Upgraded my Kindle recently.
The more accurate way of saying that was I passed my Kindle
Why did I spend the money? I mean, the little Kindle device worked just fine. Well, if I hadn’t had some Amazon gift card credits that offset a good portion of the cost, I may not have made the purchase. At least, not just yet. And, without the credits, I may have purchased the standard Kindle Fire, rather than spending the extra money for the HD version. But, I did so I did. And I’m glad I did.
Again, nothing wrong with the standard Kindle, not even the low-end cheap one I had. But, the Kindle Fire is a great little e-reader, plus it’s a very good little tablet.
The one I got is the smaller, 7-inch version. It’s just a little bigger than the standard Kindle devices. It connects via wifi only. The larger 8.9″ Fire HD has AT&T 4G LTE capability starting at an additional $50/year. The Kindle Keyboard and a version of the Kindle Paperwhite have free 3G connectivity included.
It’s kinda hard for me to compare the Kindle Fire to a standard Kindle e-reader without breaking the functionality into two categories: e-reader and tablet. I’ll cover the e-reader part first.
The standard Kindle e-readers currently come in four varieties: Kindle, Kindle Keyboard 3G, Kindle Paperwhite, and Kindle Paperwhite 3G. The Paperwhite versions, which I haven’t used, come with a built-in light. I hear it’s nice. The Kindle and Kindle Keyboard models don’t have a light. If you need a light, they sell covers with extendable light sources. Or, you can turn on a lamp.
The Kindle e-readers (the non-Fire Kindles) can be easily used in direct sunlight, just like a book. As e-readers, they’re great. I love the convenience of having a lot of books available in one little device.
The Kindle Fire doesn’t need a light source. Just like you don’t need a light to see the content on your computer screen, you don’t need a light to see the content on your Kindle Fire screen. The drawback is in direct sunlight. While the Kindle Fire does appear to do a better job at handling glare than my older iPad (1st generation), the standard Kindle has no glare, and therefore, problem at all in direct sunlight.
The Kindle Fire is a color screen, and allows to set the r-reader display to black text on white background (default), white text on black background, or black text on sepia (my preference).
With the standard Kindles, you press the buttons on either side to turn the pages. On the Fire, a touch on the edge of the screen or a swipe will change the pages.
The most obvious difference is the e-reader displays are black-and-white (just like a book) while the Fire displays are in color. When browsing the store for more content, the color is nice.
Strictly as an e-reader, the Kindle e-readers are slightly better — but only ever so slightly — than the Kindle Fire, in my mind.
That brings us to the tablet portion of the comparison. And, there’s no comparison. The Kindle e-readers are strictly e-readers. So, it may be better to compare the Kindle Fire to the iPad. And I will.
As a tablet, the iPad is a better tablet than the Kindle Fire. But not a lot better. While the iPad is an excellent tablet, the Kindle Fire is a very good tablet. Make that a very, very good tablet. Almost excellent.
The advantage the iPad has is in the apps. The Apple App Store has a really huge selection of apps. The Kindle Fire, although an Android table, doesn’t access the Google Play store. Amazon opted to go the Apple route. You get your apps from Amazon. That does help weed out a lot of really useless apps, like is common in the Google Play store. But, it also keeps out some good apps.
When I started adding apps to the Kindle Fire, it had the apps I wanted to add first. Of the apps on my iPad that I use regularly, it’s primarily local news apps and games that are lacking. For the news apps, the Web browser covers adequately for my purposes.
Where the Kindle Fire shines is music and videos. The integration of those categories into the interface is seamless.
The Kindle Fire integration with Amazon Instant Video is better than the iPad integration with iTunes. Switching between your local library and the online store simple refreshes the content on the page with the Fire. On the iPad, switching from local library to the online store obviously switches apps. While it’s not a problem with the iPad, the Kindle Fire does it better.
Overall, though, I like the iPad as a tablet a little better. I don’t like the iPad as an e-reader, though. While iBooks works well, and while there is a Kindle app for the iPad, the Kindle Fire does a superior job of integrating e-reader functionality into the tablet experience.
So, as an e-reader, the Kindle standard e-readers are better than a Kindle Fire, but not by much. As a table, the iPad is a better tablet, but not by much.
I suppose the best way to boil it down would be for me to assume I have none of the devices, but had experience with all the devices. That is, if suddenly, if I had to replace them, what would I do?
I’d buy a Kindle Fire.
And that’s someone who really loves his iPad talking.
nice review, thanks. i’m one of the people that has neither. i, however, have no experience with any of the devices either. may i assume that the recommendation stays the same, experience or no experience? or is there a preferred learning device, perhaps with training wheels?
I have a older standard e-paper Kindle and a standard Kindle Fire. I pretty much agree with everything you said – but would add a couple of thoughts.
1) Fire v. iPad – The Fire is only a fraction of the price of the iPad. While the extra bucks may be worth it for a power user, a person who just uses it to read and browse will not get much benefit from the extra cost – though the iPad browser is superior to the Fire. The Fire is smaller which, again, can be good or bad depending on your use. The Fire is lighter than iPad – always a good thing.
Fire v. e-paper Kindle – The e-paper Kindle has some significant advantages. As mentioned – there is sunlight. The Fire gets washed out in bright sunlight – you can adjust the brightness – but you’ll have to charge more often the brighter you go. The e-paper just gets even more contrast and easier to read in sunlight. The e-paper Kindle is much, much lighter so your paws don’t get so tired when reading in bed. The e-paper Kindle can go much longer between charges than the Fire. Mine will go a month or 6 weeks between charges – the Fire 2 days to 2 weeks depending on how much I use it. The e-paper Kindle can browse – but just barely – it is slow, poorly formatted and colorless. The Fire is pretty good at browsing but not perfect.
I love both of my Kindles and use them daily. The Fire is great for travel small, light, and all the computer I need on the road. The e-paper Kindle is a pleasure to use for serious reading time.
@jw – you can get a new regular Kindle for as little as $69. If you do a lot of book reading get it – you’ll like it.
Well, the wife asked for a Kindle for her birthday — I’d like to say it’s so she can read Frank’s books and mine, but I doubt it — so I’ll let you know what she says. She loves reading in bed and is sick of dealing with book lights. When she sees what else it does, I expect she will never leave home without it.
@DamnCat thanks. it looks like a good starting point. reader only and training wheels get the kindle, next step up the fire, right?
@FredKey – if she wants to read with the lights off she’ll need either the Fire or a Paperwhite. The standard Kindle does require an external light source.
@jw – the plain old Kindle is easy as tuna pie. If you are into reading older classics and such, there are enough free books to keep you busy for a lifetime.
@DamnCat — thanks for the tip! I’ve used the Kindle app on my phone and PC but not the actual Kindle.
A while ago, I got what’s now the lowest end Kindle — the e-ink one without a keyboard or touch screen — which also happens to be the smallest Kindle and I love it for reading. I also use the Kindle app on my iPad quite a bit (the retina version is actually a pleasure to read) — but mainly when I have to rock Buttercup in the dark.
When I finally get a contract signed on my novel, I might treat myself to the Paperwhite; would be nice to have the one with the integrated light. I don’t like covers because it makes it too bulky. But I definitely prefer the screen and tininess of the e-ink Kindles for reading.
the more it does, the more battery it uses. That’s why I got the lowest level (I believe these days it’s called Kindle 4) and if I need something other than reading I use a computer.
Everything I ever wanted to know about the Kindle is in this post!
I have a question. How do you load books onto the device? Do you need a computer? My husband wants one but we live in a rural area. No computers and barely have cellphone service (gotta hold the phone just right or you lose the signal).
Denise:
For the Kindle I have (and for most) you need a wireless internet connection. On the 3G or 4G models, wifi still works.
On the 3G Kindles (not the Fire models), you don’t have to pay for 3G service, but you can’t do much other than download books, magazines, and other content.
For the 4G Kindle Fire model, AT&T provides service for $50/year.
Or… and this could just be the crazy talking… you could buy a Nexus 7 for the exact same price, then install the Kindle App on it. And any other reader you want. You wind up with something that’s just as good being an ereader as the Kindle Fire HD, but better at being a tablet.
from everyone’s insight and help it looks like i will soon order a basic $69 kindle. anyone have thoughts on the special options (i know i can cancel them and pay the difference, but i’d rather get it right the first time) and what is the deal with the power adapter? if i don’t get it, how do i charge the battery? i think i lack a basic knowledge base.
jw:
I say get the “Special Offers” version. (It’s the version I had before I got the Fire.) The ads aren’t intrusive at all and save you money. As for the adapter, Amazon will sometimes have it for $10 when you buy it with the Kindle. You don’t actually need it, since you can plug the USB cable into your computer and charge it that way, but it is a nice-to-have. The output is 5V 1.8A, if you want to pick a compatible USB adapter somewhere cheaper.
thanks basil. i’ll get the special offers version and the adapter. it is about the learning not the money right now. i have never plugged something into my computer to charge it. that was the missing knowledge base this time. the first ebook i buy will be one of Franks. thanks basil, frank and damncat.
I have a color Nook, which is nice, but it eats battery. Then I got a Kindle touch, which I wind up using much more, but I have it in a case that has an LED light built in, for running in the dark. Yes, that eats battery too, but you use it only when you need it, which I rarely do. I kind of like charging it once a month.
You did not mention the nook hd+ This is a much better devise for all around reading and media.
Plus the nook does not erase what you bought like the amazon products do.
The nooks have a 32 gig sd card port. Amazon does not advertise that they do .
I bought an nook hd+ and got an easyreader free. the nook hd+ also has plenty of free and cheap apps.
If you are going to have send to kindle you should also have send to nook button.
RAML:
When B&N writes such a plugin for WordPress, I’ll give it a look.