Kindle Fire / Reviews

Consumers looking for a full-fledged Android tablet with all the features and specs one expects plus full access to Google Play apps and experience will be happy with the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2. It more than justifies its $50 premium over the Fire both on the hardware and software fronts. Consumers deeply tied into Amazon’s ecosystem or who need a simplified tablet experience will be happy with the Kindle Fire. It’s a capable device and a better choice for less tech-savvy users.

Read original review at GottaBeMobile.

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Consumers who have simple needs or a tight budget should go for the Kindle Fire. Though not as well-rounded as the iPad, Amazon’s tablet can boast a good content ecosystem, a decent selection of apps, and ultra portability. People looking for a tablet with more of everything from apps to content to resolution will be happier with the iPad.

Read original review at GottaBeMobile.

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It should be clear by now that the Kindle Fire isn't the cheap Android tablet some people may've been waiting for. Oh well, it is cheap. Not so sure about Android and tablet. It's more like the Kindle for music and video that loyal Kindle and Amazon users may not have been waiting for but just couldn't say no to. The Kindle Fire keeps it simple. It's a multimedia player, which feeds mostly on paid content from Amazon's catalog. They've thrown in email and a web browser (not nearly as revolutionary as they said it would be, but not bad either). There's nothing else to distract users from its main purpose - buying content that's a click away. There must be people who bought the Kindle Fire - or about to - without ever planning to have an Amazon account. They can load their own content and find ways to play it, getting around the Fire's limited file support. It's not impossible to root the Kindle Fire either. And the effort may even seem worth it - $200 for a tablet is a bargain, no doubt about that.

Read original review at GSMArena.

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The tab offers a good capacitive touchscreen, a long battery life, and decent multimedia options. However, the lack of an app store and Cloud support (for India) is a letdown. Moreover the sparse connectivity options also weakens the device's case as a good tablet. However, if you are looking for a budget tablet, the Kindle Fire is definitely is a better option.

Read original review at TechTree.

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When I first got the Fire I was really excited about it. It appeared to be a combination of great hardware, solid software and integration, and an even better price. I don't want to say I am disappointed, per say, but as I continued to use the tablet it just seemed to become less awesome. Quirks made themselves more apparent, performance slowed slightly, and annoyances like purchased apps not being available dampened the experience.

However, when you use the Kindle as Amazon intended, it excels. Books, music, videos, magazines, and any other content from Amazon integrates wonderfully into the experience, and is easy to access and purchase. Anything having to do with Amazon works perfectly and almost always automatically, and if I lived in Amazon's ecosystem the experience would have been awesome.

Unfortunately in this case, I live in Google's ecosystem. And while the Kindle Fire may carry the label of an Android tablet, in practice it is not one. The only thing it really carries over is application compatibility, and even then things can be problematic as you have read. Otherwise, the Fire is a different beast. Amazon has made it into a lean and simple consumption machine, and for that it works wonderfully.

If you expect the Fire to be an Android tablet, you will be disappointed. Amazon's software is good, but at the core its really just a mechanism to get you to buy from them. The design, though, is still awesome, and the hardware really can't be beat for the price. Just keep in mind that if you want something more than a consumption machine you'll have to tweak it yourself, and the Kindle Fire should serve you well.

Read original review at Pocketables.

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For a first try Amazon has done a great job in creating a tablet that is easily accessible to everyone. It’s a great mix of a e-reader and tablet features.  It’s focus is on consuming media and content and not necessarily creating it. This isn’t the tablet for work. Tables are still questionable in terms of real productivity and this one won’t answer that question. However for $200 you will get a media centric device that you will enjoy watching movies and TV shows, reading books and magazines, play a few games and listening to music.

Read original review at BWOne.

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There is a natural tendency to compare all tablets to the popular, ground-breaking iPad, but the Amazon Kindle Fire really can’t be compared to the iPad. It is an entirely different, less expensive category of tablet. At less than one half of the price of the cheapest iPad, this should not be surprising. The Fire performs all the basic tablet functions quite well. You can easily use it to send and receive email, surf the Web, listen to music, read digital books and magazines, and play games. While the app selection is not as large as that of the iTunes store or the Android marketplace, there are good selections of games, entertainment, social networking, and productivity apps including must-have apps like Netflix, Pandora, Hulu, Angry Birds, and more.

For the price, the solidity of the hardware and the screen quality of the Fire are exceptional. Although the Fire is lacking some of the hardware options like cameras that are found in higher-end tablets, we found this to be acceptable because of its price. There are, however, two hardware limitations that we felt were weak points for even a basic tablet. We felt that Amazon should have included a microphone and a hardware volume control. We certainly hope that they will be included in future versions.

Although storage is very limited, Amazon provides useful cloud storage that offsets this limitation. There are limited customization options, but this results in a device that is very easy to use. We expect to see more customization options added as the operating system is updated. In fact, Amazon has already promised that such an update would be forthcoming.

With an extremely large bookstore, an excellent selection of music, and a constantly growing number of videos and apps, Amazon has made content a big draw for the Fire. It has also made it easier to access that content than any other tablet, including the iPad. Content and ease of access to that content is where the Kindle Fire excels and why it will be popular.

Power users might be frustrated by the lack of advanced features like cameras, GPS, Bluetooth, and/or by the small screen. These users should opt for a full-blown tablet. Those expecting basic functionality will be happy with the Fire. It is quite simply an outstanding entertainment device at an affordable price.

Read original review at Hardware Secrets.

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The Fire, as an e-reader, is unlikely to woo most Kindle owners who are already content with the E Ink models, which offer a superior reading experience for most books. The device does make sense as a first tablet, with a price tag that serves as a closer fit for many holiday gift budgets.

Read original review at Electronista.

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The Kindle Fire has arrived as a latecomer to the tablet arena, offered by the biggest name in online retail. Amazon is undoubtedly targeting customers who are also considering the iPad and other high-end tablets, however the Fire is clearly attempting to compete through price rather than features. For $200, we feel the device is a bargain in the same way that the discounted PlayBook is a good deal—bringing most of the essential tablet features at less than half the cost of its competitors.

Read original review at Macnn.

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The Kindle Fire isn't in the same league as the iPad 2. It's not really fair to compare a $199 tablet with another that starts at $499, but regardless of the injustice, that's what people shopping a slate are going to do. If you're in the market for a tablet, you don't care what's fair, you're just looking to make the best purchasing decision, and if you have $499 to spend, you'll get more enjoyment from the iPad 2 than you will with the Kindle Fire. That's just the way it is.

As a $199 tablet, the Kindle Fire is sometimes really good, other times not so much, and in some cases it's merely alright. What I like most about the Kindle Fire, other than the price, is the IPS display. It's bright, vibrant, and viewable from almost any angle with no discernible loss in picture quality. Amazon's ability to include a high-end display on a device in this price range is pretty incredible, and it's a major win for the Kindle Fire.

I also like the integration with Amazon Cloud. Sure, barely more than 6GB of usable onboard storage is a bummer, and it's compounded by the fact that there's no microSD card slot. But being so closely tied to Amazon Cloud takes some of the sting out of this, and I'll take the Amazon Cloud Player over Apple's iTunes 11 times out of 10.

Where the Kindle Fire turns cold is in browsing the web. This is not the tablet to buy if you're a heavy web surfer; you'll end up frustrated by its consistently choppy performance and feel betrayed by all the hype over Amazon's Silk browser. I'm not sure if a future update will address this or not, but today, the Fire just isn't a solid choice in a tablet for browsing the web, plain and simple. Casual surfers, however, won't be as turned off, just occasionally annoyed.

I'm also disappointed that you can't download apps from Google's Android Market, though I understand the decision to direct users to Amazon's own Appstore for Android. The Kindle Fire is first and foremost a content delivery platform for Amazon's services, and the tight integration is precisely why Amazon can afford to sell the Kindle Fire for $199, presumably at a loss. Still, it's frustrating to be limited to a single app store, and there are some popular Android apps that aren't available, which makes this limitation even worse.

So if the Kindle Fire isn't an iPad killer, then what is it? Well, it's a $199 Android tablet built from the ground up for fun and play. It's a content consumption device firmly planted into Amazon's ecosystem, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's less than ideal at times, but the upside is that the Kindle Fire is incredibly easy to use, it looks great, and it's a lot of fun for a reasonable price.

Read original review at HotHardware.

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