Was heading to the East Coast last week and wanted to take something other than a laptop with me. I’m waiting for the full-function/full-capabilities in a slate that will come this fall with Windows 8 and was looking for an “in-between” device to fit that space and those times between phone and a full slate and be something I’ll continue to use.
Settled on the Kindle Fire and after a week’s use including a few days travel I’m very pleased with the choice and understand why Amazon is now in the #2 spot in tablets and growing. Here’s my quick cut at the Good/Bad of the Kindle Fire:
The Good:
– Size: It’s a perfect “in-between” device and is great for reading books, browsing the web, viewing pictures/video and running apps. If I’m going to carry a full-size, ~10 inch tablet I don’t want to have to make the compromises today’s options are limited by so for me the 7 inch form factor is perfect, and one I’ll continue to use even after getting a fully capable larger slate.
– Design: I like the look and feel of the Fire and while large enough to easily view and browse, it’s also small enough that I can hold it at the bottom and “two-thumb” type. I looked at the Nook and while it has a nice screen, I was personally turned off by the grey bezel around the screen and the loop on the lower left corner. Am I supposed to dangle Hello Kitty key chains of this? Use it to hang it from my backpack?? Open beers with it???
– Optimized for books/publications: Knowing I will be adding a full-function slate when they become available this fall I was looking for a device that was great for reading but added the additional capabilities of a slate (browsing, apps, email, etc). The Fire does this really well.
– Tap and Hold in the UI: While not universally implemented I really like the tap-and-hold support on the Fire. Once you’ve used this UI feature it is super intuitive and powerful and I get so frustrated on other tablets that lack this.
– The Price: Seriously, $199 is a killer price for a really solid device. Nook at $250 is reasonable but just can’t see paying the $499-$829 for the other alternatives available today given their limitations.
The Bad:
– Silk Browser: It’s a reasonably functional browser and I know Amazon will continue to improve it but it lags in some standards support areas and while their cloud-caching helps with performance there are privacy implications similar to Opera. You can turn this off if you prefer but still not optimal.
– It’s a Different UI: It’s different than my phone, it’s different than my PC, and I want a common experience across all three. Oh, and by common I don’t mean I want grids of static icons, I want a common, live experience across my devices.
– Malware: The plethora of malware in the Android marketplace is a concern. I’m trusting Amazon will help manage this a bit as they have their own app store but still, to me, it’s a concern.
clarkb... 