Amazon Kindle Fire, as well as the similar tablet from Barnes & Noble by name Nook Tablet stand apart from the race in the e-reader market. They do not participate in a contest called "Let's you buy our tablet on Android instead of Apple iPad. Yes, we know that it is worse, but it is cheaper", despite the fact that these tablets are also based on Android. Amazon and Barnes & Noble does not make sense to get involved in this fight just because the other manufacturers do not have the main advantage of the two companies - the online store of digital content.
For this reason, in the e-readers market, Amazon and Barnes & Noble impose on other manufacturers' prices almost below cost and in the tablet market, they are now playing their game, leading other manufacturers to hysteria.
The pioneer in this business is the company Barnes & Noble, which released ebook reader Nook Color, which, although based on Android, but is a very complete solution for buying ebooks online, to play various media files (photos, music, videos), and Internet surfing. Unlike other Android tablets, here users don't need to spend time to set up the system for themselves - you can buy the tablet and quietly enjoy it. And, in addition, Barnes & Noble literally "broke" the market is the fact that a tablet released at a price of only $250, and in doing so he was smart IPS-matrix and with a capacitive sensor. Tablet of this quality is impossible to determine for the money to buy.
The new tablet from Amazon is a continuation of the same tradition. Kindle Fire is also based on Android, but offers its own shell, which serves for the purchase of books and other media files from the site Amazon,'ll play these media files and Internet surfing. Thus the price of the Amazon tablet is only $69, so that HTC, Samsung, RIM, Sharp and other manufacturers have a 7-inch tablet cry bitter tears and had to reduce the price of their devices through the floor, or they did not scrape.
However, let's have a look at what the Kindle Fire, and then we draw conclusions about how the device will be able to move into the market. (Traditional thanks for speedy internet whereby the plate to me rushed from the United States). So, Amazon Kindle Fire, a 7-inch tablet with its own shell.
Technical characteristics
Processor - TI OMAP 4, 1 GHz dual-core
operating system - Android 2.3
Display - 7", TFT, IPS-matrix, 1024 × 600, capacitive sensor, Gorilla Glass coating
RAM - 512 MB
Built-in storage - 8GB
memory card - no
Ports - 3.5 mm audio, microUSB
Network - Wi-Fi a / B / G / n
GSM - No
GPS - No
Webcam - No More - Accelerometer
Battery - removable
Size - 190 × 120 × 11,4 mm.
Weight - 413 g
Supported formats - Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.
Well, in general, more or less standard features for the 7-inch tablet. From features - no microphone and webcam, no GPS, and no support for GSM, access to the network - only through Wi-Fi.
Trim
Just charger and AC adapter. That's all. And with the microUSB cable into the adapter tightly clamped, so if you need to connect the tablet to the computer to download the data to it, you have to buy microUSB separately. In such cases, put the wire in the kit, and the adapter is USB-only entrance.
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| Kindle Fire Equipment |
Look and feel of the Tablet
In appearance the Amazon Kindle Fire resembles BlackBerry Playbook - a workhorse in the harsh northern design: the glass lid and the black rubberized plastic on the back and ends.
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| Front part |
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| Back cover |
At the bottom end are headphone port microUSB, power button:
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| The lower end |
About the power button - my compliments to developers: I think they're a couple of weeks thinking about how to make a button and shove it into a butt, so it was the most uncomfortable to press. They brilliantly coped with the task - more inconvenient power button I have not seen anywhere else!
At the top end are two speakers.
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| The top end |
No buttons is here as a class, although Android 2.3 inside. So if the tablet "open" and get it to the standard Android second version, manage applications without traditional buttons will be rather uncomfortable.
However, there is its own shell here and we will see how it all live without buttons.
Operation
When you first turn the tablet, it requires some time to connects to the Internet and access the site Amazon user guide.
Home is as follows.
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| Home |
Information on the desktop is divided into the following categories: search, menu, "carousel" of books and applications, icons, web-based applications.
Go over the menu.
Newsstand
Literally newsstand, ie various periodicals: newspapers, weeklies, magazines. Initially it's empty, but you can go to the store on Amazon (in the presence of the Internet, of course) and buy something.
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| Shop periodicals |
For any ebooks, you can simply buy or to subscribe.
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| Purchasing the Newsweek magazine |
When you subscribe, the price of one copy will be nearly a quarter cheaper than normal. After payment, the publication immediately starts up.
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| Downloading the magazine... |
Reading edition sold about the same as in other tablets: the bottom are preview pages, navigation bar and toolbar controls - home, return, fonts, menu and search.
Read the publication
When you click on the control panel screen, all disappear and the page is set to full screen. In landscape mode, it displays two pages:
Landscape
When reading a magazine layout with all its fonts can not configure. However, the program-reader is very convenient mode Text View (text view), which is very handy, and besides, it's text display can be adjusted at will.
Page in Text View
Font Settings
The acquired publications are placed in the device and simultaneously copied to the "cloud" of the Amazon, that holds all the media files you have bought from Amazon. I understand that there are no restrictions.
Books
With books, it is still all the same. We go to the online shop to choose and buy.
Online store
And before you buy, you can first download a free sample - a few pages to see the layout and read the beginning. Also, even after the purchase of books for a time, there is an "Cancel your purchase" option. When you do it, they will refund your money to your credit card within three working days.
Page of the book in the store
When reading, there is no page thumbnails, but remain lower navigation bar and tool bar.
Reading books and navigation
The text is set as follows: 8 fonts 8 sizes, 3 types of distance between the lines, 3 types of padding, 3 color models (the most pleasant - black on parchment background). What more do you want? Nothing else is more flexible and convenient than this!
Setting the font
To bookmark the page, you need to point a finger at a special icon on the upper right - it then abruptly done.
Installed tab
If you press your finger on the text in a certain place and hold - there will be a special menu: write a note, select the text marker, look in the book, in Wikipedia or in "Google". If a word or phrase is in the embedded dictionary, you will also withdraw its interpretation.
Menu and interpretation of the term
Labeled marker piece is highlighted, if given to a piece of note - there appears a special icon.
Tagged piece and note the word
On the menu button, the following window.
Menu
Transitions: to cover, to content, to the beginning of the text to random page, sync with another device. Below is a list of all bookmarks, notes, and notes in this book.
The last icon is text search. It is called the string search and a very comfortable on-screen keyboard.
The onscreen keyboard
What's strange, in theory, see the book should show publications that have been uploaded to the device manually, and not with the site Amazon. I uploaded two Mobi format books but it does not show. However, they are visible in the calm "carousel" and normally read.
It later emerged that the downloaded books I put the tablet in the Documents. Books are stored in only download books from Amazon.
Music
In the "Music" section is sorted by song, album, artist and playlist. I have downloaded from a computer tracks will appear.
Music
As albums and tracks can be purchased in the online store.
Online store
The player is simple, but like doing all that is necessary. There are shuffle and loopback mode. In the settings there is the option of playing with the equalizer, but when you play with the built-in speakers practically no difference.
Tried to get a track in the store - produce strange error that I have, say, or not connected to the card account (connected), or the card is wrong (it is correct). Thus on the same card on the same account books and periodicals sold freely. Apparently, the music (and video) are restricted in the country. But restrictions peculiar - just give out such as an error, rather than to honestly say: "You did not go snout, dear , shop to buy music and video in our Amazon".
Video
Here, too, showed up movies that I wrote there from the computer.
By default, the output of various offers from online video store.
Online store
In many films and TV shows are offered several options: free viewing online, purchase, rent for a day or a normal version of high definition video.
Types of purchases
Soaps are also very convenient to buy - they are divided by seasons and episodes.
Serial
For new users of Kindle Fire, there is a special action, which you can download some free movies, series and shows for a month.
Series on stocks
Well, I must say that none of this can not be done from Russia or to look online (always get an error message), or even buy the same for their money. When you try to purchase, lease, or even download the discount comes out here is the message. So again, we did not come snout, dear compatriots. Listen to your "Boots".
Error message
And, accordingly, I am not able to test the viewing normal and HD-video, downloaded from Amazon. Any videos buy / and did not work.
Documentation
In the section Documents Kindle Fire put books in a format MOBI, I shook it, and a PDF.
Documentation
Drove the documents in PDF. In general, readable, but the screen is still too small for Files made by A4. In addition, there are no opportunities at all - just displays PDF, which can be scaled multitouch - that's all.
Apps
The penultimate item - applications.
Apps
Some applications in this section have already been established, others are in the form of a "let's we have set."
No Google Market is not here, applications are installed only in special store Amazon.
Application store
However, here we are with the Russian IP face did not work - win, a fascist, a grenade!
Grenade
Well, good though honestly wrote that you can walk the forest, and not give an error, as in the case of music - video.
Now let's see what's interesting about the installed applications. True, some of them refused to work (or dead hang at startup) - to see, again because of the indigestible IP.
Gallery
Here could espy uploaded my video. And this, in my opinion, the only application that just went from Android almost finishing.
Photos and Videos
Viewing images - the most that neither is traditionally android.
Preview
There is a slide show and the simplest types of editing.
The simplest types of editing
It is true, the tablet does not see the video in android, there are all slightly different. First of all, they support multiple video formats other than normal. Tablet to focus not seen in most standard AVI DivX and XViD - just does not understand them as a class. Normally players play only MP4 - the same as the standard player in iOS. It is not clear what such a codec to recognize MKV with H.264 and even normally play 720p without jerks, but no sound - like once again not to indulge.
Recognized video
Well, given that the application of amazonovskih can not put anything with video rotten situation - only MP4.
Pulse
Beautiful RSS-aggregator.
Home
Facebook
Like as a separate application, but in fact just called browser busy site Facebook.
IMDB
Appendix IMDB - The Internet's largest database of films.
IMDB
eMail
You can connect your account GMail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Aol, or whatever. Mail is very unpretentious, but it works. From "Gmail", you can even get a list of contacts for which there is a separate application.
List of letters
Message editor quite primitive.
Message editor
Quick Office
Some simple office.
Office
Web
This is the last item. Causes the browser Silk, who is said to Amazon, has been specially written for the tablet. States that the requested page is first passed through Amazon sky cloud service, and then given out in an optimized smaller size form and all that is all. A practical matter, any improvements or accelerations to be seen.
My page in the browser
Browser Menu
Favorites List
Zooming in the browser works well - much the same as in the iPad.
Notifications and settings
If you pull down the top of the screen, it will be the notification area or tools. On the left is the notification area, on the right is the toolbar.
Tools
More on the button to call up your device.
Settings
Battery life
With battery everything is fine. Battery life - normal brightness, Wi-Fi, a browser - a little more than 7 hours. If you just read without Wi-Fi, it lasts for over 8 hours.
What pleased is watching video (looped series in MP4) without Wi-Fi is also about 7 hours.
For the U.S. (European) market tablet, it is more than interesting. It is very convenient to buy books, music, videos, periodicals, and applications. In this tablet, it does have all the basic functions needed by most users. And it's worth a penny, from just $69.
For Russian users in its original form the tablet is less attractive, because the main function in the form of purchase of all media content from Amazon they are not in demand. And he does not buy music, videos and applications. However, for certain system can somehow trick, as is done with the Apple Store.
However, even if unclaimed, Amazon services for Russian user is already doing a lot. You can upload there own books, music and videos (in MP4, as iPad), and the plate is a convenient and comfortable it will all be played.
In addition, for certain soon to pick open the plate and get it the normal Android Market and so on. There is only one major issue: the fact that the usual second Android is not appropriate here, since the tablet there are no keys. And whether here to put a third, in which the screen is key - it is a very big question.
But in any case, even in its current form, the tablet has completely, in my opinion, is interesting.
I do not understand why many reviews for some reason compared Kindle Fire to the iPad. The devices are completely different. No one in their right mind to iPad Kindle Fire would not trade - too different weight categories. But if you have no tablet, and a little bit of money budget, then Kindle Fire is a decent option. Of course, Kindle Fire is comparable to the Nook Tablet, and Kindle Fire would be the best choice - but even without this, it is clear that Amazon has done a piece of decent metal. And a big part of the tablet market - at least in the U.S. and Europe - they simply bite off for sure!
You can buy the Kindle Fire Online for Lowest price at:
Amazon Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet
