

Thoughts on the Amazon Kindle Fire - PStamatiou
http://paulstamatiou.com/amazon-kindle-fire

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potatolicious
> _"One is great for movies with a larger screen (and that is just about the
> only thing my iPad gets used for"_

And this is why I think Kindle Fire has a chance.

The author himself admits that his iPad is really only good for movie
watching. Well, now you can do it for a shockingly low price of $200, and
everything streams from the internet, no long download or sync necessary.

Remember all the people complaining about the iPad being a pure media
consumption device, and how that will destroy the creativity of the world?
Well, this is that idea taken to the extreme - this device practically _does
nothing else_. And I think it will work.

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daed
Here's what I wonder, though - how often do people watch movies at home on a
7" screen? Don't they have a better (larger) option? The reason I ask is with
no 3G and only 8GB of storage, the Fire doesn't strike me as being all that
great for watching movies on the go.

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potatolicious
I have this concern also. I'm imagining the really ideal use cases - chilling
out at a coffee shop, waiting for a flight, etc... and all of the above have
shaky/low-bandwidth WiFi at best. Really, it's only at _home_ where you're
likely to get the amount of bandwidth necessary to stream a movie at
acceptable quality.

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patrickgzill
I think Paul is missing the point. It doesn't have to be one or the other
(e-Ink vs color LCD).

You can't watch videos on e-Ink.

While the market for e-books is large, the market for e-books + videos + color
magazines + other content is of course, far larger.

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PStamatiou
I was just hoping for Amazon to bring something new to the table:

"I was talking about the rumored Kindle Fire tablet with my cofounder the
other day. My point was that for it to really work, Amazon would have to
deliver on both the tablet/media aspect while simultaneously maintaining the
solid reading experience — most likely through a hybrid screen that can easily
switch to e-Ink when you are outside or wish to read in a glare-free, black
and white mode. Such displays have been in the works since 2009 (search for
Pixel Qi e-Ink / LCD hybrid), and it would be great to see Amazon pull a home-
run with such tech in their latest device."

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mechanical_fish
_a hybrid screen that can easily switch to e-Ink when you are outside_

I'm just not buying the utility of this. e-Ink-based Kindles are now at the
$80 price point, which for someone who can afford Kindle books is darned close
to the "afterthought" level. They don't weigh a lot -- under _six_ ounces! --
because they have an enormous battery life, so they don't need a big battery.
So why not just buy an e-Ink Kindle _and_ an iPad?

Just toss them both in the bag. When the sun is out, pull out the one; when
it's time for Angry Birds, pull out the other. When it's time to read a book
_while_ playing Angry Birds, use one in each hand. Or, when all I want to do
is read, I get to save weight and theft risk and damage risk and distraction
risk by just carrying the cheapo Kindle around.

Are we going to save money with the e-Ink/LCD hybrid screen? I doubt it: Even
if it is ready for prime time, I bet it would tend to add more than $80 to the
final price of a Kindle Fire. It's odd, it's new, it's more complicated, and (
_ahem_ ) it's got twice the IP licensing costs, at least, because e-Ink is
still patented, is it not? And, worse, it would introduce a big layer of
complication into the development of Kindle Fire apps. Isn't Android
fragmented enough? Do you really want to force Android developers who want to
target the Kindle Fire to have to decide _which layer of the screen_ their
graphics should address? All for no greater purpose than pleasing the five
users who desperately want a tablet, and who desperately want an e-Ink Kindle,
but who can't bear to own both at the same time, one for each hand?

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ssp
This is spot on. All-in-one devices inevitably have to make compromises on
features, price, quality, or battery life, which make them less good at any
particular thing. This is also why I think Paul Graham is overestimating how
much special-purpose devices will be replaced by tablets.

People who actually care about photography won't be happy with a cellphone
camera. Book readers probably won't. Mobile game consoles might, but it's not
a given. Apple still sold 7.5 million iPods in Q3 2011.

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sudoscience
"At first glance the Fire looks like a hybrid between the failed Barnes &
Noble Nook and the also 7-inch screen Samsung Galaxy Tab."

About 40% of the people I know who have e-readers didn't give a damn about
eInk and chose the Nook.

The rest of this comes off as "Waaaah, I don't want Angry Birds on my Kindle"
to which I say: buy one of the _two_ new eInk models...

~~~
drivebyacct2
No kidding! Even if I granted that a new brand-space might make sense, if you
want a dedicated e-reader, then buy one. I love the e-ink, and I would not buy
an iPad/Android/Kindle with a backlight as an e-reader device, but mostly
people don't understand and say "wait, I can't read it in the dark?".

I feel the author missed the point almost entirely. Android has been hurting
because Google repeatedly fails to deliver on an integrated media experience.
Amazon can bring streaming video, TV partnerships, books, music and apps,
_today_. All by themselves, in their own ecosystem on their own devices. This
is the closest thing to an iTunes (and iTunes' library) competitor.

~~~
Yhippa
I agree. I feel that the Kindle Fire is Amazon's physical manifestation of
it's online services. Whereas Google provides Android as a foundation for
other hardware manufacturers to use this is a distinct offering from any other
tablet in the market. You have Amazon building a targeted consumption device
for apps, games, books, and video.

This is indeed a compelling offering. It's a one-stop shop. Rather than
content providers fighting with Apple. Amazon as the content provider is not
doing that and making it easier for Average Joe's like me to consume content.
Much like Apple did with music and iTunes years ago.

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jstanderfer
Can't we wait for reviews of the actual shipping product before making
sweeping conclusions about its pros and cons?

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tmcw
I can't agree more with this evaluation. I'm happy that at least Amazon didn't
kill off the e-ink Kindle.

Doing a lot of testing, I use an iPad 1, iPad 2, MacBook, Galaxy Tab, iPhone,
and a netbook near-daily. My favorite electronic device is definitely my
Kindle, because it doesn't feel technical and encourages me to do things - to
read often, and pay attention - that I want to do in my heart of hearts, not
things I'm distracted into doing, like cheap games and so-called social
networking.

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sliverstorm
Just buy both? They are different products with different goals. "Kindle"
doesn't mean they are both _reading_ devices, "Kindle" means they are both
_media_ devices.

