As many people are very aware, ever since the original iPad came out on 2010 there has been an ongoing war in the technology world over one of it's newest and most exciting technologies. Tablet PCs are very popular today, and there is an extremely large number of different hardware choices available to a consumer. One of the most recent additions to the tablet PC market has been the Amazon Kindle Fire. It started to ship to customers in late November, and I would like to take a little time to give it a short review, and to quickly discuss how it stands in the tablet war.
HARDWARE
The Kindle Fire may be thought of by many as a simple e-reader, but you should be careful as the Kindle Fire does pack quite a punch. Nestled underneath its beautiful 1024x600 pixel 7” multi-touch Gorilla Glass capacitive touch screen is a 1 GHz dual core Texas Instruments OMAP processor. It has a PowerVR SGX540 under the hood as well, to power the Kindle's screen at 169 ppi (pixels per inch) with 16 million colors. The only lackluster hardware spec to be seen here is the Kindle's 512 MB of RAM, which will do just fine, but I would have liked to see 1 GB for that extra boost in smooth operating. For storage the Kindle sports 8 GB of internal storage, which is plenty of room to store apps, movies, music, and books on. The Kindle is 802.11 b/g/n Wifi enabled, so you can connect to the internet and download apps, check movies, or watch your favorite YouTube clips. It is all powered by a 4400 mAh battery, that can be used to do quite a bit of whatever it is you want to do. Then when your Kindle needs some juice, you can fill it back up on its all to standard Micro-USB 2.0 type B port. Music listeners will be pleased to hear that the Kindle does have a 3.5 mm stereo socket for your headphones, as well as two small speakers on the top of the device. After a good amount of testing on my own Kindle Fire, I have found the speakers to actually be quite satisfactory. Another con here is the lack of any cameras on the Kindle, which will limit your ability to do something like a Skype video chat on this tablet.
SOFTWARE
Similarly to many of today’s most popular Tablet PC's, the Kindle Fire runs off of a customized version of Android OS 2.3 also known as “Ice Cream Sandwich”, as all of you Android enthusiasts out there know all too well. This version of the Android OS is the latest one released by Google, that has still yet to make it to all of Google’s own supported Android phones. The Amazon created customization works smoothly, and is well organized. Using the Kindle Fire is straightforward and understandable. A big benefit of being based on the Android platform is that the Kindle can take full advantage of the Amazon Appstore, and download any apps that are offered there. The Kindle also has a special cloud-accelerated broswer, called Amazon Silk. The Kindle Fire comes with several applications like and Email client, a document reader, and many other things like access to the whole Amazon video store that all users can use to purchase and stream things like TV shows or movies.
COMPARISONS
The Kindle Fire as a brand new device in the tablet market, will obviously be constantly compared to other tablets. The biggest comparison to make is between the Kindle fire and the iPad 2. The Apple iPad 2 is one of the cornerstones of the current tablet market, coming in as the most popular and well known tablet there is. Both tablets have their own operating systems, web browsers, and app stores. As far as hardware goes, both tablets are running on a similar amount of processor power with dual core 1 GHz mobile processors. The biggest hardware differences to see are that the iPad 2 has a camera as well as possible support for not only Wi-Fi but also 3G GSM and CDMA wireless and even Bluetooth. There are a lot more options for buying an iPad 2 than there are for a Kindle Fire, but even the lowest price iPad two costs more than double the Kindle Fire at $500. The two devices deliver very different experiences, and whether of not you enjoy either experience will really be up to you. Some people will enjoy the Apple iPad 2 more than the Kindle Fire, and some will enjoy the Kindle Fire more. The only point I can really emphasize is that the Kindle Fire has such a low price, it really makes up for any losses in functionality there is from the iPad 2. In the end its all up to you though!
MY VERDICT
The Kindle Fire as a brand new device in the tablet market, will obviously be constantly compared to other tablets. The biggest comparison to make is between the Kindle fire and the iPad 2. The Apple iPad 2 is one of the cornerstones of the current tablet market, coming in as the most popular and well known tablet there is. Both tablets have their own operating systems, web browsers, and app stores. As far as hardware goes, both tablets are running on a similar amount of processor power with dual core 1 GHz mobile processors. The biggest hardware differences to see are that the iPad 2 has a camera as well as possible support for not only Wi-Fi but also 3G GSM and CDMA wireless and even Bluetooth. There are a lot more options for buying an iPad 2 than there are for a Kindle Fire, but even the lowest price iPad two costs more than double the Kindle Fire at $500. The two devices deliver very different experiences, and whether of not you enjoy either experience will really be up to you. Some people will enjoy the Apple iPad 2 more than the Kindle Fire, and some will enjoy the Kindle Fire more. The only point I can really emphasize is that the Kindle Fire has such a low price, it really makes up for any losses in functionality there is from the iPad 2. In the end its all up to you though!
MY VERDICT
The Kindle Fire is a new, and very competitive entry in the tablet PC market. Priced at a mere $200 USD, it is almost a steal compared to many of its competitors. The Kindle Fire has many impressive hardware features, while it does leave a few things to be desired. The customized Android OS is done very well, and works almost flawlessly. Overall this is a really great tablet for anyone looking for a sold device that they can use for all of their simple needs. This e-reader/tablet combo is a very solid product, and holds some serious weight in the tablet war.
Until next time,
Ian “E Money” Wichmann
Very informative, and a good balance between specs and personal experience. It does seem however, to be a bit heavy on the technical end, might glaze the eyes of the non-tech savvy.
ReplyDeleteGreat amount of information about what the Kindle Fire has to offer. I was debating getting one for myself, but am not sure if I want a Kindle Fire or save up for an iPad. If you have any thoughts that might sway my opinion I would be open to hear them.
ReplyDeleteI really like the sound of the new Kindles. I have never been a big fan of Macs so I much prefer the Android operating system. The thought of a tablet not made by Mac makes me happy. I have recently caved in and bought and Ipod Touch due to its massive compatibility. With that note I would like to see other companies become more prevalent in the technology race so we can have a better choice of items to buy.
ReplyDeleteI have been looking into buying a tablet for about a year now. I just can never decide what to look for in a good quality tablet. This had a lot of good information to help me make a decision. With the price being cheaper than the other competitors. It makes it seem like it is a very good deal.
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