Amazon Kindle Fire - New Tablet

[palbert]

— if I didn't mind Amazon deleting the books on it whenever they want to, as they did with Nineteen Eighty-Four, of all books to burn electronically.

I've seen the Kindle and they're pretty cool but I too worry about availability and access.

Have they deleted Farenheit 451? That would be quite a statement.

 

[kallipolis]

Better competitors than Amazon and the Fire have tried, and all have failed. It would take a lot to scare Apple, and a gimped 7 inch tablet isn't going to do it.

The Amazon Kindle Fire will sell very well if only because not everyone needs all the bells, and whistles that Apple insists are necessary for ones salvation in pursuit of electronic enlightenment.

And Amazon's new product sells at a much more appealing price.

 

[JB3]

The Amazon Kindle Fire will sell very well if only because not everyone needs all the bells, and whistles that Apple insists are necessary for ones salvation in pursuit of electronic enlightenment.

And Amazon's new product sells at a much more appealing price.

A price that is accompanied by serious compromises. Things like missing expandable memory (limited to an anemic 8gb), a microphone, accelerometer, no 3G option, no bluetooth. Things like the 3G and bluetooth aren't a big deal. The missing accelerometer means that game selection will be extremely limited. Lack of microphone means that you can't do anything that involves audio input. The biggest omission, and the most damaging, is the lack of expandable memory. This is a content consuming device; to limit users to 8GB of native storage is insanely stupid.

What you see as bells and whistles on the iPad and other tablet devices are actually standard spec requirements these days for devices like the iPad and Kindle Fire.

 

[kallipolis]

A price that is accompanied by serious compromises. Things like missing expandable memory (limited to an anemic 8gb), a microphone, accelerometer, no 3G option, no bluetooth. Things like the 3G and bluetooth aren't a big deal. The missing accelerometer means that game selection will be extremely limited. Lack of microphone means that you can't do anything that involves audio input. The biggest omission, and the most damaging, is the lack of expandable memory. This is a content consuming device; to limit users to 8GB of native storage is insanely stupid.

What you see as bells and whistles on the iPad and other tablet devices are actually standard spec requirements these days for devices like the iPad and Kindle Fire.

There is an expandable memory with Amazon expecting users to access much of their media via the cloud. To that end it's offering free cloud storage for any media purchased from Amazon, including books, music and movies.

Amazon is also bundling its own browser called Amazon Silk which is designed to fetch Web content faster than other browsers by storing it on Amazon servers and delivering it quickly to the device.

The price difference of dollars 499 for the Ipad against dollars 199 for the Amazon device might suggest that the market place can live with a simpler product for those consumers who do not need the bells, and whistles that the Ipad represents for those who need to use the additional assets.

 

[JB3]

There is an expandable memory with Amazon expecting users to access much of their media via the cloud. To that end it's offering free cloud storage for any media purchased from Amazon, including books, music and movies.

The cloud is not a substitute for onboard storage, especially on a device that only has WiFi. Its a poor solution.

Amazon is also bundling its own browser called Amazon Silk which is designed to fetch Web content faster than other browsers by storing it on Amazon servers and delivering it quickly to the device.

Which has what to do with anything? If it had 3G, Silk might actually be useful.

The price difference of dollars 499 for the Ipad against dollars 199 for the Amazon device might suggest that the market place can live with a simpler product for those consumers who do not need the bells, and whistles that the Ipad represents for those who need to use the additional assets.

You keep calling them bells and whistles, but they are not. They are standard features for this type of device. We'll see how the market reacts, but so far those that analyze the electronics market are not at all impressed by the fire.

 

[kallipolis]

The cloud is not a substitute for onboard storage, especially on a device that only has WiFi. Its a poor solution.



Which has what to do with anything? If it had 3G, Silk might actually be useful.



You keep calling them bells and whistles, but they are not. They are standard features for this type of device. We'll see how the market reacts, but so far those that analyze the electronics market are not at all impressed by the fire.

The cloud is an expandable memory resource, and not a substitute for anything.

Silk speeds up the process and is highly useful for the user who appreciates its rapid response.

Bells, and whistles merely identify those very expensive add on features that most people do not use.

The enormous price difference between the two devices will ensure that Amazon's new baby will out sell Apple's Ipad.

 

[palbert]

What do you (plural) think of what Apple did today?

I regard a cell phone as a glorified intercom but am getting tired of ordering books. (Borders was an hour away.)

(When I got my first cell phone I asked if I could get a party line. LOL)

 

[JB3]

The cloud is an expandable memory resource, and not a substitute for anything.

Except that's not how Amazon is advertising it. They're advertising it as a substitute for the onboard storage. The limited internal memory is going to be the biggest drag on Fire sales.

Silk speeds up the process and is highly useful for the user who appreciates its rapid response.

Bells, and whistles merely identify those very expensive add on features that most people do not use.

The enormous price difference between the two devices will ensure that Amazon's new baby will out sell Apple's Ipad.

That remains to be seen. Apple sold 9 million iPads last quarter alone and could sell as many as 15 million this quarter.

Though Amazon doesn't disclose total sales numbers, clues by Bezos and other amazon officers point to Amazon being able to sell a little more than half that of the iPad in the same time. (roughly 5 million) And that's being generous.

Amazon is going to find the tablet market to be a tough nut to crack. I wouldn't be surprised if sales for the Fire don't pass 5 million.