Amazon Kindle Fire Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi & Vivek Gowri on November 29, 2011 3:31 AM EST- Posted in
- Tablets
- Mobile
- Amazon
- Kindle Fire
- Kindle
Appstore for Android
Android Market is not available on the Kindle Fire, replaced by Amazon's own Appstore for Android. Lest you forget, this is an Amazon device, not a Google device. Nowhere do you see Google's name explicitly, other than the default search engine in the browser.
There's 10,000 apps instead of something close to 400,000 in Android Market, but Amazon's store has a pretty healthy catalogue to choose from - every major app is available, though some of the smaller and more random apps are not available. Netflix, Hulu, OfficeSuite Pro, Documents To Go, ESPN Scorecenter, Angry Birds, Words With Friends, Evernote, eBay, IMDB, Chase Bank, Fruit Ninja, Atari Games, even WiFi Analyzer are available. I haven't found anything important lacking yet, but if you're addicted to getting every single random app, you're probably going to find the Appstore selection a bit on the smaller side. I do like that every day, there is a featured paid app of the day that is offered for free. I, like most people, enjoy free things, so I'm not going to complain.
The apps themselves are standard Gingerbread ones - the experience feels pretty similar to the 7" Galaxy Tab. They're blown up smartphone apps, really, just like they were on the Nook Color and Galaxy Tab. There are questions as to what will happen if the Kindle Fire gets updated to Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich, but that's something that will have to be monitored in the future.
Documents & Email
Documents is pretty similar to Books, though it's with content that doesn't come from the Kindle storefront. Personal documents can be sent to the Kindle Fire via something called a Send-to-Kindle email address. Only approved contacts can send documents to the Kindle Fire. Documents can be in a number of formats - .doc/docx, PDF, HTML, TXT, RTF, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, PRC, and MOBI files. What this means is that if you play it right, you will never need to connect the Kindle Fire directly to USB.
The email application isn't the same as Gmail, but if you set it up properly, it works similarly to the native Android Gmail app. It sets Gmail up as an IMAP account, so you do get push notifications. Obviously, no labels, archiving, or threaded conversations. After getting used to the features of native Gmail, this feels a bit like going back to the stone ages (or iOS). I wish there was an option to get the native Gmail app on the Kindle Fire, but I understand why they had to ship an email client with support for all email services.
For non-Gmail users, the email application is sufficient as well. I used it with our AnandTech IMAP servers without a problem. Deleting accounts is a little awkward (you have to back out to the accounts page, tap and hold and then remove account) but otherwise the experience is pretty straightforward. I've also found that the email app doesn't always respect you telling it not to automatically check for emails, which can be a bit disturbing if you're trying to do something else and new email notifications keep appearing.
The email experience is ok overall, it's no where near as good as the iPad - partially due to the smaller screen, but it is easier to read and reply to things on here vs a smartphone with an even smaller display. The Kindle Fire's form factor does allow you to have somewhat of a smartphone experience by allowing you to hold the device in both hands and thumb away at the keyboard.
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Reflex - Friday, December 2, 2011 - link
So come back in February. By then we'll be on the cusp of a new generation of devices. Right now the Playbook is defficient. Its a nice set of hardware with a lacking software stack. Out of the box it simply does not do what most people want. When it does, I'm sure AT will check it out, but having them review it now is likely to simply get it slammed since it simply won't work for most people who do not already own a BB.ComputerGuy2006 - Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - link
The "final words" section says "The Kindle Fire is probably the best tablet you can buy at $199.". This is troubling.It was never explained how a $200 playbook isnt as good as the $200 kindle. Seems to me the playbook has double the ram and double the storage space. The playbook has two camera and a micro-HDMI port.
So as long RIM can keep its promise and make the playbook capable of running android apps, I dont see how the kindle can beat the playbook in ANYWAY unless you want to spend lots of money on the amazon app store.
VivekGowri - Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - link
Honestly, as tempting as the PB is at $199, RIM's utter failure to deliver features that were promised at launch even 8 months after release is pretty worrying. The lack of native email, contacts, and calendar as of December 2011 is blatantly unacceptable.doesitreallymatter - Friday, December 2, 2011 - link
It is unacceptable that those key apps are lacking. In 2 months when/if RIM delivers these apps, what will be your opinion then?As long as those apps are delivered along with the android support, I just don't see how the Fire can compete with the playbook.
I just don't understand how the conclusion has no mention of the playbook at all.
Reflex - Friday, December 2, 2011 - link
It also does not mention the Nook Tablet. Why? Because it hasn't been reviewed it. If the Playbook becomes competitive, and thats a big if honestly, I'm sure they'll take a look. But really, February? You mean almost a year after the device they give it basic functionality everyone else has shipped with from the beginning?For me, even if the Playbook was competitive, I just can't see that as a well supported platform worth me investing into the ecoysystem of.
dgburns - Wednesday, December 7, 2011 - link
Perhaps you missed the announce a while ago that RIM has dropped the Android App Player from development? So your touted "android support" isn't coming....dgburns - Wednesday, December 7, 2011 - link
The Playbook will NEVER have the ecosystem Amazon delivers with the Fire. As many commentors have implied, that's a HUGE differentiator.And to those who say the PlayBook is the better device at $199 if you own a BlackBerry smartphone already, I disagree. I've got TWO BlackBerry smartphones (different models, from two employers) and as nice as the PlayBook hardware is I STILL don't want one. Even "bridged" to a BB, the PlayBook is SO limited. Will it get better come February (or whenever RIM REALLY releases a update)? Probably, but even then it won't have the ecosystem the Fire brings.
jedivulcan - Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - link
I wish this review went into a bit more nitpicking with the display like I've seen with the other AnandTech reviews. In my experience with having two Kindle Fires, the displays are so wildly different that it's almost like looking at two different products when you have them side by side.The first Kindle Fire I received from Amazon on the day it came out had a duller backlight, some backlight bleeding when viewing older television shows on Netflix, and warmer, almost yellow colors, one or two dead pixels, and hit or miss viewing angles.
The second one I got a week later had a brighter backlight, a ton of backlight bleeding, bright dead pixels on the screen (very apparent in one location), cool blue washed out colors, and terrible viewing angles.
https://img.skitch.com/20111130-x9fq2qskte8kas62jg...
https://img.skitch.com/20111130-dm18ykeb8kud98w4t2...
Reflex - Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - link
Totally bizarre. I'm not implying you haven't seen what you've seen, but I've handled more than a dozen Fire's now and the screens have been consistent with each other and very very high quality. The one I own and took on trips got noticed repeatedly and the first comment most people had was about how nice the screen looked. Its typically the standout feature hardware wise from most people I've discussed it with.Your situation is odd to me because normally I'd suspect a bad run, but you got them a week apart. I really have no idea, but I will say it does not jive with my anecdotal experience or what I"m reading elsewhere. Anyone else see this issue?
VivekGowri - Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - link
Hmmm mine is totally fine, so was Anand's. I really, really like the display quality, though I would have preferred a more neutral colour temperature. I'm not sure why you had so many issues with the display, that's very very odd.