anyone gonna git kindle fire?

[xSauronx]

Waiting to see what media formats it supports. MP4, Xvid and MKV (h.264) are a requirement for me.

ive got my nook color with anrdoid, so the only thing the fire has to trump that is probably the dual-core innards. ill keep the nook for now, but im an amazon lover, and i could see getting a fire down the road depending on how the reviews are...and maybe pass the nook on to my kids

 

[Deeko]

A big part of the ipad's draw (IMO) is the size. I would guess that something like the Acer Iconia or Asus Transformer would be a better comparison, and they aren't that much cheaper. I find the 7" tablets to be a bit smaller then I'd like for what I wanted to use it for. The Iconia fit the bill though.

Not that everybody wants that, but I'd say comparing the price or function of a 10" tablet to a 7" ebook/tablet isn't exactly a fair comparison.

True - I've said before, its a matter of preference. A 10" tablet is better for, say, sitting at home and web browsing or reading a PDF/magazine, whereas a 7" tablet is better for taking with you (fits in a coat pocket), maybe more comfortable for extended reading, etc.

Amazon is said to be releasing a 10" version next year as well - will be interesting to see the pricing there. Perhaps $250, coupled with a drop on the current 7" Fire to $150? I could see that happening.

 

[randomlinh]

Amazon just stabbed RIM in the heart. Who will buy a $500 Playbook now?

This thing will be the ultimate "mom tablet."

Or the ultimate "i didn't want to spend $500 on a tablet to browse the web and check email" tablet. I might actually sell my touchpad for this. But lack of the android market and gmail app... might be dealbreakers until it is officially rooted.

 

[Dulanic]

Amazon just stabbed RIM in the heart. Who will buy a $500 Playbook now?

This thing will be the ultimate "mom tablet."

My wife already wants to get one for her mom.

 

[Kingbee13]

I made the preorder today, I'm usually not so impulsive, but for 200 dollars what have I got to lose? I'm already invested in kindle books (of coruse you can read them on almost any platform) as well as amazon video, and have been using thier android app store on my phone. I've been waiting for a tablet to come along that i could live with and this seems far from perfect but its a pricepoint i can live with.

 

[gar655]

BIG drawback IMO is the lack of expandable memory. Sure Amazon wants you to stream everything, but when traveling it's just not practical, until there is free WiFi on all the planes, trains, buses and subways.

8GBs is not enough room. I can stick 64GBs in my NC anytime I want. The NCII will still be the better reader/tablet. Plus B&N has better content as far as reading goes and supports epub which kindle still does not.

 

[you2]

I wonder if the screen is read-able outside.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Just talked to a friend that said without a 3G option this tablet is sunk. What do yall think?

 

[Doppel]

Just talked to a friend that said without a 3G option this tablet is sunk. What do yall think?

No. 3G on a tablet requires a data plan anyway.

At $200 this is gonna absolutely kill in sales. No excuse now not to have some small device you can surf the net on in front of the TV. Amazon has killed its competitors on price and if they are able to tweak their tech down within striking range it will lower it again. As one analyst put it the market will now consist of the Fire on the low end and iPad on the top, with the middle ruined. Seems very plausible.

 

[preslove]

This thing is going to be the hottest gift this christmas season. If you want to get it as a present, preorder one now.

Just talked to a friend that said without a 3G option this tablet is sunk. What do yall think?

Your friend is an idiot.

 

[Deeko]

Just talked to a friend that said without a 3G option this tablet is sunk. What do yall think?

Look at the sales ranking of iPads on Best Buy's website:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/iPad-Tab...at209000050008

1) iPad 16GB wifi
2) iPad 32GB wifi
3) iPad 16Gb wifi (white)
4) iPad 64GB wifi
5) iPad 32GB wifi (white)
6) iPad 64GB 3G (AT&T)
7) iPad 32GB 3G (AT&T)
8) iPad 16GB 3G (AT&T)
9) iPad 64GB wifi (white)
10) iPad 64GB 3G (Verizon)

Clearly the wifi-only tablets have a wide sales lead, and of the 3G tablets, the more expensive models are generally better selling, which tells me there's not a ton of market for a lower end 3G model. I don't think its that much of a big deal. Even look at Kindle e-readers - despite the 3G data being free, after they released wifi-only models, they quickly became the top selling Kindles.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Wow Deeko, you nipped that in the bud.

 

[blurredvision]

I think this tablet looks really, really good at the price point. I fully expect this to completely shake up the tablet market, maybe even go so far as forcing Apple to reduce their prices on the next iPad.

Hell, even my wife sent me a text this afternoon asking if we were getting a Kindle Fire. Knowing my wife and how she is about technology, that's pretty huge for someone like her to already want one just a couple of hours after it was announced. I went ahead and put down a pre-order on one. If the reviews don't come out decently, it will still be a hot item and might sell for a decent price above retail.

 

[pm]

Clearly the wifi-only tablets have a wide sales lead, and of the 3G tablets, the more expensive models are generally better selling, which tells me there's not a ton of market for a lower end 3G model. I don't think its that much of a big deal. Even look at Kindle e-readers - despite the 3G data being free, after they released wifi-only models, they quickly became the top selling Kindles.

Nice analysis and data, Deeko.

BIG drawback IMO is the lack of expandable memory. Sure Amazon wants you to stream everything, but when traveling it's just not practical, until there is free WiFi on all the planes, trains, buses and subways.

8GBs is not enough room. I can stick 64GBs in my NC anytime I want. The NCII will still be the better reader/tablet. Plus B&N has better content as far as reading goes and supports epub which kindle still does not.

What do you need all that space for? Aside from movies - which nowadays I mostly stream anyway - I don't need much space at all on a tablet. I leave my music on my phone, stream movies from Netflix, and apps and books don't take much room. For what I do with a tablet, 8GB seems pretty reasonable to me.

 

[MagickMan]

Price is a big deal, though. My mom, for example, loves my brother's iPad - but can't imagine spending $500 on a toy. However, $200 is much more in her price range.

Then she wouldn't have been in the market for an iPad anyway, so it doesn't really cut into Apple's sales.

 

[Tom]

I expect Apple will release a 5 or 7 inch Ipod Touch to compete with lower priced tablets as media players/ game consoles.

They should anyway.

 

[gorcorps]

Look at the sales ranking of iPads on Best Buy's website:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/iPad-Tab...at209000050008

1) iPad 16GB wifi
2) iPad 32GB wifi
3) iPad 16Gb wifi (white)
4) iPad 64GB wifi
5) iPad 32GB wifi (white)
6) iPad 64GB 3G (AT&T)
7) iPad 32GB 3G (AT&T)
8) iPad 16GB 3G (AT&T)
9) iPad 64GB wifi (white)
10) iPad 64GB 3G (Verizon)

Clearly the wifi-only tablets have a wide sales lead, and of the 3G tablets, the more expensive models are generally better selling, which tells me there's not a ton of market for a lower end 3G model. I don't think its that much of a big deal. Even look at Kindle e-readers - despite the 3G data being free, after they released wifi-only models, they quickly became the top selling Kindles.

I may be wrong here, but don't the ipad 3G models require a monthly data plan to get that 3G? Not that I think that 3G is necessary to succeed (even the Nook has shown it's not) there's a difference in 3G you have to pay for every month vs. 3G you only have to pay for up front once with no data limits (AFAIK). I think the plan has a pretty large impact on the ipad 3G sales.

 

[Deeko]

Then she wouldn't have been in the market for an iPad anyway, so it doesn't really cut into Apple's sales.

Look at it this way.

When the iPhone came out, it did not actually cut into the existing market - it created a new market. For several years, Blackberry & company kept selling as many, or more, units as they sold before the iPad. Why? Because their core customers didn't necessarily want an iPhone, so even though their marketshare eroded, it was because of a new market created, not because their customers were leaving them. However, over time, those lines became blurred, and the iPhone started slowly seeping into Blackberry's market as well...and we end up where we are today. Palm & Windows Mobile diminished, BlackBerry shrinking.

Am I saying exactly that will happen here? Not necessarily - but it could, especially if Amazon releases a 10" tablet as well next year. People that want an iPad but can't afford one buy the Kindle - it becomes hugely popular, and maybe at that point people that can afford the iPad, say, well, there's this much cheaper alternative that all of my friends have & love, why not?

Basically - even if those people aren't iPad customers now, that doesn't mean they couldn't be in the future, especially if future iPads are cheaper...but now they aren't even potential iPad customers. They're Kindle customers.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Probably. Especially if it can be rooted. This would make a great device for lounging, and it's at a price tag I'd consider for a device meant to fill that purpose.

$500 for a tablet? Hell no.

 

[Deeko]

I may be wrong here, but don't the ipad 3G models require a monthly data plan to get that 3G? Not that I think that 3G is necessary to succeed (even the Nook has shown it's not) there's a difference in 3G you have to pay for every month vs. 3G you only have to pay for up front once with no data limits (AFAIK). I think the plan has a pretty large impact on the ipad 3G sales.

Yes, you have to pay for data service on the iPad 3G. The only way the Kindles have free data service is because you aren't going to be pulling a lot of data - there's no way a media consumption device like the Kindle Fire would have had free 3G data, if anything it would work like the iPad.

 

[ponyo]

Look at it this way.

When the iPhone came out, it did not actually cut into the existing market - it created a new market. For several years, Blackberry & company kept selling as many, or more, units as they sold before the iPad. Why? Because their core customers didn't necessarily want an iPhone, so even though their marketshare eroded, it was because of a new market created, not because their customers were leaving them. However, over time, those lines became blurred, and the iPhone started slowly seeping into Blackberry's market as well...and we end up where we are today. Palm & Windows Mobile diminished, BlackBerry shrinking.

Am I saying exactly that will happen here? Not necessarily - but it could, especially if Amazon releases a 10" tablet as well next year. People that want an iPad but can't afford one buy the Kindle - it becomes hugely popular, and maybe at that point people that can afford the iPad, say, well, there's this much cheaper alternative that all of my friends have & love, why not?

Basically - even if those people aren't iPad customers now, that doesn't mean they couldn't be in the future, especially if future iPads are cheaper...but now they aren't even potential iPad customers. They're Kindle customers.

Bingo. Amazon is really the only one that can threaten Apple and iPad at this point. Amazon is going to sell millions of this thing and own the 7" market. Then they go after 10" next year. Apple might not care about the 7" market but they sure care about the 10". Amazon will take some sales away from the iPad in the 10" market when they enter.

 

[lokiju]

All this talk about 7" vs 10". To me, it's perfect for what this is. It's a Kindle/ebook reader with all the extras thrown in.

I have a iPad 2 and it's great but it annoying reading on it for an extended period of time while laying in bed. This will/should be much more enjoyable to use in that case.

 

[alent1234]

Just talked to a friend that said without a 3G option this tablet is sunk. What do yall think?

who wants another monthly bill?

 

[SlitheryDee]

Im excited about what amazon is doing here, but having an iPad 2 already, I'm hesitant to purchase another device that's technically a step back. I'm more likely to buy a higher end device than what I have now and relegate the iPad 2 to lounge duty at that time. Tegra 3 looks exciting, and I have the iPad 3 to look forward to, or I may decide to skip a generation and see what's arriving next holiday season. Whatever happens, I'm very interested in tablets in general, so I'll always be in the market for something better than what I have. It doesn't look like the fire will fit that particular bill.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

i like the way it is nice and light. even ipad is too heavy to hold for long periods. this is something you could use walking down the street