Question Kindle Fire

[opticle]

Anyone got one of these ?

What can they actually do ? Are they purely for movies / books off the Amazon store ?

They look really affordable and I'm very tempted to get one as an Xmas present for a loved one.. I just don't want to get them an expensive brick.

 

[DaGaffer]

Anyone got one of these ?

What can they actually do ? Are they purely for movies / books off the Amazon store ?

They look really affordable and I'm very tempted to get one as an Xmas present for a loved one.. I just don't want to get them an expensive brick.

An Android Tab configured to consume Amazon content (although you can access other content as well, just not as easily). Personally, I'd get a Nexus 7 if you're in the market for an Android Tab; you can still access Amazon (Kindle app etc.) but you're not as locked in.

 

[Nate]

Is the samsung tab 2 7 any good too? I'm going to buy two tablets for my parents this xmas

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/samsung-galaxy-tab-2-7-tablet-8-gb-14272574-pdt.html

Was thinking of the kindle fire for mum and samsung for dad

 

[Vae]

Basic (non HD) Kindle is only £99 rather than £129 at the moment so quite appealing but I'm also wondering how it compares to the Nexus 7 and IPad Mini. We're already in apple's walled garden with a couple of iPhones and an iPad 2 so there are some advantages to sticking with it.

 

[Nate]

As I said in the other thread you can get a better deal with pc world and I think that's all the time anyway vae.

 

[opticle]

Thanks for the advices guys - appreciated. It's hard to tell what's what these days without test-driving them all. I'm a big fan of the Kindle but aware that doesn't exactly translate to the true Tabs - though the Fire is a nice price.

 

[Nate]

does the kindle fire have as much battery if you only use it as a reader as the normal kindle?

 

[DaGaffer]

does the kindle fire have as much battery if you only use it as a reader as the normal kindle?

No.

 

[Tom]

The Nexus 7 has a Kindle app so I'd get that. Apparently they're selling like hot cakes.

I think I may get a Nexus 10 for Christmas.

 

[Nate]

http://www.theverge.com/products/compare/5831/2506/3767/5147 product specs comparison for nexus 7, kindle fire, nook tablet and galaxy tab 2 7

Seems you get a better processor and os with the nexus but it is £50 more, get a front & back facing camera and better display on the samsung.

 

[DaGaffer]

http://www.theverge.com/products/compare/5831/2506/3767/5147 product specs comparison for nexus 7, kindle fire, nook tablet and galaxy tab 2 7

Seems you get a better processor and os with the nexus but it is £50 more, get a front & back facing camera and better display on the samsung.

Bear in mind the Samsung will never get any upgrades (I've had a Galaxy Tab for nearly two years and there's been zip) and the rear camera is largely a waste of time (I've used it for the odd whiteboard capture onto evernote, but I could have done it just as easily from my phone). The expandable memory is a bit more useful, but bizarrely they seem to have reduced the on board memory compared to my first gen tab (which has 16GB on board) so the overall memory is only 8GB more than the Nexus anyway (8 on +32 sd v. 32 on). I do find storage capacity to be an issue because I watch a lot of videos, and at least for me, cloud backups don't compensate.

The only other big plus for the Samsung (for me anyway) is that it has data connectivity rather than just wi-fi, but there's always tethering.

 

[Mabs]

i thought this was about luddites, im most disappointed

 

[opticle]

Bear in mind the Samsung will never get any upgrades (I've had a Galaxy Tab for nearly two years and there's been zip).

As in software / OS ?

I never understand cameras other than front facing for Skype etc. on tablets, you just look like a complete tool if you try to use it.

It's an unfortunate marketing trick that reduces the usefulness of the tablet imo - the marketers can say OMFG TWO CAMERAS!!!11 and the goons think its a good thing, when in fact all it does is push cost up and/or reduce the other stuff you can have on board.

 

[rynnor]

An Android Tab configured to consume Amazon content (although you can access other content as well, just not as easily). Personally, I'd get a Nexus 7 if you're in the market for an Android Tab; you can still access Amazon (Kindle app etc.) but you're not as locked in.

I bought a Kindle Fire HD for the eldest - it does try to lock you in to their content but its easy to get around that with a little tech savvy - I have put our own films/music etc. on there.

The main drawback of all these tablets is the very limited onboard storage which prevents you putting too much on there - good for playing android apps though.

 

[opticle]

Can you stream over Wifi, e.g. from another computers HDD, easily ? Or would the quality be smeg ?

 

[rynnor]

Can you stream over Wifi, e.g. from another computers HDD, easily ? Or would the quality be smeg ?

I haven't tried but assume it would be ok as long as your not streaming hd

 

[DaGaffer]

Can you stream over Wifi, e.g. from another computers HDD, easily ? Or would the quality be smeg ?

You can with the Nexus - dlna onboard (although how well it works I've no idea). You can get Plex for Android (reviews are mixed) and there are probably other tools available as well. No XBMC for Android yet but I believe they've announced they're working on it.

 

[Zenith.UK]

Something to bear in mind about the Kindle Fire HD is the £159 price is for the ad-sponsored version. You get adverts on the lockscreen.
You have to pay £169 for the one with no lockscreen ads. A neighbour got one a couple of weeks ago. It's alright as far as tablets go, but it's not the powerhouse that a Nexus 7 is.

 

[rynnor]

Something to bear in mind about the Kindle Fire HD is the £159 price is for the ad-sponsored version. You get adverts on the lockscreen.
You have to pay £169 for the one with no lockscreen ads. A neighbour got one a couple of weeks ago. It's alright as far as tablets go, but it's not the powerhouse that a Nexus 7 is.

You just buy the with ads one - its just a picture on the lock screen so not invasive and if you do decide you really dont like it you can remove them at anytime for a tenner.

 

[MYstIC G]

You can with the Nexus - dlna onboard (although how well it works I've no idea). You can get Plex for Android (reviews are mixed) and there are probably other tools available as well. No XBMC for Android yet but I believe they've announced they're working on it.

Skifta for android seems to take care of DLNA for me on my HP Touchpad running Cyanogenmod (for those without the nexus)

 

[Hawkwind]

The Nexus 7 has a Kindle app so I'd get that. Apparently they're selling like hot cakes.

I think I may get a Nexus 10 for Christmas.

Is there any tablet that doesn't have a kndle app? Seem to have everything covered from what I've seen.