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Amazon Unveils $199 Kindle Fire Tablet

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Re: Amazon Unveils $199 Kindle Fire Tablet

#121

Post by hackinthebochs »

anoother wrote: post #66
AndreiVajnaII wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Kindle Touch's killer feature would be better PDF support. The Nook Touch looks totally unusable for PDFs.

The Nook STP runs Android, and it's pretty trivial to get Android-native PDF readers up-and-running on it. None are yet optimized for the e-ink screen, of course, but some have an option to turn off animation which helps somewhat. Something like mupdf (which has already been ported) combined with some button/touch bindings and perhaps a touch-friendly zoom feature seems to me like it would do the job perfectly... and…

Actually the ectaco jetbook, a cheap ebook reader I got over a year ago as superb PDF support. It automatically zooms in past margins, loads all graphics and text, turns pages quickly, even on monster sized textbook PDF files. This cheap piece of hardware handles PDFs better than my (albeit cheap) android tablet. If only they had a version with a decent screen size, it would be the killer device for textbook reading.

Re: Amazon Unveils $199 Kindle Fire Tablet

#122

Post by smackfu »

maximilian wrote: post #111
smackfu wrote: post #49

Main Amazon pages don't seem to be updated, but this URL is: http://www.kindle.com Interesting stuff: * Will still sell current Kindle as "Kindle Keyboard" for same price. * New non-touch Kindle is 2 ounces lighter than old Kindle, but has half the battery life. * The new touch Kindle is 1 ounce lighter than old Kindle, with same battery life. * Kindle Fire is 6-7 ounces lighter than an iPad 2. * All the prices that…

What popped out at me was the battery life for the fire: 8 hours continuous reading or 7.5 hours video playback 8 hours doesn't seem like very much. Clearly its an LCD panel with back lighting and all that, but 8 hours seems a bit short.

That is a fairly standard number for a tablet. iPad, Touchpad, Galaxy Tab, nook color are all in that neighborhood. Anything better means a bigger battery = more weight and thickness.

Re: Amazon Unveils $199 Kindle Fire Tablet

#123

Post by Batsu »

What I want to see is how the app market will pan out. I can only assume (and didn't previously consider) that this will not carry Google branding at all - that means the Android Market, Gmail, Maps, etc, apps will all be missing.

The Android Market would be the big loss here. Amazon seems to take more control over the selling of your product than you do once you submit to their Appstore, but if you want to show up on their tablets, you won't have a choice.

Re: Amazon Unveils $199 Kindle Fire Tablet

#124

Post by achompas »

sthulbourn wrote: post #51
estel wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be interested to see what % of Kindle users make use of the Keyboard. I'm pretty sure that I've only ever touched it for inputting URIs when web-browsing from abroad.

I've always thought it was retarded to include a hardware keyboard on a device that will be used ~95% of the time for reading stuff. It's a really smart move to remove it.

Reading can be passive or active. As an active reader I highlight and annotate my books, so the keyboard is invaluable for me.

Re: Amazon Unveils $199 Kindle Fire Tablet

#125

Post by estel »

gizmo wrote: post #105

People in Europe are getting screwed again . - Small Kindle: $79 - Power Adapter: $10 - Cost in USA: $89 (free shipping) Okay, so I see a banner that they ship to Europe. Excellent, I click it. Then I get a new banner, saying that my country qualifies for free shipping (pending some conditions). I go through the checkout process and I'm faced with the following list: - Kindle + Adapter: $119 - Shipping: $27 (what hap…

The price increase is because Amazon don't have an ad-supported network for non-US territories; so the $79 Kindle becomes the $109 Kindle.

The UK store is selling this Kindle for £89.

Are you really that surprised that Amazon add $50 for shipping and import duties on this product? I don't think this particular case is an example of Amazon screwing the international market.

Not releasing the Fire or Touch on the international markets whatsoever is them screwing us ^.^

Re: Amazon Unveils $199 Kindle Fire Tablet

#126

Post by jarek »

abuzzooz wrote: post #91
buff-a wrote: post #69

And it has a browser that renders on the cloud. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u7F_56WhHk&feature=playe...

Isn't that what Opera does on their mobile platform?

Currently on Opera Mini, yes. Personally I think it's a good idea, and can't wait for it to expand to pre-compiling Javascript.

Re: Amazon Unveils $199 Kindle Fire Tablet

#127

Post by simonh »

Funny how all of the e-ink kindles have 4:3 aspect ratio screens but the Fire is widescreen. It lends credibility to reports that it's based on a previously existing Android tablet design.

Amazon must realise it's sub-optimal, but now developers will be stuck supporting it even if they later release a 4:3 device.

Re: Amazon Unveils $199 Kindle Fire Tablet

#128

Post by portman »

erd wrote: post #73
estel wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be interested to see what % of Kindle users make use of the Keyboard. I'm pretty sure that I've only ever touched it for inputting URIs when web-browsing from abroad.

In the two years that I've owned my Kindle, I don't think that I've ever used the keyboard (at least not intentionally).

Same. But I know others (like my brother, a student) who use it a ton.

They can keep selling the Kindle3 with keyboard for those who want it.

Re: Amazon Unveils $199 Kindle Fire Tablet

#130

Post by antimarketing »

iam wrote: post #86
smackfu wrote: post #49

Main Amazon pages don't seem to be updated, but this URL is: http://www.kindle.com Interesting stuff: * Will still sell current Kindle as "Kindle Keyboard" for same price. * New non-touch Kindle is 2 ounces lighter than old Kindle, but has half the battery life. * The new touch Kindle is 1 ounce lighter than old Kindle, with same battery life. * Kindle Fire is 6-7 ounces lighter than an iPad 2. * All the prices that…

Great, now we can buy the cheaper version, jailbreak it, and remove ads. Brilliant!

no-no, they mean that these are special offer prices. Normal pricing will be more expensive.
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