Amazon Kindle Fire hands-on! [video]

Tablets

We just saw the Amazon Kindle Fire in person, and it really is about as close as it comes to a BlackBerry PlayBook as far as the exterior goes. It’s nearly identical save for the Amazon branding, and the lack of a camera and microphone. The touch panel and screen are the same, and the exterior casing is almost an exact replica. As far as the software, Amazon’s heavily-customized Android OS looks to be just perfect for what Amazon intend for users to do with this tablet — watch movies, read books, play music, browse the web and spend money on Amazon services. We saw games being played, movies being watched, and the web browser in use, and while it was mostly smooth, there were notable hiccups and stutters when switching between apps and tasks. All in all, at $199, it’s an incredibly compelling offer, though the new Kindle or Kindle touch for $79 and $99, respectively, seem more attractive to us in addition to an iPad or Android tablet. Check the gallery below for our hands-on images and check out the video after the break!

100 Comments
  • Neoprimal

    Aaaand just like that, Amazon has all but made irrelevant, most of the other 7 inch Android Tablets as well as the Playbook price reduction (ie: as long as the customer didn’t have a preference anyway). Wow. 
    If I didn’t already own an Android Tablet, I’d definitely jump in and scoop this up. 

  • Anonymous

    I guess other designs ARE possible.

  • http://leaderaccountancy.com.au Jerry Zhao

    I use table for ready most of the time. I will go toward this not iPad due to the huge price diff. Just only if Amazon could a little bit faster next time. We will see what the next iPad could do soon?

  • Anonymous

    I wonder how Amazon will deal with Jail-breaking? That could lead to huge losses in sales of content and apps for them. Probably even ad revenue loss too.

    • http://twitter.com/technegro Techngro

      If they’re smart they won’t look at it like that. The reasonably small number of people who will take the chance at rooting this device can only be a plus for Amazon. They’re goal is to get as many of these things in people’s hands as possible. It drives the image that it is a desirable product and it drives developers who want the largest install base possible. If this device gets rooted right away, it will definitely drive sales, after that, it will be the strength of Amazon’s services that will have to stand on its own. Just look what happened when ppl discovered that the Nook could be rooted easily. It became an instant star. 

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Brian-Chau/618147054 Brian Chau

      If it can be rooted, I would no doubt get one myself. Being able to root would give me peace of mind that I can modifiy it to my likings, whether I would actually do it is another matter. However, I see the majority of the Kindle users would not bother to root this thing.

  • Anonymous

    wow the id and specs are identical to rim’s playbook.  if you wanted a playbook with android this is as close as you’re going to get. I guess that is what happens when you get quanta to design you a product because you want to rush out a tablet without stopping to think why you want to build one in the first place.  Quanta sells the design to someone else who can afford to undercut in price and make it up in services.Next time rim, before you rush out playbook 2, take a breath and focus on the end user and develop a truely useful tablet.  design one that means i no longer need a laptop nor do i need to carry binders around campus(stylus sounds great).

  • anonymous

    ASIANS CAN ACTUALLY READ MINDS!!!!!!!!!!
    they can hear, and see what your visually thinking
    this is the complete total truth

    the reason alot of asians have completely expressionless faces, only associate with asians and dont associate with non asians very much is to avoid accidentally revealing that they can read read minds, if all over a billion asians were to show facial expressions all the time just as much as non asians, associate with non asians much more, and be much more friendly and talkative, then alot of them might accidentally reveal that they can read minds by accidentally showing a facial expression or dirty look when someone thinks, or visually pictures something in their mind they dont like or find astonishing or funny, and if they were all to associate with non asians alot more there would be alot more people around for them to accidentally show facial expressions when those other people think things they dont like, so they only associate with asians so there wont be anyone around for them to see that and have any accidents happen in the first place

    think about it, its not normal how alot of them act, and the entire way they act is all to hide their mind reading abilities, it makes perfect sense to do all of that to hide that they can read minds, because all of that is the perfect way to do it!
    every single asian on the planet is hiding their mind reading abilities, they will lie about having mind reading abilities forever!
    because they value hiding their mind reading abilities more then their own lives!
    thats why nobody knows about it!

    try thinking, best yet visually picturing in your mind something something absolutely crazy as you possibly can when you are around asians, and try looking for asians who give people particular looks, especially dirty looks for what appears to be for completely no reason, that is them giving people looks when they hear and visually see someone thinking something they dont like, find funny or astonishing
    it still happens despite a large number of them having completely expressionless faces all the time, it would just happen alot more if none of them had completely expressionless faces all the time, its not uncommon!

    i know this sounds crazy, impossible, and completely unbelievable, BUT IT ISNT CRAZY WHEN ITS TRUE

    the reason you think this truly is crazy, impossible and unbelieveable is because our society has propagandized people into believing that nothing extra ordinary is real and that is really is impossible, and that its crazy to think that its true that people can read minds, all just to cover up that asians can read minds! who says that cant exist? the people who have mind reading abilities who are trying to cover it up!

    you have to spread the message!!!
    the world has to know about this!!!!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FSILT3VI2BBIWK22RMXACQRO6A m w

    I own an iPad and it’s great, but once you get your hands on the other Android Tablets, they just have a nice feel to them also.  We do a lot of reading in this house using the 2nd Gen Kindle 3G, so the Kindle Fire is a natural progression for us.

  • Anonymous

    Is it just me or did it look like that guy was having some issues with the magazine? It’s hard to believe there wouldn’t be a table of contents like in a Kindle book with an option to go to the cover.

  • Anonymous

    Wow OK man that really looks like its gonna be good dude.
    web-privacy.de.tc

  • http://www.ecigator.com/ Electronic Cigarette

    This looks like a cool little gadget.

  • Anonymous

    If I freaking hear sixteen million colors again, as if this was the ’90s…

  • http://twitter.com/MrThreeSixPhive Mr.KEWZ

    Lets be realistic this is an amazing device with a great price point. No its not an iPad killer, No its not a Blackerry Playbook. Amazon did a smart thing when they made this, they saw what Barnes & Noble was doing with the Nook and too the idea and stepped it up. The device looks like the playbook because it is created by the same company. Will this take away sales from Apple’s iPad yes but it won’t be by a large margin. This is for people who want a device they can carry around and read their books. iPads are beautiful but big and definitely more pricey. If anyone here has owned a Nook you will see how bad the Android gated program they had and how sluggish and horrible it was. You could tell after using the Nook that it was a real bad version Google android. This is not Honeycomb plus honeycomb tablets are failing tremendously. In my opinion the tables of the future will only be runnings iOS or the upcoming Windows8. 

    But back to the Kindle I am going to get one because honestly for 199 you can’t go wrong bottom line. So what it doesn’t have a camera (Yes a front facing camera would have been a good idea, but save it for the next version ala Apple), So what it doesn’t have a microphone (can be added in next version). Playbooks are going to the same grave of the HP Touchpad. 

    What Apple did  to mobile devices Amazon is doing that to e-readers. 

    This years biggest sellers will be imo iPhone 5, Kindle Fire, Samsung Focus S, Samsung Galaxy S2.

  • http://twitter.com/xarzy888 xarzy castro

    A very affordable piece of tablet for simple usage consumption. Nice post

  • Derekpa

    All I needed to hear was “Cloud” and it’s reminiscent of everyone else..

    Someone, please…..  Be original and impress us with originality

  • Mike from Boston

    Will the Kindel Fire all me to print web pages like my iPod touch?

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