Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet
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Amazon Kindle Fire Review 2012
Amazon Kindle Fire was unveiled, on September 28, 2011, by Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos. With the launch of this all-new Android tablet, the world's largest online retailer enters into the tablet technology world which has been mainly dominated by the Apple iPad.
With the widely successful and popular Kindle eBook reader which was introduced in 2007, Amazon hopes to capture some tablet market share. Some of the other popular and ever-growing tablet competitors include the likes of Apple's New iPad, Samsung's Galaxy, Motorola Xoom and RIM's Blackberry Playbook.
On this web page you will find all the information you need regarding the all-new Amazon Kindle Fire including its specifications, features, pros and cons of Kindle Fire and much more. The Kindle Fire was made available to residents in the US starting November 14, 2011.
Amazon Kindle Fire: Buy at Amazon.com
Amazon's Kindle Fire TV Commercial
Watch the Short 30 Second TV Ad of the Amazon Kindle Fire
Kindle Fire vs New iPad Comparison
Comparison Chart of Key Specifications (New iPad vs Kindle Fire)
The above comparison chart shows the specifications of the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet and compares its specs with that of its competitor, Apple's New iPad. In the sections below, we will review features of Amazon Kindle Fire in more detail and take a look at some of its pros and cons in order to help you determine if it's right for you.
Overview of Amazon Kindle Fire Features
Comparison of Amazon's Kindle Fire with Apple's New iPad
Below is a video overview reviewing Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet features and how it compares to Apple's New iPad. In the next section below, we will review some of the key features of Amazon Kindle Fire and compare it to Apple's New iPad. We will also review some of the pros and cons of Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet.
Pros and Cons of Amazon Kindle Fire
With the ever-growing tablet PC market dominated by Apple's iPad, when a new tablet is launched, the question always arises as to how it compares to the iPad. Below you will find some of the key specifications and features of the Amazon Kinldle Fire and how it compares to Apple's New iPad:
Operating System: the New iPad runs on Apple's iOS 5 operating system, whereas, Amazon's Kindle Fire runs on a modified version of Android 2.3 OS. Based on reviews of the two operating systems, Android has an advantage, in terms of speed and performance, coupled with the fact that Kindle Fire has an exclusive cloud-accelerated split browser called Amazon Silk.
Processor: the New iPad comes with Apple's A5X dual-core processor, whereas, the Kindle Fire comes with the TI OMAP 4 dual-core processor. Both the processors have a speed of 1 GHz, so both tablet PCs are comparable for speed.
Memory & Storage: in terms of hard drive storage, Apple's New iPad comes in 16, 32 and 64 GB options, however, the Kindle Fire has only one option with 8 GB. Although Amazon provides free storage space, through Amazon Cloud, for all your Amazon digital content like apps, books, songs and movies.
Display & Screen Resolution: both, the iPad and the Kindle Fire come with multi-touch screens, however, the iPad is bigger in size, at 9.7 inches and much better resolution, compared to the 7 inches IPS display on the Amazon Kindle Fire.
Camera & Microphone: Apple has front and back cameras in the New iPad, capable of capturing and playing back video in 1080p HD quality. The Amazon Kindle Fire doesn't come with cameras or microphone. This may be an issue for some users.
Wireless & 3G Connectivity: internet access on both, the Kindle Fire and the New iPad is available via various Wi-Fi- wireless networks, however, the Kindle tablet does not offer 3G / 4G connectivity, like the New iPad does.
Battery Life & USB Port: the battery life of the New iPad is approximately 10 hours, depending on usage, whereas, the Kindle Fire has a battery life of approximately 8 hours. USB support for the iPad is via the dock connector, whereas, the Kindle Fire has a built-in USB 2.0 (micro-B Connector) which is more convenient.
Apps Availability: the availability of thousands of apps from Apple's App Store gives iPad uses an advantage. However, given that Kindle Fire runs on the Android, users will have access to the Google Android App Market which is second in competition to Apple's Apps Store. As well as Kindle Fire users will have access to the Amazon Appstore which includes thousands of apps and games.
Price Comparison: the cheapest New iPad model, that is the 16 GB model, costs $499, whereas, Amazon's Kindle Fire costs $199 which is a big price difference, if price is the main factor to the consumer. However, with the introduction of the New iPad, Apple has reduced the price of the iPad 2 (16 GB) to $399.
Overall, other than the price, the Amazon Kindle Fire doesn't seem to pose much of a challenge to Apple's New iPad. However, depending on what features are important to you, Kindle Fire maybe right for you, especially if price is one of the major factors.
Amazon Silk: Kindle Fire's Browser
Overview of Amazon's Revolutionary Cloud-Accelerated Web Browser
The Kindle Fire comes with Amazon Silk which is an innovative, cloud-accelerated browser that leverages the power and speed of the Amazon Web Services cloud (AWS). This has been achieved by what Amazon calls "split browser" architecture.
Since the Amazon Silk browser is installed on both, the Kindle Fire as well as the Amazon's fleet of servers, that is, the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), the speed at which computing tasks are performed are greatly reduced. Essentially, the EC2 serves do all the heavy lifting and thereby use less resources of the Kindle Fire, not only saving time, but also conserving battery life.
The Amazon Silk browser can be customized as per users needs and supports features like multiple tabs as well as the pinch and double tap gestures to help zoom in and out of particular areas of the web page. Silk also supports Adobe Flash.
To learn more about the technical aspects of Amazon Silk, visit Amazon.com.
Top Selling Android Apps in 2012
2012 Best Selling Android Apps on Amazon
Below is a list of top selling Android Apps in 2012 available at Amazon. Also, below you will find a link to the free App of the Day which is available at Amazon.
Amazon Kindle Fire News 2012
2012 Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet News & Updates
Keep up-to-date with all the news and updates on the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet which was made available to the US market on November 14, 2011. Some of the top stores that will retail the Kindle Fire are Target, Best Buy, Staples, Walmart, Office Depot and others. A survey conducted by ChangeWave and RBC Capital Markets reported that 26 percent of Kindle Fire buyers plan to delay purchasing Apple's iPad 2.
- Amazon's Kindle Fire shipments slump in Q1: IDC
- By Poornima Gupta | SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) Kindle Fire was a popular gift item during the holiday season but shipments of the $199 tablet computer dropped sharply in the following months. Market share of Kindle Fire, ...
- iPad and Kindle Fire: Banking on Tablets
- Over the past few months, online banking has quickly been moving toward the tablet and away from home computers, laptops, and mobile phones, particularly with the debut of Amazon's (NAS: AMZN) Kindle Fire late last year. The dearth of banking apps for ...
- Amazon Kindle Fire Slumping, Company Preparing Refresh
- Amazon's first-quarter Kindle Fire sales tanked, but the bookseller is reportedly planning a larger version of the Fire and a midyear 7-inch refresh. However, the iPad remains the top-selling tablet. Amazon wasn't able to sustain its tablet sales ...
- Amazon Plans To Sell Ads On The Kindle Fire
- The Amazon Kindle Fire is one of the most popular consumer tablets to date, second only to the Apple's iPad. Thanks to the Kindle Fire, Google's Android has seen its tablet market share surge in the past couple of quarters. While the Kindle Fire has ...
Reviews of Amazon's Kindle Fire
Amazon Kindle Fire Impressions & Reviews
- Amazon Kindle Fire impressions
- Tim Stevens from engadget.com reviews initial impressions of the Amazon Kindle Fire in his blog post which has several short videos comparing similar devices.
- Amazon Kindle Fire First Impressions: Solid but Limited
- Melissa J. Perenson from PCWorld.com reviews first impression as well as pros and cons of Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet taking into account the competition.
- Will you buy Amazon's new tablet, the Kindle Fire?
- Wall Street Journal took a poll from consumer. As at October 1, 2011, the majority of the poll takers said that they would buy the Kindle Fire tablet (i.e. 63.8% = Yes; 36.2% = No)
- Apple New iPad vs Amazon Kindle Fire
- Posted by Eugene Kim from PCmag.com, this blog post covers some interesting aspects of the Kindle Fire in comparison with Apple's New iPad to see which one is right for you.
- Amazon Kindle Fire Just Hijacked Android
- Christina Warren from Mashable.com has an interesting take, through her article, on how the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet hijacked Android.
- Amazon Kindle Fire Pre-orders Strong, says Analyst
- Brooke Crothers from CNET article below indicates that Amazon's Kindle Fire sales will be phenomenal this Holiday season as it is made available to the US market on November 2011.
Amazon Kindle Fire Zip Sleeves
Protecting your Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet
The Amazon Kindle Fire zip sleeves are made of nylon and help protect and store your tablet. These Amazon Kindle Fire covers are lightweight and come in several stylish colors and designs costing between $25 to $30 each.
Other Top Tablets in the Market in 2012
Apple's New iPad, Blackberry Playbook, and Others
The tablet market is ever increasing with new tablets being introduced by many top companies like Apple's iPad 2 being the leader, Samsung's Galaxy, Motorola's Xoom, RIM's Blackberry Playbook and many others. In the links below, you will find extensive information, reviews and comparisons between the top tablet PCs in the market in 2012, as well as other alternatives like ultrabooks.
Poll: Kindle Fire vs Other Tablets
Guestbook: Kindle Fire Tablet 2012
What do you think of Amazon's Kindle Fire?
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cynthia-ann-leighton May 20, 2012 @ 4:26 pm | delete
- I think I want one...
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mukunda22
Dec 7, 2011 @ 12:18 am | delete
- I was hoping to chance upon a review of the kindle fire. Thanks for this. The most remarkable thing is now we will see a noticeable rise in the sale of kindle books. I bet there will be more of a possibility for colorful graphics for authors, too. Kindle books are the wave of the now and the future. BTW, is there a way to print out a kindle book like you can an ebook? ****blessed****
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ajgodinho Dec 7, 2011 @ 1:22 am | delete
- Yeah, I agree that Kindle books will gain even more popularity with the Kindle Fire and I think that was one of the goals of making a tablet more affordable to the consumer. I don't believe you can print directly from the Kindle, you will have to connect the Kindle to a PC to print. Thanks for the squid blessing Kate!
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A-Redneck
Nov 22, 2011 @ 6:46 pm | delete
- I seem to always be a step behind when it comes to technology so I am so glad when someone tech savvy comes along to explain it all to me. The Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet looks amazing - what a wonderful gift choice for those who love to delve into a good book in the evening. Want a new book - simply download one at the touch of a button - technology is amazing. Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season. Best of wishes.
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- Glad you found it useful. The Amazon Kindle Fire will definitely be one of the hot gift items for the 2011 holiday shopping season. Thanks for your wishes and wishing you and your family the same!
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whiteskyline
Oct 14, 2011 @ 6:53 pm | delete
- Great lens AJ. They are really making some amazing gadgets these days!
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solarpowergoldcoast
Oct 14, 2011 @ 4:10 am | delete
- Great information, I like the way it uses the amazon ec2 cloud system to accelerate browsing, I always knew this had great potential when used similar to a remote desktop system. Only concern as with always in any cloud based systems is your privacy.
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- Yeah, the Amazon Silk browser is definitely innovative and will work great for a device like the Kindle Fire because it helps do all the heavy-lifting, thereby providing an efficient and speedy browsing experience. With regards to privacy, I think a reputable company like Amazon realizes the importance of hacker vulnerability will do everything possible to have a well configured cloud computing architecture. Having said so, I think we all have a part to play in ensuring that we protect our privacy from the unscrupulous.
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lindseythomas
Oct 7, 2011 @ 1:35 am | delete
- Great review. Amazon has now stepped into the competition. For those who have thought that Kindle is only for reading newspapers, magazines and e-books, certainly they must check out this latest version from Amazon.
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- Yeah, for those consumers who found tablet PCs expensive, because they were prices around $500, will now have an option to go for the Kindle Fire which will not provide all the functionality of a tablet, but will be much more than a regular eReader.
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Tipi
Oct 4, 2011 @ 3:10 pm | delete
- Oooo, I like your guest book subtitle comment.....a little controversy in the air, the Amazon Kindle Fire certainly could be looking to make a trophy of the iPad 2....it could wound severely if not being a "killer". I've never had any of them but always enjoy your honest and straight forward reviews and would certainly run over to your neck of the woods to review your reviews before making a purchase. The Kindle Fire's exclusive cloud-accelerated split screen browser along with the Android advantage must have the folks at Apple doing a scrambel, I hear they have another announcement coming today. I think Squidoo loves this a lot too because my security word is "brilliant", and that is an accurate reflection of everything you do for sure!
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- LOL yeah, given that Apple has dominated the tablet PC landscape since the inception of the iPad, it is now the benchmark to compare other competitor tablets to. The way I see it at this current time, is that the Kindle Fire will be successful, price being the major factor, but users who want to get much more from their tablets and can afford to pay more, will stick with tablets like the iPad 2. It will be interesting to see what their second generation Kindle Fire will be.
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GrowWear
Oct 4, 2011 @ 12:44 pm | delete
- Don't know if it'll kill iPad, but the people that wouldn't buy iPad because of the prices now have something viable in the Kindle Fire that won't cost them so much. And that's a good thing. :)
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- I agree, I think it's a strategic move by Amazon because I'm sure they've seen other Apple competitors struggle to capture any significant market share from the tablet leader, iPad 2. Also, making it available in time for the holiday season will benefit Amazon hugely.
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JaguarJulie Oct 4, 2011 @ 12:12 pm | delete
- Well, it looks pretty spendiferous, I say! I've still got to charge up the original Amazon Kindle and wear that out before I consider some real Fire! TYVM.
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Cool Technology in 2012
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence
Pictures on this web page are used in accordance with the Amazon Associate Agreement.
Updated: May 28, 2012
by ajgodinho
Amazon joins the growing tablet PC competition as it unveiled its all-new tablet, the Amazon Kindle Fire. With Apple's iPad leading the pack with a significant... more »
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