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#1 Nov 15 2011 at 7:35 AM Rating: Good
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Anyone bought one or thinking of buying one?

Supposedly Amazon is selling this ipadwannabee at a loss - for $199.00.

The 3g comes at no extra cost, contract or monthly charge. I'm wondering what limitations Amazon will put on it??

I'm not finding that it does anything more special than my Nookcolor - except the 3g. If the thing had a camera so I could satellite-send photos to friends and family (who all have i-phones) I would have seriously considered buying one of these.

Currently e-books at Amazon have almost the same exact pricing and special offerings as Barnes&Noble. Actually B&N seems to get have a few more deals on books (but it may be I just look more for them).

I do really like the new skinny Kindle (the one that uses old fashioned buttons). It will be on my xmas list right below Skyrim.
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#2 Nov 15 2011 at 7:45 AM Rating: Good
How much does it cost per month on these things to use the 3G?
#3 Nov 15 2011 at 7:48 AM Rating: Good
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I'm curious about it, but awaiting reviews.
#4 Nov 15 2011 at 7:49 AM Rating: Good
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Duke Lubriderm wrote:
How much does it cost per month on these things to use the 3G?
It doesn't cost anything. Sounds like Amazon will have pretty strict control on your browsing though. I would imagine there'd be a plan you can get that would give you some kind of unlimited access to the world-wide internets - but I just don't know.
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#5 Nov 15 2011 at 7:54 AM Rating: Good
Elinda wrote:
Duke Lubriderm wrote:
How much does it cost per month on these things to use the 3G?
It doesn't cost anything. Sounds like Amazon will have pretty strict control on your browsing though. I would imagine there'd be a plan you can get that would give you some kind of unlimited access to the world-wide internets - but I just don't know.
Oh, I always assumed that you would have to pay for some data plan or something. I might need to look into one of these at some point. Right now, I buy used books, so price wise, my crappy old books are cheaper than most ebooks. The problem with me is that I refuse throw old books out, and don't want to drive to a donation center, so in the end, they result in clutter. The e option would really clear up some space around here.
#6 Nov 15 2011 at 8:11 AM Rating: Good
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Duke Lubriderm wrote:
Elinda wrote:
Duke Lubriderm wrote:
How much does it cost per month on these things to use the 3G?
It doesn't cost anything. Sounds like Amazon will have pretty strict control on your browsing though. I would imagine there'd be a plan you can get that would give you some kind of unlimited access to the world-wide internets - but I just don't know.
Oh, I always assumed that you would have to pay for some data plan or something. I might need to look into one of these at some point. Right now, I buy used books, so price wise, my crappy old books are cheaper than most ebooks. The problem with me is that I refuse throw old books out, and don't want to drive to a donation center, so in the end, they result in clutter. The e option would really clear up some space around here.
Having an e-reader hasn't seemed to reduce book-clutter for me. It's just added a whole nother level of disorganization. Smiley: tongue

The Kindle Fire though is being sold as more of a tablet than a reader. Really if I were to get another reader, I'd get one with the e-ink screen - which the Kindle Fire doesn't have.
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#7 Nov 15 2011 at 8:19 AM Rating: Excellent
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PC World (PC Magazine? One of those) ran a column saying that all the other Android offerings were essentially irrelevant with the Kindle and Nook tablets. They may not be iPads, for good or ill, but they blow away the rest of the tablet market.

I have an HP Touchpad I bought during the fire sale ($150 for 32gb) which meets my modest tablet needs but, if I didn't, I'd probably consider the Kindle Fire or wait until next year for the larger model supposedly on the way.

Edited, Nov 15th 2011 8:20am by Jophiel
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#8 Nov 15 2011 at 10:43 AM Rating: Decent
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I may be wrong, but I thought I heard somewhere that the 3G connection was limited to downloading books and apps from the Amazon store only. Since it's a proprietary mod of the Android software they could probably do that.
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#9 Nov 15 2011 at 2:50 PM Rating: Default
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They are selling them at a loss because they know they can make up the difference selling content. Which knowing amazon they will be the only place to get content on the Fire.
#10 Nov 15 2011 at 2:53 PM Rating: Excellent
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I read today that they have no objection or technical barrier to sideloading Android apps not from the Amazon marketplace.

Of course, most people won't bother for various reasons and will buy exclusively through Amazon.
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#11 Nov 15 2011 at 3:01 PM Rating: Good
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I don't think 1.99 apps are where Amazon intends to make back their money on these things. Movies, books, amazon prime - sure, that will provide some income. But, having Amazon instant-access from your Kindle Fire that's in your handbag or sitting on your kitchen counter whenever you feel the need, or have the urge to purchase something (and you can buy virtually anything from amazon these days) can be pretty powerful.

And then there are the ads.......
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#12 Nov 21 2011 at 10:52 PM Rating: Good
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1. The Kindle Fire doesn't have 3G and no claim was ever made of it coming with 3G. Wi-Fi only.

2. It's not competition for the iPad or any other dedicated tablet. That comes from ignorant media sources hyping a product to the ignorant masses who are too damn stupid to actually do any research. Amazon has specifically stated the Fire was not iPad competition and that the major Amazon tablet people are looking for isn't coming out until '12. It's a color e-reader that has access to multimedia. Yes it's a tablet, but in a very basic sense of the word.

3. There are no ads on the Fire. The subsidized e-readers and the Fire are two completely different things.

If you understand the Fire isn't meant to be competition to anything on the tablet market and it's little more than a color e-reader with a few bells and whistles, it's great. It does exactly what I need it to, display color PDFs, play a movie or two, and hold my e-books on the off chance I might get time to sit down and read them.

Yes, you can sideload apps. Yes, I have the Nook app sideloaded onto mine and it runs fine. Yes, it runs way better than the Nook color which puked any time I loaded a somewhat graphic heavy PDF. If your sole intention is to root it and run a custom version of Android, you're probably better off with the Nook Tablet because of the higher amount of RAM and the SD card slot. If you expect to get a fully functional tablet that can compete with the $500+ market for less than half that, well, you're an idiot.
#13 Nov 22 2011 at 12:34 AM Rating: Excellent
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Jophiel wrote:
PC World (PC Magazine? One of those) ran a column saying that all the other Android offerings were essentially irrelevant with the Kindle and Nook tablets. They may not be iPads, for good or ill, but they blow away the rest of the tablet market.

I have an HP Touchpad I bought during the fire sale ($150 for 32gb) which meets my modest tablet needs but, if I didn't, I'd probably consider the Kindle Fire or wait until next year for the larger model supposedly on the way.



The relevant portion of that PC world article was "they blow away the rest of the tablet market on a price per value basis". Specificationwise, there are many android tablets that blow the ipad and the nook and kindle tablets out of the water. The Samsung offerings being the current top of the heap in terms of processor cores, speed, display, ram and functionality. But they also cost 4 times what the nook and kindle ones cost. There are cheaper tablets than the nook and kindle, but what sets them apart is the capacitive touch screen. Also, ipads are made up of ground up dead baby orphaned seals that were clubbed to death by Steve Job's vengful ghost, and powered by memories ripped from the fertile minds of innocent children.

They also cause cancer.

The HP touchpad can be converted to Android fairly easily, and becomes a very robust Android tablet. http://liliputing.com/2011/10/how-to-install-google-android-on-the-hp-touchpad-with-cyanogenmod7.html If you can find one of them for $99-$150, thats definitly the way to go. they sold them all at about a $90 loss in terms of raw hardware inside.
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#14 Nov 22 2011 at 1:38 AM Rating: Decent
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...and I still don't see the point of buying an oversized smart phone that can't make phone calls.
#15 Nov 22 2011 at 1:55 AM Rating: Excellent
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easier to aim the damned birds in the slingshot at the green pigs with a larger screen.
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#16 Nov 22 2011 at 6:43 AM Rating: Excellent
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Sure, at a price per value basis but, for a tablet four times the cost, 99% of the world will just buy an iPad. Also, since said article I've seen others a bit more critical.

I might play with Android on my HP if a more recent version is ever ported but, really, it already does what I want from it.
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#17 Nov 22 2011 at 7:33 AM Rating: Good
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Dread Lörd Kaolian wrote:
easier to aim the damned birds in the slingshot at the green pigs with a larger screen.

I played the first Angry Birds on my NookColor. I can't imagine playing it on a smart-phone sized screen - but I think that about all my apps. My favorite game and the one I've gotten the most miles out of is Deck of Words. The ladder game is quick but free play is fun. If anyone likes word games I'd highly recommend it.

My most recent NC game is Oubliette. It's a rpg dungeon game. I'm still on level 1. Smiley: grin
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#18 Nov 22 2011 at 8:15 AM Rating: Excellent
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Turin wrote:
...and I still don't see the point of buying an oversized smart phone that can't make phone calls.

I mainly use my tablet for couch browsing. Handy to be able to just plop on the couch and use it to read my news sites and stuff without being tied to my desktop computer. Also, I usually read a a little on it before bed. Comics reader, e-book reader, checking the weather in the morning, some mindless games (<3 Quell) and a portable media player with a decent sized screen makes up most of what I use it for.

Had I not bought it for $150, I wouldn't have gotten one. What I use it for is nice but not $500 nice. I think that's what's going to need to drive down prices on reputable tablets; most people don't need something that'll supposedly transform their entire lives but rather something for more casual use from a brand they trust. I think (based on what little I know) that the Kindle Fire could meet that for a lot of people.
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#19 Nov 22 2011 at 9:40 AM Rating: Good
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Our secretary bought one, and I played around with it the other day.

The screen is very responsive, at least on the home screen. I hear that it lags a bit when it has stuff running, but she hadn't downloaded any apps yet. Everything was laid out pretty nicely, and the UI looks clean. No physical home button though...and the on-screen one only appears when you bring it up (it's not ever-present).

The colors were great and the picture looks really nice. You have to use their own email program, but it seems like it's easy enough to sync it to whichever other ones you use.

It was heavier than I expected. I had read that it was about as heavy as a paperback book, but it felt more like a fat hardcover one.

I liked what I saw, but I dunno. I like the idea of a tablet, but part of me is still holding out hope for something like the Galaxy Note, so I could just have the one device for everything.

Edited, Nov 22nd 2011 10:40am by Eske

*Edit: I meant "Galaxy Note" not Tab. The Note is a smartphone/tablet hybrid.

Edited, Nov 22nd 2011 12:35pm by Eske
#20 Nov 22 2011 at 10:45 AM Rating: Good
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We plan on getting one for the boys as a joint Santa gift. They keep trying to steal my Kindle.
#21 Nov 22 2011 at 11:02 AM Rating: Good
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Jimpadan wrote:
They are selling them at a loss because they know they can make up the difference selling content. Which knowing amazon they will be the only place to get content on the Fire.
Huh? It's easy enough to put stuff on my Kindle either by USB or my Kindle email address. DRM'd books from other stores might be a bit of a problem, but it's not hard to strip the DRM and convert them to mobi.
#22 Nov 22 2011 at 11:03 AM Rating: Excellent
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Turin wrote:
...and I still don't see the point of buying an oversized smart phone that can't make phone calls.
I hate talking on the phone so I see this an advantage

I mean some people don't see the point of posting on a message board several thousand times but you still do it

Edited, Nov 22nd 2011 11:07am by Sweetums
#23 Nov 22 2011 at 11:26 AM Rating: Good
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what I want to know is why this is "US only"

Gosh crap like that ticks me off.
#24 Nov 22 2011 at 11:30 AM Rating: Excellent
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Olorinus wrote:
what I want to know is why this is "US only"

Gosh crap like that ticks me off.
Any number of reasons including, but not limited to: regulations, distribution, taxation, a general "I don't care about selling to an entire country with a population of only 1 state."
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#25 Nov 22 2011 at 11:41 AM Rating: Good
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Just realized that I said "Samsung Galaxy Tab" up there, when I actually meant the Galaxy Note.

Smartphone/mini-tablet hybrid of sorts. Amusingly enough, it's getting released pretty much everywhere but the US first, and has no US release date yet.

They say it'll likely be an AT&T exclusive first, which would really bum me out.
#26 Nov 22 2011 at 11:43 AM Rating: Excellent
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Olorinus wrote:
what I want to know is why this is "US only"

'Cause you'll totally make missile systems out of it.
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