone jack. Kinda hard to listen to music (which requires use of a mSD card) when your headphones don't fit.

Does your MacBook Pro only have 6GB of storage?

You mean non-video entertainment purposes.

[Jessica Lares]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

My flip phone has a card slot and I don't use it because it only has a 2.5mm headphone jack. Kinda hard to listen to music (which requires use of a mSD card) when your headphones don't fit.

Does your MacBook Pro only have 6GB of storage?

You mean non-video entertainment purposes.

The headphone jacks vary, yeah. They've gotten longer over the past years.

My iBook has 6GB of usable space. My first iPhone was 8GB.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

The headphone jacks vary, yeah. They've gotten longer over the past years.

My iBook has 6GB of usable space. My first iPhone was 8GB.

Not length, but diameter; and 2.5mm is still the standard for most dumb phones.

My first iPod touch was 8GB and I quickly ditched it in favor of 32GB because the 5GB of user storage wasn't near enough to store apps, audiobooks, and videos.

My Nook Color is 8GB and it's not enough either; but the card slot solves that problem and I can carry as many audiobooks and videos as I like.

When a manufacturer limits storage to 6GB, a card slot is essential for quite a few of us.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Not length, but diameter; and 2.5mm is still the standard for most dumb phones.

Well 2.5mm is the standard for headsets, not headphones. Headsets have one ear piece and a microphone. That is why they are on dumb phones.

Dale

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Well 2.5mm is the standard for headsets, not headphones. Headsets have one ear piece and a microphone. That is why they are on dumb phones.

Dale

Even dumb phones have bluetooth these days and they still have 2.5mm jacks. That limitation makes the card slot worthless for me.