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I want to get a Kindle.....

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MonkeyBiz101

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Posts: 501

12/14/11 09:13 PM

Amazon to update Kindle Fire tablet computer software

Dec 12, 2011 3:45 PM

Giant online retailer Amazon announced today its plans to update the software for its $199 Kindle Fire tablet computer within the next two weeks. The latest version of the software is said to bring new features, as well as address several performance issues.

According to the New York Times, consumers have raised issues with several aspects of Amazon's Kindle Fire, ranging from sluggish performance to difficulty with Wi-If connections to insufficient volume levels for streamed media.

It is expected that the new firmware will also bring several new features, including multi-touch controls on the tablet's touchscreen, as well as the ability to clear Web browsing histories—a privacy concern raised by lawmakerss and consumer advocates.

An Amazon spokesman told the Times that the Kindle Fire software update will be available in "less than two weeks."

Despite the concerns over performance and possible privacy issues, sales of Kindle Fire—and other tablet computers and e-book readers—have been a bright spot this holiday season.

While Amazon has been mum on exact sales figures, analysts say the online retailer is on track to sell nearly 4 million Kindle Fire units by year end, and give Amazon nearly 14 percent of the global market share for tablet computers. That would place Amazon in second place, behind market leader Apple with its iPad 2 tablet, but nearly triple the estimated 4.5 percent of third-place Samsung, which makes the Galaxy Tab.

Barnes & Noble, which also offers a Nook Tablet computer, also announced today it will be updating its Nook Color e-book reader to offer streaming media content and other tablet-like features.

http://news.consumerreports.org/electronics/2011/12/amazon-to-update-kindle-fire-tablet-computer-software.html

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CBRetriever

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Posts: 49241

12/15/11 12:21 AM

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the global market thing is a bit misleading as the kindle fire has not been released for sale outside the US and isn't fully functional there (streaming media does not work)

BrandonsExWife

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Posts: 1821

12/15/11 01:04 AM

As soon as I heard about the Fire I ordered one, and I now have had it for a few weeks. I am very happy with it overall. I wanted a color e-reader that would run apps, I wasn't looking for laptop type performance. It is great to take on an airplane, or to play games on in a doctor's office. The battery life is fansastic. Screen looks great. Nice size, not too big or small for my purposes. Use it for email, light browsing, buying stuff from amazon, games. Had tried it for movies, it was okay. When I flew to DC and back, 4-5 hour flights, I kept my laptop in the bag and only used the Fire to keep myself entertained.

PennaPennaPenna

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Posts: 6629

12/15/11 02:19 AM

Premium, A1, tight-wad

You must spend a lot of time on airplanes or in doctor's offices. I can't imagine...

CBRetriever

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Posts: 49241

12/15/11 03:02 AM

MESS member

I use mine to read books during my morning commute

LennonFan

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Posts: 1400

12/15/11 05:50 AM

I have the Kindle with WiFi and 3G which has the keyboard on the face, and I'm very satisfied with it. I bought the Kindle Fire for Christmas. It's still sitting in the closet unopened as that's where presents live until the day. I was in contact with Amazon CS to make sure I would be covered in all areas if I didn't open until December 25, and I am. My free month of Prime won't start until I actually open and use and I'm covered as though that were day one.

My question is: is the book part good enough to give my Kindle to my daughter and use the Fire as a reader? I wanted a tablet but seriously, iTunes and Apple can kiss my ass. I have several seasons of Survivor I paid for on iTunes and the sound no longer works. They gave me a link to troubleshoot but that didn't work and now... Apple acts as though I don't exist. No help at all, I'm out as in SOL. I love my iPhone but yeah.

At 199.00, it's less than half the price of an iPad, so I'm hoping it's good enough. What do you all think?

CBRetriever

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Posts: 49241

12/15/11 06:56 AM

MESS member

biggest complaints:

hard to read in direct sunlight
carousel allows everyone who looks at it to see where you've been and what you're reading (bad if you cruise porn sites or read erotica)

LennonFan

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Posts: 1400

12/15/11 07:06 AM

Thanks CBR, I was afraid of that in sunlight issue, my phone is the same. I think I'll keep my first Kindle then too.

I couldn't care less if people can see what I read or sites I visit, there's nothing there I need to keep a secret. The worst that could be said is my daughter calling me a dork or some such shit. That happens all the time. ::sigh::

lilnubber

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Posts: 16044

12/15/11 08:33 PM

Registered user

I bought myself a Kindle Fire and it arrived yesterday. I didn't have much time to play with it last night, but so far, I like it. I, too, have a prior Kindle and I'm keeping it to read outside, in the car, etc.

I thought web browsing was a little slow, though.

MonkeyBiz101

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Posts: 501

12/16/11 05:05 AM

I think I'll wait until after the holidays. I've been reading way more cons than pros about the Kindle Fire. To me there are way too many "fixes" that need to be done to it. It shouldn't have been put on the market until it was thoroughly tested, than all these fixes would not be necessary.

On second thought I think I'll stick with Kindle keyboard 3G + Wi-Fi.

The Kindle Fire's big security problem

By Mark W. Smith, Detroit Free Press

DETROIT – Security concerns are giving some consumers another reason to hold off on the Kindle Fire, one of the holiday's hottest gadget. The Fire, launched with heaps of hype as a possible competitor to the Apple iPad, is a more inexpensive option for buyers looking for a tablet-like experience in an e-reader. But concerns grew this week over the device's security. In order to use the Fire, users must tie it to an Amazon.com account — with credit card on file — that is set up to purchase items with just one click.This means that anyone given access to the device can buy, with just a tap, e-books, apps, TV shows and music.

Even more concerning: If a user has recently logged into the Amazon.com shopping app, the next person who picks up the Fire can use that app to buy anything from the Web giant's catalog, even if the device has briefly gone dormant between uses.

Any items purchased will ship to an address on file with the account. If the second user tries to ship to a new address, the user does lose access to the account holder's credit card.

Amazon said a software fix would come for the device in less than two weeks to address some of the security concerns.

"As with all of our products, we continue to make them better for customers with regular software updates," said Kinley Pearsall, an Amazon spokeswoman.

A new class of device

Easy one-click purchasing has always been standard with the e-ink members of the Kindle family, but the security concerns didn't become such a hot issue until the release of the Fire.

E-ink devices, by their limited nature, are more personal devices. It's also a more cumbersome process to use the device to purchase a book, as it slowly loads each page required in the process.

But the Kindle Fire is a device that many are hoping to share with family members. Some are also hoping to gift the Fire to teenagers — a sort of starter tablet. Giving a teen one-click access to a credit card is not exactly ideal.

Also concerning to some, the Fire's home screen includes a carousel of all of a user's most-recently touched content. When a user opens a book, it will revert to the front of the carousel. When a user then browses to a website, a screen grab of that website heads to the front of the carousel.

That carousel is not editable by the user, so there's no way to hide any of your recent activity from other users.

Amazon confirmed Wednesday to the Detroit Free Press that the pending software update would provide a fix to be able to decide which items appear to be recently used. It will also improve overall performance, Pearsall said.

The Fire's Web browsing history is able to be deleted and a pass code can be set on the device to prevent others from using it.

Competitor has advantage

Amazon's chief competitor here, the Nook Tablet ($250) from Barnes and Noble, does include some security settings.

The Nook Tablet allows users to change the settings to require a password to be typed in for each purchase made on the device.

Barnes and Noble's tablet also allows users to keep recently read items from being displayed as such and can keep a separate area on the device for just apps for kids.

"We like the idea of families being able to share devices," said Wendy Bronfin, Barnes and Noble's senior director of children's digital products.

There have been complaints about the Fire's hardware too — most notably the lack of volume buttons, Bluetooth support and a touch screen that often lags.

Amazon is still expected to sell millions of these devices this year, several analysts have predicted.

For many, the pains of being an early adopter will be worth it. For others, it might be a good time to sit on the sidelines for a bit.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2011-12-14/mark-smith-kindle-fire-privacy/51928222/1?csp=obinsite

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dashbrdparadise

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Posts: 5307

12/27/11 10:38 AM

I don't get
most of the jokes

I love my new Kindle Fire. The only thing I find annoying is the carousel, but it's not really a problem.

lilnubber

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Posts: 16044

12/27/11 10:40 AM

Registered user

My only real complaint is the speaker. It's just not loud enough to watch a movie without earbuds. I wanted to have a Christmas movie on in the background while baking last week, and it just didn't cut it.

LennonFan

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Posts: 1400

12/28/11 03:53 PM

I like my Fire so far but I haven't done much with it yet. I haven't tried to read a book as of now, just getting some apps basically. I didn't have the time to really dig into it with all the hubbub around the holiday. Just two irritations: when I hit the quick settings and +more, there is no "device" tab that I could find. I wanted to check the software version I have and that's what Amazon said to do, but it's not there. I'm assuming I DO have the latest though, since I do have the option to password protect the whole Kindle Fire. (a security problem as mentioned upthread) Second, the Facebook app tells me they can't find my account and that it doesn't exist. Laugh

Funny that, I was looking right at it on my desktop at the time.

Cuauhtemoc Gilmore

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Posts: 27208

01/01/12 10:29 PM

OMEDETO, CATHY!!

I have a random urge to buy a Kindle Fire even though there's not a whole lot of books I want to read.

superguppie

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Posts: 29460

01/01/12 10:32 PM

Registered user

That's good because the Kindle Fire isn't really for reading, it's for playing games and surfing the net. The lesser Kindles are much better for books, IMO.

patrickofthewhite

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Posts: 2857

01/01/12 11:00 PM

I got a Nook Simple Touch for Chrimbo and I'm quite pleased with it. I have a smart phone so I didn't really need anything with apps, and the screen is amazing in sunlight.

brokemom

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