Amazon Kindle Fire tablet for $199

[NASpurs]

Shit just got real?

http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/28/amazon-fire-tablet-unveiled-7-inch-display-199-price-tag/

http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2011/09/kindle-fire.jpg

[NASpurs]

http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/28/live-from-amazons-tablet-event-in-nyc/?sort=newest&refresh=60

Live blog of the Android tablet event for anyone who's interested. I dunno why I am :lol

[NASpurs]

They also announced the Kindle Touch for people who like the e-ink readers.

10:18AM For example, it pulled up a Wikipedia entry on the Versailles Treaty, because that's what's happening on this page in the book, Remains of the Day.

10:18AM The definition popped up almost instantaneously, because the Wikipedia info is actually downloaded with the text.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/09/amazon-eventdsc1601sept-2011.jpg


10:17AM Jeff's showing off a new feature called X-Ray that popped up when he tapped the page.

10:17AM This is deeper than simple word lookups, showing up facts about what's happening in the book, not just definitions.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/09/amazon-eventdsc1600sept-2011.jpg

[NASpurs]

$99 for Kindle Touch? That's pretty damn nice.

$149 for the 3G version of the Touch with no annual contract or data plan.

10:22AM $50 for lifetime wireless data in 100 countries? Not too shabby.

[NASpurs]

New version of the Kindle (not talking about the Touch or Fire) ships out today for $79. :wow

[NASpurs]

http://edge-cache.gizmodo.com/gizmodo/amazonfire/amazonfire98.jpg

[lefty]

Is it good outside of its its main purpose (books)?

[NASpurs]

Is it good outside of its its main purpose (books)?

These are just the ebook readers and not the tablet. They still haven't mentioned the Kindle Fire yet.

BTW, I don't think the $79 is touchscreen so heads up to whoever is interested in that one.

[Cane]

Nifty but I'll wait for Amazon's next tablet which should have more features.

[NASpurs]

http://edge-cache.gizmodo.com/gizmodo/amazonfire/amazonfire119.jpg

Posted at 10:34 am by Matt Buchanan (http://gizmodo.com/people/Matt%20Buchanan/posts)


14.6 oz

Posted at 10:34 am by Sam Biddle (http://gizmodo.com/people/Sam%20Biddle/posts)

dual-core processor

Posted at 10:34 am by Sam Biddle (http://gizmodo.com/people/Sam%20Biddle/posts)

7-inch IPS display

[NASpurs]

Nifty but I'll wait for Amazon's next tablet which should have more features.

There you go. Ipad = fucked :lol

[lefty]

These are just the ebook readers and not the tablet. They still haven't mentioned the Kindle Fire yet.

BTW, I don't think the $79 is touchscreen so heads up to whoever is interested in that one.
Thanks

If the Fire is a good tablet, then the price tag is interesting

[NASpurs]

Posted at 10:36 am by Sam Biddle (http://gizmodo.com/people/Sam%20Biddle/posts)


Start a movie on your Kindle Fire, switch to TV, keep watching



Posted at 10:36 am by Sam Biddle (http://gizmodo.com/people/Sam%20Biddle/posts)



Whispersync will work with movies and TV shows

[Cane]

There you go. Ipad = fucked :lol

Nice. Going to be a crazy holiday season :downspin:

[NASpurs]

10:38AM This is a very heavily-customized interface, naturally. It looks nothing like Android.

10:38AM ...and it remains to be seen whether you can actually get to Android, but signs are pointing to no.

--------------


That kind of sucks but I'm sure some crazy hacker will take care that for us.

[NASpurs]

Posted at 10:39 am by Matt Buchanan (http://gizmodo.com/people/Matt%20Buchanan/posts)
Man, switching from one feature to another is reeeeeeeeeeally fast.

Posted at 10:40 am by Sam Biddle (http://gizmodo.com/people/Sam%20Biddle/posts)

Playing Adele. "There's a fire burning in my heart." Oh hey I get it.

Posted at 10:40 am by Sam Biddle (http://gizmodo.com/people/Sam%20Biddle/posts)

This thing is really fast.

Posted at 10:39 am by Sam Biddle (http://gizmodo.com/people/Sam%20Biddle/posts)

Switching to music now...

[leemajors]

Thanks

If the Fire is a good tablet, then the price tag is interesting

no camera, mic, or 3g if you like those things. Basically a Nook color with a dual core processor?

[lefty]

no camera, mic, or 3g if you like those things. Basically a Nook color with a dual core processor?
SHit I didnt know about those specs


Amazlol

[NASpurs]

Amazon's new browser for its mobile device:

10:46AM The browser is smart enough to offload things intelligently as it makes sense to give us the best performance.

10:46AM It's called "Dynamic Split Browsing" -- everything can be done locally or remotely.

10:45AM Shades of Skyfire back in the day...

10:45AM "What do customers really care about? It's the time it takes to get something usable on the screen."

10:44AM "How would you build a web browser in the era of cloud computing." So, you cloud content gets rendered... in the cloud.

[NASpurs]

I know I'm not the average consumer but I could care less about the thing having no mic or a camera. The 3g part sucks though but if this is anything like the other Amazon devices, I wouldn't be surprised if they had another version of the tablet soon... or maybe not. :lol

[NASpurs]

Posted at 10:51 am by Matt Buchanan (http://gizmodo.com/people/Matt%20Buchanan/posts)
Available for pre-order today

Posted at 10:52 am by Sam Biddle (http://gizmodo.com/people/Sam%20Biddle/posts)

Fire ships November 15th

Posted at 10:52 am by Sam Biddle (http://gizmodo.com/people/Sam%20Biddle/posts)

A $200 tablet with unlimited streaming from a huge library is... awesome? Yes, awesome.

------------------

10:53AM Pick your poison!

10:53AM So, it's Fire for $199, Touch 3G for $149, Touch for $99, and Kindle for $79.

10:52AM Fire ships November 15th. "We're making many millions of these, but I still recommend you pre-order today."

[leemajors]

I know I'm not the average consumer but I could care less about the thing having no mic or a camera. The 3g part sucks though but if this is anything like the other Amazon devices, I wouldn't be surprised if they had another version of the tablet soon... or maybe not. :lol

i don't think they are necessarily trying to compete with the iPad quite yet. 7", limited feature set. i bet they will cannibalize other android tablet sales like crazy though.
I dunno about unlimited streaming - Prime's selection isn't all that quite yet, and being tethered to wifi somewhat limits its appeal.

[Cane]

no camera, mic, or 3g if you like those things. Basically a Nook color with a dual core processor?

Dunno about the fire but the Kindle Touch 3G has free 3G wireless according to http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-tablet-event-2011-9

A camera/mic would be cool but I never really use them on my phone or on my computers.

[leemajors]

Dunno about the fire but the Kindle Touch 3G has free 3G wireless according to http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-tablet-event-2011-9

A camera/mic would be cool but I never really use them on my phone or on my computers.

You don't use the mic on your phone? :lol

[Cane]

You don't use the mic on your phone? :lol

:lol Touche. But now that I think about it I do like to text more than to talk :downspin:

[MannyIsGod]

I need specs.

[lefty]

Running on 2.1 ?

And the screen is a bit small



Pass...............

[NASpurs]

The part that I can't wrap my head around is how that cloud computer browser works. So you're browsing a webpage on the device and the most computer intensive parts of it are sent into the cloud where the computations are done. Then it's sent back into the mobile device without the device taking a hit in computing power. That's cool and all, kind of reminds me of Onlive gaming service for the computer but I wonder how bad the lag can get.

I would like to see a demo of that in action.

[NASpurs]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0051VVOB2

Battery life:
Up to 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback, with wireless off. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as web browsing and downloading content.


Running on 2.1 ?

And the screen is a bit small



Pass...............

It's US only so you're shit out of luck even if you wanted one. :lol

[lefty]

It's US only so you're shit out of luck even if you wanted one. :lol
Oh snap...

[NASpurs]

Looking at the graph below, I thought the Fire was really lacking to the "competition" but then I looked at the bottom line, that it's $300 less than the other tablets. It's also at the sweet spot of not being too expensive but you're getting bang for your buck.

http://i.imgur.com/PLBi9.jpg

[leemajors]

I need specs.

probably have to wait for a teardown. also looks like no inputs/outputs besides headphone jack from the engadget gallery.

EDIT: On the other hand, it looks identical to the BB playbook, so maybe it has the same guts.

[MannyIsGod]

Its on fucking android 2.1!!?!?!?

[lefty]

Its on fucking android 2.1!!?!?!?
Si Senor

[NASpurs]

http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/28/is-a-10-inch-kindle-fire-coming-amazon-says-stay-tuned/
Is a 10-inch Kindle Fire coming? Amazon says 'stay tuned'

--------------------

That's one of the risks of being an early adopter. You may or may not get boned.

[Drachen]

Its on fucking android 2.1!!?!?!?

A chart I saw showed 2.3.... on the other hand, they have no buttons except the power.. not even a volume rocker.


edit: Oh, the chart I saw was 3 or four posts up

[NASpurs]

Video impressions: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/28/amazon-kindle-fire-impressions/

Amazon Silk browser explanation: http://gizmodo.com/5844663/what-is-amazon-silk/gallery/1

[Drachen]

silk looks very very cool... It looks like it is Opera plus a little added. I am impressed by the concept.

[CuckingFunt]

They also announced the Kindle Touch for people who like the e-ink readers.

10:18AM For example, it pulled up a Wikipedia entry on the Versailles Treaty, because that's what's happening on this page in the book, Remains of the Day.

10:18AM The definition popped up almost instantaneously, because the Wikipedia info is actually downloaded with the text.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/09/amazon-eventdsc1601sept-2011.jpg


10:17AM Jeff's showing off a new feature called X-Ray that popped up when he tapped the page.

10:17AM This is deeper than simple word lookups, showing up facts about what's happening in the book, not just definitions.

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/09/amazon-eventdsc1600sept-2011.jpg

That would annoy the holy fuck out of me.

[Drachen]

its probably something that you have to activate. That being said, I think it would be incredibly useful. I read a study bible and found it to be far better than just reading the bible. This feature would be the digital version of a study (insert book here).

[MannyIsGod]

A chart I saw showed 2.3.... on the other hand, they have no buttons except the power.. not even a volume rocker.


edit: Oh, the chart I saw was 3 or four posts up

Yeah I saw that too but 2.1 was mentioned. Then again it was Lefty that mentioned it SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.......

[lefty]

Yeah I saw that too but 2.1 was mentioned. Then again it was Lefty that mentioned it SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.......
Hey don't shoot the messenger

[lefty]

Some features of the Kindle:

7-inch full-color screen, no eInk (10-inch coming in 2012)

Two-finger multitouch support (Only dual touch)

Runs a version of Android that’s older than 2.2 but it’s been heavily customized

No camera

UI looks and feels like Amazon’s iOS Kindle app


http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/a...e-tablet/14960 (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/amazon-press-event-sept-28-kindle-tablet/14960)

[leemajors]

silk looks very very cool... It looks like it is Opera plus a little added. I am impressed by the concept.

I know they are two entirely separate parts of the company, but if the people designing the web browser had anything to do with amazon's recent barf inducing site redesign I would be terrified to use it.

[Cry Havoc]

The part that I can't wrap my head around is how that cloud computer browser works. So you're browsing a webpage on the device and the most computer intensive parts of it are sent into the cloud where the computations are done. Then it's sent back into the mobile device without the device taking a hit in computing power. That's cool and all, kind of reminds me of Onlive gaming service for the computer but I wonder how bad the lag can get.

I would like to see a demo of that in action.

FWIW, that's how the Opera Mini browser works on Android. I use it and love it, it's by far the fastest browser I've used and never seems to get bogged down. It's pretty simple too, requests for data/websites are handled on the server side, and then they send the web page along as it's rendered from the server instead of bogging your phone down pushing the processor to do all the computations on it's own.

This device looks sharp. Have to see what B&N has in store for the Nook Color 2.

[ElNono]

This is the device (Fire) I was talking about in the other thread.

Amazon will basically sell these things at a loss, since they'll recoup it with the Amazon store sells (notice no Google Marketplace on the device). Which in a way finally provides some competition with Apple in somewhat similar grounds (Apple running their own store too).

This tablet should also put some heat on B&N and the Nook.

Notice Amazon isn't really interested in anything that doesn't take you to their store, thus skipping on cameras, 3G support or large storage.

[ElNono]

I really think this is what the Playbook from RIM or the Touch from HP should've been, IMO.

[MannyIsGod]

Yeah - the problem is neither have the sales machine to recoup the initial loss like Amazon does.

[Drachen]

This is the device (Fire) I was talking about in the other thread.

Amazon will basically sell these things at a loss, since they'll recoup it with the Amazon store sells (notice no Google Marketplace on the device). Which in a way finally provides some competition with Apple in somewhat similar grounds (Apple running their own store too).

This tablet should also put some heat on B&N and the Nook.

Notice Amazon isn't really interested in anything that doesn't take you to their store, thus skipping on cameras, 3G support or large storage.

I disagree about the things they skip out on. I use the barcode scanner and amazon app to go to reviews and see how much an item costs on amazon. A camera and 3g would help with that.

That is, however, what my phone is for. I don't give a crap about 3g or a camera on a tablet.

[ElNono]

That is, however, what my phone is for. I don't give a crap about 3g or a camera on a tablet.

I do. At least having the option to purchase it with those items.

The thing with tablets is that it's a nice replacement for laptops/netbooks for a bunch of people on the road. Skipping on the camera basically removes video conferencing, and Wifi-only basically removes a good chunk of portability (this last one you can eventually work around with a 3g/4g wifi hub).

But it's clear that in order to offer it so cheaply they had to do some trimming.

Honestly, I think the hardware is ok. It's not top of the line, but it should be ok for what Amazon wants. We'll see what the market thinks about it.

On a separate note, since some people were commenting on the web browser, it actually uses WebKit for rendering.

[Drachen]

I do. At least having the option to purchase it with those items.

The thing with tablets is that it's a nice replacement for laptops/netbooks for a bunch of people on the road. Skipping on the camera basically removes video conferencing, and Wifi-only basically removes a good chunk of portability (this last one you can eventually work around with a 3g/4g wifi hub).

But it's clear that in order to offer it so cheaply they had to do some trimming.

Honestly, I think the hardware is ok. It's not top of the line, but it should be ok for what Amazon wants. We'll see what the market thinks about it.

On a separate note, since some people were commenting on the web browser, it actually uses WebKit for rendering.

You could buy a Bluetooth webcam. I understand it is easier to carry one item than two or three, but I don't think that convenience is worth 450 dollars more. Also, once again, my phone does that.

[hater]

LOL $200 for an Amazon.com webpage client.

fuckers should have given that out for free. poor suckers the ones who gonna pay for this

[hater]

this shit can't even beat the cheapest kindle cause kindle beats it on the screen alone.

[MannyIsGod]

EN's concerns are valid, but I just don't think they're that huge in the grand scheme of things.

[ElNono]

You could buy a Bluetooth webcam. I understand it is easier to carry one item than two or three, but I don't think that convenience is worth 450 dollars more. Also, once again, my phone does that.

I'm not saying it wouldn't work for you. You know what you need.

Those $450 dollars more also include a 10.1" screen, more memory and in the case of the Xoom or Samsung Galaxy 10.1, Honeycomb, along with the option to upgrade to 4G.

I think a more comparable type of hardware is the Samsung P1000 which can be had for about $450 (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Unlocked-Touchscreen-Memory-International-Warranty/dp/B0041RSF6Y).

[ElNono]

Hey, to each his own. We'll see how the market responds to it. The timing to hit the holiday season is impeccable.

[MannyIsGod]

I don't think the iPad and this machine will be in direct competition.