Kindle Fire 7" Tablet Now Shipping $199 - New Kindles From $79 - Reviews are out

just reading this top of this page..don't understand the hate for the Amazon AppStore app. First of all, you get something free every day. If you don't like that, then your CAG badge should be turned in now. Second, I'm not sure on the battery drain and constant checking issue. My battery was the same from out of the box, for one week, then installed the Amazon app, battery lasted the same. Plus, I think it only checks for updates when you first launch it. If you're that paranoid, just reboot and don't launch it.

I must have some 50 something free apps tied to the Amazon Appstore since getting my tab and phone in August..its great, don't know why I'd ever stop using it..
 
[quote name='token2k6']Plus, I think it only checks for updates when you first launch it. If you're that paranoid, just reboot and don't launch it. [/QUOTE]

It installs a background service that automatically loads on boot and will check for updates as long as the device is on, you will get Amazon App Store notifications even if you haven't started up the program since powering it on. You cannot disable the update scanning without completely uninstalling the application.

The free apps are nice, but frankly you'd be lucky to get more than one every week or two that are worth using. There's such a small selection on it right now that it's pretty limiting trying to use it as a primary app store.
 
Considering getting this thing. Can anyone with a rooted version try out "Modern Combat 2" for me and see if it runs well?

What's the battery life on the Fire like?
 
[quote name='Redeema']Free app of the day on Monday is Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots and is optimized for play on the Kindle Fire.[/QUOTE]

Not according to the website, it's "Dabble HD".
Was looking forward to some Fruit Ninja.
 
Me too, I don't know what happened. There was a press release and everything:
ONE DAY ONLY: Celebrating the Release of the Kindle Fire, the Blockbuster Game will be Monday's Free App of the Day​
​
BRISBANE, Australia - November 25, 2011 - Acclaimed game developer Halfbrick today announced that one of its biggest mobile titles of 2011, Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots, will be available for Android devices on Monday, November 28. It will be available exclusively through Amazon and is optimized for the newly released Kindle Fire.

 As part of its Cyber Monday promotions, Amazon will offer Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots as the Free App of the Day. Following the promotion, Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots will be available through Amazon Appstore for $0.99. Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots can be downloaded here:http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/fruit-ninja-puss-in-boots/id469297662?mt=8.

 Stepping into the boots of the swashbuckling feline hero, Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots brings the trademark Spanish flair to the famed Fruit Ninja franchise, offering two exclusive modes, unlockable weapons and Spanish-themed backgrounds inspired by DreamWorks Animation's hit motion picture "Puss in Boots." The furry fighter slices his way through Desperado Mode, which adds Magic Beans and enhanced waves and scoring, and Bandito Mode, a four-tiered challenge adventure where players must work through a number of increasingly difficult and varied puzzle-style slicing games. Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots was a top five best-selling iOS game during its release week and received a perfect "5 out of 5" review score from renowned mobile games site Modojo.com.
 For more information about Halfbrick and Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots, please visithttp://www.halfbrick.com.
Click to expand...

Emailed the PR company and they said this to me:

Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots isn’t going to be available on the Android store today and is on hold. We will contact you when we have an update.
Click to expand...
 
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I ~think~ I'm sold for one of these. Recommended case/cover? Also, are screen protectors for tablets worth it?

I hate that cases are like $30-$40 -_-
 
[quote name='lilboo']I ~think~ I'm sold for one of these. Recommended case/cover? Also, are screen protectors for tablets worth it?

I hate that cases are like $30-$40 -_-[/QUOTE]

I just got this case for $14. Nothing fancy and gets the job done at a good price. I stayed away from the Marware ones since most of those get mixed reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UTNHCY
 
Free app today on Amazon is Jelly Defense, looks and runs great on the Kindle Fire! Also regarding cases, I got the Tumbuk2 Kindle Fire Envelope Sleeve:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005K2XM94/ref=oh_o00_s00_i01_details

Nice tough neoprene slipcase with velcro-closing flap, but it is fairly basic, and I would rather have a "book stye" case that fully protects the Fire while in use (and when closed). I wish they made an Otterbox for the Fire, I have one for my Droid X and it works great.
 
Anyone notice any browser improvements after the update? I test it out tonight, but it's probably the worst part of the Fire for me.
 
I'm sure it is in this thread somewhere, but can anyone recommend a quality leather case for the kindle w/ keyboard? Not looking for the cheapest, but a quality leather case. Thanks in advance.
 
Any thoughts on the Kindle Fire versus iPad 2? I am going to buy one of them but I cannot decide which one. I already have an iPhone 4S, if that changes the equation at all.

My primary use for whatever tablet I get will be to use it as an e-book reader and web browser.
 
[quote name='jr233270']Any thoughts on the Kindle Fire versus iPad 2? I am going to buy one of them but I cannot decide which one. I already have an iPhone 4S, if that changes the equation at all.

My primary use for whatever tablet I get will be to use it as an e-book reader and web browser.[/QUOTE]

If moneys not an issue getting an Ipad is the better choice. Note that you get no flash with the Ipad and the Ipad 3 seems to be coming early next year so holding off would be wise.
 
[quote name='ajumbaje']Would anyone be using this just for books and instant streaming? If I get one, those are my main uses[/QUOTE]

Exactly why I got it for my wife, but won't be able to report back until Christmas sorry.
 
Does anybody else have a hissing sound when using it with the headphones? I plugged about 3 headphones and I get a hissing sound in the background when listening to audio or when using the browser. I also get little cracking pops when I'm plugging in the headphones. I am being sent a replacement but I am wondering if its common. This static noise was one of the reasons I sold my Turtle Beach X31. That noise was annoying and I didnt like it. Heard that hissing sound when volume was down. now the fire has this same shit. damn. I shouldnt be forced to buy 200 headphones considering the ipod touch and iphone work perfectly with my headphones.
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005QJR346/ref=oh_o05_s00_i00_details

This case was mentioned earlier in the thread when it was $9.99. Nothing exciting to report about it other than it feels like a $9.99 (now at $12.99) case and that it works. I dislike that I can't prop it up by itself horizontally without something to keep it from sliding flat.

[quote name='rvdrock']Anyone using a stylus on this thing, I just bought one...should be here Monday[/QUOTE]

I tried using a DS Lite stylus the first day I got it and the Fire didn't respond to it. I'm guessing it's looking for fingertip size contact for it to register.


[quote name='lakers2008']Does anybody else have a hissing sound when using it with the headphones? I plugged about 3 headphones and I get a hissing sound in the background when listening to audio or when using the browser. I also get little cracking pops when I'm plugging in the headphones. I am being sent a replacement but I am wondering if its common. This static noise was one of the reasons I sold my Turtle Beach X31. That noise was annoying and I didnt like it. Heard that hissing sound when volume was down. now the fire has this same shit. damn. I shouldnt be forced to buy 200 headphones considering the ipod touch and iphone work perfectly with my headphones.[/QUOTE]

Just checked out my Fire, no hissing while listening to something on the Amazon Cloud and while browsing the web. I'm using a
 
[quote name='ajumbaje']Would anyone be using this just for books and instant streaming? If I get one, those are my main uses[/QUOTE]

i've never had an e-reader... i bought it almost exclusively to browse the web and test Android apps on... and based on that I am completely happy with my purchase, and don't understand all this negative press this device gets for web browsing... it's perfectly fine for me

i've used an iPad 2 before if that makes any difference, but here's my opinion:

reading books: IMO it's a bit heavy... it's like holding up a hardcover and not a softcover... i have no problem with the screen or interface for reading text, except for the whole lack of physical buttons thing

watching movies: honestly, having the speaker on top is EXTREMELY annoying for me... so when you watch movies while having it in landscape orientation, all of the sound is clearly coming from the left side of the device... I cannot stand this one bit, it's like having one side of your headphones being broken... I won't use it to watch Netflix until I find some dock that will let me play the sound form 2 speakers on the left & right side of the Fire when in landscape mode
 
[quote name='ajumbaje']Would anyone be using this just for books and instant streaming? If I get one, those are my main uses[/QUOTE]

That's pretty much what I'm doing with mine. The streaming's worked well for me for both music (Amazon) and videos (Amazon and Hulu), and as for reading it's a nice middle ground between the small screen of my iPhone and the unwieldy size of my iPad. But whisper sync means that if I do read a bit on either (or on my wife's Kindle Touch), I can pick up where I left off on the Fire with ease. For non-Kindle reading, mostly comics and magazines in my case, it's proven a serviceable option, even if it doesn't handle them as smoothly as iOS.
 
[quote name='1modernboy']That's pretty much what I'm doing with mine. The streaming's worked well for me for both music (Amazon) and videos (Amazon and Hulu), and as for reading it's a nice middle ground between the small screen of my iPhone and the unwieldy size of my iPad. But whisper sync means that if I do read a bit on either (or on my wife's Kindle Touch), I can pick up where I left off on the Fire with ease. For non-Kindle reading, mostly comics and magazines in my case, it's proven a serviceable option, even if it doesn't handle them as smoothly as iOS.[/QUOTE]

i would be in the exact same boat as you, have a fire, iphone and ipad lol
 
[quote name='lakers2008']Does anybody else have a hissing sound when using it with the headphones? I plugged about 3 headphones and I get a hissing sound in the background when listening to audio or when using the browser. I also get little cracking pops when I'm plugging in the headphones. I am being sent a replacement but I am wondering if its common. This static noise was one of the reasons I sold my Turtle Beach X31. That noise was annoying and I didnt like it. Heard that hissing sound when volume was down. now the fire has this same shit. damn. I shouldnt be forced to buy 200 headphones considering the ipod touch and iphone work perfectly with my headphones.[/QUOTE]

I have the hiss on mine, too. I use Ultimate Ears and I heard it as soon as I plugged it in. The Fire quickly shuts off the headphone port if there's nothing playing, but you can clearly hear a two second hiss when you stop any media, and it's there all the time while it's playing. It doesn't bother me for video or games, but I wouldn't listen to music on it, not with headphones.
 
[quote name='AwRy108']You should add that it comes with a free year of Amazon Prime, too--that's a $79 value![/QUOTE]


Am I missing something here? I ordered one for my gf for xmas and I only got a free month (which doesn't get added on to my current prime subscription, making it useless)
 
Amazon Prime is free for just 1 month with the purchase of the KF. The 1 year Prime membership was a typo when some of the tech sites started posting info on the Tablet.
 
I'm loving the Kindle Touch 3G. Makes me excited about reading again. Already picked up a few books from the cyberweek/post BF sales.

I also picked up a Kindle Keyboard 3G from Target BF. I may give it to my mom or dad as an Xmas present.

I may get the next version of the Fire, depending on what improvements they make to it. At the moment, the Nook tablet has a slight edge for me personally, so I'm just going to wait it out.
 
Played around with a Fire at Target last night.

Didn't really care for it. I mainly use my iPad in portrait orientation and the 7" 16x9 screen of the Fire is just to narrow in portrait. Really made e-books look weird with that skinny column of text--and land scape is too wide a column of text.

4x3 is a better ratio for tablets IMO--unless you're mainly using them for internet and video and thus use it in landscape most of the time I guess. I mainly use my ipad for reading newspapers and pdfs, along with a little web surfing and random app stuff, so I really prefer the 4x3 ratio. Also need the bigger screen for a lot of my PDF documents.

I ordered a Kindle Touch for my parents. I gave them my K2 last year when I got a K3, but my mom uses it all the time so they really need a 2nd one. Looking forward to playing around with it a bit over xmas with helping them set it up etc. Looks like a nice piece of hardware. Not enough for me to upgrade from my K3 though since I don't use my Kindle for much beyond reading in bed since getting my iPad and iPhone.
 
I love Special Offers! I only paid $34 for my Kindle 3 but even if you paid the full price I can see special offers saving you at least half the amount you paid for it over the products life, if not more.
 
Don't forget the free Amazon app of the day today, Living Dead HD (made by the people who did Grave Defense HD), another tower defense game. Looks and plays great on the Kindle Fire!
 
[quote name='ssjmichael']I love Special Offers! I only paid $34 for my Kindle 3 but even if you paid the full price I can see special offers saving you at least half the amount you paid for it over the products life, if not more.[/QUOTE]

Outside of the $5 off 10 coupon the offers are weak for the last few months.
 
[quote name='giantqtipz']there was a dead space game on the market when the fire was released. now its out...[/QUOTE]

sounds from the reviews that it is very buggy and doesn't load past the EA splash page for a lot of people

probably has something to do with some of the updates Amazon has rolled out for the Fire

would be surprised if it doesn't go back into testing for a few weeks and is rereleased soon
 
What non-Fire Kindle would most people recommend to get as of today? I don't want a 3G one really and I already have an Ipad 1 so I don't need a Fire. Is the touch worth the extra dough or is the cheapest one with special offers the way to go? Keep in mind this will be used exclusively as an e-reader, I will just use my Ipad for everything else.
 
I've got a $79 kindle on the way and am a bit dismayed the awesome leather covers with the lights don't work for it. None of the covers I've seen look good enough to justify their price. Any of you guys have a case recommendation for a standard Kindle?
 
[quote name='RollingSkull']I've got a $79 kindle on the way and am a bit dismayed the awesome leather covers with the lights don't work for it. None of the covers I've seen look good enough to justify their price. Any of you guys have a case recommendation for a standard Kindle?[/QUOTE]

I got this one for my son since we bought him the regular $79 kindle for Christmas:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ZKKKNM/ref=oh_o04_s00_i01_details

And I got this for the Fire that I got my wife for Christmas:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0062PZ5RK/ref=oh_o04_s00_i00_details

I know both of those are pretty plain, but as long as they serve the purpose of housing the Kindles.
 
Personally, I have never messed with the Playbook. I have looked at them, but more less stayed away because Blackberry just seems to always be behind on things. Far as the Fire, I think it's awesome. I had to open up the one I got for my wife just so I could make sure everything was legit :) I sat here nearly 2 hours last week messing with it and I was really impressed. Web pages, Youtube vids, Netflix, etc etc all worked flawlessly. I almost want one for myself now lol.
 
[quote name='RollingSkull']That looks outstanding. Thank you![/QUOTE]

For less than $15, it seems to be a good buy considering everything you get with it. Add that up and the number of positive reviews, I think you should be good to go.
 
[quote name='jaydepps']What do you guys recommend as the better choice: Blackberry Playbook or Kindle Fire?[/QUOTE]
While I cannot directly comment on either, I would lean toward the Fire due to potentially better long term support with Android from Amazon and/or Google
 
i'm loving my kindle touch case with light, it's pricey at 60 bucks, but when i priced out a 3rd party case and decent clip on light, it came out to 50 bucks. So i ended up paying 10 bucks more for the form fitting case, and light that uses the kindle battery. No need for batteries. The light is well designed and does a great job at night. Really slick case overall, highly recommended, even though the price is pretty high.
 
My lighted case for my Kindle shipped yesterday and is due tomorrow. Yeah! And I agree - after pricing a good light and case, the lighted case seems like not a bad deal *and* it uses the Kindle as power source which to me is a big plus. Well... as long as it doesn't turn out that then my Kindle runs dead every few days. I am a little worried about that, especially with the low-end Kindle that has 1 month run time (without a light drawing power from it).
 
[quote name='RollingSkull']I've got a $79 kindle on the way and am a bit dismayed the awesome leather covers with the lights don't work for it. None of the covers I've seen look good enough to justify their price. Any of you guys have a case recommendation for a standard Kindle?[/QUOTE]

Wait a sec? The lighted leather cover doesn't work with the $79 Kindle? That's what I bought mine for! I thought it worked with it. No???

EDIT: whew, no it does work with it. You just need the right one: http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Lighte...1ZPY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1323285666&sr=8-3 And that is what I'd ordered.
 
Jeeze, Amazon charges $60 for the lighted cover for a device that costs $79?! I can't believe you people pay those prices. Amazon is raking in the dough with those considering how little it probably cost to make (I'd say $10
 
[quote name='ssjmichael']Jeeze, Amazon charges $60 for the lighted cover for a device that costs $79?! I can't believe you people pay those prices. Amazon is raking in the dough with those considering how little it probably cost to make (I'd say $10
 
[quote name='62t']got a link to that case?[/QUOTE]

Mine was for the Kindle 3. It's made by a company called CaseCrown and looks like this. I'm pretty sure I paid less, but I may have had ebay bucks:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CaseCrown-F...?pt=US_Tablet_Accessories&hash=item2eb9c6982c

They sell ones for the new Kindle straight from amazon for ~$10. CaseCrown has some very solid reviews for their cases if you look through amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=case+crown+kindle&x=0&y=0#/ref=a9_sc_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Acasecrown+kindle+4&keywords=casecrown+kindle+4&ie=UTF8&qid=1323286495
 
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