Where should I buy a Kindle Fire?

[cvrapclark]

Just wondering if I should just go to like Best Buy or are there any discounts online or gifts with purchase.

Thanks!

 

[HLAuburn]

I've been looking around at prices and can't find it for less than $199. If you order directly from amazon.com, you get free shipping and no tax...might save you a few bucks over Best Buy.

 

[sPaRkLeSpAz]

My parents have been looking for one for my sister! 199 is the lowest price they keep finding too.

 

[DVCLiz]

Since the Kindle Fire was only released two weeks ago and is brand new, I doubt you'll find it cheaper anywhere. Go ahead and order one from Amazon!!

They are so fun - I'm really enjoying mine so far. It can do almost everything my iPad can do and I really like the Amazon streaming library - I'm a Prime member so I've watched several free movies already.

 

[HLAuburn]

Since the Kindle Fire was only released two weeks ago and is brand new, I doubt you'll find it cheaper anywhere. Go ahead and order one from Amazon!!

They are so fun - I'm really enjoying mine so far. It can do almost everything my iPad can do and I really like the Amazon streaming library - I'm a Prime member so I've watched several free movies already.

Sorry to stray off topic a bit, but I really want a tablet for Christmas and I'm debating what kind to get. I mostly want it for checking email, web browsing, Facebook, Angry Birds (for the kids, of course ) and I'm not really much of a book reader, but I like the magazine options. Would the Kindle Fire be a waste if you didn't use it as an e-reader?

Also, can you explain how movies work? If you purchase one, is it then "loaded" onto the Fire? For instance, can you watch it in the car or do you have to have some sort of internet connection to watch? Sorry, I'm definitely not a techie and all this tablet stuff is new to me!

Thanks

 

[DVCLiz]

Sorry to stray off topic a bit, but I really want a tablet for Christmas and I'm debating what kind to get. I mostly want it for checking email, web browsing, Facebook, Angry Birds (for the kids, of course ) and I'm not really much of a book reader, but I like the magazine options. Would the Kindle Fire be a waste if you didn't use it as an e-reader?

Also, can you explain how movies work? If you purchase one, is it then "loaded" onto the Fire? For instance, can you watch it in the car or do you have to have some sort of internet connection to watch? Sorry, I'm definitely not a techie and all this tablet stuff is new to me!

Thanks

I think the Fire would be perfect for what you want. You do have to have wireless access in order to browse the web and check FaceBook and your email, so that is a limitation if you are traveling outside your home anywhere and can't find a wifi hotspot. I have been pleasantly surprised, though - I have taken mine out "into the wild" several times lately and most of my usual lunch spots have wifi. Not all, of course, but I have an iPhone with a 3G plan so I have a back up for those times when I am out of wifi range and need/want to check email, go online, or check FaceBook or Twitter. You'll have to decide how much of an inconvenience it would be to be out of wifi range for your particular situation. If you want a tablet with 3G access remember you'll have a monthly plan to pay for - that is not the case with the Fire.

The movies are great - I am also an Amazon Prime member ($79 per year) so I get free two day shipping on all Amazon purchases, and they are offering a new service for Prime members through the Fire. There are a certain number of movies and TV shows that Prime members can view for free. You must be in wifi range in order to stream anything from the Amazon Video Library.

HOWEVER, if you rent or buy a movie from Amazon, you can move it to your Fire and it stays in the memory and can be viewed WITHOUT needing internet service. So, you could download three or four movies and give the Fire to your kids for a long car trip, etc. They could watch the movies without needing to access the internet.

When you are finished with the movies, you move them back to the Amazon Cloud (if you bought them) or they disappear (if you rented them.) Purchased material can stay on the cloud forever, and you can move the movies/TV shows back and forth to your Fire whenever you want - when you have a wifi connection.

Magazines are great, too - and they can be acccessed anytime without wifi after you have purchased them. You do need the internet to purchase and download them the first time. Some magazines you can purchase from Amazon per issue, and some magazines have stand alone apps. You subscribe to the paper version of the magazine and can download the digital version free through the app itself. My People, New Yorker, and Vanity Fair magazines work like this. I think you can subscribe to the digital only version but it is more expensive, and since I still have paper subscriptions to those three magazines I haven't checked it out yet.

All of my other magazines I use an app callled Zinio, which lets me subscribe to all the magazines I usually read and have digital downloads. I've been doing that on my iPad but would like to have it on my Fire, too. The Zinio app isn't currently working well for the Fire - maybe Amazon is making it a little more difficult because they would rather you buy your magazines from their store - but people have reported ways to work around the glitch and get Zinio to work on the Fire, so it can be done.

Whew, this is a long post!! Hope it helps though if anyone else has the same questions.

 

[HLAuburn]

I think the Fire would be perfect for what you want. You do have to have wireless access in order to browse the web and check FaceBook and your email, so that is a limitation if you are traveling outside your home anywhere and can't find a wifi hotspot. I have been pleasantly surprised, though - I have taken mine out "into the wild" several times lately and most of my usual lunch spots have wifi. Not all, of course, but I have an iPhone with a 3G plan so I have a back up for those times when I am out of wifi range and need/want to check email, go online, or check FaceBook or Twitter. You'll have to decide how much of an inconvenience it would be to be out of wifi range for your particular situation. If you want a tablet with 3G access remember you'll have a monthly plan to pay for - that is not the case with the Fire.

The movies are great - I am also an Amazon Prime member ($79 per year) so I get free two day shipping on all Amazon purchases, and they are offering a new service for Prime members through the Fire. There are a certain number of movies and TV shows that Prime members can view for free. You must be in wifi range in order to stream anything from the Amazon Video Library.

HOWEVER, if you rent or buy a movie from Amazon, you can move it to your Fire and it stays in the memory and can be viewed WITHOUT needing internet service. So, you could download three or four movies and give the Fire to your kids for a long car trip, etc. They could watch the movies without needing to access the internet.

When you are finished with the movies, you move them back to the Amazon Cloud (if you bought them) or they disappear (if you rented them.) Purchased material can stay on the cloud forever, and you can move the movies/TV shows back and forth to your Fire whenever you want - when you have a wifi connection.

Magazines are great, too - and they can be acccessed anytime without wifi after you have purchased them. You do need the internet to purchase and download them the first time. Some magazines you can purchase from Amazon per issue, and some magazines have stand alone apps. You subscribe to the paper version of the magazine and can download the digital version free through the app itself. My People, New Yorker, and Vanity Fair magazines work like this. I think you can subscribe to the digital only version but it is more expensive, and since I still have paper subscriptions to those three magazines I haven't checked it out yet.

All of my other magazines I use an app callled Zinio, which lets me subscribe to all the magazines I usually read and have digital downloads. I've been doing that on my iPad but would like to have it on my Fire, too. The Zinio app isn't currently working well for the Fire - maybe Amazon is making it a little more difficult because they would rather you buy your magazines from their store - but people have reported ways to work around the glitch and get Zinio to work on the Fire, so it can be done.

Whew, this is a long post!! Hope it helps though if anyone else has the same questions.

That was awesome! Thanks for the info....I really appreciate the help!

 

[DVCLiz]

That was awesome! Thanks for the info....I really appreciate the help!

Anytime! I am a big Kindle/Amazon fan, so I always like to talk about them.

Of course there are other brands out there, and only you know how much you are willing to spend, etc. I have an iPad that was four times the cost of the Fire and I still think it is an excellent product with a bigger screen, more storage, and a 3G option so I am never "offline."

But for $199 the Fire is a great product, too.

Sometimes it depends on what "ecosystem" you want to be involved with. If you routinely shop at Barnes & Noble you might want to go with a Nook Color, which is their version of the tablet/ereader. I don't know very much about their feature set, but it's another option to explore.

And, of course, there are lots of tablets on the market not hooked up to one particular store or brand at all. I just like knowing that Amazon is behind my products, and that they will store all of my material, etc. for me. If I buy a new Kindle all of my previously purchased books are there for me.

I like that they are offering special incentives to Prime members. I like that they have special offers on the eink Kindles - I just saved $5 off a $10 purchase from Amazon this morning. I just like the whole concept.

I didn't mention the Fire as an ereader but of course it has full capability with your Kindle library and you can download and read all of your books. It has the same settings as the regular Kindles but I don't enjoy reading on a backlit screen as much as I do a regular eink screen. If I set the background color to sepia and dim the brightness a little I can read for several hours but I still prefer the eink instead of the backlit screen. Just personal preference.

 

[beccasmom]

If you purchase the Fire at Target and use a Red Card, you'll get 5% off. If they have them; I know K3's were hard to find at Target early on. They may be tough to find during the holiday season.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

If you purchase the Fire at Target and use a Red Card, you'll get 5% off. If they have them; I know K3's were hard to find at Target early on. They may be tough to find during the holiday season.

But you have to take into account sales tax if you do this.

I don't get charged sales tax when I shop on Amazon since they do not have a physical presence in my state. Sales tax here is 6% so I would actually end up spending more if I were to buy it at Target.

If your sales tax is less than 5% or if Amazon has a physical presence in your state, then this would probably be your best bet on getting a discount.

 

[Sandy321]

I've been researching the Fire -

imho - its not a good ereader! The Kindle has e-ink, no glare, can be read outside, easy on the eyes - not so The Fire... The Kindle has an option to take your ebooks and move them into "collections" (so I have over 100 books, but if I want a Christmas book, or a Fiction, non fiction, or a book by a particular author - I have my books organized - my own library! Now the Fire doesnt have that option yet)

over on the Amazon discussion threads there are lots of threads discussing the Fire, and they all tell you to make sure you know what you want, what you intend to use it for (some have bought it for kids as young as 5 and are shocked that there are no parental controls)

I admit, just reading about it, I had no interest in The Fire - then I went to Best Buy... omg - I want one!! roflol...

also dd was disappointed she couldnt access her google docs on the fire...

 

[DVCLiz]

I've been researching the Fire -

imho - its not a good ereader! The Kindle has e-ink, no glare, can be read outside, easy on the eyes - not so The Fire... The Kindle has an option to take your ebooks and move them into "collections" (so I have over 100 books, but if I want a Christmas book, or a Fiction, non fiction, or a book by a particular author - I have my books organized - my own library! Now the Fire doesnt have that option yet)

over on the Amazon discussion threads there are lots of threads discussing the Fire, and they all tell you to make sure you know what you want, what you intend to use it for (some have bought it for kids as young as 5 and are shocked that there are no parental controls)

I admit, just reading about it, I had no interest in The Fire - then I went to Best Buy... omg - I want one!! roflol...

also dd was disappointed she couldnt access her google docs on the fire...

The Fire - and the iPad, and other LCD devices - ARE good ereaders IF IF IF you are comfortable reading on a backlit screen. Some people find it to be a perfectly good reading experience, others like the eink better. It's not fair to say that the machine itself isn't a good product for reading when it is purely personal preference that makes it good or bad as a reader. Many people prefer a backlit screen for nighttime reading and think the Fire is great for that purpose.

I find that the eink is better for me, but I will say that when I went on vacation once with my iPad but without my Kindle, I used the controls to change the background color to sepia, dimmed the brightness level a little, and read three books in two days in perfect comfort.

YYMV but I think both are fabulous devices.

The Collections issue isn't really that big of a deal since you can download things back and forth so easily from the Cloud to the device itself. I don't load up a lot of books on my Fire because it's only an 8G machine and I want room for some downloaded movies, too. So I choose 8 or 10 of the books I know I will be reading next and download them, leaving the others in my eink Kindle beautifully organized. It's really not a big deal for me and certainly not a reason to buy or not to buy a Fire as an ereader, in my opinion.

 

[cvrapclark]

OP here!! So now my 13 yo says she wants the Kindle with keyboard. I am totally unfamiliar with Kindle and such. But after researching a little, I see the one that has wi-fi or 3g. The 3g is the same price. It's saying that the 3g is free.

Please help me KINDLE EXPERTS!!

 

[scottmel]

OP here!! So now my 13 yo says she wants the Kindle with keyboard. I am totally unfamiliar with Kindle and such. But after researching a little, I see the one that has wi-fi or 3g. The 3g is the same price. It's saying that the 3g is free.

Please help me KINDLE EXPERTS!!

The 3g is free. Amazon picks up the tab for you to say buy a book or a movie if you are say in the middle of a cornfield with no WI FI available.The 3g kicks in for free - no service fee - thus allowing you to utilize amazon.com via a free 3g service.

 

[luvthemouse71]

The 3G on the Kindle Keyboards can be used to check email and web browse( although this is not optimal with e-ink, it's great in a pinch) where as on the 3G Kindle Touch, the 3G only works for shopping the Amazon store or downloading books.

The Kindle Keyboard is still a popular choice out there..if the 3 Gis the same price as the wifi one, I'd go with the 3G. Amazon foots the cost of the 3G, you don't have to purchase a plan.

 

[DVCLiz]

OP here!! So now my 13 yo says she wants the Kindle with keyboard. I am totally unfamiliar with Kindle and such. But after researching a little, I see the one that has wi-fi or 3g. The 3g is the same price. It's saying that the 3g is free.

Please help me KINDLE EXPERTS!!

The Kindle Keyboard is a great choice. It has an eink screen, so reading on it will be just like reading on paper -and she will need a light source since the device is not backlit. She will be able to read on it outside in bright sunlight or inside with a lamp or book light.

The 3G service on the Kindle Keyboard is free (ie paid for by Amazon, not you!) and it allows the user to access the Amazon store in order to purchase and download books instantly. It also allows access to the full internet, so if that is a concern for you, be aware of it and put some rules in place for your daughter. I will say that the browser is sl-ooooooo-w and clunky, not at all what you are used to with a fast internet connection. BUT, it will eventually get you most places on the internet. I have used it to read the DIS while on vacation before, for example.

A 13 year old who has researched and decided on a particular style of eink Kindle is probably not the kind of kid who wants to surf the web for porn. She sounds like a good reader who is looking for a device that will let her read and have access to the Amazon bookstore. I would applaud this and get it for her, along with an Amazon gift card and a few new books to start her with.

You can "gift" books for someone who has an Amazon account and a Kindle, did you know that? Just purchase, select the option to send as a gift and select the date you want it delivered, and the recipient will have it on that day. Easy peasy, and a great new service, as Amazon previously did not have the select date of delivery option and you could only buy the book and send it instantly.

The other decision you'll have to make with the Kindle Keyboard is whether or not to purchase the Special Offers model. All eink Kindles have something that pops up when the Kindle is in sleep mode. There are an assortment of images based on various authors for the traditional models - the Special Offers Kindle replaces these auhtor images with an advertisement from one of their major sponsors - Bank of America, Chrysler, etc. The ad shows up as a screensaver when the Kindle is in sleep mode and disappears as soon as you wake the Kindle to begin reading. If you go to your Home page (where the list of your books is) you will see a small ad at the bottom of the page. Those are the only two places ads show up - NEVER while you are reading a book.

In additon to those two ads, there is a menu option to See Speicial Offers. These range from a percentage off an Amazon-sponsored sale (like 25% off one item in the Amazon Denim shop) to a certain amount off a purchase. This morning I got an offer to save $5 on a purchas of $10 or more. I was in the market for a cook book so I purchased one at $10.74, applied my Special Offer code, and saved $5. I'm also an Amazon Prime, member, so I got the book for $5.74 with free two day shipping.

I have the Special Offers eink Kindle and it has saved me more than the price of the Kindle already. There have been offers for things like 50% off a cover for your Kindle, buy a $20 Amazon gift card for $10, etc. Not every offer will be of interest to you but some are and if you are willing to see those ads (which don't bother me in the least) then you can save moeny. No guarantee they will repeat an offer but I have seen several pop up more than once.

If the Kindle is attached to your account and your credit card, you as the parent will be able to use the Speical Offer codes even though the Kindle is techincally your daughter's gift. If you make a new account and put it in her name only, she would have to use the Special Offers.

 

[cvrapclark]

Thanks!! She reads all the time!! That is what she wants it for. She has access to her laptop at home, our Ipad, and then at school in May, every student is getting a Mac. So she has plenty of options for internet. She just wants it for reading.

I read that it is lighter. That's a plus. Now, I do catch her at times reading with very low light, so that's a concern.

Thanks for the info on the special offers one because I didn't catch that. IT sounds like that may be a good choice for her because she can then tell me about specials.

Can you list what you would choose as 1st choice, 2nd choice, etc?

THANKS!

 

[Sandy321]

Thanks DVCLiz -

DD and I both have the eink Kindle (we just have wifi plus my mom is on our account - I got her 3G as she travels, but she rarely uses it)

DD is 15 - she "buys" books through her kindle, on the keyboard - I navigate on the computer - I check several sites and usually just "buy" free books (my favorite sites are kindleboards.com, amazon.com/discussion, and ereaderiq.com) DD is a voracious reader, and we support her - we buy her "gift" cards - but since we all 3 share an account, I'm the accountant, I just make sure there is money on our account, so when she wants to buy a book, there is money there-

to "buy" free books, you do have to set up the account with a CC# - and I try and keep a balance (thru gift cards) of $20 - so if mom or DD need or want something - so far, its never been an issue for us.

DD also uses the keyboard to play a few "games" (I cant think of what they are, but she enjoys it while waiting in line, or other times when she desnt want to be involved in a story)

 

[Sandy321]

Thanks!! She reads all the time!! That is what she wants it for. She has access to her laptop at home, our Ipad, and then at school in May, every student is getting a Mac. So she has plenty of options for internet. She just wants it for reading.

I read that it is lighter. That's a plus. Now, I do catch her at times reading with very low light, so that's a concern.

Thanks for the info on the special offers one because I didn't catch that. IT sounds like that may be a good choice for her because she can then tell me about specials.

Can you list what you would choose as 1st choice, 2nd choice, etc?

THANKS!

also, we have a cover for DD Kindle - but she loves how light it is, and often takes it off the cover, but she "stores' her kindle by keeping it in the cover. Know that the Kindle is precious - dd screen "broke" (there were black lines vertical and horizontal - I called Kindle support - they replaced it - 2 days! DH just reminded her, it is still a computer screen

I bought her a light from Target - but like your dd, if there is light, she wont use any other - the e-ink is so easy on the eyes, that its not a concern, its so like reading a book!

 

[DVCLiz]

Thanks!! She reads all the time!! That is what she wants it for. She has access to her laptop at home, our Ipad, and then at school in May, every student is getting a Mac. So she has plenty of options for internet. She just wants it for reading.

I read that it is lighter. That's a plus. Now, I do catch her at times reading with very low light, so that's a concern.

Thanks for the info on the special offers one because I didn't catch that. IT sounds like that may be a good choice for her because she can then tell me about specials.

Can you list what you would choose as 1st choice, 2nd choice, etc?

THANKS!

I would buy her the 3G+wifi Kindle Keyboard with Special Offers, a lighted cover for the Kindle Keyboard from Amazon, and a gift card! That would be the perfect choice in my opinion.

Second choice would be the wifi only Kindle Keyboard with Special Offers.

There have been only a few instances where I was somewhere and didn't have access to wifi in order to purchase or download a book, but when I needed it and didn't have it it was frustrating, and now that the prices of Kindles have dropped, I think it's worth the investment to have easy access all the time and a backup way to get on the internet. It's a feature I find really useful but it does cost more.