Kindle Fire

Amazon's Deal of the Day today is a refurbished Kindle Fire for only $139. I have an earlier Kindle (B&W only, which kinda fits), but the full-color Fire should be better for things like photography magazines and instructional books, for a lot less than the price of a current iPad. I've never seen one—just passing the news along.

Mike

ADDENDUM by Ctein: The Kindle Fire and the Nook Color are excellent alternatives to the iPad if the following apply to you:

1. You don't need (or possibly don't even want) the larger screen.
2. You don't need the superior color rendition of the iPad.
3. You are comfortable doing a very small amount of software hacking to turn it into a full-fledged Android device. It's not difficult; it's about the equivalent of upgrading the power supply or video card in your component PC. You just need to follow some written instructions that aren't rocket science. If you're comfortable doing that level of tech, you can do the software upgrade. If you're purely the "I'm just an end-user" sort, that's another story.

I think both of these are great bargains for people who meet these criteria. Paula was very seriously considering getting one of them before she got my old iPad. —Ctein

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Original contents copyright 2012 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Featured Comment by Dwight: "I have one. I actually think it's preferable to the iPad. iPads are a bit too large to take everywhere and they are too big to use in bed. The Kindle does everything I would ever use a tablet for. The B&W Kindle is slightly better if you only want to read. The color one is better if you want to surf the web and do the things a tablet would do."

Featured Comment by Mike Plews: "Santa brought one of these to Mrs. Plews this year and it is a sweet little gadget. $139 is a steal for a Fire."

Comments

[Thomas]

Nook Color with microSD slot for $135, works like a charm once rooted with CyanogenMod:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/cert-pre-owned-nook-color-barnes-noble/1100666155

[Barb]

Thanks!

[Robert S.]

Please keep the reviews coming! I've been considering one of these for a while and would love to hear more about your readers' experiences.

[Colin]

This is a great deal, I thought it was a great deal at $200. Even if you don't care about the e-book thing and just want a tablet, the Kindle Fire might be the best hardware available at that price point. With a little work, you can even get the full Google Android market running.

[icexe]

We have both the Kindle Fire and the iPad.

To paraphrase a camera analogy: "The best tablet device is the one you have with you". My wife loves the Fire because it fits perfectly in her purse, and it doesn't scream "EXPENSIVE iPAD HERE!!" whenever she uses it in public places; so it's the one that's always with her.

The iPad, while being a superior device in many ways, is only used occasionally while sitting on the couch or lying in bed.

Just like a Canon 5D is a superior camera over a GF3 doesn't mean you'll want to lug it everywhere you go. Sometimes that little GF3 is plenty good enough for most situations.

[Alan Huntley]

Thanks for the heads up! I already own an iPad2 (not that intestested in the 3) and at this price who can resist? :) Just ordered one through your link; hope you get the few pennies credit.

[Chuck Holst]

My wife and I each got a Kindle Touch for Christmas. As Dwight mentioned, the B&W Kindles are better for reading. They are much easier to read in sunlight, and mine needs a recharge only about once a month, providing I leave the WiFi turned off most of the time. This makes them just about perfect for camping and for reading in the yard.

Also, lovers of the classics should note that the Gutenberg Project has a "Magic Catalog" that can be placed on your Kindle to search for and download many copyright-free books directly to the Kindle. (I'm currently reading Gibbon's "History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.") Also, Amazon has daily and monthly specials for $0.99 to $3.99 that are occasionally enticing. I picked up "Merchants of Doubt" and "Inside Scientology" this way, and just missed out on three Dava Sobel books.

[Jeff Greer]

I bought a Fire one weekend when I suddenly needed an electronic photo portfolio device. Given the price, it does a good job but one characteristic about it annoys me: Posterization in images with sections of subtle gradation (such as a seamless studio background) using the supplied Gallery application. Note that in most images you would never see this. Contrast and color saturation are also a bit higher than I would prefer. My Fire serves other uses such as an e-Reader, portable web browser and email device, MP3 player and movie player so I find it quite handy for the money. Just wish it didn't posterize so much on some of my photos.

Jeff

[Kurt Kramer]

Trying to find this now at 8:00 CDT. It has sold out. I snooze, I lose.

[Peter Hovmand]

Kindle rocks, especially the black and white one ... it is really nice for reading ... which I am pretty sure the color, back lit screen is not in the long run ... but of course it is more useful than the big one from Apple ...

[Barb]

I bought the Kindle Fire; I have a Kindle 2 that I liked, but also a Nook Color that I tolerate bacause I perfer to read in darker spaces. Now I can move my books to the Fire (I actually prefer to read Kindle due to greater number of books which are also cheaper) and will now attempt to hack the Nook just for the heck of it. What fun. Thanks for the instructions.

[Joseph Blankier]

Would Mr. Ctein please provide a link where one could find the software hacks to turn the Kindle into a full Android device.
Thanks very much

[Andrew John]

I was ready to take the plunge through your Amazon UK link even at premium price. Unfortunately this message came up: Kindle Fire is not currently available for delivery outside the US. To shop for Kindles available in the UK, please visit our Kindle Store. Anyway, keep the reviews rolling in.