(by Dan Halyburton) My Kindle Fire arrived UPS shortly after my order. The order and tracking from Amazon was timely and updated regularly. The unit arrives in a eco-friendly cardboard carton that?s utilitarian but attractive enough. A simple instruction card is tucked into a slot in the lid of the box. The Fire is wrapped in a film to protect the device and its easily removed. The only other item is the charger. A micro USB affair but the cord is hard wired to the power lump, a move to save money I?m sure.
The Fire powers on with a very small button on the bottom of the device. This will prove to be a hassle in the future. The device is black, the button is black and there are no other external controls. My biggest issue with the form factor is that I don?t know which end is up. The IPad has a home button, that helps you orient to the device. I guess I will need a case that tells me which end is up.
I fire up the unit for the first time and slide the unlock banner and I am in business. Wi-fi set up and other adjustments are super easy. I play a bit and get distracted with a call, so I power off the Fire. I return to the machine, and now I have a problem. It?s stuck on the logo screen and nothing will fix the problem. My quick call to Amazon finds no fix, and they send a new Fire.
My new Fire arrives next day and all is well. It?s time to PLAY. The Fire is already set up on my Kindle account, which is a nice touch, and my books are all there. I just need to download my latest read which is the Steve Jobs biography. Fire is a bit heavy for a traditional Kindle reader, but it is lighter than the IPad. In my hand, the smaller form factor just seems comfortable. The screen is very bright, and the touch is crisp with only an occasional lag from input to response.
The familiar bookshelf style graphics holds all of my books and apps. There are sections for Newsstand, Books, Music, Video, Docs, Apps and Web. There are a few preloaded feature apps. Interestingly, there is no calendar app installed. You will have to go to the app store to find that free app. You can set up imap or pop mail.
Streaming movies work great from Amazon Prime and Netflix. There is also a Hulu app in the Amazon curated store. This is a heavily modified Android operating system that is focused the Amazon walled garden. When I dig into the settings section, I found the ability to open the device up to ?unknown 3rd party apps? from Android. I found plenty of the useful apps without opening myself up to the sometimes-dicey Android Marketplace.
Streaming on The Kindle Fire
Radio fans and operators will both like the Fire. Although I didn?t find any station apps in the curated Kindle store, they may be available if you open up the Kindle 3rd party apps capability. The lack of station apps are not a problem because the Fire has three of the most popular radio apps which are TuneIn, iHeart Radio and Pandora which are available in the store. All of these download and install easily, and they are free.
iHeart Radio wants my zip-code and wants me to log-in or create an account with my email. I select ?later?, and it takes me to a quick tutorial page and the station selections menu. iHeart stations start playing almost instantly. TuneIn takes me to a welcome screen, senses my location and then shows me local stations and genres. Stations in TuneIn take 4 to 5 seconds to spool up the buffering depending on the station. The wait seems normal for mobile devices. When I opened Pandora, it asked me to log in. Since I have an account, it quickly showed all my stations. Stations played faster than in TuneIn, but a bit slower than iHeart Radio. All three apps sound good, and the Fire?s sound is decent for a tablet. It?s loud enough and clear.
The Fire and The iPad
There will be a great deal written about these two segment leaders. Apple clearly has a very refined product. The IPad has more power, polish and features. The IPads lead is considerable. The power of the iTunes store will be hard to beat. The closed and controlled Apple architecture makes the IPad easier to use, and IPads are fully featured and priced accordingly.
However, the Fire is a worthy competitor. The $199.00 price tag should light up sales. Fire handles its reader and multimedia role nicely. If estimates of sales for the Fire are in the neighborhood of 6 million units, Amazon has a hit on their hand. If Tablet users discover the multimedia power of these two worthy competitors then streaming radio wins too.
Dan Halyburton is EVP McVay Cook and Associates and can be reached at 214-707-7237. Follow Dan @danhalyburton. E-mal Dan at dan@halyburton.com
Add a Comment Send This Story To A Friend
