I am not usually an impulse buyer but I was here: as soon as I read the announcement of the $200 Amazon Fire tablet, I had to put my order in that minute to get in the queue. The device showed up a couple of days ago. While I have not had a lot of time with it, I do have some data to share which I think is different than what is mentioned in all the reviews so far.
Here is the link to Amazon Page for Kindle Fire.
And a picture:
You can read the specs there. But in a nutshell, this is an Android table that has been heavily modified by Amazon.
Here are my quick first impressions:
+ Really nice job on packaging. It comes in a cardboard box. You tear up a band and as you pull the top open, it also fully unwraps the Kindle which at that point is ready to pick up! The plastic protective packaging is glued to the cardboard box so it opens in unison with it.
Apple has always had fantastic packaging and while this one doesn't exude "expensive" like Apple does, it nevertheless accomplishes the important goal of putting a smile on your face before you turn on the device! Setting the consumer mood right is a very important but usually ignored aspect of home electronics.
I turn the device and again, pleasant surprise. The device instantly prompts me with the wifi signals it has found ready for me to connect to one of them. I do that, and give it my password.
Next screen is a prompt asking me to log in with my Amazon ID but before I get a chance to do that, the screen disappears and I am greeted by Amazon as who I am! So both a good and a bad move. Bad move in asking me for something it didn’t really need. Good move that the device serial number is registered with Amazon so I did not need to login at all. A missed opportunity for a true homerun.
I have not used the new iOS release on my iPad2 but as regular readers know, I was quite unhappy that I had to plug my iPad to iTunes/PC in order to use it. I think that is resolved now with the newest release of iOS. Perhaps someone can advise as to how well it works compared to this method.
The next step is a class tactic to buy schedule. You release the hardware on time to manufacturing but then spend the time until it is release fixing the bugs. Good for engineers, not so good for consumers who now have to sit through a whole system update which Fire attempted to do. The experience was mostly good other than classic engineer usability mistakes. After downloading the update, the machine needs to reboot. What is the prompt for that? System turning off or something to that effect! Worse yet, it literally sits there with a dark screen. Right when you think you need to hit the power button, it wakes up and goes through the rest of the install. Shame on Google and Amazon for not having a restart mechanism that does that without a full power cycle and alarming messages.
Once there, you are greeted by a very attractive bookshelf. It is very clever in that all of it is done with a simple background that has wood texture and such with the apps lined up in it, rather than the typical Android apps grid. You see that in the center image here:
Amazon has eliminated the standard Android device buttons and that drove me nuts and confused my wife who tried to use it, to the point where she could not operate it. Instead of the physical home and back buttons, a pop up bar shows up at the bottom of the window. Problem is, it is not always clear how to get this to come up. Often there seems to be no discoverable way to get that ribbon to come up. My wife ran into this when just reading a book and got so frustrated, she gave up on the device.
I also see responsiveness issues with the back button. Touching it often does nothing for a second or two making you think the action was not accepted. Given how often this is used as one multitasks, it is a big usability issue.
On the positive front, if you live and die by Amazon, then you will be in very good shape. I streamed some videos using my Prime membership and the experience was extremely good. Selected the movie and it just played. Book browsing with integrated reader is quite a bit nicer than browser on the PC.
The screen is just gorgeous. It is just hard to imagine that all of this technology can be bought for just $200. Heck, I have to sign for a long term contract to get an Android phone with much smaller screen for the same price. I plan to use mine mostly as a smart remote to manage my home as the smaller form factor than iPad 2 fits that model better. And of course, the lower cost means if you drop it off the side of the couch, you don’t cry as much.
That unfortunately gets us to a major negative. The Amazon market. Gosh, this is almost an empty house. I could not find hardly any of my favorite apps there. US Toady for example is missing but of course, not the paid version they want you to get. I could not find NPR News app either. Or any of my local newspapers. What is there looks like a ghost town. There is hardly any reviews on any app. I suspect given the popularity of this device that will change but for now, you have almost no guidance to go by. 8 out of 10 apps have no reviews. And what is there, has one or two reviews. I would say it gets C- on apps relative to B+ on a typical Android device (and A for Apple products). This made the product far more of an appliance to read books and such than a full blown computing device.
I understand you can simply transport your apps from other android devices by finding the download module and running it then on Fire. Fair bit of hassle but something I need to do to get me the functionality I need (e.g. the automation app for my home control system).
Another simple, but major usability issue in my opinion. The Fire has two speakers on top of the device as you hold it vertically/Portrait style. The speakers are reasonable since the device is rather thick (much thicker than iPad 2). But here is the thing: when you play video, you turn the device sideways. Same when you play games like Angry Birds. The sound then fires to the left and is quite annoying. It seems to be so directional that as you watch the video, you keep thinking the sound is coming from 10 inches to the left of the display. I could not get over how annoying this was. Didn’t anyone try to actually watch video, listen to music or play a game with these speakers?
As you may have heard, Amazon has also removed things like compass and GPS. I wish there was an upsell model with those for an extra $50. This thing would make a dynamite navigation device. Phones are just too small. And while on that front, it was a joy typing on the touch keyboard on Fire as compared to my Droid phone. Those extra inches of screen real estate make a big difference.
I also tried browsing. Amazon has a cloud based scheme here where their servers read the pages and then give it to the browser running on Fire. I find this an odd arrangement. Such an enhancement is useful in high latency cellular networks. Seeing how Fire only has a fast WiFi connection to the Internet, latency is not an issue. No surprise then that browsing with the device is no better than anything else. Benchmarks I have read actually show it to be slower than other tablets. Feedback on browsing using the 7” screen on Fire has been negative on review sites. I actually thought the other way. Having been used to browsing on my phone, the Fire seems like a revelation as far as ease of navigation and larger fonts. Of course, it is not as good as a PC and such, but is good nevertheless. I had no trouble shopping Amazon’s site for goods. Indeed, if you are a shopaholic, you have found your perfect device! Get setup with Amazon Prime free shipping, and one-click purchasing and you could be as close as one can be to having their how butler shopping for them!
A few clicks and what you want arrives the next day or two. The browser has tabs and nice visual bookmarks.
Overall, I think the price is a breakthrough. Follow on devices are probably months away and at similar price points so I can’t wait to get my hands on them. For now, I think the Fire is well worth the impulse buy especially if you live in the Amazon ecosystem of books, music and videos. As devices go, it is a bit like a netbook to Apple iPad’s PC but seemingly more functional than that analogy. If I were Apple, I would seriously worry about Amazon forgoing device profits as to maximize purchasing of goods (Apple doesn’t have much else to sell so has focused on profits in the device itself).
As consumers, this is an exciting time for all of us!
Here is the link to Amazon Page for Kindle Fire.
And a picture:
You can read the specs there. But in a nutshell, this is an Android table that has been heavily modified by Amazon.
Here are my quick first impressions:
+ Really nice job on packaging. It comes in a cardboard box. You tear up a band and as you pull the top open, it also fully unwraps the Kindle which at that point is ready to pick up! The plastic protective packaging is glued to the cardboard box so it opens in unison with it.
Apple has always had fantastic packaging and while this one doesn't exude "expensive" like Apple does, it nevertheless accomplishes the important goal of putting a smile on your face before you turn on the device! Setting the consumer mood right is a very important but usually ignored aspect of home electronics.
I turn the device and again, pleasant surprise. The device instantly prompts me with the wifi signals it has found ready for me to connect to one of them. I do that, and give it my password.
Next screen is a prompt asking me to log in with my Amazon ID but before I get a chance to do that, the screen disappears and I am greeted by Amazon as who I am! So both a good and a bad move. Bad move in asking me for something it didn’t really need. Good move that the device serial number is registered with Amazon so I did not need to login at all. A missed opportunity for a true homerun.
I have not used the new iOS release on my iPad2 but as regular readers know, I was quite unhappy that I had to plug my iPad to iTunes/PC in order to use it. I think that is resolved now with the newest release of iOS. Perhaps someone can advise as to how well it works compared to this method.
The next step is a class tactic to buy schedule. You release the hardware on time to manufacturing but then spend the time until it is release fixing the bugs. Good for engineers, not so good for consumers who now have to sit through a whole system update which Fire attempted to do. The experience was mostly good other than classic engineer usability mistakes. After downloading the update, the machine needs to reboot. What is the prompt for that? System turning off or something to that effect! Worse yet, it literally sits there with a dark screen. Right when you think you need to hit the power button, it wakes up and goes through the rest of the install. Shame on Google and Amazon for not having a restart mechanism that does that without a full power cycle and alarming messages.
Once there, you are greeted by a very attractive bookshelf. It is very clever in that all of it is done with a simple background that has wood texture and such with the apps lined up in it, rather than the typical Android apps grid. You see that in the center image here:
Amazon has eliminated the standard Android device buttons and that drove me nuts and confused my wife who tried to use it, to the point where she could not operate it. Instead of the physical home and back buttons, a pop up bar shows up at the bottom of the window. Problem is, it is not always clear how to get this to come up. Often there seems to be no discoverable way to get that ribbon to come up. My wife ran into this when just reading a book and got so frustrated, she gave up on the device.
I also see responsiveness issues with the back button. Touching it often does nothing for a second or two making you think the action was not accepted. Given how often this is used as one multitasks, it is a big usability issue.
On the positive front, if you live and die by Amazon, then you will be in very good shape. I streamed some videos using my Prime membership and the experience was extremely good. Selected the movie and it just played. Book browsing with integrated reader is quite a bit nicer than browser on the PC.
The screen is just gorgeous. It is just hard to imagine that all of this technology can be bought for just $200. Heck, I have to sign for a long term contract to get an Android phone with much smaller screen for the same price. I plan to use mine mostly as a smart remote to manage my home as the smaller form factor than iPad 2 fits that model better. And of course, the lower cost means if you drop it off the side of the couch, you don’t cry as much.
That unfortunately gets us to a major negative. The Amazon market. Gosh, this is almost an empty house. I could not find hardly any of my favorite apps there. US Toady for example is missing but of course, not the paid version they want you to get. I could not find NPR News app either. Or any of my local newspapers. What is there looks like a ghost town. There is hardly any reviews on any app. I suspect given the popularity of this device that will change but for now, you have almost no guidance to go by. 8 out of 10 apps have no reviews. And what is there, has one or two reviews. I would say it gets C- on apps relative to B+ on a typical Android device (and A for Apple products). This made the product far more of an appliance to read books and such than a full blown computing device.
I understand you can simply transport your apps from other android devices by finding the download module and running it then on Fire. Fair bit of hassle but something I need to do to get me the functionality I need (e.g. the automation app for my home control system).
Another simple, but major usability issue in my opinion. The Fire has two speakers on top of the device as you hold it vertically/Portrait style. The speakers are reasonable since the device is rather thick (much thicker than iPad 2). But here is the thing: when you play video, you turn the device sideways. Same when you play games like Angry Birds. The sound then fires to the left and is quite annoying. It seems to be so directional that as you watch the video, you keep thinking the sound is coming from 10 inches to the left of the display. I could not get over how annoying this was. Didn’t anyone try to actually watch video, listen to music or play a game with these speakers?
As you may have heard, Amazon has also removed things like compass and GPS. I wish there was an upsell model with those for an extra $50. This thing would make a dynamite navigation device. Phones are just too small. And while on that front, it was a joy typing on the touch keyboard on Fire as compared to my Droid phone. Those extra inches of screen real estate make a big difference.
I also tried browsing. Amazon has a cloud based scheme here where their servers read the pages and then give it to the browser running on Fire. I find this an odd arrangement. Such an enhancement is useful in high latency cellular networks. Seeing how Fire only has a fast WiFi connection to the Internet, latency is not an issue. No surprise then that browsing with the device is no better than anything else. Benchmarks I have read actually show it to be slower than other tablets. Feedback on browsing using the 7” screen on Fire has been negative on review sites. I actually thought the other way. Having been used to browsing on my phone, the Fire seems like a revelation as far as ease of navigation and larger fonts. Of course, it is not as good as a PC and such, but is good nevertheless. I had no trouble shopping Amazon’s site for goods. Indeed, if you are a shopaholic, you have found your perfect device! Get setup with Amazon Prime free shipping, and one-click purchasing and you could be as close as one can be to having their how butler shopping for them!
A few clicks and what you want arrives the next day or two. The browser has tabs and nice visual bookmarks.Overall, I think the price is a breakthrough. Follow on devices are probably months away and at similar price points so I can’t wait to get my hands on them. For now, I think the Fire is well worth the impulse buy especially if you live in the Amazon ecosystem of books, music and videos. As devices go, it is a bit like a netbook to Apple iPad’s PC but seemingly more functional than that analogy. If I were Apple, I would seriously worry about Amazon forgoing device profits as to maximize purchasing of goods (Apple doesn’t have much else to sell so has focused on profits in the device itself).
As consumers, this is an exciting time for all of us!
