Kindle Fire Review

I had a chance to demo the new Kindle Fire at my local Staples store yesterday and was very impressed.  For $200, you will be hard-pressed to find a better media consumption device.

The key thing to remember is that the Fire is not a Google Android tablet.  It is primarily a book reader with many additional features that allow you to consume various types of media, including movies, music, games and applications.  You won't find any Google applications on the device and the Amazon App Store only offers a fraction of available Android applications.  In addition, you won't find any cameras, GPS, Bluetooth, 3 or 4G, or other niceties on the Fire that you will find on your typical Android tablet.  And if you are looking seriously at the Apple iPad, it may or may not be adequate.  It really depends on what you want to use it for.  But keep this in mind: it is less than half the price.

That said, the Kindle Fire has a lot to offer.  If you are an avid book reader, the Fire offers a great reading experience with color screen, backlighting and crisp text.  (The battery life is decent but nowhere near that of the e-Ink Kindles.)  If you love movies, the Kindle Fire offers a great movie-watching experience on a small screen.  If you love music, the Fire has you covered as well.  In addition, many of the top apps and games are also available on the Fire.  The Amazon ecosystem provides a very wide range of media to consume.

And since the unit is heavily subsidized by Amazon, you get great hardware ( dual-core processor, great screen, etc.) at little more than cost.  The memory is the biggest limitation with only 8GB onboard.  The accelerated Silk browser is adequate, but judging from the benchmarks I’ve seen, it is hard to say whether the acceleration feature lives up to its hype.  When you get one, you may want to experiment with turning acceleration off and see what the performance is like.

If you are looking for a true Google Android tablet, you need to look elsewhere.  The Samsung Galaxy Tab would be a much better choice since it does offer all of the Google applications, dual cameras, GPS and more memory.

But if your objective is getting an inexpensive media consumption solution, the Kindle Fire will fit the bill quite nicely.

Amazon Kindle Fire: A Smokin' Hot Deal!

Amazon dropped a bombshell on the tech world today by announcing their new Kindle Fire Tablet at an unbelieveably low price: $199 for a 7” color tablet?  No, that is not a typo.  $199.

Just hours before the announcement, analysts predicted that the new Kindle Fire would cost between $250 and $300.  Bezos and company have delivered a tablet that is not only affordable, but also provides a compelling multimedia experience.  They bypassed the familiar Android UI and cooked up one of their own to highlight Amazon’s expansive offerings.

One exclusive feature of the Fire is the new Amazon Silk (tm) accelerated “split browser”.  It uses an application on the tablet along with an application in the cloud to dramatically speed up web page loading.  Using Amazon’s Elastic Computing Cloud (EC2) technology to do the heavy lifting, it also incorporates predictive algorithms to push content to the browser, making it even faster.

While the specs don’t compete with other Android Tablets (only 8GB of storage, no camera or microphone), Amazon is leveraging its massive cloud capabilities to provide books, music, software and movies in a way that no other competitor can--except Apple.  And, they are doing it at a fraction of the price of the iPad 2.  It seems that the folks in Cupertino are well aware of what is coming as news reports state that they have cut iPod 2 production by 25%.

However, it does include a multi-touch 7”  IPS screen with Gorilla Glass (tm) and a dual-core TI processor--features not seen on such an inexpensive tablet.  It seems that this tablet is heavily subsidized by Amazon, as they probably expect to recoup costs from increased sales.  Battery life is up to 8 hours.  Not bad considering its size and price.

Will this change the tablet game?  I think so.  First of all, it signals the re-emergence of the 7” tablet size pioneered by the Samsung Galaxy Tab, plus puts downward pressure on future tablet pricing.  This is good news for consumers and multimedia aficionados 

The Kindle Fire is available for pre-order now and will ship November 15th.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0051VVOB2/ref=famstripe_kf

Why Android Tablets Aren't Taking Off

I was watching an Apple iPad television commercial the other day and it showed some killer applications and how they can be used to improve your life.

I believe that is the missing link in the Android tablet puzzle.

The real reason that Android tablets aren't keeping up with the iPad is that few compelling tablet applications exist.  What Google and Android developers need to do is to develop applications that take advantage of the capabilities of the tablets that are out there. They need to go beyond Angry Birds and give us applications that provide the WOW factor that will move tablets.

Android also needs to address vertical markets. For example, Apple owns the music creation market. Android isn't even in the game. Why can't someone come up with an Android program similar to Garage Band?   That would give musicians a reason to seriously consider Android.

The bottom line is: people do not buy hardware -- they buy solutions.

Google and Intel: An Interesting Combination

It looks like Intel and Google are getting together to make Android run on Intel iron.  This is an interesting development since Microsoft is also going to make an ARM version of Windows.

Intel has to get into the game because of the booming market for phones and tablets vs. the stagnant market for PCs.  Their Atom chip, while wildly popular in netbooks, has never caught on in the mobile market.  That is about to change.  Atom/Android phones are expected in the first half of 2012.

What I would like to see are x86 phones and tablets with standard architectures that will allow you to run your choice of OS or even a combination of OSes.  How about multi-boot with Windows 8, Android and Ubuntu?

I can dream, can't I?

Will Amazon Make the 7" Tablet Attractive?

Most of the Android Tablets introduced recently are 10.1" to directly compete with Apple's ubiquitous 9.7” iPad. The fact that most of them have failed to gain widespread acceptance has confounded tablet makers.

Enter Amazon. Their new Color Kindle will sport a 7" screen and is clearly targeted at Barnes & Noble's popular Nook tablet. It will reportedly run a custom-skinned older version of Android 2 and will serve up books, movies and music. The 7" form factor was popular before Honeycomb and Tegra 2 machines were introduced, primarily because they could run Android phone OSes like Eclair and Froyo. The smaller size makes 7" tablets more portable--even pocketable--and easy to hold in one hand. Many large tablets are homebound due to their size, bulk and awkwardness.

Google officially frowned on the smaller tablets and encouraged licensees to wait for Honeycomb and the big screens. As a result, there are only a handful of mainstream 7" tablets out there: the Galaxy Tab, B&N Nook, The Dell Streak and the HTC Flyer. While it has been form factor that has been largely ignored by major manufacturers, cheap, 7” Chinese tablets abound, rebadged by companies like Coby and Archos/Arnova.

Can 7” tablets catch on? Samsung recently demonstrated a 7.7” tablet in Germany, but it is unclear whether it will ever be introduced in the US due to Apple’s patent infringement crusade.  Since Steve Jobs has boldly declared that Apple will never make a 7” tablet, it is one form factor that Android could truly dominate.

Should Google Buy T-Mobile?

    

It would certainly be a stretch, but what if Google bought T-Mobile?

That would make sense since T-Mobile was the first carrier with an Android phone and it doesn't offer the iPhone.

In addition, it would give Google an end-to-end solution.  It would also be a great way to challenge Apple.

Google certainly has deep enough pockets to afford it and there probably would not be any regulatory challenges.

Hmmmm....

Are Netbooks Dead?

Netbooks were all the rage in 2007.  I was an early adopter and bought an Asus eeepc 4GB Surf shortly after it was introduced. I have since bought a few other Asus eeepc models.

What do I like about netbooks?  They are “cheap and cheerful” (less than $300) with just about the right amount of computer power for web surfing and other routine tasks.

They are also compact and typically have USB ports and an SD card slot for external storage.  Display sizes vary--although most are in the 8.9” to 11” range.

Battery life was once a concern, but newer designs usually provide between 5-8 hours of juice between charges.  The only complaints that most people have about netbooks are their relatively slow CPU/graphics and their smallish keyboards.

What happened to the netbook market?  Tablets.  Beginning with the Apple iPad, tablets began to intrude into the “small and inexpensive” market segment, diluting market share.

Since that time, the major electronics manufacturers have been obsessively focused on capturing some of Apple’s success.  The results have been mixed.

Samsung has reportedly shipped over 2 million of their 7” Galaxy Tab.  New 10.1” tablets from Asus, Acer and Samsung seem to be selling well.  Moto’s Xoom, on the other hand, stalled out of the gate and Blackberry’s tablet seems to be floundering. And, last week, HP’s Touchpad went down in flames and took the entire hardware division with it.

Can Netbooks make a comeback?

The new Asus eeepc X101 may signal the return of the netbook.  At $200, it sports a 8GB SSD drive, Intel® Atom™ N435 processor with 1GB of RAM, webcam, 2 USB ports,  Micro SD card reader, and MeeGo Linux OS .  An enhanced version will also be offered with Windows 7 Starter and a 250 GB hard drive.

With their low-cost, wide range of applications, and built-in keyboards, I would not count netbooks out just yet.

The End of the Steve Jobs Era

Steve Jobs was a visionary.  He was the driving force at Apple.  His successes are legendary. The Apple II.  The Macintosh.  Pixar.  The MacBook.  iTunes. The iPod. The iPhone. The iPad.  His attention to detail was unparalleled.


Where will the new ideas come from?  Who will bring them into existence?  That remains to be seen.


One thing is certain.


Apple is going to be a very different company without him.


Addendum: Steve Jobs passed away 10/5/11.  Our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues at Apple.  Requiescat in pace.

Hey Google: How About An Android Store?

With its recent purchase of Motorola Mobility, Google has suddenly become a giant player in the hardware game.  It now has a good selection of cell phones and a tablet—all running Android—to take to market.

Apple's secret weapon (aside from its ecosystem) is its prized Apple store: a nice, comfy, non-threatening, environment where you can ogle the shiniest new goodies from Cupertino and even buy them, provided you have enough cash or plastic.

What if Google took a page from Apple's playbook and opened up an Android store?  Not only could it carry the latest Motorola products, but also products from its other Android partners including HTC, Samsung, Acer, Asus, Sony Ericcson, et al.  It could partner with Amazon to sell gift cards good for music and Android software purchases.  What a concept!

Not only would they be able to demonstrate their support for their Android partners, they would be able to manage the Android retail presentation and user experience.  With big box stores shuttering and downsizing, this could give Android a much needed boost as it goes up against the mighty Goliath called Apple.

Let the Games Begin!

It seems that the device that no one wanted a few days ago has turned into one of the hottest sellers of the year! All of a sudden, everyone wants a HP Touchpad.  The price may have something to do with it. Only $99 for the 16 GB and $149 for the 32 GB model.

Even with a cloudy future,  many are willing to take the plunge into the world of Web OS on the cheap.  Will the touchpad ever be able to run Android reliably?  That certainly remains to be seen, although I am sure it is definitely a possibility given the large mobile device hacking community on web sites like xda-developers.com.

Get them while they are hot because it doesn't look like they are going to last long.  From what I have heard, Best Buy is sending all of their warehouse stock back to HP.  Local retailers everywhere seem to be sold out.   I just checked eBay a few minutes ago and there is a lot of bidding action going on in the $150-$200 range for the 16 GB model.

I guess this demonstrates there is a demand for low-cost tablets.  If they can get the price down to $200 or so for a new Android tablet, I think people would buy it.

Update: I dropped by my local Best Buy store and they confirmed that they were sending all of their stock back to HP.   HP will reportedly be selling the discounted Touchpads direct.  When I went to the HP Store web site, I found the Touchpad for $99.  When I clicked on the link, however, I received this message: "We're sorry, the page requested was not found."  Bummer.  If you explore a bit more, there is a notification list that you can sign up for.

Flash: 8/21: Best Buy has done a 180 and has decided to sell their HP Touchpad inventory rather than send it back to HP.  I called a store in Cleveland, OH and they said they only had 5 this morning and they were sold in a matter of minutes.  Staples is sold out within a one hundred mile radius.  Office Max is also sold out.  So, don't get your hopes up!