Technology Corner: The Kindle Fire Tablet

One of the newest tablets on the market is the Kindle Fire.  Reasonably priced at $199, it is a budget-friendly alternative to the famed iPad2 if you primarily want to access media online – e-books, Facebook, Netflix, games, web searching, music, shopping, etc.

According to Wikipedia, a tablet computer, or a tablet, is a mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen rather than using a physical keyboard. Tablet computers require internet access to download content, but once the content is downloaded to the device, you can access it anywhere.  For example, you can download books, games, and certain applications that do not require internet connection to view. Other activities, such as searching the internet and accessing social media sites will require internet access to participate.  With a Haviland Telephone’s standard wi-fi ready modem, our customers should be able to access the full capacity of their tablets throughout the home.

Two options that add to the value of the Fire are free cloud storage and special savings to Amazon Prime members. With cloud storage, your content is saved on external servers and is accessible anywhere you can get online. We will be discussing “the cloud” in more detail later this month online and in the March newsletter.

Amazon Prime is a membership that allows you FREE Kindle book borrowing from ‘Kindle Owners’ Lending Library’, unlimited streaming of 13,000 + TV shows and movies and FREE UNLIMITED 2-day shipping on millions of items sold on Amazon. So you can either get (or use already existing) Netflix/Hulu memberships and/or Amazon prime depending on what you plan to do on your Kindle Fire. You get the first month free, and after that it is $79 per year.

Several of us at Haviland Telephone have purchased Kindle Fires and would like to share our experiences with you.

What we use it for:

• I stream Netflix when I am traveling.  Beats trying to find something to watch on hotel cable.
• I read books all the time. I love the screen size, almost like a real book. I never lose my place! Also, amazon.com has free books all the time, so I haven’t paid for a new book for about a month! Check out www.pixelofink.com for spotlighted free books daily.
• I like to watch the free streaming videos while working out. It fits perfectly in the little slot on my treadmill and I can still see my distance/time. I tried using a laptop, but it was so bulky, covered all the info up, and I felt like it was going to fall off at any time!
• Playing games is great! I have an iPod touch that I used to use for games, but I haven’t picked it up since getting the Kindle Fire. The graphics were just so small, but on the Fire you can see what you’re playing, and it’s not so big it feels awkward in your hands like some of the bigger tablets.

Favorite features:

• The Amazon Free Lending Library (for Prime members).  I was impressed with the availability of recent, more popular books.  They are not all obscure titles you’ve never heard of. If all you do is borrow one book a month from the Lending Library, you’ve more than paid for the annual membership.
• Great selection of Apps. With its Android operating system (same as in many smart phones), there are apps available for social networking, productivity (office, email, etc.), movies and television, sports, music, games, educational, news, etc
• Price. At $199, it is $300 cheaper than an entry level iPad2, the premier tablet on the market today.
• FREE cloud storage backup. Unlimited cloud storage for Amazon content and 5GB storage for your other non-Amazon content.
• Amazon Silk, web browsing.  The computing power required to load web content is divided between the device and Amazon’s Cloud system, enabling you to download and surf the web quickly.
• Ease in portability. The Fire has a 7″ true widescreen (16:9 ratio is the same as a widescreen movie or television episode) and at just under a pound, it is easy to hold in one hand.

Least favorite features:

• No hardware button/wheel for volume control –When you need to change volume, you need to go to settings and change volume using the touch screen. Depending on how often you like to modify the volume this could be inconvenient.
• Storage – The Kindle Fire’s internal memory holds 8GB, compared to the 16GB entry level iPad2. It does not have a slot for a MicroSD card, so you cannot add additional storage this way. Keep in mind, though, that with your access to the cloud, your storage ability is virtually limitless when you have access to the internet.
• Wi-Fi only – No 3G or 4G capabilities. But, keep in mind, the entry level iPad2 (priced $499) doesn’t come with 3G either. The cheapest iPad2 with 3G costs $629. So if you want 3G, you need to spend an additional $430 over the price of the Fire plus the monthly cost of a data plan.

Interested in a more in-depth review? We really liked this Video review.  There are a few seconds of advertisements and about 30 seconds of techy-talk, but after that it is gives a pretty thorough look at the Kindle Fire without talking over our heads.  It’s about 9 minutes long, but if you aren’t familiar with the Kindle Fire, it is worth the time.