Kindle Fire (Previous Generation - 1st)

Top reviews from the United States

• 

  Steve M.

  5 out of 5 stars

  A great device and an excellent value

  Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2011

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  SHORT SUMMARY: WHO SHOULD BUY A KINDLE FIRE

  =============================================

  The Fire is an all-around excellent device, especially for the price.

  DO BUY IT, without hesitation, if you want to consume media by yourself or with one other person (max). For example, if you read books and other Kindle content, surf the web, look at photos and want to watch Amazon Instant Videos (Movies & TV) or web-based video sites, then the Kindle will serve your needs well.

  DON'T buy it if you consume as a group or want to do any creation other than the occasional social media post. Watching movies with many other people is hard (7" isn't that big), and the lack of keyboard options, Bluetooth, etc., makes this a very focused device that creators will soon tire of. Doing anything with maps is difficult or impossible, as are all the nifty apps that require a camera, so if those limitations are a deal-breaker then look at a Samsung Galaxy Tab (to stay small) or iPad (big and expensive).

  OVERALL STRENGTHS

  ====================

  + The IPS screen is nothing short of fabulous. I've spent several hours staring at it now and am still amazed. It makes my friend's iPad 2 look grainy. Using this as a high-end photo frame on your desk is actually tempting because the colors are so rich. The screen is very close to 16:9 (15.36:9) and fits movies much better than a 4:3 iPad screen, which negates much of the 2.7" screen size difference between the two (but the reverse is true for old videos that are not widescreen). Overall, the video experience is good enough that you soon become immersed in the movie and you forget about the medium. Plus, since it's so small, you can carry with you more often.

  + The overall feel and construction is super-solid. The rubber/silicone backing gives such peace-of-mind; at this price, I don't plan on buying a case for mine in the foreseeable future.

  + Compact size. It's about the size of a "steno" pad. You can throw it in your backpack, purse, or coat pocket. Overall the Fire is a great balance between usability and portability--much more screen space than a smartphone (at about the same price) but lacking only one typical phone storage option: in your front pocket.

  + Simplicity and UI polish of the overall experience is tight. I wouldn't hesitate to give this device to a total tablet novice. This is a great gift idea for even the most technologically-challenged individual.

  + Speed is perfectly adequate for anything I've had to throw at it. I've tried at least half a dozen games now and they are buttery smooth. The crisp display and saturated colors make it such a joy to re-examine all my old apps.

  + The email client is slick! I have used apps like TouchDown and want to cry because they are so ugly and complicated. Not so with the Fire! Even though this is not a "creator" device, I am glad that they didn't skimp on a full-featured email client that actually looks nice.

  + Silk web browser! Side by side on the same wi-fi connection vs. my dual-core Android phone, the web browser doesn't seem that much faster. HOWEVER--they were both *very* fast! Keep in mind two things: 1) Silk is taking away bottlenecks, but if your existing wi-fi connection is already super-fast (i.e. no bottleneck), you won't notice the difference. 2) The "cloud" improvements will only begin to work when there is a large group of Kindle users who are sending data to Amazon so that they can start proactively caching. It should get faster and faster as more people start using it, so don't feel bad if you're not seeing any speed change out of the box.

  + Content, content, content. What sold it for me was the new Kindle Owner's Lending Library. For my $79 Prime subscription I'm getting access to a ton of shows that were are least partially available elsewhere, but no one else is giving away a book a month. I've seen at least a dozen titles I want to read, so my schedule is "booked" (sorry, couldn't resist) for a year solid. I was already a Prime member, but had never purchased a eInk Kindle because, so now I will have a "Kindle Device" that will qualify me to read a free book a month.

  OVERALL WEAKNESSES

  ====================

  -No GPS or Google Maps is a disappointment. I wanted this thing to be a huge GPS to take in the car, but without a GPS chip that can't happen.

  -No Bluetooth limits its use as a creation device. The $30 Bluetooth keyboard I use for my Android phone is useless for the Fire. Please, someone, make a MicroUSB keyboard that works easily with the Fire or point me to one that already works with the Fire and I'll update this section (I couldn't find any on Amazon).

  -Lack of hardware buttons was at first a turn-off, but after the tenth time of accidentally hitting the home button playing a game on my Android phone, I now appreciate this minimalist approach taken by the Fire. There's the power-button that you may occasionally bump by accident, but you just need to turn the whole thing upside down and the power button is then at the top--problem solved. The remaining complaint is the missing volume button, but I can also understand the reasons behind that. The original iPod touch lacked volume buttons, but they eventually included hardware controls on subsequent devices.

  -Content Lock-in. This is the flip-side of the coin for having so much Amazon content. Since there's no HDMI, any movies you buy are going to be stuck on the device unless your TV also supports Amazon Instant Video streaming. I think the strength of selection outweighs this, but it's something to keep in mind!

  -(Minor) Does not play WMV files. My Android phone does this--why is this codec missing?

  -Battery life--The specified battery life is really a best-case: you'll want to charge this device at least every other night. It's terrible compared to an iPad 2 and great compared to a typical dual-core phone. It remains to be seen if the competition from the large bricks and mortar book store's new tablet is any better, but on paper they say theirs is longer.

  CREATIVE USES FOR THE FIRE

  ==========================

  + Fitness. Use your new Fire as an indoors exercise companion for treadmills, stationary bikes, elliptical machines, etc. Make yourself a commitment to not watch TV until you've worked-out first (while watching/listening/reading on the Fire, of course). It's the perfect size to strap-on or permanently adhere to your home fitness apparatus. This device and a Prime membership is about the same cost as two months for a personal trainer.

  + Schools and home schools. With the number of education apps out there (and ease of development), expect the Kindle Fire to become THE device for kids to use in their studies. This device, in 2011 dollars, is about the same price as my fancy graphing calculator in high school during the early 90s, so we can only guess what kinds of cool education-centric applications will come from this new class of gizmo. For parents, see a variety of great sites (like mine, Learn Richly) that make it easier to evaluate very fun products that make learning a breeze!

  + Small business elegance. What if your customers in the waiting room were each given Kindle Fires instead of magazines? How about giving your next sales pitch or presentation as an interactive HTML5 web page that allows your client to engage with the content even as you're explaining it? This also becomes the perfect Kiosk device because it's so open, inexpensive and ubiquitous.

  + Lists and reference. Putting a $700 iPad in your shopping cart while you check of grocery items makes me nervous, but somehow I'd feel safe doing that with my rugged-feeling grippy-backed Fire. Use it around the house for the kids' chore chart or as a "dedicated" to-do list while at work (what good is the task list in Outlook if I never look at it?)--this price point makes all sorts of things feasible, and especially if you buy multiple devices to establish a community of users in your office or home.

  APPS INCLUDED & MISSING w/SUBSTITUTE SUGGESTIONS

  =================================================

  Built-in you will find already downloaded:

  + Kindle Reader App (with more layout options, such as line spacing and margins, than the current phone Android Kindle app)

  + Amazon shopping app

  + Integrated Music, Video and Web browsing (Silk)

  + "Docs" tab that takes documents you email to your @kindle email address and puts them in Kindle format

  + Audible audio books app (Amazon subsidiary)

  + IMDB (internet movie database) app for information about movies, actors, etc. (Amazon subsidiary)

  + Contacts app (looks like standard Android with Fire skin)--will sync with GMail contacts and probably others

  + Email app with built-in support for Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL and "other", i.e. POP for my ISP worked (not sure about IMAP). Attention: NO MS EXCHANGE/OUTLOOK :(

  + QuickOffice, which is a *viewer* for PowerPoint, Excel and Word--no editing at all

  + Gallery app for photos--looks like you'll need a MicroUSB cable and a computer to do much with it, though

  + Help & Feedback

  + Facebook--seems to be a link to the mobile site

  + Pulse--good, possibly great, news aggregator/reader

  + Other various popular apps/games that are links (but not already downloaded)--may be trials or ad-supported and you can get them from the AppStore anyway. Thanks for not installing them Amazon! This device is refreshingly free of "bloatware"

  Missing:

  - Task list & Memo / note- taking--I recommend ColorNote Notepad Notes that has both of these functions

  - Alarm clock--I recommend Alarm Clock Xtreme Free

  - Calendar--too many choices to recommend a replacement, but you'll probably get one with a paid Exchange email client

  - Calculator--I recommend Calculator Ultimate Lite

  - Weather--AccuWeather for Android or My-Cast Weather Lite both get good reviews

  Anything else I've missed? Comments welcome, thanks!

  Read moreRead less

  1,267 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  JJenkins

  5 out of 5 stars

  Great for what it is

  Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2011

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  I love my Kindle Fire. It seems to me that most people who gripe about the Fire are generally upset because they did not get iPad functionality out of this device which was never created to be an iPad killer or replacement. The Kindle Fire is a great android device with some apps that are nice and some functions that work very well. While I am every satisfied with my Fire, I do have a few gripes which I will start with and then move on to address complaints I've heard others make and talk about what I feel are the highlights. So, first the gripes.

  The things that I have found that I don't really like are:

  1) The screen does not darken enough. I have not been in a situation where I couldn't read my Fire during the day, no matter how bright it was where I was at. I have, however, found that I often wish that I could darken it much more, especially while I am reading in bed. Even at its darkest setting, it still illuminates my room more than a night light. I have my reader set to white letters and black background (which helps a little bit) but it still illuminates the room to the point that it often keeps my wife up and I have to read under the covers. While this may make me nostalgic for my youth (reading under the blankets with a flashlight as a child) I find it more irritates me as an adult. I hope that this is something that they can resolve with a software update, I'm not sure how things like that work. This said, I have several devices (iPad, Nook Tablet, computer, iPod Touch) and none of those seem to get dark enough either.

  2) I don't like the lack of password protection on the device. If someone were to get their hands on my Kindle Fire (I'm very careful where I leave it), they would have full access to my account. This is not a deal breaker for me and I always keep my Fire with me when I'm not at home, however, I could understand why this would be off putting and would like a little additional security in the event it got stolen.

  3) A small gripe is that the power button is on the bottom of the device. While this is somewhat irritating, I have leaned to adjust for it and now have hardly any problems hitting it. Design-wise this is probably the only flaw in the system, I'm not sure why they didn't place it on the top. With time though, you'll get past this small annoyance, plus, you can always turn the device and make the bottom the top easily enough. I haven't experienced anything that doesn't adjust to this shift.

  That's really my only complaints, now on to addressing other complaints I have heard many times over:

  1) People that say their apps don't function fully or as well as on other android devices (such as their tablets and phones). My response to that is, this is not meant to be a tablet. It is an full color e-reader and it functions awesome as such. The apps are secondary to it's primary function as an e-reader. This was not intended to be a major game playing or business software device and so it doesn't necessarily offer full functionality on these. It does, however, play Angry Birds and Facebook very nicely and most of the "frivolous" apps like that work wonderfully on the Fire. On the plus side, one app that I found works great on this is the "Splashtop" remote desktop works awesome. I added that on my fire (also have it on my iPad) and it works great. I use it in my classroom so I can work the computer attached to my SMARTboard and it has all the functionality on my Fire that it has on my iPad.

  2) You cannot download Amazon Prime movies for viewing offline. Amazon Prime is not meant to be a downloadable movie program, it's like Netflix, it's meant for streaming. Netflix members cannot download movies to their devices for offline viewing either. When you buy Amazon Prime you are buying a streaming service and it works awesome as that. I am a Amazon Prime member and love what it has to offer. It has all of the Star Trek series available (I'm a huge Star Trek fan) and, for my son, it has a ton of Sesame Street seasons (he's a huge Elmo fan). The streaming works great, I've never had a problem watching a streaming movie on my Fire. If you choose to buy a movie, they download quickly and look wonderful. Also, the renting service works great as well!

  3) I cannot access my own movies that I put on the Amazon Cloud. I can understand a bit why this would frustrate people, however, movies are secondary to the ereader functionality of the Fire. If you want a device you can put your own movies on and watch them, then get a tablet. That is one of the highlights of a tablet, not of the Fire.

  Finally, why I like the Fire. I like the Fire because it has great ereader capability, the magazines that I subscribe to are wonderful and priced really well, the Amazon library is amazing in how much content is offered, and Amazon Prime is a wonderful, easy to use service. I have around 100 books on my Kindle and they all work great. I love the features to customize my reading experience, it provides everything I really want in a ereader. I am working towards my Masters right now and Amazon has offered every textbook I have needed on Kindle format with one exception. This is amazing! I have saved more money by buying Kindle texts and the Fire in six months than I would have spent buying the used textbooks. This alone makes it worth the value to any students. In the classroom, I have found that if I let my 9th graders read off of my Kindle, they are more responsive to reading than they are reading from a traditional book. I am looking into getting a technology grant for my school so that we can purchase a mobile Kindle lab for use in my classroom. The prices on the Kindle are phenomenal, the magazines are well prices as are the books, music and movies (well on par with other services and sometimes even better) and renting movies from Amazon is a snap. I have nothing but praise for these services as they are so easy to use and download quickly. I love the size of the Kindle, it's very portable and, even with a case on it, it easily fits into my briefcase without taking up much room. Although I have heard others complain about the touch aspects of the Kindle, I have never had a problem with its accuracy or with its sensitivity.

  My recommendations for people buying a Kindle Fire: If you are looking for an ereader with additional functions, if you want to read magazines on your ereader, if you want to watch the occasional movie and play a game here and there, then the Fire is right for you. If you want something to watch a lot of movies on, if you want to listen to lots of music, if you want to play lots of games or have something that you can do all of your business functions on, if you want to do a lot of web surfing, if you want something to take notes on, etc... then you should look into getting a tablet (either a Galaxy or an iPad). If you do decide on the Kindle Fire, I would recommend getting a case for it and a ZAGG shield (they may be a bit pricy, but they are the BEST on the market and are worth every penny you pay for them). I hope this was useful to you and you enjoy your Kindle Fire as much as I have.

  Read moreRead less

  10 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  Daniel

  4 out of 5 stars

  Great for the Price... but some frustrating Flaws

  Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2011

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  I got my kindle Fire just a couple days ago and all ready I am having some frustrating flaws with the interface.

  1. It came with some preloaded apps... like ESPN... but I don't like sports... can't stand ESPN and want it gone... but I can't.. there it is just sitting and staring at me every time I go to my apps page...its really stating to piss me off too.

  2. I love e-pub and e-books.... but I don't want to have EVERY book I EVER downloaded show up on my home page for anyone who picks up my Fire to look through... okay, I have some "Adult" content on my account... on my kindle its okay because its "archived" and no one can see it unless they know where to go digging for it. On the Fire its right out front where my 10 year old Nephew can see at the flick of the carousel screen. they should REALLY make it so you can edit what shows up on the home page.

  3. Which brings me to my next frustration. I downloaded an app just to see if I liked it... I did not so I removed it from the Fire.... but wait... whats this... every time I go to my my apps page.. there it is... right next to ESPN... laughing at me., saying ... "you downloaded me and now I am here to stay!!" why cant I deleted something from the cloud? Why do I have to see EVERY app I don't want, waiting for me to download it again... which I may some day do, but I don't want to have to look at it while I think about it... it was free and it can go away until I come for it again.. and if I paid for it, they let me archive it and not have to look at the short cut to downloaded it... it's like every bad decision I every made standing at my front door and watching me when I go out for coffee... CREEPY!

  the web browsing seems to be okay but a little slow... I impatiently keep hitting the same button to make something happen only to find it was lag and I have just run through 6 different functions as it recorded the button hits and applied them to the next button that would have appeared where I was pressing.

  video play back seems to be good... more to come on that as I use it more.

  Update: I have had my kindle for about a month now and while I do like it, I have found some more flaws.

  4. No physical volume button. It sucks that I have to go into the software to find the volume control. It appears that some of the videos I watch have different volume levels. It would REALLY be nice to just hit a button and a not have to stop watching the movie and go find the volume control.

  5. The power button is on the bottom of the device. I am not going to tell you how many times I have accidentally turned off my kindle while reading a book. I finally hard to turn it up side down in the cover I bought for it, so I wouldn't do it. Now my wake page (the page where you put in your password.... if you have one... is upside down. Maybe Amazon could to let that rotate so I don't need to read up side down to put in my password.

  6. The head phone jack is also on the bottom. I kept wondering if I was going to break off my head phone plug every time I rested my kindle on the table, while reading with the head phones plugged in.

  7. And while writting this update I discovered one more.... no scroll bars..... boy that makes navigating in a little window hard. There is one line at the bottom of this review that it won't even let me get near. Also trying to move the edit cursor around is a job for someone with the patience of a saint. Some directional arrows would REALLY help.

  OKAY... Everything from this point on(except the last two lines) was written on my computer, not with the kindle fire. The last line was from my original post. The second to the last line was started on my fire but, because I suck at spelling and went to look at my original post to see how to spell "carousel"... well let's just say that the Kindle Fire feels those two lines are FORBOTEN!!! The edit cursor would not go there... not in the hour or so I tried. Hey....I was at work... I had the time and no computer... and BOY was it frustrating!! I mean, I could see them ... they were right there at the bottom... why did the cursor hate me?!! Did we go on a date and I never called it afterwards?? Was it something I said about the dubious linage of it's Mother? No... wait... that was after about a half hour of trying to get it to work... so that wasn't it. What ever its reasoning, those last two lines were not to be edited... no way, no how.

  Seriously... DIRECTIONAL. ARROWS. up, down, left, right.... that's all I am asking for.

  SO.. the second to last line SHOULD have said:

  8. They fixed the carousel... kind of. Now it only shows what books are actually on the Fire, the last apps that you used and the last webpage you were just at. Okay. That's a Start. BUT.... now I can't get to my book archive.... not even in the Cloud. Now, I have about 150 books that I have bought from Amazon, only about 20 of them are on my Fire. I know that it is only an over sight that the cloud is now off limits... but I'm just saying. See, my complaint was not that the book library had every book that I ever bought(that I expect, even want), just that they were on the home page for God and Country to see with a flick of the carousel. Maybe Amazon should add a "Add To Carousel" options just like they have an "Add To Favorites"

  8. They fixed the carousel

  over all ... for the price... I like it... it could be better.. but for $199... well, its better then a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

  Read moreRead less

  19 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  Plantagarden

  5 out of 5 stars

  Enjoying it - A little better than expected - Great value/quality

  Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2011

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  I have had it since November 14th.

  OMIT this first section as it is not reviewing product, please move to review in second paragraph, only responding to one star grading.

  BEGGINING ONE STAR OBSERVATIONS.

  First ~ Let me start with a short response to these one star reviews.

  I gave 5 stars but feel it is about 4.2, however gave five due to the one stars I have read and personally believe it alters the scoring not reflective device. The one star is unrealistic but you are free to put as many or little as you want. The problem is, it doesn't help potential buyers when it is too unrealistic and this goes for grading too high as well.

  A rebuttal to a few I have read.

  ******"There is no virtual home button" -- I am not sure why they are not seeing it, on every page I have navigated to, there is a ^ sign at the bottom. You click this and up comes a menu and at the left is a little house, it is the home button. Now, there is no manual home button, I think they are comparing to Ipad.

  ******"There is only 6.5 gigs" --- Yes, there is which is more than what the specs said as I read every detail of this item prior to purchasing. "8GB internal (approximately 6GB available for user content)" And this is why Amazon is touting their cloud. You just don't need the space with the cloud. I have 34 gigs of music that i uploaded too and listening to just fine. I have downloaded my playlists and two movies for on the go just for kicks and I have 2 gigs left. About what I expected.

  *******" Power button in bad place...I can somewhat go along with this one but it is only when reading portrait view and when doing this you can turn the other way around and it puts the power button on top of device. So not really an issue.

  *******"Too heavy"........(it is heavier than I thought but the weight is in specs)......14.6 ounces (413 grams).

  ********"Not a good reader, doesn't compare to Kindle ink." Agreed, however, this is a backlit tablet, I think this is to be understood prior to buying which does not help in my reading reviews.

  ********"It is developed for people to buy from Amazon" Yes it is, they are right, they were upfront and transparent on this all along and all reviews stated this prior to release so this isn't helpful in reviewing the product when we all know this ahead of time.

  ********"No instructions"....Yes there is, look in Docs on the fire. There is a document, Kindle Fire Users Guide, complete and excellent.

  ********"Screen not sensitive enough" THis is adjustable in settings. This is a user preference on what is too or not too sensitive.

  ********"this is not an Ipad killer, it is no Ipad." Agreed, but it isn't supposed to be an ipad, It is a 3rd of the cost, let really gonna tap into Ipad market, taps into those who can't afford ipad or doesn't want a tablet that big.

  I agree with some negative points and will put them in my review. And think that some of these things were cool to post in the review, just don't see how a one star correlates with the things stated that was already known prior to buying and the one star is not representative of a product when the user doesn't keep it more than a few hours and says theres no virtual home button.

  There is much more but it was ridiculous for me to even address this in my review, I must stop now.

  END

  BEGIN REVIEW BEGIN REVIEW BEGIN REVIEW BEGIN REVIEW

  NEGATIVES:

  *****Sometimes the back button is not responsive. It takes touching it a few times. This pissed me off a little

  *****It is jerking when too much going on, seems to happen when I was downloading something.

  *****I was playing a song while surfing net and song jerked a little on occasion. (I suspect the processor.)

  *****Kindle Fire comes already registered. NOT A GOOD IDEA! I know they meant well, but, please don't do that. UPS just drops stuff on my porch, I never lost anything but if people new these came registered, the dishonest could look .......for FIREs on front porch, steel them, turn them on and order there self something. Again, Amazon, don't do that.

  *****I think the power button should have been placed on the side, as in when viewing portrait view and recessed a little. I haven't accidentally turned it off but I see the potential.

  *****Earbud jack may be better on side as well

  POSITIVES:

  *****Quality of physical aspects of product are better than expected, feels tight, well built and I like the texture of back and sides.

  *****Navigation is excellent. Short learning curve as in about a day of playing with it.

  *****Value! Yes, outstanding value for what you are getting

  *****Size is perfect. I love it for reading my books and emails. I have surfed the web successfully the main sites automatically go to their mobile version. I can see ok but if you can't see close up, $5 magnifying glasses at a one power maybe 1.5 power helps a LOT.

  *****Smooth most of the time.

  *****I like the carousel of items and down below it is favorite apps. This is a good layout. You press and hold an app in apps page, a window comes up and you press add to favorites.

  *****I like the email here, I have my three accounts and check often.

  *****I use apps for my news like huffington post, so I have about quit going to the main sites, they are ok on this item though, not bad.

  *****Video is top notch. Not spectacular, but again, top notch.

  *****Cloud.....ok, I have moved to the cloud as an experiment, I am finding I like it. I can stop with my anal retentive backups and stop worrying about backups, Let amazon do it. Playing through the cloud has been good, ok, acceptable, at times a little more time between a song selection than I wanted but still, acceptable to be in the cloud. I downloaded all my playlists on my device for extreme speed to next song and downloaded two movies I had bought just as an experiment and I had 2 gigs left. The experiment is going well. I like the cloud and the value of smaller storage.

  ******Device is geared toward Amazon shopping. For the most part, yes, it is a media consumption device and for that is the best I have had. I like that aspect of it.

  ******Handling...can hold in one hand.......I really like this.

  ******Wifi outstanding, hasn't failed or lagged on mine. I do have at&t uverse though.

  SUMMARY

  Great value for $199. It was hard for me to put down.

  I am certain some software updates will fine tune the device, however it is top notch shape as is. Great for cloud use and never back up or store your "stuff" again. Quality of product exceeds what I expected. For those who just have to compare it with an ipad? Try not to, its not an Ipad. I have an Ipad. Love it too. But the FIRE is a media consumption device and sized better than Ipad for that purpose, now that is an opinion which will differ from person to person. I rated 5 star but should be 4, I am certain others have overrated as to offset the underrated which averaged to be what I would have graded. It is personal after reading the 1 star reviews, most have merit but the 1 star doesn't seem to correlate with the complaints and some complaints are not correct unless they have a malfunction which is possible.

  Anywaysssssssss...anyhowww[...] good buy.

  Peace

  Read moreRead less

  7 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  Michael Gallagher

  5 out of 5 stars

  Outstanding Value at $199 and Full of Functionality / Bells / Whistles

  Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2011

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  I've had a chance to play with the Kindle Fire for a few hours now, and overall I think it is a great tool /toy when you factor in the cost of ownership and what you get. Compared to $500 minimum for the introductory price of the bottom of the line iPad2 (WiFi only), at $199 this is a great buy.

  Using a Wifi connection at two different locations, the speed was pretty fast connecting to the Amazon server as well as to a couple of Internet sites. I had fast connectivity and display on Fox News, CNN, my personalized Yahoo page, and the website of the International Association of Penturners (hey, I do have hobbies!). I had slow connectivity at both Wifi locations with Google, ESPN, MSNBC, the Houston Chronicle, and the Weather Channel - I hope the unique app for ESPN and the Weather Channel are a lot faster, but I haven't loaded them onto the Fire yet. I will point out with the exception of the Google website, those other sites listed as slow are usually slow on my other handheld devices such as my Droid phone and my work iPad2 (yes, the Kindle guy owns and uses an iPad for work purposes). The web browser is called Silk, and it is nice and user-friendly.

  Let's talk about what I see as the benefits first:

  The screen size to me is just right for what I will be using it for - I have used an iPad and the screen is larger - but I did watch about 15 minutes of an episode of season 3 of 24 on the Fire and I didn't have screen envy or felt like I was missing anything. The sound quality was good, but I listened to it mainly with a set of headphones so I wouldn't wake my kids.

  Concerning size of the overall unit - not too heavy or bulky and it fits nice in your hand. I have it in one of the Marware covers and it just "feels" right: that's not a firm statement for a review, I know, but what else can I say? Holding the iPad feels a little bulky at times but the Fire is just a little bit larger than my Kindle keypad, so I was pretty much conditioned to this size over the past few years. Compared to the iPad, the Fire doesn't generate near as much heat.

  Speed of the apps as well as reading a book is VERY fast and responsive. I haven't tried a a challenging spreadsheet or Word document with the Open Office app yet, but then again I can't think of too many times where (based on my guesstimated usage) I will be doing those kind of tasks on my Fire: I like to keep my work separate from play. Maybe the time will come when business applications will become more prevalent with the Fire, but that's a story for another day.

  Back to the pricing - $199 is an absolute steal for a unit with this many features. Compare that to an iPad2 at more than twice the price for a few more inches of screen space. Some people really want that, but it doesn't bother me. You will also receive a month free of Prime membership and I highly recommend you try out the benefits, which are more than free two-day shipping. You get full access to thousands of movies and tv shows for free. You can give them a test drive on your Fire and see if it is for you or not. I already rent a lot of movies to my Tivo via Amazon, and I can see the functionality of the free movies combined with the for rent options being able to be played on this device as very compelling for when I go on business trips.

  And, for those of you I've been playing Words with Friends with, this morning's moves were made on the Fire - the touchscreen worked flawlessly.

  I transferred some music to the Fire and it works like a charm. I haven't had enough time to really dive deep into this feature yet and come up with a playlist or jukebox list, but the sounds quality was nice: not too loud and not too soft.

  Here are some potential negatives:

  I don't think I will be reading too much on this device. Who knows, that opinion may change, but I REALLY like the Kindle for reading with its eInk screen. I read a lot outside or in bright light, and based upon my experiences with reading on an iPad the eInk is better than the full color for reading outside. However, my youngest child really likes the full color resolution as the books he likes to read has a lot of pictures in it (he's in elementary school). So, to each their own. I didn't purchase the Fire for reading, but more for entertainment.

  As mentioned above, the screen is smaller than an iPad. That doesn't bother me (see comments above), but it may bother some people where size matters or they have to have the "biggest" of this and that.

  I really wish they would have shipped this thing with a micro USB cord: if there is one in the packaging I missed it. Luckily, I have a few of them in the house, so I wasn't too put out. I imagine they did that to keep the overall cost at $199.

  There are lots of apps available for the Fire because it uses the DROID platform, but Apple lovers will pound their chest and say "but we have over a million apps" blah blah blah. I think you should look at the QUALITY of the app vs. the quantity, as there is certainly a lot of junk in the iPad app store (as there is the DROID store), but your basic functionality for the apps I want / need are there.

  Overall, at $199 this is an extremely great value to me and well worth it: Amazon has hit a home run with this one. If you haven't grabbed one now, get one before they run out before Christmas!

  EDIT TO ADD:

  Okay, I've tried to add this twice and it bombed, so hopefully the third time is the charm. Email setup was very easy - it took about a minute to setup my main Google account, and I was able to send a test message to another account as well as receive and reply to other emails. I sent a picture via email to the Fire and it showed crisp and clear.

  Read moreRead less

  4,592 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  waetherman

  3 out of 5 stars

  I want to love it, I really do. But I can't.

  Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2011

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  As a long-time Kindle fan I was eager to get my hands on a Fire. For the most part I've found that it does what I wanted it to, which is be the one device I can take with me anywhere. There are some great features; the reader app is excellent (though not without flaws), the app store experience is terrific, videos are fantastic, and the device is quick and for the most part dead-simple to use, all thanks to the services Amazon provides. And of course the extras that come with Prime membership really make it a real value - I won't be cancelling my Netflix streaming account just yet (watching Netflix on the Fire works very well) but I imagine within a year Amazon's free streaming video catalog will be just as good as Netflix. The free "lending library" book every month really is the icing on the cake though, and makes Prime membership a no-brainer. The hardware itself is solid and has a quality feel, it's just the right size for one-handed use, and the screen is fantastic (for an LCD screen) with good brightness and excellent color, and a very wide viewing angle. So as a reader, video player and music streaming device the Fire excels, and as an occasional browsing, emailing, game playing tablety thing it does pretty well.

  But there are some downsides too; the small bezel size makes holding it without inadvertent page-turns difficult, the lack of buttons makes controls harder, the accessible storage memory is limited to just 5GB, which seems awfully small when carrying my own video content on a trip, and overall the interface of the system is just a little awkward and unfinished. Sometimes the back button doesn't work, buttons are hard to push accurately or launch the wrong function, navigation isn't exactly intuitive, etc. Particularly annoying are things like the way that almost half the screen is taken up by menu bars when browsing in landscape mode, the "momentum" of the browsing not stopping, menu bars that sometimes just pop up randomly while reading, and the navigation of Newsstand content like the New York Times is incredibly awkward. And then there's the jerkiness that happens when browsing or navigating other content; to me, this just shouldn't happen when reading a book. This is a Kindle, after all.

  On the missing or unfinished side its disappointing that there isn't even a little bit of social media built in - no sharing clips of books or newsstand material via email, FB or twitter. Also missing is the "read out loud" found on other Kindles, and the new "X-Ray" feature found on the other new Kindles. There is no archiving or syncing personal documents - they have to be mailed individually to the Fire. And there's no page numbers in the books - c'mon, Amazon, this is even available for the old Kindles at this point. The browser lacks some basic functionality like being able to rearrange bookmarks, and other little annoyances. The email application is very basic, and doesn't always format text properly, and doesn't have simple things like a landscape mode to view a list of messages. But the biggest "unfinished" feature of the Fire is the Cloud integration; the Cloud doesn't work hand-in-glove with the Fire in the way you think it might. In order to access features like the video or the docs, you basically have to go through a browser the way you would from any other device. For the most part the Cloud acts only as a digital locker for items purchased from Amazon, not seamlessly as a repository for any kind of content you want to access from the Fire. The way the Cloud seems to be marketed, and the way it should work, is that the Fire and the Cloud should work seamlessly together for all kinds of content; if you upload your own movie from your PC to the Cloud, you should see it in your Video tab on the Fire, and be able to stream it or download it. If you upload folders of work documents to the Cloud, they should be available to browse and download from the Fire's Doc tab. But that's not the way it works. For whatever reason, the Fire's using a Frankenstein mix of the Cloud, Kindle digital library, the app store, and local storage to handle content needs. It just isn't quite ready for prime time, and it isn't what people are expecting when they pick up the Fire.

  All of these little things add up to make what could be a great device merely adequate. Many will be able to overlook these problems and enjoy the Kindle Fire for what it is; an inexpensive all-in-one-entertainment device. I only point them out to remind people that they should not expect perfection from the Kindle Fire, at least not out of the box. Over the next few months it's possible (likely) that many of the problems I have could be fixed with software revisions - i.e. the bezel problem could be fixed by making the margins in the reader app non-active, for instance, and the problem with the menus taking up too much room could be fixed by making them accessible via swipe-up or swipe-down. Hopefully Amazon is already working on these things. Until then, I'm trying to learn to live with the Fire as best I can. Maybe I can learn to love it.

  NOTE: This review has been edited slightly since it was originally posted for the purposes of clarity and to answer questions that have come up in the comments thread to this review. Please leave a comment if you need clarification or think that something has been missed.

  UPDATE NOV 30: a recent software update seems to have fixed several of the above problems, specifically the system speed and page-turning speed are better, and the button response is much improved. Random menus no longer appear when reading, momentum in the browser doesn't seem to be a problem anymore, and the carousel is much easier to use as a result of it having slightly more "friction" in paging through the most recent items used.

  Read moreRead less

  10,847 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  KiddWilliams

  5 out of 5 stars

  A wonderful entertainment device, and even a little more

  Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2011

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  Plenty of reviews give a broader overview of the Kindle Fire. Others (negative ones, especially) focus on what the Fire isn't, or should be (in the writers' opinions), or on Amazon's shipping, or on customer relations. My comments are focused on the functionality I wanted out of a unit like this, the ability of the Kindle Fire to deliver, and a few tips and tricks I've learned that have improved my user experience.

  Firstly, my rating would be 4.5 stars if fractions were possible. I really just love the device. Here's why.

  What I wanted: I don't have another tablet, or even a smart phone. I still have what's now called a Kindle Keyboard, and love that for reading. For computing, I have a laptop. I had a 3+ year-old iTouch (pre-camera) that I also have enjoyed and used the bejeezus out of. For awhile, I've wanted something like the iTouch but larger, since using it is like looking and poking at a half-deck of cards. I wanted something to play music, watch Netflix, surf, look at my photos, check and send e-mail or Facebook updates, and sometimes review or make small edits to Word and Excel files - not compose heavily (that's what the laptop is for). If it could play Bejewelled and maybe a couple of other very simple games, even better. (I am not a big gamer.) I have wi-fi at home, and there are plenty of places I frequent that have it as well, so needing a 3G data plan wasn't a priority for me, either.

  Now, I am not knocking the iPad. It seems like a great device, and everyone I know who has one adores it. But for what simple things I wanted done, even the smallest, wi-fi-only iPad seemed pricy. And other Android tablets also seemed either too costly, too confusing, or too buggy, from reviews I read and from hands-on trials.

  When I heard about the Kindle Fire, I was interested, and read all I could about it. I was already an Amazon Prime member, so the ability to stream free video seemed nice enough (although Amazon's selection pool is still comparatively shallow). When I heard they allowed an app to stream Netflix, I ordered right away. I'm truly not an early adopter of devices, but Amazon and the Kindle have always done things well for me.

  What the Fire does: It does everything I want out of a device, and more. Using my laptop, I uploaded just under 5 gigs of my iTunes library to Amazon's free cloud (the online cloud program walks you right through this, and even searches your computer for music). I've read complaints about the speakers on the Fire, but I think they're awfully, awfully good, better than my laptop speakers, even. The speakers are both on one short side of the unit. The stereo separation isn't quite what you'd get from having them on opposite sides, but you can definitely hear the stereo if you play a mono and a stereo file back to back. Anyway, they're certainly more than good enough for me.

  I transferred loads of photos to the Fire, using the USB connector that I had on hand from the Kindle Keyboard. Transferring files is a cinch, if you're used to using external devices with your computer, such as a flash drive. The Fire doesn't come with a USB connector, and if you don't have files to transfer, you can probably get along without one, but I've found it nice to do. They display sharp and crisp.

  Watching videos - Amazon's or Netflix's - is a true joy. The picture is just spectacular, the sound very good (see above), the downloading and buffering (at least on the connections I've tried) fast and invisible. Amazon also seems to be adding movies and shows to the free Prime library, so that's nice, too. The Netflix app also works flawlessly for me, although I've read other reviews that say the picture can sometimes lag the sound.

  Shortly after I got my Fire, an app called Documents to Go was the free app of the day, and I got it. (I should add two things: the Kindle Fire is clearly made to help you buy stuff, and the App store features a free app of the day, which for me has now become a daily ritual to check.) It allows me to read and edit Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files. With this, the Kindle Fire is now everything I wanted and more. Granted, typing on the Kindle's virtual keyboard, even in landscape format, is nothing like using a real keyboard, but you can go into the unit's settings and turn off things like Auto Capitalization and Auto Correction, and that helps. (There's still an auto suggest feature that doesn't seem to be able to be turned off, and it's annoying; a get-around, when you're using a word that it tries to "fix," is to tap the first word on the left of the auto suggest line at the top of the virtual keyboard, which is always the word you typed, and it will accept it. I hope that a future update, or future versions of Fire, will let auto-suggest be turned off fully.) These same writing observations apply to the Kindle's built-in e-mail app, which checks the accounts I most use, and from which I can read, manage, and reply to messages. (If you want to manage e-mail from an Outlook account or Exchange server, I've heard you have to buy a more detailed app, but since I have just Gmail and Hotmail, this hasn't applied to me.)

  For games and social networking: I found my Bejewelled, and also Solitaire and Spider Solitaire, and I guess I'm pretty set. I'm not a game person, remember. The pre-loaded Facebook app uses the mobile Facebook setting, which gives me everything I need from it.

  You'll notice I have said nothing about the Kindle Fire's e-reading. I've looked at a few books on the unit, and actually have decided not to use it for that. There's nothing wrong with it that I've found, but I guess I prefer paper or e-ink to pleasure reading on a backlit screen.

  Other observations or tips:

  (1) The screen: As just mentioned, the Fire is backlit, and it's bright. Very bright. In the settings I turned the brightness all the way down, and it's still lit up more than I need. As for the screen: "fingerprint magnet" doesn't begin to describe it. I guess I'll accept having to wipe it off all the time for the scratch-resistance and sturdiness that the gorilla glass offers, though.

  (2) The Power Button: There are no buttons except for the on-off switch. Many people have complained about the switch being on the "bottom" and so being inadvertently hit. I didn't find this to be much of a problem, at first just turning it upside down, and then getting a cover. With the cover, the button is completely recessed. A cover also helps prop it up when I'm watching movies, and just in general makes it easier to hold - it's too narrow for both hands, as I've seen people hold iPads, and it's just a tad too wide on its own to hold comfortably with one hand for long. Otherwise, the size is perfect, and the Fire very portable.

  (3) User interface: In the first few days, the touchscreen had widely varying responses - sometimes needing several pushes to register, and other times being too sensitive. I've found that, after two weeks of use, this now has largely cleared up. Perhaps the tablet has subconsciously trained me, or perhaps there have been some hidden software updates. I do know I saw an almost immediate improvement after de-registering and then re-registering the device (a tip I read somewhere). Be aware that if you do this, you'll have to re-download or re-transfer all your personal content, and re-do any customized settings, including saved web sites. All your music and apps, free and purchased, will still be in your "cloud," however, for you to add back.

  (4) Web browsing: the Kindle Fire plays Flash animations, which my iTouch didn't, so I can finally see everything on a page that's there. Yes, I know Flash is on its way out, but plenty of pages still have it, and I don't like to miss things. I've seen, and experienced, that Silk wasn't as fast as some initial claims, but I tried another fix I read about - going into the browser settings and unchecking the "Accelerate page loading" box - and I can attest that this speeds up the browser to as fast as any other browser I've used, including Chrome on my laptop.

  (5) Apps: I read reviewer complaints about the lack of apps for the Fire, compared to other Android devices or the app-happy iPads and iTouches. I have very simple demands, though (more simple than usual, I think), and so have found everything I need. On occasion, some apps have crashed and the system goes back to the home screen. I haven't experienced this enough to grind my teeth, but did want to note it.

  (6) The Carousel: On the home screen is the famous (infamous?) carousel, which consists of images of the books and apps used, "stacked" in the order of use. Below are "shelves" for icons you choose as your Favorites. You can add Favorites by long-pressing icons and selecting. You can also re-arrange Favorite icons by long-pressing them and finger-dragging them around. I find that I mostly ignore the Carousel, and just scroll down to the Favorites, but I would bet that, with all the complaints about it, the ability to turn the Carousel off becomes a future feature.

  Summary: I was looking for a basic entertainment device to meet a few specialized interests, and in the Kindle Fire, I found that and more. Is it a full "tablet"? Beats me. All I know is, it's now my go-to device for almost everything I do electronically or online outside of work, and I am a fantastically satisfied customer. Only a few performance or customization improvements would make it a hearty five stars for me - not bad for a first release version of a device, I think.

  **EDITED 2/18/12

  Since writing the above, I've received two through-the-air updates to the Kindle Fire's operating system. I'm happy to report that almost all of the minor issues noted above -- in particular, the touch responsiveness of the screen, and the characteristics of the home screen Carousel -- have been fixed or improved. I've upgraded by rating from 4 to 5 stars, because this is just a fantastic device, and just keeps getting better.

  Read moreRead less

  10 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again
• 

  C Blackmon

  5 out of 5 stars

  Two aren't enough, 3 months and going...

  Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2012

  Verified Purchase

  Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

  Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

  UPDATED 5-18-2012: So now my in-laws have bought one and have one on order after spending large amounts of time playing with ours when we visit. My mother-in-law is NOT tech-savvy at all, and loves her Fire. so we're at 4 of these in the family now!

  *all the additional family members that have bought (or are considering) find it to be of CRITICAL importance that the Fire fits in their purses.

  I love my Fire. Never had a regular Kindle, my wife and I both got Fires for Christmas. Definitely works for us, we're both avid readers. We picked the Fire to have a cheap touch-screen for my young (5 & 6 yrs) children, who would compete non-stop for my HTC Evo (which I need to, you know, make phone calls). the navigation works very well for them, they love it to the point that we're now offering kindle time-outs. We've had them now for almost 3 months, and both of them get daily use, no bugs or issues worth mentioning in that time.

  Battery life: I know that it's a very small device, the battery does alright when the kids are wide-open on applications. if you use it primarily for reading, the battery will last days. if you do apps/web surfing, it'll last 2, maybe 3 hours if it's freshly charged before you have to re-charge it. but what can you expect when they're packing all that stuff into such a small space? yeah, microchips keep getting smaller, but there are limits to the amount of energy you can pack into a very small battery, you're limited by the physics of the materials. a better battery might could be had, but it could easily double the cost of the product. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

  Screen: the screen is AWESOME. If you cut the brightness all the way up, you can sit and read in near-direct sunlight outdoors (at the right angle). I had a buddy with an iPad try to show me some pictures when we were outside one time, and I couldn't see them at all (maybe the newer one is better?). 5 out of 5 stars

  Weight: it is surprisingly heavy for it's size, but they have a pretty large battery in the thing so it can run for long periods of time. I use a cover that has raised edges, helps me grip it. my wife shuns a cover altogether. however, the weight is less than a hardback, and when was the last time you read a hard back and said "man, this book is too heavy..." 4 out of 5.

  Tablet Function: We were excited that the Fire was $199, saw it as a cheap tablet alternative. we are 100% satisfied that we got MORE than we paid for. we wanted something cheaper than an iPad, and were worried about buying one of the cheaper android tablets that might be discontinued (no future support, buggy, etc). We don't need dual cameras, 10" screen, etc. we have real computers for that. as for being locked into Amazon for everything, that is just not true, I download books, documents, etc from other web sites, plug in to my computer, and stick it onto the fire. It does EXACTLY what I thought it would do, and best I can tell does it very well. WORKS EVEN BETTER NOW THAT THEY UPDATED THE SOFTWARE. 4.5 out of 5

  eReader: Here I am not sure how to compare it to a regular kindle or other ereader, as this is my first. but it sure beats reading books on my smart phone (with a magnifying glass) or my computer (not exactly the most comfortable, relaxing method of reading a book). I guess my ONLY complaint is that it is so good at doing the other things, that I never get to read books on it because it's being used by other people for other things, like Angry Birds. 4.5 out of 5.

  Books: OK, Here's the deal. nothing in life is really free, it only APPEARS to be free. just like before eReaders, when you want to read a book, you either buy it or check it out from the library. with the kindle (and KF), its the same, with the following exceptions: 1. you can get free books, normally the first in a series, as a loss-leader or short-time promo to gain your interest and push sales of the rest of them. 2. a lot of out-of-print books have been re-published digitally, so where you couldn't find them in the library and they are only sold in used book stores, you can buy a copy now. 3. some publishers now make (with author's permission) digital copies free (loss leader again). 4. Amazon allows lending of copies between members. 5. through self publishing websites, a lot of indie authors publish and offer their books cheap or free. Conclusion: more content is available at lower or free pricing, so this is GREAT in my opinion. 5 out of 5 stars.

  Apps: Here is probably my only complaint, and it isn't with the fire. a few of the apps that amazon has, that look and work great on a smartphone, are kinda screwy on the fire. the fire has been out long enough now that the developers should have had the time to work out the issues. however, a lot of the free apps I got from amazon pre-fire work like a charm. 4 out of 5.

  Suggestion: If you are worried about the lack of 3G, just think about it like this: the 3G would have added more weight, cost you more, and THEN cost you anywhere from $400 to $500 additional PER YEAR, not including data overages. that's a lot of money. just plan ahead when you're going to leave the house, stock up on fun apps and books, splurge and get yourself a wireless router (if you don't have one) for $40 that will let you use it on your home network for no additional air-time charges. This thing isn't meant to mimic the iPad, so you really shouldn't get one with that expectation.

  Read moreRead less

  6 people found this helpful

  Helpful

  Sending feedback...

  Thank you for your feedback.

  Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again

  Report

  Sending feedback...

  Thanks, we'll investigate in the next few days.

  Sorry, We failed to report this review. Please try again