Amazon Kindle Fire - The Best Tablet Value on the Market

Amazon Kindle Fire uses a 7-inch screen that is roughly half the area of the Apple iPad 2.
I prefer the iPad's larger screen for Web browsing, reading magazines, and watching videos, but I also like the idea of saving $300.

The Kindle Fire is not the best tablet I've seen this year, but I have to give credit to Amazon for seeing something that no other manufacturer--not even Apple--was able to grasp. When you look at the gap between what tablets are capable of doing, and what people actually use them for, you'll find that most people just want to be entertained.

The good
The Kindle Fire is a 7-inch tablet that links seamlessly with Amazon's impressive collection of digital music, video, magazine, and book services in one easy-to-use package. It boasts a great Web browser, and its curated Android app store includes most of the big must-have apps (such as Netflix, Pandora, and Hulu). The Fire has an ultra-affordable price tag, and the screen quality is exceptional for the price.

The bad
The budget price means no premium features (3G wireless, cameras, microphone, GPS, and location services are absent), but the biggest issues are its paltry storage (only 8GB of storage--with no expansion slot), lack of Bluetooth, and limited parental controls. Screen brightness could be better, and the app selection doesn't match Apple's or Google's (at least for now). Also, you'll need an Amazon Prime subscription to take advantage of some of the more-unique features.

The bottom line
Though it lacks the tech specs found on more-expensive Apple and Android tablets, the $199 Kindle Fire is an outstanding entertainment value that prizes simplicity over techno-wizardry.

CNet Reviews. Review date 11/13/2011. Read the review

Features

Stunning color touchscreen
Beautifully simple and easy to use
Fast Dual-Core Processor
Ultra-fast web browsing - Amazon Silk
Free Cloud Storage
Easy to hold in one hand
Magazines in rich color
100,000 Movies and TV Shows
Favorite Apps and Games
Millions of books inclusing favorite children's books
19 million songs

Quick Specs

Display: Screen size : 7 inches
Screen resolution : 1024 x 600
Screen type : LCD (Color, Backlit)
Touchscreen : Capacitive [finger]
Operating System: Android Gingerbread 2.3
Storage type: Internal storage (8 GB, Flash)
Power: Maximum battery life: Up to 8 hours
Battery size : Rechargeable
Hardware: CPU : 1 GHz
RAM : 512 MB

Networking: WiFi (integrated) : 802.11 b, g, n
WiFi encryption : WEP, WPA, WPA2
Connections: USB : 2.0 (Micro-USB port, USB charging)
Audio: Audio / headset jack : 3.5mm
Speakers : Stereo
Size & Weight: Dimensions : 7.5 x 4.7 x 0.45 in
Weight: 14.6 oz
General info: Released : November 15, 2011
Manufactur warranty : 1 year
Official site : www.amazon.com

What others say?

Gizmodo
If you like what Amazon Prime has going on in the kitchen, the Kindle Fire is a terrific seat. It's not as powerful or capable as an iPad, but it's also a sliver of the price—and that $200 will let you jack into the Prime catalog (and the rest of your media collection) easily and comfortably. Nov 14, 2011. Read the review

PC Mag
The Kindle Fire is one of a kind, at least this week. It's the first affordable, easy-to-use general-purpose tablet. It doesn't replace the Apple iPad: It complements the iPad, which is bigger, more powerful, more expensive, and has far more apps. Nov 14, 2011. Read the review

Chicago Sun-Times
The Kindle Fire is a terrific media device, particularly for $199. Is it a halfway decent tablet computer as well? Mmm...probably not. Its user interface makes a clear statement about Amazon’s intentions. That said, it has a bunch of added features that makes it into much more than a reader. Nov 13, 2011. Read the review

Laptop Magazine
The Kindle Fire isn't an iPad killer, but it is a killer deal. At $199, it's really hard to beat the package Amazon has put together. Assuming you're willing to carry a smaller 7-inch device, it combines an easy-to-use interface and one-tap access to loads of content in a well-built design. Nov 14, 2011. Read the review