Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet: $199

[lobster]

This appears to be the first review of the Amazon tablet, sadly no photos.

 

[Teepee]

do not want. the e-ink display and battery life what what attracts me to the kindle

 

[lobster]

I agree, the reviewer does say

As far as the existing e-ink-based Kindles, all I’ve heard is that they’ll continue to co-exist with this new tablet

That is sensible decision if true.

 

[editor]

TechCrunch have had their hands on a pre-production model and their words: "I’m happy to report that it’s going to be a big deal. Huge, potentially."

Powered by a custom version of Android, it's going to cost $250 - half the cost of an entry level iPad. Apparently it looks like the Blackberry Playbook.

As anticipated, Amazon has forked Android to build their own version for the Kindle. Simply put: it looks nothing like the Android you’re used to seeing.

The interface is all Amazon and Kindle. It’s black, dark blue, and a bunch of orange. The main screen is a carousel that looks like Cover Flow in iTunes which displays all the content you have on the device. This includes books, apps, movies, etc. Below the main carousel is a dock to pin your favorite items in one easy-to-access place. When you turn the device horizontally, the dock disappears below the fold.

Above the dock is the status bar (time, battery, etc) and this doubles as a notification tray. When apps have updates, or when new subscriptions are ready for you to view, they appear here. The top bar shows “YOUR NAME’s Kindle” and then the number of notifications you have in bright orange. It looks quite nice.

There are no physical buttons on the surface of the device. You bring up a lower navigation menu by tapping the screen once. This can take you back home, etc.

But the key for Amazon is just how deeply integrated all of their services are. Amazon’s content store is always just one click away. The book reader is a Kindle app (which looks similar to how it does on Android and iOS now). The music player is Amazon’s Cloud Player. The movie player is Amazon’s Instant Video player. The app store is Amazon’s Android Appstore.

Google’s Android Market is nowhere to be found. In fact, no Google app is anywhere to be found. This is Android fully forked. My understanding is that the Kindle OS was built on top of some version of Android prior to 2.2. And Amazon will keep building on top of that of that over time. In other words, this won’t be getting “Honeycomb” or “Ice Cream Sandwich” — or if it does, users will never know it because that will only be the underpinnings of the OS. Any visual changes will be all Amazon.

They are not working with Google on this. At all.

There is a web browser (of course), and while it’s styled a bit to match the Kindle UI, it looks pretty much the same as the Android’s WebKit browser. Yes, it has tabs! And yes, Google Search is still the default (the Kindle also has its own search tool to find content on your device).

Overall, the UI of this Kindle felt very responsive. You can flick through the carousel seamlessly. This is something Amazon has apparently been working on quite a bit, I’m told. And they continue to. Some of the page-turning touch mechanics still needed a bit of work in the version I used.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/09/02/amazon-kindle-tablet/
(If this tablet gets to be anywhere as big as people are predicting, then I think this separate thread is justified. )

 

[UnderOpenSky]

So probably about 250 quid... I'll want to see to the specs, but could be very interested.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I'd consider owning both. Different tools for different jobs.

 

[editor]

So probably about 250 quid... I'll want to see to the specs, but could be very interested.

I really don't think it will be that much - the Kindle's pricing was fairly similar both sides of the pond. Mind you, I don't think we'll get it for ages after the US anyway.

 

[lobster]

its more of a nook killer than a ipad killer from reading that article.

7 inch, single core, android 2.1 derivative , no camera. nothing-new lcd screen.

 

[lobster]

having said that, kindle was not technically ahead of other ebook readers yet its sold extremely well.

 

[Citizen66]

Could be interested in this considering I destroyed two kindles and a HTC Desire in as many months. May as well see what else I can fuck.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Bloody hell, I thought I could be hard on kit! What do you do...take them swimming?

 

[Citizen66]

Bloody hell, I thought I could be hard on kit! What do you do...take them swimming?

Desire had a sit in some water. First kindle didn't like being in my bag and second didn't like being in my pocket. When I sat down.

 

[scifisam]

I really don't think it will be that much - the Kindle's pricing was fairly similar both sides of the pond. Mind you, I don't think we'll get it for ages after the US anyway.

The Kindle costs less in dollars than it does in pounds; IOW, it's almost twice as much here.

 

[pinkmonkey]

I've had my touchpad for just over a week and the case is already starting to crack around the speakers. Very thin plastic though.
I was originally planning to go for a Kindle tablet (or a Nook if I couldn't wait that long). I'm kind of pleased I haven't now - 6gb of storage and assuming you'll access everything from the cloud would be a bit impractical if you don't have a landline (which I don't).

 

[editor]

The Kindle costs less in dollars than it does in pounds; IOW, it's almost twice as much here.

The Kindle Wi-Fi is $139 in the US and £111 in the UK. And then there's local taxes to consider in the US.

 

[editor]

I've had my touchpad for just over a week and the case is already starting to crack around the speakers. Very thin plastic though.

That sounds like you should sell it on to me immediately.

 

[scifisam]

The Kindle Wi-Fi is $139 in the US and £111 in the UK. And then there's local taxes to consider in the US.

The special edition wifi only one is $111, the 3G version is $139, and there are no local taxes on it. I bought two when I was on holiday out there, in two different states, one from a shop and one from Amazon itself.

 

[editor]

The special edition wifi only one is $111, the 3G version is $139, and there are no local taxes on it. I bought two when I was on holiday out there, in two different states, one from a shop and one from Amazon itself.

I refer you to my link, squire, to compare like with like.

The 'special edition' foists adverts on the screen.

 

[UnderOpenSky]

So you only save $30 and have to deal with ads...I'd expect a much bigger discount!

 

[scifisam]

I refer you to my link, squire, to compare like with like.

The 'special edition' foists adverts on the screen.

I know it does, since I have one. The ads are only there when you're not using the Kindle, so you only see them for a moment when you pick the device up. They're a bit pointless, really.

Hell, even $139 is WAY less than £111.

 

[pinkmonkey]

That sounds like you should sell it on to me immediately.

Bugger off! Not for sale! Even if it has the wires hanging out the back I'm not selling it! I'm still very chuffed with my purchase!

 

[ViolentPanda]

I know it does, since I have one. The ads are only there when you're not using the Kindle, so you only see them for a moment when you pick the device up. They're a bit pointless, really.

Hell, even $139 is WAY less than £111.

£26 less. $139 is around £85.

 

[scifisam]

£26 less. $139 is around £85.

That's quite a large percentage of £111. It's also a much worse rate than I got when I bought mine - (3G special edition, $139 was £75).

 

[ViolentPanda]

That's quite a large percentage of £111. It's also a much worse rate than I got when I bought mine - (3G special edition, $139 was £75).

Dollar is shit, pound is shitter.

 

[ExtraRefined]

That's quite a large percentage of £111. It's also a much worse rate than I got when I bought mine - (3G special edition, $139 was £75).

Almost all of that is tax. Include VAT and import duty, and the US price is equivalent to £107.

 

[scifisam]

Almost all of that is tax. Include VAT and import duty, and the US price is equivalent to £107.

Oh yeah, if you imported it it'd cost more, yeah, but that's (like Editor said) not comparing like with like. I mean, then you'd have to pay more postage too.

 

[ExtraRefined]

The point is that there's not much mark up over the US price (about 3%). If the putative tablet is the same, it should cost £200 here.

 

[scifisam]

The point is that there's not much mark up over the US price (about 3%). If the putative tablet is the same, it should cost £200 here.

Um, if you include the costs of getting it from one country to another, yeah, but that's an odd comparison to make.

 

[mack]

Bumped as this is going to be officially announced tomorrow..think all the tech sites will be live blogging.

If it's around £200 and easily hackable then I'll probably get one, I've got touchpad which is great for "coffee table" browsing but I want something smaller for mobile use (but bigger than my mobile!)

 

[editor]

I'm VERY interested in this tablet.