I bought my Kindle Fire yesterday after much back and forth,
hand-wringing and consternation over the bad reviews that have cropped
up about this device, as well as the media coverage of it having
"problems" that Jeff Bezos says he is fixing. Here's the thing, I don't
know what needs fixed. After playing with the Fire for 24 hours, I can
say it is everything I am looking for in a media-consumption device: I
can read the Web, listen to music, stream video and enjoy apps. My goal
in this review is to debunk, confirm and examine all claims I've read
about the Fire and click Here to order the new Kindle Fire Question Number One: Whose pond are you swimming in? If you're an Apple devotee, who has an iPhone, keeps all your music in iTunes and doesn't care about e-books, no this is probably not the device for you. Save your money and get an iPad, because flat out, you won't like this as much as I do. But if you happen to keep your music in Amazon's cloud, have an e-ink Kindle and an Android phone you will get much, much more out of the Fire. For one, the music in your cloud drive will pop up on your device as soon as you sign in, as will the option to download the books you're purchased on your other Kindle. Finally the app store has many of the Android apps to which you're accustomed.
Now let's get down to performance:
Let me first say, I feel like the one-star reviews of this device (really anything under at least three stars) are punitive, incorrect and probably people not realizing their Wi-Fi connection sucks more than the fact the browser doesn't work. As mentioned, I am familiar with many of the "complaints" about this device, so let's address them.
1. The Browser is slow: FALSE - it is super speedy. I don't get the complaints. Awesome. No viability to this claim.
2. Volume is too low: FALSE - I would put the volume situation on par with, say, a smartphone. I'd say it is relatively similar to an iPod touch or Android phone. So this complaint just holds no water. I don't know what people expect, but it's plenty loud with headphones.
3. Touch interface is glitchy: LARGELY FALSE: The calibration seems like it may be a bit off AT TIMES (maybe, or maybe I'm just not used to the device), but nothing that ruins or even hurts the experience. VERY MINOR. I'm sure Amazon is looking to tighten this up.
4. Power Button in Bad Place: FALSE: I don't get it. It's not easy to accidentally turn it off.
5. No hardware volume buttons: TRUE It doesn't have any. I thought this would bug me, but here's what you need to think about: This isn't an ipod or a smartphone that you use for listening to music with the device's screen turned off. You're usually listening while doing something else on the device, so adjusting volume on-screen is no big deal.
6. Loose with Privacy: TRUE Too easy to buy stuff, the carousel needs to be editable. This needs fixed and I'm sure Amazon will, as they have committed to.
There is one con: It's a touch heavy, yet still MUCH lighter than the iPad. However, much like the first gen iPad, I'm sure this will be slimmed down in the next generation, but 24 hours after popping the box open, I'm getting used to it and figured out comfortable ways to hold it over long periods of time.
Let's not forget, this device is $199. During the 30 minutes I spent at Best Buy yesterday considering this purchase, I watched eight people walk up and buy one of these. I'm guessing these are moving much faster than iPads. No they don't do as much as an iPad, but if you want to mainly consume media, this device is incredible. Again, I feel like the criticism this device has taken is unfair. It has a couple first-gen issues, but Amazon should be applauded for putting a product like this out rather than taking crap for minor blemishes that do not ruin the experience.
Aesthetically, this is a beautiful machine. It is a pleasure to use. I am so glad I got one.
Click Here to Preorder the new Kindle Fire
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