Anyone Get a Kindle Fire?

[FairyGodmotherJen]

I got a Fire for my birthday, and I have really enjoyed it. Of course, you have to take into account that I don't even have a smartphone, let alone an Ipad. I was able to hit Panera on my half day off the other day, and while I was sitting there, I searched for online prices on two items I would be shopping for that afternoon, then was able to read the novel I was working on. It's what I need at the moment. Plus, my kids are now addicted to Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja.

As far as downsides go, I don't have many complaints. I do think the screen is a little small to watch videos on (but, on the other hand, it fits in my purse). I tried to look up some of the Black Friday ads before I went shopping, and spent a lot of time making the picture bigger to read the details, then going back to the normal view to see the rest of the items. I also am having trouble finding an online calendar app I like, which is something else I really wanted access to. I'm hoping Google Calendar might be available soon. But other than that, I'm getting a lot of use out of it!

 

[stitchlover]

I am thinking of a Kindle Fire for our 16 year old daughter for Christmas. Few questions for anyone who has one or has played with one. Can you access youtube from the Fire?

Our daughter would like an iPad but we are just not ready to drop that kind of money on one for her. I want her to be able to download and watch TV shows and movies, books and if possible do a little internet surfing when she isn't at home with her laptop.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. I know it's not an iPad but I worry would she be disappointed?

Thanks!

 

[aspen37]

I bought my Fire yesterday and I really like it. I have a Mac and iPhone, but wanted an andriod badsed tablet to round out my collection. I knew that all 7" tablets have an issue viewing some apps and webpages before I bought it. Considering it costs as much as my iPhone I think it's well worth the money. I bought mine at Target and received a $10 giftcard for purchasing the Fire. I'm using it now to post this. I do agree that the app store needs more apps. I found that the pages turn much faster than I expected and toggling through all my boooks and apps is also faster than I thought it would be.

 

[NC State Tigger]

I've been pretty pleased with mine. I think if I had an ipad it wouldn't really get used, but since I don't, it's been great! Now I just need to figure out how to make it waterproof so I can read in the bathtub!

I dropped my kindle in the bathtub (not just once, but two times )

The first time, I dried it out and got everything working except on of the "back page" buttons. I had been putting it in a large zip lock bag when reading in the tub--but got lazy a couple of times and forgot the zip lock. Result after the last mishap---no working kindle.

Been thinking about upgrading to the kindle fire. If I were to get the fire could/would amazon be able to transfer my books to the new tablet. I have seen a waterproof case for one of the kindle products (can't remember which one-not the fire). Saw the case after mine drowned.

 

[sayhello]

I dropped my kindle in the bathtub (not just once, but two times )

The first time, I dried it out and got everything working except on of the "back page" buttons. I had been putting it in a large zip lock bag when reading in the tub--but got lazy a couple of times and forgot the zip lock. Result after the last mishap---no working kindle.

Been thinking about upgrading to the kindle fire. If I were to get the fire could/would amazon be able to transfer my books to the new tablet. I have seen a waterproof case for one of the kindle products (can't remember which one-not the fire). Saw the case after mine drowned.

From amazon's kindle forum:

Q: How do I transfer books from an existing Kindle to my new Kindle Fire?
A: All Kindle purchases from the Kindle Store are automatically backed up online at Amazon and available through your Archived Items on your Kindle or online at the Manage Your Kindle page. You can re-download content wirelessly for free, anytime.

Sayhello

 

[aspen37]

I have the Kindle app on my iPhone. When I registered the Fire all my books where transverse over.

 

[aspen37]

I have the Kindle app on my iPhone. When I registered the Fire all my books where transverse over.

 

[stitchlover]

We did end up getting our daughter the Fire for Christmas. She really likes it.

I have a Kindle Keyboard and an iPad but my mom sent me a Kindle Fire as a surprise yesterday. I know the functions completely overlap but I get to where I hate looking for a light source for my Kindle and don't want to drag my IPad all over the place. I can't say I will use the Kindle for surfing the Internet that much but I am loving the backlit reader. I'm sure on trips I will continue to take my iPad for watching videos.

Did anyone else get one for Christmas? What do you guys think?

 

[itsmuggsie]

I bought my DP one for Christmas. She absolutely loves it.

She previously was using a Dell Streak 7 tablet, but my daughter threw mine on the floor and broke it beyond repair. We have a data service from T-mobile so I ended up getting a hotspot for my DP to use with her Kindle and I have her Streak. Best thing I ever did for her.

We have Amazon prime so she loves the free streaming movies, she watches them at work. shhh don't tell anyone. She loves that she has her books and videos on one thing.

 

[dmccarty]

I bought a Kindle Fire in early December.

It is Kevin's fault.

I am an avid reader and book collector. I like a physical book to hold and the first ebooks were just too expensive. Pricing has gotten better but you really have to check prices. Many of the books I read are NOT in ebook format either which is another problem.

I bought the Kindle for a variety of reasons. One the Kindle version of the Wall Street Journal is half the price of the paper version. I have to take stacks of paper to the dump and store it between trips. Our mail box is 1/2 mile from the house so getting the paper can require a trip. The Fire, FINALLY, got an app to read the WSJ. It is a bit buggy but I am sure it will improve with time. I stopped the paper WSJ and now only get the Fire version.

In a year the savings from canceling the paper WSJ will pay for the Fire. It is VERY nice to use the exercise bike and read the paper on the Fire.

Another plus for the Fire is reading in the dark. I can read in bed and not disturb the wifey. I can get some magazines subscriptions on the Fire which is good. I would rather have Kindle versions than paper. Paper is just one more thing to toss out. AND some of the magazines have layouts that can be hard to read with older eyes.

The Fire is a danged good tablet. I did not buy it for that function, I really just wanted a reader, but I have been very surprised how much I use it to view Internet content. I have not had any problems with viewing my usual websites.

Why is this Kevin's fault? Well I head him praise the Kindle after his operations and his comments made sense. eBook prices have improved but they are still not where they should be so I still buy books. I bought a bunch at XMAS from a book club the books ended up being $10 for hard backs. They were not even offered in eBook format. eBooks will not cover everything I read but it is good enough.

I have a quite a few of the Fox Fire books stored up in boxes since I do not have the shelf space. I read a reference to a subject in the Fox Fire books so I check out Amazon. Fox Fire has bundled some of their information in eBook format and it was very nice to buy them for $3-4. It was worth $3-4 to download wanted I wanted to read versus trying to find the particular book in storage. Being able to click and read is very addictive compared to buying a physical book and waiting for them to show up.

I have been very impressed with the Fire. The WSJ app is a bit buggy but it will improve over time and it is saving me time and money. I had quite a bit of problems with the WSJ subscription. These problems are solved at this point and would not happen to anyone else but I was very impressed with Amazon support. I spent 45 minutes on the phone with Amazon on a Saturday night working on the problem. It eventually turned out the problem was with the WSJ. Amazon support was great.

We bought one of the kids the smaller Kindle. I really like the Fire better. I thought I would like the controls on the B&W Kindles better than the Fire but the Fire is much like my smartphone.

Later,
Dan