[Review]: A human review of the Kindle Fire

bbr · 11-26-2011, 04:29 PM

http://www.marco.org/2011/11/17/kindle-fire-review

Found this puppy in the facebook group today,.

In short, the kindle fire is suffering from most things that chopped down android devices suffer from, and then some. I was considering having a look at this, but after reading this review in full - I'll stick to my apple, and look around for a decent e-ink device as a follow up.

Quote:

I expected the Kindle Fire to be good for books, great for magazines and newspapers, great for video, and good for apps and games.

In practice, it’s none of these. Granted, I’ve only spent two days with it, so I can’t share any long-term impressions. But I’m honestly unlikely to have any, because this isn’t a device that makes me want to use it more. And that’s fatal.

A tablet is a tough sell. It’s too big for your pocket, so you won’t always have it available like a phone. It’s too small to have rich and precise input methods like keyboards and mice, and its power and size constraints prevent it from using advanced PC-class hardware, so it’s probably not going to replace your laptop. It’s just one more gadget to charge, encase, carry (sometimes), care for, and update. And it’s one more expenditure that can easily be cut and done without, especially in an economic depression.

“Tablets” weren’t a category that anyone needed to give a damn about until the iPad. It was a massive hit not because it managed to remove any of the problems inherent to tablets, but because it was so delightful, fun, and pleasant to use that anyone who tried their friend’s iPad for a few minutes needed to have one of their own.

I expected the Kindle Fire to be a compelling iPad alternative, but I can’t call it delightful, fun, or pleasant to use. Quite the opposite, actually: using the Fire is frustrating and unpleasant, and it feels like work.

For most people, every other computer in their life feels like work, and they don’t need another one.

It’s not an iPad competitor or alternative. It’s not the same kind of device at all. And, whatever it is, it’s a bad version of it.

That’s probably all you need to know about the Kindle Fire. Below is a detailed account of the issues I ran into, but I won’t take offense if you’re burnt out on long Kindle Fire reviews and stop here.

Read the full story: http://www.marco.org/2011/11/17/kindle-fire-review

SamuraiXSendai · 11-26-2011, 04:40 PM

Ehh. I wouldn't base a purchase based on this review. I'd read a spectrum of them, and try one out at a local store. My take - he expected an Ipad for $199. I don't have several of the problems he cited - the light leak, the problem with the back button, not being able to fit it in a pocket.

One has to assess what one wants in a purchase to see if the Fire fits. If only an Ipad will do, don't expect to pony up less than $500.00.

gweminence · 11-26-2011, 04:44 PM

Reviewer couldn't possibly be more biased. I wouldn't put any stock in this review. Obvious fanboi.

SCION · 11-26-2011, 04:45 PM

If you're looking for something that could be considered an iPad alternative, it's an Android Honeycomb tablet. You're not gonna find those for $199 either.

Looking at the Amazon press event for the Fire, I don't see how one could view it as a possible iPad killer. If you want an iPad buy an iPad. What's the problem? Why are so many on the hunt for something that can replace an iPad at a $200 price point? Makes no sense.

WillysJeepMan · 11-26-2011, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbr

http://www.marco.org/2011/11/17/kindle-fire-review

Found this puppy in the facebook group today,.

In short, the kindle fire is suffering from most things that chopped down android devices suffer from, and then some. I was considering having a look at this, but after reading this review in full - I'll stick to my apple, and look around for a decent e-ink device as a follow up.

Read the full story: http://www.marco.org/2011/11/17/kindle-fire-review

If that review was enough to persuade you from getting a Kindle Fire then you are probably better off not getting one.

I have an iPad 2, Kindle Fire, and Kobo Touch. Each are terrific devices and serves a particular purpose.

abookreader · 11-26-2011, 04:53 PM

This is the thing - the second you start comparing the Kindle Fire to the iPAD, it is going to lose. Probably the ONLY thing about the Fire that is superior to the iPAD is the price. Some might add the 7" form factor in there, but as soon as Apple comes out with a 7" iPAD, the Fire will probably lose again.

So again this is what we have

7" Device
Amazon ecosystem (which is growing daily)
Affordable price

If you want to do a review, you need to review it against devices with similar types of features and a similar price point. I'm really not interested in hearing (again) that it isn't an iPAD. We all know that it isn't an iPAD.

gweminence · 11-26-2011, 04:57 PM

But...-I- think my Charger should look like, and have all the amenities, and quality of, a Rolls Royce! AT MY CHARGER'S $35k PRICE POINT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wtf is wrong with Dodge?! I WANT MY MONEY BACK!

/sarcasm

jocampo · 11-26-2011, 05:16 PM

I bought a Kindle Fire before thanksgiving (don't ask me why, I don't know why yet).

I've played just a few days with it but I can't compare to my iPad 2. They are different devices, targeted to different budgets.

I think is more fair to compare to a Nook Color or Galaxy Tab or any other 7 inch tablet.

Jessica Lares · 11-26-2011, 05:34 PM

Whoever thinks magazines are going to look good on any tablet screen is very misguided TBH. There is NO tablet that is going to have magazines that are crisp clear like the paper versions (and are easy to hold), unless they are comics or heavily photography related. That is why a lot of the publications are making interactive applications instead.

Even an iPad won't give you that great of experience.

People need to look at other factors of having access to magazines on the Fire and other tablets/smart phones. I can name a few that I like myself:

- Text View: An ad-free reading experience that lets you grab whatever text you want and copy/e-mail it to another program/social network. It even gives you some of the pictures from the article. And, it's in a font size that is comfortable to read and can be pushed up and down.

- Table of Contents/Search: It makes searching through that 100 page monthly publication so much easier!

- Interactive Links: A lot of entertainment/science/tech magazines have links to interviews/in-depth articles that go beyond the magazine's page limit. It's nice that you can now just go to that article, then click on the "see more at ew.com/music" or whatever and it pops up like magic.

And if you're coming from iOS, of course you're going to be disappointed. The developers making stuff for iOS are all not the same ones doing stuff for Android. The apps are not even updated all that much for the fact that all the games will always pretty much work with any update to the Android OS, whereas iOS always breaks everything every update.

jswinden · 11-26-2011, 06:13 PM

I'm not even going to write to the OP as he apparently is from a different planet. The OP doesn't seem to think we Fire owners are even human. Apparently only a self-proclaimed know-it-all programmer with a crappy blog is what the OP thinks is human. The blogger barely looked at the Fire then wrote a review the day he got it. This forum is filled with Fire owners who have used their Fires for half a month now. We are mostly honest with our opinions as we tend to point out the bad along with the good as pertains to our Fires. But as everyone knows only know-it-all programmers with blogs as big as their egos are human enough to review the Fire!

Perhaps with $200 the OP can buy another iPod touch. No, I think they actually cost more than $200. How about a Nook Tablet that is locked and NOT loaded? Nope, they definitely cost more than $200. He might rent an iPad for a day or two for $200, or maybe even a Honeycomb tablet. But that is okay, I hope he doesn't buy a Fire because they can only be loved by subhumans.

SCION · 11-26-2011, 06:57 PM

The reviewer lost credibility after the first two sentences:

Quote:

I expected the Kindle Fire to be good for books, great for magazines and newspapers, great for video, and good for apps and games.

In practice, it’s none of these.

And for the record, I don't use your stinkin' Instapaper app. I prefer Read It Later. So there!

weatherman · 11-26-2011, 07:01 PM

To be fair, a lot of the reviewer's concerns are valid; the Fire is hardly a polished device. There are a few hardware flaws and a whole lotta OS flaws both in design and execution. I had much the same reaction when I first handled the Fire and most of my concerns haven't been addressed. But I promised myself I would use the Fire exclusively for 30 days before making a decision to keep it and in the 10 days I've had it, I've learned to live with most of its foibles. I think if the original reviewer did the same, he might as well, and he might find that Amazon fixes many of the problems through software updates. That doesn't excuse Amazon's decision to ship what I consider a flawed product, but I think in the long run the Fire will be a great device.

PS I should probably note that my three star review of the Fire is currently the top rated "critical review" on Amazon, so if anyone wants to understand more about why I call the Fire a.flawed product they can check it there under the name Billy Radcliffe.

SCION · 11-26-2011, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weatherman

To be fair, a lot of the reviewer's concerns are valid; the Fire is hardly a polished device. There are a few hardware flaws and a whole lotta OS flaws both in design and execution. I had much the same reaction when I first handled the Fire and most of my concerns haven't been addressed. But I promised myself I would use the Fire exclusively for 30 days before making a decision to keep it and in the 10 days I've had it, I've learned to live with most of its foibles. I think if the original reviewer did the same, he might as well, and he might find that Amazon fixes many of the problems through software updates. That doesn't excuse Amazon's decision to ship what I consider a flawed product, but I think in the long run the Fire will be a great device.

PS I should probably note that my three star review of the Fire is currently the top rated "critical review" on Amazon, so if anyone wants to understand more about why I call the Fire a.flawed product they can check it there under the name Billy Radcliffe.

A three-star review is totally different from saying the device doesn't do anything well.

Quote:

It’s a bad game player, a bad app platform, a bad web browser, a bad video player, and, most disappointingly, a bad Kindle.

ectoplasm · 11-26-2011, 07:06 PM

Regardless if the review has valid points or not, there are currently 2901 more reviews here:
http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Fire-Am...owViewpoints=1

There are many 1 star, and many 5 star reviews. If I picked out a single 1 star review and made a conclusion based on that one review, I would not be very wise.

monkeyluis · 11-26-2011, 07:40 PM

You know I've read this review about a week ago. I've read many other reviews. I'm a pretty hardcore Apple fan, see my post history. I won't comment on a product unless I've used it or throughly done my research and know what I'm talking about. I gotta say I am loving the fire and it's been working out great. Yes I absolutely love my iPad and I hardly ever even use my laptop before, mostly for school work. But I can do some basic school work on my iPad now. Given that, for reading news, reading the forums, reading books, and some of that stuff the Kindle Fire is absolutely fantastic. Sure it's not as snappy as the iPad, but it's fine, I'm not in that big of a hurry that I need to complain about the 1000th of a millisecond delay compared to the iPad. I do sometimes miss the iPad screen size, but I still have the iPad so I can go back to it anytime. Generally thought, when I get up in the morning now and go into the living room, I take the Kindle Fire with me and the iPad stays by the bed. I don't know what people were expecting, not like I was expecting a sub-par POS for $199, I think it's far beyond sub-par, I think it's fantastic. There are a couple of things I wouldn't have minded, like the often mentioned hardware volume buttons. Also maybe the power button on the top. But they aren't a major issue for me so it's not THAT big of a deal. I'm just kind of baffled but some of the reviews I guess. Like I said, I'm use to the polish of iOS and the hardware made for each other, but I'm not at all disappointed by the Kindle Fire.

11-26-2011, 04:45 PM	#4
SCION Séduisant Posts: 4,706 Karma: 2107018 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Texas, USA Device: Boox Note Air2+; Kobo Libra2; Kindle Scribe, Oasis3; iPad Mini6	If you're looking for something that could be considered an iPad alternative, it's an Android Honeycomb tablet. You're not gonna find those for $199 either. Looking at the Amazon press event for the Fire, I don't see how one could view it as a possible iPad killer. If you want an iPad buy an iPad. What's the problem? Why are so many on the hunt for something that can replace an iPad at a $200 price point? Makes no sense. Last edited by SCION; 11-26-2011 at 04:48 PM.

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11-26-2011, 04:40 PM	#2
SamuraiXSendai Addict Posts: 229 Karma: 1234 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Earth Device: Kindle 1. Kindle 2. IPAD. KDXG. Kindle 3.Fire	Ehh. I wouldn't base a purchase based on this review. I'd read a spectrum of them, and try one out at a local store. My take - he expected an Ipad for $199. I don't have several of the problems he cited - the light leak, the problem with the back button, not being able to fit it in a pocket. One has to assess what one wants in a purchase to see if the Fire fits. If only an Ipad will do, don't expect to pony up less than $500.00.

11-26-2011, 04:44 PM	#3
gweminence Fat Guy Posts: 408 Karma: 24165 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kindle Voyage	Reviewer couldn't possibly be more biased. I wouldn't put any stock in this review. Obvious fanboi.

11-26-2011, 04:53 PM	#6
abookreader Wizard Posts: 1,516 Karma: 2567610 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindles - Keyboard, Fire, 2-US, iPhone, iPAD	This is the thing - the second you start comparing the Kindle Fire to the iPAD, it is going to lose. Probably the ONLY thing about the Fire that is superior to the iPAD is the price. Some might add the 7" form factor in there, but as soon as Apple comes out with a 7" iPAD, the Fire will probably lose again. So again this is what we have 7" Device Amazon ecosystem (which is growing daily) Affordable price If you want to do a review, you need to review it against devices with similar types of features and a similar price point. I'm really not interested in hearing (again) that it isn't an iPAD. We all know that it isn't an iPAD.

11-26-2011, 04:57 PM	#7
gweminence Fat Guy Posts: 408 Karma: 24165 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kindle Voyage	But...-I- think my Charger should look like, and have all the amenities, and quality of, a Rolls Royce! AT MY CHARGER'S $35k PRICE POINT!!!!!!!!!!!! Wtf is wrong with Dodge?! I WANT MY MONEY BACK! /sarcasm

11-26-2011, 05:16 PM	#8
jocampo Layback feline Posts: 3,034 Karma: 6980745 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: USA Device: Oasis 2nd gen, Sony DPTS1, iPad Pro 10.5"	I bought a Kindle Fire before thanksgiving (don't ask me why, I don't know why yet). I've played just a few days with it but I can't compare to my iPad 2. They are different devices, targeted to different budgets. I think is more fair to compare to a Nook Color or Galaxy Tab or any other 7 inch tablet.

11-26-2011, 05:34 PM	#9
Jessica Lares Wizard Posts: 2,240 Karma: 5759170 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Near Dallas, Texas, USA Device: iPad Mini, iPod Touch (5th gen)	Whoever thinks magazines are going to look good on any tablet screen is very misguided TBH. There is NO tablet that is going to have magazines that are crisp clear like the paper versions (and are easy to hold), unless they are comics or heavily photography related. That is why a lot of the publications are making interactive applications instead. Even an iPad won't give you that great of experience. People need to look at other factors of having access to magazines on the Fire and other tablets/smart phones. I can name a few that I like myself: - Text View: An ad-free reading experience that lets you grab whatever text you want and copy/e-mail it to another program/social network. It even gives you some of the pictures from the article. And, it's in a font size that is comfortable to read and can be pushed up and down. - Table of Contents/Search: It makes searching through that 100 page monthly publication so much easier! - Interactive Links: A lot of entertainment/science/tech magazines have links to interviews/in-depth articles that go beyond the magazine's page limit. It's nice that you can now just go to that article, then click on the "see more at ew.com/music" or whatever and it pops up like magic. And if you're coming from iOS, of course you're going to be disappointed. The developers making stuff for iOS are all not the same ones doing stuff for Android. The apps are not even updated all that much for the fact that all the games will always pretty much work with any update to the Android OS, whereas iOS always breaks everything every update.

11-26-2011, 06:13 PM	#10
jswinden Nameless Being	I'm not even going to write to the OP as he apparently is from a different planet. The OP doesn't seem to think we Fire owners are even human. Apparently only a self-proclaimed know-it-all programmer with a crappy blog is what the OP thinks is human. The blogger barely looked at the Fire then wrote a review the day he got it. This forum is filled with Fire owners who have used their Fires for half a month now. We are mostly honest with our opinions as we tend to point out the bad along with the good as pertains to our Fires. But as everyone knows only know-it-all programmers with blogs as big as their egos are human enough to review the Fire! Perhaps with $200 the OP can buy another iPod touch. No, I think they actually cost more than $200. How about a Nook Tablet that is locked and NOT loaded? Nope, they definitely cost more than $200. He might rent an iPad for a day or two for $200, or maybe even a Honeycomb tablet. But that is okay, I hope he doesn't buy a Fire because they can only be loved by subhumans.

11-26-2011, 07:01 PM	#12
weatherman Addict Posts: 385 Karma: 1010052 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: (previous: Kindle 2, Kindle Fire) Kindle 4 WiFi, K3K, KPW	To be fair, a lot of the reviewer's concerns are valid; the Fire is hardly a polished device. There are a few hardware flaws and a whole lotta OS flaws both in design and execution. I had much the same reaction when I first handled the Fire and most of my concerns haven't been addressed. But I promised myself I would use the Fire exclusively for 30 days before making a decision to keep it and in the 10 days I've had it, I've learned to live with most of its foibles. I think if the original reviewer did the same, he might as well, and he might find that Amazon fixes many of the problems through software updates. That doesn't excuse Amazon's decision to ship what I consider a flawed product, but I think in the long run the Fire will be a great device. PS I should probably note that my three star review of the Fire is currently the top rated "critical review" on Amazon, so if anyone wants to understand more about why I call the Fire a.flawed product they can check it there under the name Billy Radcliffe.

11-26-2011, 07:06 PM	#14
ectoplasm Addict Posts: 255 Karma: 1151364 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Aura HD and H2O	Regardless if the review has valid points or not, there are currently 2901 more reviews here: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Fire-Am...owViewpoints=1 There are many 1 star, and many 5 star reviews. If I picked out a single 1 star review and made a conclusion based on that one review, I would not be very wise.

11-26-2011, 07:40 PM	#15
monkeyluis Banned Posts: 725 Karma: 656644 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Central Florida Device: iPad "3", Kindle Touch, Kindle Fire, iPhone 4S	You know I've read this review about a week ago. I've read many other reviews. I'm a pretty hardcore Apple fan, see my post history. I won't comment on a product unless I've used it or throughly done my research and know what I'm talking about. I gotta say I am loving the fire and it's been working out great. Yes I absolutely love my iPad and I hardly ever even use my laptop before, mostly for school work. But I can do some basic school work on my iPad now. Given that, for reading news, reading the forums, reading books, and some of that stuff the Kindle Fire is absolutely fantastic. Sure it's not as snappy as the iPad, but it's fine, I'm not in that big of a hurry that I need to complain about the 1000th of a millisecond delay compared to the iPad. I do sometimes miss the iPad screen size, but I still have the iPad so I can go back to it anytime. Generally thought, when I get up in the morning now and go into the living room, I take the Kindle Fire with me and the iPad stays by the bed. I don't know what people were expecting, not like I was expecting a sub-par POS for $199, I think it's far beyond sub-par, I think it's fantastic. There are a couple of things I wouldn't have minded, like the often mentioned hardware volume buttons. Also maybe the power button on the top. But they aren't a major issue for me so it's not THAT big of a deal. I'm just kind of baffled but some of the reviews I guess. Like I said, I'm use to the polish of iOS and the hardware made for each other, but I'm not at all disappointed by the Kindle Fire.

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