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TimS November 14, 2011

Any questions about the Kindle Fire?

Maybe you read my review earlier. It's an interesting device for sure.

www.engadget.com/2011/11/14/amazon-kindle-fire-rev...

Would you like to know more?

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veronica 2011-11-14 13:33:07

If I already own an iPad and a Kindle (3rd Gen) is there any reason for me to upgrade to the Fire?

TimS 2011-11-14 13:37:57

Unless there's a magazine or comic that you really, really want to read on the Fire and you can't get anywhere else, I'd say no. The E Ink screen on a traditional Kindle is to me far preferable to the LCD on the Fire for reading, and the iPad does pretty much everything else better.

The Fire is a great first tablet, but I can't imagine anyone stepping from something like a Galaxy Tab or iPad to this being very satisfied.

lexcyn 2011-11-14 13:35:22

How easy is it to side-load applications/books/magazines/etc? Since I am considering getting one and I am outside the US, I obviously will not have access to the Amazon market, etc.

TimS 2011-11-14 13:42:01

Well, you can read PDF on it and epub files, but really the beauty of the device is its seamless access to all the Amazon content. If you're not a Prime subscriber, Cloud user or looking to buy Amazon content on there it loses a lot of its appeal.

You might want to wait for the first hacks to appear to open the device up. It shouldn't take long.

:Update: Hang on, I think I spoke too soon. This epub I copied over isn't working. Checking with Amazon to find out what's up.

ravmania 2011-11-14 13:46:22

Can you install standard APKs?

TimS 2011-11-14 13:54:00

Yep, you sure can -- so long as they work on Gingerbread.

nsolo1717 2011-11-29 09:27:41

i believe the kindle uses .mobi files. I also was curious if you can sideload .mobi books on it as well?

TimS 2011-11-29 13:04:19

It doesn't look like you can sideload any books at all, which is quite disappointing.

kitch 2011-11-29 13:17:34

So I sideloaded the Skyrim books in mobi format by connecting my kindle fire via USB and copying the book into the Books folder. I had to restart the kindle to get it to show up though.

Braaaains 2011-11-14 13:43:31

I was hoping to see a demo of either Amazon Prime streaming video or Netflix streaming video. How does the Fire perform in that area?

TimS 2011-11-14 13:54:40

Netflix I wasn't able to sample, sadly it wasn't available. Amazon Prime streaming is great. Takes about 10 - 20 seconds to buffer and is easy to use. Quality is decent.

techfan00 2011-11-14 13:45:24

Do you think its prudent to wait for the next Kindle Fire? Reports are an 8.9 inch screen, early first quarter of 2012.

TimS 2011-11-14 13:56:13

Indeed we'll be seeing one very soon, but if that comes to pass you'll be able to transfer your content over quickly, so changing from one to the other would be relatively painless.

Personally, though I'd wait -- but then I have a few other tablets to bide me over.

techfan00 2011-11-14 14:07:18

I don't have a tablet. But I am tempted. You can't beat the price. But I know the next fire will have faster ram, processor, and a bigger screen.

AngryOaf 2011-11-14 13:47:33

I do use Amazon to for all my eBook and MP3 purchases, but I don't use them for movies and video content.

Are the Netflix and Hulu plus apps available for you to test? If so, what's the performance/streaming quality like? What about watching videos/movies on Youtube?

How's general web browsing, is it as good as they said it would be? What about websites using HTML5/CSS3?

TimS 2011-11-14 13:57:03

They weren't available in time to review, so I can't comment on those yet. Will try to get some time with them soon.

Web browsing is good, but not great. It's no better than faster devices on Android and slower than the iPad 2 -- but remember the iPad 2 is ignoring Flash. This isn't.

jamms 2011-11-14 14:03:51

Is there any way to get to the file manager on this? Say I wanted to copy some epub books I have purchased from another resource other than amazon? Could I use dropbox (or some equivalent) or email files to myself to access them in other apps?

TimS 2011-11-14 14:46:55

I'm not sure about dropbox, but you can easily mount the Fire as a mass storage device over micro-USB (not included) and copy files to your hearts content. That said, epub doesn't seem to work. Verifying with Amazon now.

aaronfg 2011-11-18 11:13:24

Dropbox works perfectly. I installed it right from the dorpbox.com/android page in the browser.

catchamonkey 2011-11-14 14:26:50

Is it possible to stop the browser using the Amazon Cloud optimisations?
In a nutshell my worry is that if Amazon have a problem within their service, would I be able to switch something off and continue to browse directly with the sites in question.
Or would I be left with a blackberry style paperweight until the problem was resolved?

TimS 2011-11-14 14:48:09

There's a checkbox that says "Accelerate page loading." I'm guessing turning that off removes the dependency on Amazon's servers.

Also, no reason you couldn't sideload another browser should you choose.

kitch 2011-11-14 14:45:51

Have you tried sideloading any other browsers? I'm really hoping that pinch to zoom and scrolling might be smoother with another browser?

TimS 2011-11-14 14:49:45

I didn't. If you can recommend something I can get via APK I'll give it a go.

kitch 2011-11-14 14:51:38

Oh, yes! Firefox is available at: bit.ly/fennecftp

TimS 2011-11-14 15:01:57

Ahh, good call.

Seems to work. Crashed on first startup but now looks to be solid. It is a bit more smooth for pinch-zooming etc, but still a bit sluggish compared to the iPad or Gal Tab.

kitch 2011-11-14 15:05:56

Nice. I'll take anything I can get. Mine has already shipped so no turning back now. Still, it's good to know there will be another browser option. For those of us with no prior tablet experience I'm just curious if this stuff is performing more like an iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S? Or are we talking something more like the original moto droid. I've only got a few days to wait so I'll find out soon enough, like it or not. I'll be really curious to see how the nook tablet browser stacks up.

TimS 2011-11-14 15:27:33

Definitely better than the OG Droid... hard to say though what it best compares to. Maybe somewhere south of an iPhone 4. I'm sure it'll only get faster from here.

kitch 2011-11-14 15:43:24

Yeah, hoping that software revisions will bring more speed. Anything shipping in this proximity of the Holiday has got to be half baked. It's really a 1.0 product so hopefully things will get better.

kitch 2011-11-14 14:52:36

For those looking for more info:
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Mobile/Platforms/Android#...

Itoao 2011-11-14 15:44:12

Does is support ActiveSync?

TimS 2011-11-14 16:29:24

Wow, I haven't used ActiveSync in a long time. I don't think it would, no. There's no calendar app in here, but you could configure your email account through the integrated app.

Itoao 2011-11-14 20:03:38

I work with customers in an exchange environment and have had questions about it already. I thought it would maybe have a mail client in it that would support it since it runs a flavor of Android.

TimS 2011-11-14 21:28:58

Ahh, no, I don't see a way to set up an Exchange account here. Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Aol, and then standard POP3/MIME appear to be it.

roberto 2011-11-14 16:39:43

Tim, I'm curious about basic productivity on this tablet. Where you able to download a program like QuickOffice (which happens to be today's free app of the day at amazon, btw) and see how well it can handle basic document creation? What about managing a calendar through the web or via app?

TimS 2011-11-14 16:56:20

Yep, QuickOffice Pro works like a charm. (And I got it free too ;)

The Google webapps work great too, including calendar.

roberto 2011-11-14 16:53:18

Two more questions (sorry, Tim);

Did you try loading an alternative keyboard, such as Swype? What were the results?

Can you get Distro on it?

TimS 2011-11-14 16:59:23

Nope, you can't replace the stock keyboard.

And I'm happy to say Distro looks great.

That's the PDF version, of course ;)

roberto 2011-11-14 19:10:18

Thanks, Tim!

Hopefully a Distro app for android/amazon is in the works?

TimS 2011-11-14 21:25:22

Honeycomb version has been in the works for many moons. As for a Fire version, that remains to be seen.

Meaynder 2011-11-14 19:01:46

Can you tell me if the Kindle Fire has text-to-speech, if the title allows, like the previous Kindle(s)?

TimS 2011-11-14 21:29:22

Doesn't appear to, no.

Meaynder 2011-11-14 21:31:40

Thank you for your response. I was getting conflicting reports from Amazon CS and did not see it mentioned in the reviews I read.

TimS 2011-11-15 06:43:15

If it's there they've buried it quite comprehensively.

frankspin 2011-11-14 19:47:14

Each has made their own version of the app store and obviously they each have their own content library. Which one do you feel does a better job in regards to discovering apps & content?

I ask this based on my use of the Amazon AppStore on my phone and I find it to be a not so great experience.

TimS 2011-11-14 21:30:34

Well, Amazon certainly makes it easy to add content -- just a click and you're shopping away. But it doesn't do so well with the suggestions. If you don't know what you're looking for it won't necessarily help you find something you'd like.

But, IMHO it's quite easy to search and purchase things you might like.

quadrilacious 2011-11-15 00:37:19

What is the music player like? Is it a customized version of the stock Android player or is it something more like the Amazon MP3 app (with Cloud functionality included)?

Seanathome 2011-11-15 02:57:20

Based on screenshots (I'm getting my Fire today.. will update if necessary), the player looks like the stock mp3 player.

Tiradora 2012-01-11 14:14:59

i have not added one yet, but i have Mixzing on my phone, closest thing to it i found was Songbird. Its free...looks decent.
www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_mobile-apps?_encoding=U...

langevine 2011-11-22 14:45:11

Is there a way to clear the carousel? I hate scrolling thru so many icons.

Tiradora 2012-01-11 14:09:50

I haven't found a way other than long pressing each item and removing from carousel. However if and when i open it again, its back.
*Personally i would prefer and option that will not do an automatic carousel of at least put it list view. Tested a XXX site on day one as a joke and it was the first thing listed in the carousel WITH the picture from the video. Not good

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