New Kindles FTW!

[The Milkman]

It looks alright. Its just Amazon seems to want to go the iOS route with Android, which is also total bullshit.

 

[chavosaur]

Pretty neat. Im still happy with my Rooted Nook though
However, certain things that could be rooted to do on the new kindle would be pretty nice...
However, there is also the new Ipad coming in soon.
A heavy tablet storm is coming...

 

[Gahars]

Those look pretty nice, actually. It looks like Amazon is going to set the tablet market on fire... HD.

 

[SifJar]

It looks alright. Its just Amazon seems to want to go the iOS route with Android, which is also total bullshit.

What do you mean by "go the iOS route"? It has a completely unique interface (a rather nice one, in my opinion, although perhaps not the most practical for how I use tablets), the whole device is basically designed around their Prime & Cloud services (in the US at least; in the UK, it's a mix between Amazon Cloud and Lovefilm, the UK equivalent of Amazon Instant Video), it is being billed as a "service" (i.e. all the media it can pull from Amazon) rather than a "device" (iPad is definitely a device IMO, iCloud is more of an "extra" feature, rather than deeply integrated like Amazon's services on the Fire). Honestly no idea how you could possibly say they are copying iOS in any way.

 

[OJClock]

Source 1: http://m.ign.com/art...ll-ad-supported

Source 2: http://m.engadget.co...=eng_latest_art

Presumably you could remove them when its rooted, but I think it will turn a lot of people off initally.

Edit Source Amazon itself (ctrl-f special offers)
http://phx.corporate...2546&highlight=

Really? I was under the impression that all models came in two versions, ad-sponsored (for a slightly cheaper price) and without ads

 

[SifJar]

Really? I was under the impression that all models came in two versions, ad-sponsored (for a slightly cheaper price) and without ads

Not the Fire family. The regular e-Readers do, but all the Fires are ad-supported.

 

[pistone]

I've heard that all the kindles will have ads :/
gizmodo story

 

[Jamstruth]

Two giant questions loom for me.

1. Will this ever make the jump across the pond? The original Kindle Fire never did.
2. Will it have full Google Play Market from the get go or will it be limited to the Amazon App Store unless know how to install it yourself?

That 2nd one will be a giant limiter for these devices if Amazon make it their App Store only. With that and the ad subsidising I'm going to have to stick with wanting the Nexus 7.

 

[mysticwaterfall]

2 is a definite amazon only unless you install it yourself.

 

[SifJar]

Two giant questions loom for me.

1. Will this ever make the jump across the pond? The original Kindle Fire never did.
2. Will it have full Google Play Market from the get go or will it be limited to the Amazon App Store unless know how to install it yourself?

That 2nd one will be a giant limiter for these devices if Amazon make it their App Store only. With that and the ad subsidising I'm going to have to stick with wanting the Nexus 7.

1. Have a look at the amazon.co.uk homepage You may see a small hint
2. It's be Amazon App Store only. They won't license it with Google/Google won't let them (don't fully understand the politics of the matter, nor do I really care much; all I know is that rooting will be necessary to install Play Store)

As a side note, I'd assume rooting will also enable you to get rid of the ads if you know what you're doing. (You'll probably even be able to install CM10 or some other JB based custom ROM, making the device on par with Nexus 7 software wise, at which point the choice between comes down to specs & price).

 

[Jamstruth]

1. Have a look at the amazon.co.uk homepage You may see a small hint
2. It's be Amazon App Store only. They won't license it with Google/Google won't let them (don't fully understand the politics of the matter, nor do I really care much; all I know is that rooting will be necessary to install Play Store)

As a side note, I'd assume rooting will also enable you to get rid of the ads if you know what you're doing. (You'll probably even be able to install CM10 or some other JB based custom ROM, making the device on par with Nexus 7 software wise, at which point the choice between comes down to specs & price).

After posting that I looked on the site and saw it right there front and centre. I just never went back and editted it out xD
Its true that if I know what I'm doing (which I like to think I do when it comes to Android devices) I can remove all this crapware but then why not pay that little bit extra to get the Nexus for ease of use? These products seem pretty damn nerfed for the average consumer. Basically I'm lazy and always happy to pay for the full Google support. I somehow doubt Amazon will bother updating these tablets much...

 

[SifJar]

After posting that I looked on the site and saw it right there front and centre. I just never went back and editted it out xD
Its true that if I know what I'm doing (which I like to think I do when it comes to Android devices) I can remove all this crapware but then why not pay that little bit extra to get the Nexus for ease of use? These products seem pretty damn nerfed for the average consumer. Basically I'm lazy and always happy to pay for the full Google support. I somehow doubt Amazon will bother updating these tablets much...

The thing about the Fire family is that it's less about the device, and more about the service. You're not buying "just another Android tablet", you're buying a tablet designed around using Amazon's services (Lovefilm, Amazon Cloud, Kindle & MP3 Stores etc.). And as I understand it, for that task they do a pretty darn good job. Sure you miss out on a few apps or games; but that's not what people are likely to buy a Fire for. It's a media device, leaning heavily on Amazon's huge media library. People who are buying a Fire are generally not going to care much about the "crapware", as it's that "crapware" that gives them the services they're buying the device for.

For someone wanting an Android tablet, a Nexus 7 [or some other Android tablet (Galaxy Tab, Asus Transformer etc.)] is definitely the way to go, I agree. I reckon the Kindle Fire is for a different market, and is well suited to that market. And considering the original is apparently Amazon's best selling product ever (I think I read that somewhere; feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), there are clearly plenty of people in said market.

 

[Zorua]

>No NFC
>No Navigation
>No Google Play
>Dual Core
>Terrible UI
>Locked bootloader

Why would you ever buy this over the nexus 7?

 

[SifJar]

>No NFC
>No Navigation
>No Google Play
>Dual Core
>Terrible UI
>Locked bootloader

Why would you ever buy this over the nexus 7?

NFC and Navigation aren't necessary on a media device. Why waste more money on unnecessary extras?
Google Play would require Google licensing, which would increase the price. Relying instead on Amazon App Store etc. means the device can be cheaper, and still have access to a large library of apps. Again, why waste money on unnecessary extras?
Dual core is perfectly sufficient for playing media, which is clearly the purpose of this device. Yet again, why waste money on an unnecessary faster processor?#
The UI being "terrible" is a matter of opinion. For a tablet designed to be used as most tablets are, yeah it's not great. For a device designed as a media device, I personally think it's pretty great.
Locked bootloader; unimportant to I'd say 95% of the potential market. Is this even confirmed anyway? Was the original locked? I know it certainly had custom bootloaders and stuff, so even if it was locked, it wasn't hard to bypass.

The problem exhibited by many people here is you are all approaching this as "a tablet"; that's not how it should be seen IMO. It is part of a service, the "Fire HD" service (encompassing Lovefilm/Amazon Instant Video, Amazon Cloud and the Kindle & Amazon MP3 stores, along with Whispersync and Game Circle or whatever it's called). The device is for this service, not for regular tablet usage. I don't think it is designed to compete directly with the Nexus 7 or other tablets necessarily.

 

[retrodoctor]

I think it's funny that he's said the Fire has an ugly UI when the Nexus also has a horrible UI. It's like two fat people calling each other fat.

 

[SifJar]

I think it's funny that he's said the Fire has an ugly UI when the Nexus also has a horrible UI. It's like two fat people calling each other fat.

Again, that is an opinion. In my opinion, the Nexus 7 UI is quite excellent. I don't know of any better looking OS, with the possible exception of WebOS (haven't spent enough time with it to really know, only seen a few screenshots). Come to think of it, BB10 is also shaping up pretty nicely. But WebOS is functionally useless due to the distinct lack of apps and abandonment by it's creators, and BB10 isn't out yet.

I also quite like the UI of the Fire, it's just not what I'd want, as I'd want a "proper" tablet, not a media device which the Fire clearly is.

 

[Zorua]

>No NFC
>No Navigation
>No Google Play
>Dual Core
>Terrible UI
>Locked bootloader

Why would you ever buy this over the nexus 7?

NFC and Navigation aren't necessary on a media device. Why waste more money on unnecessary extras? NFC is pretty nifty for transferring/sharing media between two devices.
Google Play would require Google licensing, which would increase the price. Relying instead on Amazon App Store etc. means the device can be cheaper, and still have access to a large library of apps. Again, why waste money on unnecessary extras? They've clearly advertised that this tablet has Android, and the end user would be surprised to see it missing. Devices are supposed to meet a certain spec criteria for the inclusion of the play store. I've heard that the licensing costs are little to none. Also, this is a marketing stunt by Amazon because they make a lot of money off their app store. Google Play would only harm their sales.
Dual core is perfectly sufficient for playing media, which is clearly the purpose of this device. Yet again, why waste money on an unnecessary faster processor? Have a look at this.
The UI being "terrible" is a matter of opinion. For a tablet designed to be used as most tablets are, yeah it's not great. For a device designed as a media device, I personally think it's pretty great. I don't exactly like the idea of my device resembling a bookshelf. Anyone looking for the Android experience would be completely put off by that.
Locked bootloader; unimportant to I'd say 95% of the potential market. Is this even confirmed anyway? Was the original locked? I know it certainly had custom bootloaders and stuff, so even if it was locked, it wasn't hard to bypass. Where did you get that percentage? From what I've heard, a significant population of Android users root their devices and install custom roms, as this is done with great ease. However, locked bootloaders are a complete pain in the ass and defeat the purpose of 'open source'. The original Kindle had a locked bootloader, and it wasn't unlocked for over a year. Devs at XDA had it figured out only this year in April.

The problem exhibited by many people here is you are all approaching this as "a tablet"; that's not how it should be seen IMO. It is part of a service, the "Fire HD" service (encompassing Lovefilm/Amazon Instant Video, Amazon Cloud and the Kindle & Amazon MP3 stores, along with Whispersync and Game Circle or whatever it's called). The device is for this service, not for regular tablet usage. I don't think it is designed to compete directly with the Nexus 7 or other tablets necessarily. Why should the device not be seen as what it's being advertised as? What do you even mean? Isn't it evident that Amazon refreshed their tablets in competition with the Nexus 7? Compare the 7" Kindle Fire HD and the Nexus 7. Go over the specs. The Nexus 7 is a lot better, but costs the same. The 16 GB variant is priced only $50 higher, however you're getting so many more features. Why would you get the Kindle Fire HD instead?

Replies are in bold. BTW, I don't own a Nexus 7, neither do I plan to buy one in the near future. Just thought I'd clear that up, in case people accuse me of defending my purchase.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

The problem exhibited by many people here is you are all approaching this as "a tablet"; that's not how it should be seen IMO. It is part of a service, the "Fire HD" service (encompassing Lovefilm/Amazon Instant Video, Amazon Cloud and the Kindle & Amazon MP3 stores, along with Whispersync and Game Circle or whatever it's called). The device is for this service, not for regular tablet usage. I don't think it is designed to compete directly with the Nexus 7 or other tablets necessarily.

Then comes in the problem that my general tablet can do the same thing as all of those services and more, not to mention that the Kindle and Amazon MP3 + App Store can be put on any Android tablet. Lovefilm's selection is about as bad as Netflix, but AFAIK it doesn't offer streaming to anything else so that's the only plus I guess. Whispersync and Game Circle isn't anything to be excited about either, or at least not something that should hinder the choice between a Kindle Fire and a general tablet.

Don't get me wrong, these tablets would be great for people who only want to watch movies and stuff and don't know much about tablet technology, but that's a pretty small market as well. Even if they get rooted they hardly stand a chance against the Nexus 7.

@[member='Zou Hua']
Amazon has almost always advertised their Amazon App Store along with their tablets, anyone who buys one expecting there to be the Google Play store has either never seen an Amazon tablet ad before or hasn't done any research at all and bought the tablet on a whim. EDIT: Also, OH THE HORROR A BUSINESS IS ADVERTISING THEIR SERVICE TO TRY AND MAKE MONEY! HOW COULD THEY.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Amazon announces new Kindle Fire HD tablets with LTE, 8.9-inch screen

The new 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD tablet will be priced at $299, the 7-inch at $199, and an LTE model at $499


Amazon on Thursday heated up the tablet competition with the introduction of new Kindle Fire HD tablets, including a model with LTE capabilities and another model with an 8.9-inch screen that can display images at a resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels.

SOURCE: http://www.computerw...8.9_inch_screen

I agree that the 8.9" version is looking nice. However, the 7" version is inferior to the Nexus 7 in every way. The 8.9" version is only better because of the screen resolution (and to some people, the size, though that's not really relevant in direct comparisons)
They're trying to compete with the Nexus 7, but aren't really doing it that well. The Nexus 7 still has superior hardware, and the benefits of Play Store integration.

 

[LightyKD]

For those of you saying that the Nexus 7 has the advantage against the 199 Kindle, let's not forget that the 199 Nexus only has a 8GB NAND while the 199 Kindle has 16GB. That's a HUGE difference if you're a media junkie and with the growing size of Android games, a mere 8GB is not enough. I was using 16 gigs internally and 8 gigs externally on my tab before it needed to go in for a repair.