Amazons first full color Kindle, the new Kindle Fire Tablet is finally here. Amazon is delivering the device since November 15th.
In this in-depth Kindle Fire review we are going to shed light on this new device from every angle possible.
We are going to give you all the technical details, pictures, videos, as well as a comparison with its competitors iPad 2 and Nook color, and much more….
But before we go into the details, let’s have a look at what most people would like to see:
The new Kindle Fire Tablet in action!
3.2.1… Action (click play):
This looks pretty amazing, doesn’t it? The response time is really really fast, which will make it a delight to use this new tablet ehhm Kindle.
Which brings it to our first check point of our Kindle Fire review.
The Kindle Fire hardware
The similarity to the BlackBerry PlayBook in terms of the design is undeniable, which is no wonder, as it has been designed by the same company. The Kindle Fire tablet looks very clean, but not with the cheap shiny plastic look of other brands. The back of the device has a soft feel with a good grip. Very pleasant.
The new Kindle Fire does only have one single button, and no other ports than a micro USB port for charging and a standard headphone jack. The stereo speakers are located at the bottom. There is no camera, which I think is a positive, we do not need a camera on every device we own, do we?
The high-quality 7 inch IPS display with Gorilla glass for extra durability has a 1024 x 600 resolution with 169 pixel per square inch, which is more than the 132 ppi the iPad 2 offers. Due to this the display seems to be much clearer with vivid colors. Awesome for viewing color magazines, comics, books or videos.
The heart of the Kindle Fire is it’s 1GHz high-speed Dual-core processor, that makes the device very fast and responsive.
The Amazon Kindle Fire Connectivity
The Kindle Fire comes with Wi-Fi connection. A 3G support is not offered at this time, which is a bit of a shame, considering the portability of the device and the availability of Wi-Fi networks on the go. Especially for frequent travelers this would be a drawback. They probably would be better off with the new Kindle Touch 3G.
Amazon Kindle Fire Interface & Performance
When you first switch on your Kindle Fire tablet, all your customized favorite content is loaded instantly. You can either stream it from the Amazon Cloud or download it to your device.
The home screen offers direct access to your favorite items such as books, apps, games, movies etc., frequently used items and your recently accessed content.
At the top menu there is a Newsstand, where you find your favorite Magazines, Newspapers, Books, Apps and the web-browser. The way the content is presented in a carousel view makes it a very visually appealing experience.
The operating system is a modified version of Android 2.3, that Amazon gave its own user interface.
Compared to other android tablets on the market, the integration of the several content storefronts and libraries is much more seamless, so acquiring new content and playing your cloud stored content is very easy.
Amazon Silk – the new high-speed web browser
This comes quite as a surprise, Amazon does not opt for the Chrome browser, but developed a completely new generation web browser called Amazon Silk.
It not only used the enormous computing power of the Amazon Cloud, but it also has the ability to learn your browsing patterns and preloads websites you read most often, which leads to a fast web browsing experience at “light speed”.
Watch this short Amazon Silk Demo:
Kindle Fire Storage
There is only 8 GB of Storage on the new Kindle Fire, which does not seem a lot at first glance. This being an honest Kindle Fire review, we have to mention that this fact certainly brings some limitation to the amount of content you can carry with yourself, when not connected to Wi-Fi.
Fortunately Amazon offers unlimited free storage for your content in the Amazon Cloud. That means, while you have Wi-Fi connection, you are able to access all your content, streaming it directly from the cloud or downloading it.
Amazon Kindle Fire Whispersync
Synchronisation was a very important point for the Amazon developers. Which is why the Kindle Fire features Amazon’s Whispersync technology.
This means that all your bookmarks and notes from your Kindle books are synchronized across all Kindle devices and apps. But that’s not all.
Read what Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said:
“Customers love Whispersync — so we thought, you know what people would really like? What if Whispersync also worked with movies and TV shows? – Well it does. When you get home, switch to your big screen TV. Your movie will be right where you left it.”
Cable-less synchronisation at it’s best!
Kindle Fire Content: Music, Movies, Video, Books, Apps, Games
Content is king with the Kindle Fire. The Amazon Music store offers more than 17 million songs. There are over 100.000 movies and TV shows available to stream, download, rent or purchase, and all at a tap of your finger.
Over 2 million FREE Books are waiting to be read. All your favorite full color magazines and Newspapers are only one tap away. Not to mention, that the biggest bookstore of the world is connected directly to your device.
You will have access to Amazon’s Android Appstore, which unfortunately is still much smaller than the Google Android market, but the most popular apps will surely be available for the Kindle Fire.
The most popular games, such as Angry Bird, are also available on the Fire. Thanks to the powerful dual-core processor, playing games on the Kindle Fire is a really smooth and enjoying experience.
Amazon Kindle Fire and Amazon Prime
If you are a Amazon prime member, you will have unlimited ad-free streaming access to more than 11.000 movies and TV Shows.
Amazon Prime is just the Service that needs to go with the new Kindle Fire. That’s why a 30 day trial of the $79/year service is already included when you buy a Kindle Fire.
Amazon Kindle Fire Review: How does the Fire compare to the iPad 2 and the Nook Color?
Conclusion of our Kindle Fire Review:
Altogether the Kindle Fire looks very promising with only a few negative points. Let’s have a look again at the list positive and negative points of this new Amazon tablet:
The positives at a glance:
- Very attractive price: $199
- 7” IPS stunning color touchscreen with Gorilla glass for extra durability
- Light weight 14.6 oz (413 g)
- Fast Dual Core processor for ultra-fast response times and multi-tasking
- Amazon Whispersync – wireless synchronisation at it’s best
- Access to over 100.000 movies and TV shows
- Access to 17 million Songs at the Amazon MP3 Store
- Unlimited, commercial-free streaming of over 11.000 popular movies and TV shows as a Amazon Prime member (30 day trial included, $79/year after that)
- Web browsing at “light speed” with the Amazon Silk browser
- All your Email (Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, AOL etc.) in one single inbox: the built in Email app gets all your webmail organized.
- Free unlimited Cloud storage for all your favorite Amazon content
The negative points of the Kindle Fire Tablet:
- Wi-Fi only, no 3G
- Battery life “only” 8 hours (We really hoped it would be at least 10 hours like the iPad)
- no microphone
- only 8 GB internal storage space
Verdict of our Kindle Fire review:
The Kindle Fire is going to create some storm on the tablet market. While it won’t be a direct competitor for the iPad 2, it is just doing it’s own thing and is focusing on a different audience.
All together, the Kindle Fire seems to be a great device for entertainment. A few little flaws have to be mentioned, like the low internal memory of 8 GB and the fact that it doesn’t have a 3G connection.
Nevertheless, we believe that it’s totally worth to buy, and especially at this affordable price it will bring more curious people to try a tablet. The Kindle Fire should definitely be on your wishlist this holiday season.
The Kindle Fire is especially great for kids, with over 1000 beautifully illustrated children’s books available, including bestsellers like Brown Bear, Circus Ship and Curious George. With lots of interactive games and educational apps on offer, this is a great learning tool for kids.
Families who want to buy their kids a tablet, but don’t want to spend the money needed for the iPad 2, will certainly appreciate the low price point Amazon has set.
Will the Kindle Fire be a bestseller?
Gene Munster from Piper Jaffray polled 410 U.S. Consumers last week if they would go for a $249 Amazon tablet or a $599 iPad. 62% opted for the Amazon tablet, and only 21 % for the iPad. The price point now being at only $199 will certainly get a few curious people interested in trying a tablet.
At the price of $199 the Kindle Fire is a definite buy. Click here to order your Kindle Fire Tablet or read reviews of people who already have bought the Kindle Fire…
Please leave your comment below!
Did you like this Kindle Fire review, should we add some points?
Did you buy a Kindle Fire? What do you think about it?
Do you think it will hurt Apples iPad sales?
Will the Fire sell like hotcakes?
We are curious about your opinions.
Kindle Images courtesy of Amazon
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Who needs apple product if you have this. This is bloody awesome and a must have. I want it right now
Where can I order it?
Amazingly intersting writing thanks for sharing the info.
This Kindle Fire looks very promising. Thanks for the detailed review. I think I will buy one for my kids (and use it myself haha). They should be happy with it. No iPad needed. It’s just way out of my budget.
For this pricetag it’s really a no-brainer. I just pre-ordered. You are right, 8 GB is not that much, but enough for me, especially considering the unlimited cloud storage. I have Wi-Fi access almost everywhere I move around, at home, at work, at starbucks… so no problems with storage. This is a great little device. I think this will be a success.
l cant wait to get one, looks super and not overpriced like apple l think.
The cloud storage is a huge advantage though iCloud will probably keep users with the 16GB iPad’s like myself a little extra room as my device is more than 80% full already.
I really think there is a decent market for the Fire and it should fill the “nook” between Kindle and iPad quite nicely (no pun intended to Barnes and Nobles Nook)
Nice review about the new Kindle fire tablet. I think the price is going to be a huge selling point. Like you said in “negative points”" there are some features missing but with a $300 price difference they can be neglected
I really like your table comparison. I may consider iPad2 if budget is allowed. Reading on 10″ color screen is more fun.
I think 7″ is better to take it with you, where ever you go. I would not want to carry around the iPad all the time. Its more a tablet for home use. The kindle fire is better for on the road use. I think I will get one. For this price it’s worth the try. The surfing speed and general usage speed are looking really convincing to me.
This will be the coolest gadget I’ve ever pre-ordered. Can’t wait another 2 weeks!
I read that the kindle fire can let you check your e-mail —– but without a keyboard, can you reply to them ??
Yes you can reply to those emails, because you’ve got a virtual keyboard, just like the ipad or most smartphones.
Looks like a cool little gadget to have! I will wait until I see one with my own eyes, then I will consider to buy one.
Huuuh, only 2 days left until they will send me my Fire, hopefully. Can’t really imagine, they can send out all the pre-orders at once. :O I wanna be first, pleaseee!