Amazon’s exciting new Kindle Fire Android tablet based eBook reader was released on Tuesday 15 November. Some people were lucky enough to get their pre-ordered units a day early, on Monday.
Alas, although I ordered mine literally within a few minutes of the units going on sale, it didn’t arrive until 6.55pm on Wednesday – a very disappointing result from a company that prides itself on its competency managing its mail order business.
So was the Fire worth the long wait? Should you buy one too? Or would an iPad or perhaps even a Nook Tablet be a better choice? I have already half answered that question in an earlier three part series on the new range of Amazon Kindle eBook readers, and now supplement the earlier theoretical analysis with further observations based on hands on experience during the last 24 hours.
Please now visit our review of the Kindle Fire to get answers to these important questions, although – as always – the real answer depends as much on you and what you’d use it for as it does on the device itself.
David,
What a great service — your Fire review. I have a few pertinent observations: Kindle (3G and other models) is a near-perfect product for delivering what it promises. The Kindle 3G that I have is a slice of heaven. It works as advertised, has a sensational gray screen with sharp print in sunlight, AND connects anywhere in the world and has a super-long battery period, usually three weeks.
Why would I want to sacrifice the 3G service for wireless and a battery period of 8 hrs? On a recent three-week trip to Europe for the Airport Transit Guide, I was able to have my NY Times and Herald Tribune every morning (for 99 cents each) even in mountainous part of Provence with no wireless connection! You can’t beat it for convenience. If I want color and touch and movies and TV, I would move up to iPad, which I’ve delayed doing until the next iteration.
Thanks, friend, for your highly detailed parsing of Fire.
Ron