Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Kindle Fire - Full Color Kindle with 7" Multi-Touch Display, Wi-Fi

amazon.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 101 posts

Re: Kindle Fire - Full Color Kindle with 7" Multi-Touch Display, Wi-Fi

#21

Post by mikeash »

runjake wrote: post #14
kenjackson wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great tip. Does that work in general (switching a device to landscape)? If so, this is something that should be more widely known.

I'm not sure. I was told that it has to do with the polarization inside the IPS display, so this tip may work the same for other devices with an IPS display. Supposedly, it's polarized in landscape orientation, but not landscape. That said, I don't know if this explanation is factual as I don't understand modern display technologies to a deep level.

In my experience, the polarization angle varies a great deal. Some devices are polarized vertically, some horizontally, and some at about a 45-degree angle. So, there's no set angle that works for everything, but what will work for everything is rotating until you find the right spot.

At that point you may end up with your head at a weird angle and decide it's not worth the trouble, of course.

Re: Kindle Fire - Full Color Kindle with 7" Multi-Touch Display, Wi-Fi

#22

Post by mikeash »

philbarr wrote: post #2

You'd think they'd mention which version of Android it uses.

I wouldn't think so, any more than Apple mentions how fast their iOS processors are clocked or how much RAM they have. It's an implementation detail and their target audience doesn't care.

Re: Kindle Fire - Full Color Kindle with 7" Multi-Touch Display, Wi-Fi

#23

Post by bradleyland »

philbarr wrote: post #2

You'd think they'd mention which version of Android it uses.

Why wouldn't they mention the RAM it has?

Why wouldn't they mention what wireless chipset it has?

Why wouldn't they mention the amount of internal storage?

I can answer all these questions, as well as the hundred other ones that geeks will ask:

Because none of this matters to the millions of people who will buy them.

To understand the difference between a company that "gets it" and your average geek who wonders why they don't publish these detailed specs, just have a look at the bullet points Amazon chose to lead with on the Kindle Fire page:

* 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, magazines, and books

* Amazon Appstore - thousands of popular apps and games

* Ultra-fast web browsing - Amazon Silk

* Free cloud storage for all your Amazon content

* Vibrant color touchscreen with extra-wide viewing angle

* Fast, powerful dual-core processor

* Amazon Prime members enjoy unlimited, instant streaming of over 10,000 popular movies and TV shows

Notice what makes the top of the list: content. Notice what makes-up the bottom (with the exception of the last one): Specs.

* Customers don't want a tablet, they want to watch/read their favorite TV show, movie, magazine, or book. (18 million content items)

* Customers don't want an Android tablet, they want to to play that cool game they saw in a commercial (curated Amazon Appstore)

* Customers don't want a Javascript rendering engine, they want access to their favorite websites, and fast. (ultra-fast Amazon Silk)

* Customers don't want to worry about how much space they have left on their device, they want easy access to everything they've purchased. (Cloud storage)

* Customers want to feel secure that the device they're purchasing will look good to their eye. (Vibrant display; iPad is referenced later in the copy, so they can identify with something they know)

* Customers want to feel confident that the device will be responsive. (apt use of the "dual-core" buzzword)

This is how you take on the iPad.

Re: Kindle Fire - Full Color Kindle with 7" Multi-Touch Display, Wi-Fi

#25

Post by darrenkopp »

bradleyland wrote: post #23
philbarr wrote: post #2

You'd think they'd mention which version of Android it uses.

Why wouldn't they mention the RAM it has? Why wouldn't they mention what wireless chipset it has? Why wouldn't they mention the amount of internal storage? I can answer all these questions, as well as the hundred other ones that geeks will ask: Because none of this matters to the millions of people who will buy them. To understand the difference between a company that "gets it" and your average geek who wonders why t…

Well actually they don't mention what version of Android because they have modified it so much it probably doesn't matter. On the other hand, they DO mention how much ram and internal storage it has.

Re: Kindle Fire - Full Color Kindle with 7" Multi-Touch Display, Wi-Fi

#26

Post by josefresco »

runjake wrote: post #8
joshaidan wrote: post #6

I can't help but think of the Kindle commercial on the beach where the iPad owner asks the Kindle owner, "It works in sunlight?"

Funny tip: It was only last weekend I discovered than an iPad works with polarized sunglasses on, IF you use it in landscape mode. That was a major d'oh realization. I hope for Amazon's sake, the Fire works in sunlight.

Curiously, the iPhone 4 works in both modes with polarized glasses.

Re: Kindle Fire - Full Color Kindle with 7" Multi-Touch Display, Wi-Fi

#27

Post by lliiffee »

johnpaulett wrote: post #17
ck2 wrote: post #5

micro/SD slot? I guess after xmas they wil introduce the 3G version with other subtle improvements - surprised they aren't going to use their whispernet.

Up to this point, Whispernet gets relatively little traffic per-device (initial book download being the biggest bandwidth use). While there is the experimental browser in the Kindle, it had limited functionality and is fairly well hidden. With the introduction of Video on Demand and full web browsing in the Fire, I'm sure Amazon's 3G provider is hesitant to allow lifetime access to their network for a one time fee of…

Does anyone have much experience with the browser? I've been thinking about buying a kindle 3 3G, with one of the major motivations being the free worldwide web access. I know it is limited and slow, but it would at least allow for email access / chatting / google voice.

Re: Kindle Fire - Full Color Kindle with 7" Multi-Touch Display, Wi-Fi

#28

Post by pw »

joshhart wrote: post #12

Darn, the Kindle DX is still $379. Everything else got a nice price drop. I've been waiting for a hardware/software update to the Kindle DX and a possible price drop for quite a while now, but I'm not sure I'll ever get it at this point.

Why do you want a Kindle DX? Reading PDFs in the sunlight? I've always wonder who's buying the DX, because at price, you might as well get an iPad.

Re: Kindle Fire - Full Color Kindle with 7" Multi-Touch Display, Wi-Fi

#29

Post by diamondhead »

oal wrote: post #11

Unlike the other Kindles, the Fire is not available outside the U.S. I had decided to one, but sadly it looks like that won't happen (at least not as soon as I hoped).

same situation counts for the other kindles, too. I bought one last year, using an extra shipping service.

Re: Kindle Fire - Full Color Kindle with 7" Multi-Touch Display, Wi-Fi

#30

Post by dangero »

bradleyland wrote: post #23
philbarr wrote: post #2

You'd think they'd mention which version of Android it uses.

Why wouldn't they mention the RAM it has? Why wouldn't they mention what wireless chipset it has? Why wouldn't they mention the amount of internal storage? I can answer all these questions, as well as the hundred other ones that geeks will ask: Because none of this matters to the millions of people who will buy them. To understand the difference between a company that "gets it" and your average geek who wonders why t…

Yeah Steve Job's famous line was, "To get to the heart of the customer, you don't talk about Mips and Megahertz." Finally another company that gets it.
Post reply on HN