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Wednesday 12 December 2012

The 411 On The Kindle Fire

By Alan Sutton


The chances are, if you are reading this article, you are thinking about getting the Kindle Fire. You're probably a Kindle owner interested in upgrade, or else you are considering the Fire being an e-reader and tablet. As far as pricing, it will not get better than the Kindle Fire. Amazon revealed their custom Android tablet in Nov of 2011 at a cost just below $200. It truly was a calculated move right before Christmas. In no time, it was on Amazon's top sellers list.

The earliest Kindle was introduced in 2007. The system was around the size of a medium paperback book created specifically for reading. When Amazon revealed the third generation of Kindle, which basically mirrored the 1st with the same E-Ink technology offered in black and white only, Barnes and Noble introduced the Nook Color. Owners began customizing their Android powered Nooks not only to read books, but to play 3D games and run programs in color. The Nook Color revolutionized the 7-inch tablet market.

It seemed to be a no-brainer for Amazon to answer Barnes and Noble with the Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire runs a custom version of Google's Android Gingerbread operating-system. The extremely well-designed and user-friendly interface, known as the Carousel, makes it a simple device for everyone. The Kindle Fire is the 1st Kindle with a completely functional browser. It's not just any browser either. It's name is Silk and offers users a very computer-like Internet experience.

Since Amazon has always been an internet seller of books and music, they have used the Kindle Fire to monopolize entertainment. Along with the Fire, they rolled out a zero cost month of membership for their Prime program allowing users a chance to access more than 20,000 videos and TV shows. Users can find virtually every kind of content for the Kindle Fire including Android apps. There's a large selection of this content that's available completely free, consequently it fits any budget.

The Amazon Kindle Fire downloads content in just seconds through a Wi-Fi connection. It includes ample storage capacity, however, any constraint is quelled using the free cloud storage supplied through Amazon. The content delivered to your Kindle is duplicated online using your Amazon account. The focus on reading has not faded. Kindle books are now in full color, and you don't need an external light to read the display.

You might be questioning "what's bad about the Kindle Fire?" Why is it so low cost? Amazon engineered the Fire to compete with the big boys such as the iPad as well as other popular tablets. The purchase price alone causes it to be a competitor. The functionality is fabulous. The downfall would have to be in the constraints put on by Amazon. Owners are only able to get apps from the Amazon App Store unless you sideload them by attaching the Fire to your personal computer. Amazon conveniently does not include the cord needed to do this with the Fire. Thankfully, if you own a third generation Kindle, the cord provided with that device will work or you can purchase one separately on, that's right, Amazon's website.

The largest supplier of Android apps, the Google Android Market, will not work for the Amazon Kindle Fire without major manipulation which will void the warranty. Additionally, those who have used an iPad will spot the lag in the Android Operating System. Then again, the overall performance has been significantly improved in the Android 4.0 OS. A few will determine that it makes the Kindle Fire a lesser device. Others will decide that such small things make it well worth its low price. If you're able to get around those few things, then a Kindle Fire could be the device for you.




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