Amazon Kindle Fire demo

Richa Kaushik · Auckland, New Zealand
WOW...I ll definitely buy it now :)

Doug Craig · Subscribe · Media Director at Sharp Communications
I have both and the Kindle, while it's a funnel for Amazon purchases, is great for consuming content. Much easier to carry than an iPad and I agree with John T. Haller in that most people end up using it for rudimentary purposes. While there are alot people who I either partially embrace technology to full-on geeks, there are also a ton of people who will love this device because it allows them spend time consuming content they love. It's not an iPad and never will but, at least for me, its been a purely seamless experience since I opened the box. Not alot of bells and whistles but it does the basics really well. That is well worth the $199 sticker price.

Tyshaun Hawkins · Princeton
seems to me that a lot of people posting quotes along the line of "the numbers are misleading because of returns..." are really kinda missing the Forrest for the trees. Can someone actually post numbers rather than "gut feelings" that the return rate will be high?

This reminds me of the whole Android Tablet versus iPad debate and the reason why the Android Tablet people still don't get why iPad has been kicking butt. The basic answer is that iPad targeted itself to a large swathe of potential users, most of which aren't techies. Amazon has been smart to do the very same thing and target an even larger potential swathe, price conscious non-techies, and it's working.

I have both an iPad and a kindle fire. As an engineer, I honestly can say I am impressed by the user experience of the iPad, but I can definitely see where the fire has the potential to overtake iPad in sales based primarily on price. People are willing to tolerate a slightly less slick device in exchange for a sticker price that's half.

Ovetta Sampson · Subscribe · Co-Founder at World Media Now
I agree.. techies, geeks, early adopters all live in the bubble that algorithms made. Not everyone shoots and edits video, analyze retweets and follower statistics on Hoot Suite, some people just want to watch movies and look at videos when they're on the go! The Kindle is perfect for that and the price is right. The iPad is a superior product but 90 percent of the people are using only 50% of its applications. It's usually too much tech for most people - pretty tech to be sure - but most people won't optimize it's use. I think the Fire is greatly positioned to get even more people and some of those iPad users will defect because everyone I know who has an iPhone find that the iPad is an accessory not an necessity. But who's going to admit they made a $500 mistake?

Armen Chakmakjian · Subscribe · Intuit
I'm immersed in both the apple and amazon world. I have an iPhone and a mac and had an iPad. I couldn't see the purpose of the iPad in between...it was always the extra device. I also had a droid phone until this year...I type this now on my macbook air with my iPhone on the table, so I'm not an apple basher nor an amazon acolyte.

WRT the Kindle fire, it is useful as a complement to my kindle dx. It doesn't replace it. EInk is awesome for reading. The fire has turned into my video streaming and game playing device, and convenient web browsing device. The key to the streaming is the library of free stuff because of amazon prime. The model is completely different than the iTunesy model.

From a form factor perspective, it is extremely convenient and fits into the back pocket of my jeans.

From a display perspective, it is good. Amazon can hit a beachhead somewhere where the iPad isn't, and I think that with the book content and shopping experience (that is more than music and apps) they satisfy a particular segment where the iPad can't go because of price.

Ryan Melton · University of Nevada, Reno
Return rate? These are shipment estimates...not actual sales! And if they become sales they're not actually profits....they're potential leaders to potential increases of other sales. I'd like to wait and see if they do any better than RIM's recent write downs on their notepad attempt. My guess is a Kindle Smolder and not a Fire.

Nancy Gleason Guenther · Penn Valley, California
I got us both the old style Kindles in April - for Ross's b'day and now they come out with the new one.....grrrrr.

Matt Weldon · Top Commenter · San Francisco, California
Yes we should be cautious and not read into these numbers too much... but comparing this to RIM?? Really? I'm pretty sure Amazon has already sold more Kindle Fires in pre-orders than all tablets ever sold by RIM combined.

Julian Hugh · Top Commenter · Founder and CEO at SwagFriends.com teens social network
Wow I played with the Kindly Fire at Best Buy and I wasnt feeling it at all. I guess it was just me but congrat to Amazon. Not too many critics are a fan of it but this is just a good example of consumers not caring what the reviewers have to say.
Reply · Like · Follow Post · 9 saat önce
mariatojones@hotmail.com (signed in using Hotmail)
Tablets have become so popular that some companies are giving them away to lure customers. 7 tablets are being giving away for the holidays by one company. http://tiny.cc/p9216

Kerry Usry
I am pretty sure they are not counting the huge return rate once people get their hands on it and find that it is half baked.

John T. Haller · Astoria, New York
Considering that most regular people use tablets for a bit of web browsing, watching a movie or two, and a game of angry birds here and there - all of which the Kindle Fire will do just fine - they won't be getting many returns.

Kerry Usry
John T. Haller I would have though so, I bought one as a gift and spent entirely too much time just trying to get wifi going the most simplest thing on most devices. That, combined with the misgivings I already had about essentially no parental controls aside from turning off the wifi, made me send it back and order an iPad. I have zero second thoughts about the iPad and the time I don't spend supporting the kindle will pay for the upgrade in a few hours. Also the fact that the iPad just blows it away with quality and is more than just a device for consuming you can do a lot more with it.

Walker Williams · Top Commenter · Brown
Kerry Usry Are there actually any stats saying there is a huge return rate? Or are you basing that on personal experience/opinion?

Dean Hopster
Is anybody downloading apps on these? I've failed to see any increase in downloads with a amazon store top 100 free game since the release.

Raja Muhammad Zeeshanullah · CEO & Founder at Bing Appstore
Yesterday I've used kindle looks like 10 years behind iPad just looks piece of shit infront of iPad.

Tyshaun Hawkins · Princeton
until you compare the price tags.

Raja Muhammad Zeeshanullah · CEO & Founder at Bing Appstore
Tyshaun Hawkins Quality comes with price.

Tyshaun Hawkins · Princeton
Raja Muhammad Zeeshanullah Agreed absolutely. However, you have to consider the "Walmart effect". People have gotten quite used to buying lesser quality products at what is perceived as a huge price break. People want the toy, and apparently aren't that convinced they need the highest quality toys.

Think of it another way...when buying a car people often look for the functions they NEED/WANT, not necessarily the very best car. Not everyone can afford a Mercedes (and most people don't need one for that matter).

David Nguyen · Top Commenter
I'm disappointed to see Amazon release a mediocre ereader/tablet (and I'm comparing this to the Nook Tablet, which runs smoothly) and see it sell that many Kindle Fires. I guess people care more about the price over the quality of the product. But I guess for a 200 dollar tablet that can play practically any video on websites (which is something that can be said about the iPad) that does make it a more compelling purchase.

Matt Hutter
Big mistake in the article....original iPad came out in March 2010.

Unemployed Professors
Max do you have... LIFE? No it's not something you can buy on Kindle...

Gregory Pierce · Top Commenter · Atlanta, Georgia
Its basic economics. A decrease in price will lead to an increase in market opportunity for the product.

Chris Acky · Subscribe · Top Commenter · Indianapolis, Indiana
Is this what they have told you?

Benjamin Gibson · Bronx, New York
I love my kindle fire. If I was paying 3000 in rent and wearing flip flops all day and updating flicker on my iphone 4s then I would buy an ipad.

Bishwajeet Mahato · Subscribe · Founder & CEO at Comptalks.com
Fire is poor man's iPad :)

Alejandro Hernández
WOW

Mathew Herrera-Cluck
you get what you pay for.