Should I order the new Kindle Fire?

Here’s an article from the NY Times about it. I have an iPad that I love so I am not considering it.

I think it looks pretty tempting! But I just got a Kindle as a birthday gift and I am still enthralled with it….if you get one, I’d love to know how you like it.

I think packs a lot into the pricepoint, but corrals you into an Amazon experience and it clearly lacks several of the features of the iPad to which those zany articles insist on comparing it. (no cameras, no GPS, no bluetooth, no 3G available)

If you want a compact media consumption tablet/reader the new kindle tablet will be great, quite possible a nook killer at that price point.

If you want an iPad you will be disappointed (no cameras, no GPS, no bluetooth), but might consider some of the android tablets for not a lot more.

In the end, you have to really decide for yourself, what particular gadget is best suited for you. There are always, sometimes painful, compromises that have to be made between cost, quality and features. It, looking at all my options and making the decision, is overwhelming enough that I sometimes fantasize about living in the 1940s when my options consisted almost entirely of pencils, pens, books, magazines and newspapers, the radio, a record player and a landline. Simpler days, my friend. The Kindle Fire, as @dabbler points out, certainly seems to pack a lot into a $199 device, but it is not an iPad, but it isn’t anywhere near as pricey as an iPad either.

It appears, from The New York Times article that @janbb links to, that the one biggest downside seems to be that it looks like owning the Kindle Fire will pretty much make you Amazon’s bitch, so to speak. :-)

“Amazon can afford to charge less because it hopes to make up the difference by selling books, movies and popular television shows”

and

“With the Fire, every dollar Amazon loses on the device could be more than made up for by the data gained. The Silk browser, by virtue of being situated in the cloud, will record every Web page that users visit. That has implications for privacy and commerce.”

The machine will tie you very heavily to Amazon, Amazon’s services and Amazon’s content and Amazon’s data mining.

My opinion? No.

If I were going for a reader, I would go with the Nook Color (or rather, it’s soon-to-be-released replacement, the Nook Color 2) if for no reason other than the micro-SD slot that allows you to expand storage.

__“The one biggest downside seems to be that it looks like owning the Kindle Fire will pretty much make you Amazon’s bitch, so to speak. :-)__”

@lillycoyote I’m picking up that aspect of the Fire too and it is another reason why I wouldn’t get one. Too big-brotherish for me, as are the new FaceBook changes.

Keep in mind that one of the iPad’s features is a complete and easy experience to do all this fun stuff. Part of it is that you can get a bunch of stuff in the Apple online appStore and iTunes.

Within a relatively limited range though (no cameras or GPS) the Fire has the capability to deliver quite a bit of ‘easy’ to the media consumption experience.
But the Fire will probably also make it very easy to buy stuff, with the scope of the Amazon store, which is orders of magnitude larger than the Apple stores. The integration with the Amazon store will be in contrast to most Androids.

I hear there will be lower fees or free access to lots of Amazon stuff if you tolerate ads.
I continue to ask “How long until Amazon gives away kindles”?

@dabbler Not long according to PC World, and they are not the only ones

As for integration to the Amazon stores, I see that as a negative, just as I see the integration of iPads and iTunes as “not good”. I like options. I like variety. While limits may work well for those who need their hands held lest they wander off and get lost, they don’t work those of us who like to be drivers instead of passengers.

But I think the real question here is what the OP wants/expects from their device. What sort of consumption do they plan to do. Or maybe mere consumption isn’t all; maybe some other apps (like the full gamut of games available on the Android platform) are on their list.

Thanks everyone. You’ve given lots to think about and some really great links.

I’m leaning towards the Kindle Fire because:
– My cell phone is just basic pay as you go (I don’t want a plan) & the Kindle Fire has email access.
-I’m already hooked into Amazon and okay with only ordering ebooks from them.
-I have a mac laptop & ipod that meets my other needs.
-Fire has free CLoud storage.
-Would love a ipad but not in my budget.
-Prefer the touch screen to my current kindles keyboard.

I still am not 100% sure so I am going to wait until I read more reviews. @jerv – you’re right. :-) I don’t plan to play games or rarely watch movies/tv. But like that option on family trips. I want email and to read my books.

@jerv Good links, thanks! I think won’t be that much longer until they’ll give you one even w/o the Amazon prime membership. It will just have more ads in your face.