Kindle Fire Review

[easyazon-image-link asin="B0051VVOB2" alt="Kindle Fire, Full Color 7" Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Xx9W8gdRL.jpg" align="center" width="500" height="500"]For many months everyone had speculated what Amazon would be releasing as their next Kindle and whether they would be entering the tablet market. Finally, when they announced the Amazon Kindle Fire a product that is cheaper than any of us had imagined and comes packed full of features – the world looked on. So, what exactly is the Kindle Fire and what can you expect from it? Is it different enough to take some of the market share that Nook Color has previously held? Find out in out in this Kindle Fire Review.

Kindle Fire Specification

Average Price: $199
Release Year: 2011
Battery Life: 8 hours reading
Screen Size: 7 inch
Screen Type: color touch screen
Weight: 14.6 oz
Storage Size: 8GB (plus cloud storage)
Internet: Wi-Fi
Main eBook Format: AZW (Kindle)

What We Like About the Kindle Fire – The Kindle Fire’s Best Features

Price: No one can deny that the main selling point of the new Amazon Kindle Fire is that it’s a tablet computer at a fraction of the price. At only $199, it’s cheaper than any premium tablet that you can buy, yet its functions certainly don’t push it into the budget category of tablet PCs. Whereas other cheap tablets sacrifice the quality and functionality to provide a cheap tablet, the Kindle Fire does anything but.

Integrates With Amazon Services: Content streaming of movies and TV shows is the next big thing. The fact that, for just $79 per year, you can have unlimited access to thousands of TV shows and movies from Amazon Prime is amazing for many media lovers. An even larger number of movies are available for you to rent for a small free. That’s also not to mention that fantastic range of MP3 music that Amazon provides.

Cloud Storage: You would think that downloading all of these movies and TV shows would take up huge amounts of space on your device. Nope! Amazon’s cloud storage means that your Kindle device shares the data storage with an internet server – meaning that you do not have to store large files on your device. They are stored on an external online service. Think Dropbox.

New Amazon Silk Browser: Here’s something new. The Amazon Silk Browser that features on the Kindle Fire is like nothing that we have really seen before. Amazon have created a different kind of browsing experience that allows you to surf the internet at lightening speeds. This because the browser is “cloud-accelerated”, taking advantage of the Amazon cloud storage capabilities and pushing some of the processing power to the cloud and not from your device. You can also view Flash websites with ease – something that the iPad never lets you do.

Whispersync: All of those familiar with the Whispersync technology that Amazon employed with the original Amazon Kindle with be familiar with the fact that that this keeps the library of Kindle books that you have previously purchased available across all of your Kindle devices – from your Kindle or Kindle Fire, to your iPhone, Android phone and even your PC or tablet computer.

However, the Amazon Kindle Fire takes this a step further. Here we have a device that now lets you use Whispersync technology to keep all of your movies and TV shows in one place too. You can now access your Movies, TV and Music all across all of your compatible devices. Even your PC or TV!

Dual Core Processor: Most of the tablets on the market at the moment use a duel core processor. You can move from program to program with great speed. Applications should also run well on the device.

Design: We really like the design of the Amazon Kindle Fire. We like the fact that it is relatively small and compact and looks like the perfect blend between a tablet computer and the original Kindle eReader. It is a great way for those that want a little functionality from their eReader to get what they want without having to get a full-blown Tablet PC with cameras etc. The Kindle Fire gives you exactly what you want in a nice- sized device.

We also love the fact that the Kindle is lightweight and so it’s easy to read books on. Many have complained of wrist strain and uncomfortability when reading books on the iPad 2 or the Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Apps: While the Kindle Fire doesn’t use the same Android Market like other Android devices, we’re pretty impressed with the Apps that are available. You only have to take a look through the Amazon App Store to see what you will get to play with and use on the Kindle Fire. It’s pretty extensive as it is and there are more on the way. No, it’s not the full Android Market, but it gives more Apps than the Nook Color, for instance.

What We Don’t Like About the Kindle Fire

Only 8GB Memory: Yes, you can use Amazon’s cloud storage system to store your media, but it would also have been nice to get some more space on the actual Kindle Fire itself. Home movies and your photos would be great to just sit on your device as you like. While it’s also possible to store these in different forms of cloud storage, a little more internal space would have been a bonus – especially when Barnes and Noble Nook Color offers more. There are no memory card expansion options.

Battery Life: This is comparable to the Nook Color and is also comparable to other tablets available on the market. Only 8 hours of battery life is fine when compared to tablet computers but it a little disappointing when compared to eReaders. When you can get the Kindle to last for a couple of months without needing to be charged, the fact that the Kindle Fire (still marketed, to some extent, as a reading device) only gives you 8 hours of reading time. That’s not good for those vacation days on the beach where you didn’t have to charge your Kindle for the duration of your vacation.

“Should I Buy the Kindle Fire?”

As it stands, the Kindle Fire is more of a rival to the Barnes and Noble Nook – not the iPad. They are, in essence two totally different devices. The Kindle Fire is the bridge between the eReader and the tablet PC world and while it would be fair to say that the Kindle Fire has the edge over the Nook Color, those that want a full tablet experience from a full-sized tablet may want to check out the iPad 2 or the Samsung Galaxy Tab. If you like the extra features that the Kindle Fire offer and you love Amazon as a company, it really is a no-brainer. The Kindle Fire will be perfect for you to get browsing the internet, reading books and watching TV and movies in relaxed manner – as the screen is not too big. It’s also $199 – what can be better than that?