Comfort. That’s what the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 has over everything else. It’s by far the most comfortable tablet to hold, and to read and watch movies on. But to be the full-fledged iPad and Nexus competitor we’re hoping for, it needs to be more than just another pretty face. More »
Chances are, if you ask a kid in the U.S. what they want to find under the tree (or holiday symbol of your choosing) this year, they’ll ask for an iPhone, iPod touch, iPad or iPad mini. Those devices occupied four of the top five spots on Nielsen’s annual holiday shopping study among kids aged 6 to 12, which tracks interest in consumer buying intent over the next six months.
The iPad was far and away the leading device in the poll, with 48 percent of kids saying they wanted one. The Nintendo Wii U took second place, despite debuting to generally lukewarm reviews, grabbing 39 percent of kids’ interest. The iPod touch scored with 36 percent of respondents, tying with the iPad mini, and the iPhone followed with 33 percent. Interestingly, the 6th most popular device on wish lists was the general category of “Computers,” the group iOS and mobile devices in general are likely having the most significant market effect upon as they continue to grow in popularity.
Interest in the iPad among children rose by 4 percentage points compared to last year, and the iPod touch and iPhone both appeared on more wish lists than in past years. Each gained 6 percentage points, and the iPad mini also saw strong interest despite (or because of) being a brand new product category just introduced this year. Tablets other than the iPad also experienced a surge, going from capturing 25 percent of kids’ attention to being on 29 percent of wish lists. In general, it seems like mobile devices are continuing a three-year upward trend, which makes sense given increased adoption rates of smartphones and tablets among U.S. adults, which in turn necessarily leads to greater exposure to these devices among children.
Nielsen’s survey also checked the wish lists of kids aged 13 or older, and found that again, the iPad took the top spot, finding a place on 21 percent of wish lists. The general category of computer followed that with 19 percent, with tablets other than the iPad coming in third with 18 percent interest. The Wii U and iPhone rounded out the top five with 17 and 14 percent respectively. Among adults, the iPad mini was only on 11 percent of wish lists, just barely beating out the Kindle Fire at 10 percent, and the iPod touch was much further down, striking a chord with 9 percent of Americans 13 and up.
Interest in the iPad actually slid among the older category of buyers compared to last holiday season, and the iPhone also dipped slightly. Apple seems to have very high visibility with children and the youth market, and that’s increasing, but it isn’t necessarily translating into equally big gains among teens and adults according to Nielsen’s survey. Still, the study points to a very strong shopping season for Apple’s devices, both among shoppers with access to their own cash and the younger set who in many households may be driving buying decisions with repeated, persistent requests.
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Amazon and Barnes & Noble have always been good at building portable reading devices. But what happens when video and apps try to elbow their way into the pure reading experience? Well, you get devices like the Nook and Kindle Fire HD – and now the Kindle HD 8.9-inch. This large tablet is so big that I’d be loath to call it an ereader at all but rather a fairly inexpensive, all-in-one device intended as sort of a “second tablet” in a home that may already have a number of these sorts of devices lying about. It’s also excellent for folks suffering from poor eyesight and who want a bit more screen real estate.
I won’t dig too deeply into this device because it is very similar to the Kindle Fire HD, which I found to be excellent (although I would give the Nook HD a bit of an edge for a superior magazine and catalog viewing, but it’s really just a question of which ecosystem you prefer). However, I think it’s important to note that this device is, in short, the first tablet Amazon knowingly released.
For as long as the Kindle Fire has been on the market, I’ve said that it and its 7-inch brethren are ereaders. While you can view video and download some apps onto these devices, they were primarily designed for reading. Books are usually front and center, the store is focused on the book experience, and most media is streaming-only, which prevents them from being useful on long-haul flights.
The 8.9-inch version of the Fire, however, is a tablet. It has a huge screen – bright and very legible – and at 1920 x 1200 pixels, it gives the Retina iPad a run for its money. The bigger screen also affords more real estate for reading and viewing web pages – a benefit if you can’t see well or are trying to view complex content like textbooks.
Otherwise, this is a scaled-up Kindle Fire HD. There is an HDMI port next to the USB port, a set of recessed buttons on the top, and the same Kindle Fire HD styling. This device, however, supports LTE and Wi-Fi (at $499) and has an HD front-facing camera on the side for video chats. In other words, this thing is competing with the likes of the Galaxy Tab and Nexus 10.
If we’re going to mention one big difference (and the Kindle Fire HD will get this feature as well) it’s Freetime, a protected environment for kids. This allows them to download and play games, read books, watch movies, and the like in an environment completely cut off from the rest of the device.
For example you can add only a handful of apps and books. These will remain in the Freetime app for kids to play. When they’re done with the tablet, all of your books and data are safe. Short of the Nook’s multiple user features, this is the second best solution for ensuring the kids don’t mess with your bookmarks or delete a bunch of data.
Can I unequivocally recommend this Fire to the average user? I would say no. A tablet of this size and style has a very specific space in the pantheon of tablets, and I don’t believe the Amazon app store and Fire UI are robust enough to support the tools users may want from a tablet at this price and this size. A similarly outfitted Nexus 10, for example, costs $400 without LTE while an iPad is nearly double that with LTE ($729), so you’re definitely getting a deal. It’s clear Amazon is playing on price here. However, is the price low thanks to expected revenue from users who are buying books, movies, and movies from Amazon on this thing? Yes. This device is subsidized by content.
So it’s great for reading (if you like a bigger screen) and great for media (in some cases). But I didn’t find it fully featured enough to make me want to use it as an everyday tablet. As a coffee table screen, sure, and as a reader for someone with bad eyesight it’s a really good value. Any other use may be problematic.
The 8.9-inch tablet means Amazon is gunning for its competitors. The list of those competitors obviously includes Barnes & Noble and its forthcoming big Nook HD, but it now also includes the iPad, any number of Samsung devices, and not to mention countless other tablets, bargain basement priced or no, that are available worldwide. By putting LTE in here, Amazon is suggesting you use this tablet like you would any other tablet out there, and that’s not quite true.
I see two possible reasons to buy this tablet. If you need the big screen, for whatever reason, and you intend to perambulate within the closed garden of Amazon content and PDFs, this tablet is for you. If you’re a novice user who doesn’t need much power, this tablet is also for you. It is far superior to much cheaper devices out there running stock Android. But this is not a tablet replacement if you, say, intend to take this on business or create content. It’s just not all there yet, but that’s not really Amazon’s concern.
I’m not as enthused by this device as others in its class. That’s my bottom line. As exciting as it is to get a bigger Kindle, there are better devices out there that are tuned to enhance the entire tablet experience, not just the close world of Amazon. And that’s fine by Amazon, I’m sure. The Fire, either in this configuration or in the smaller one, will be one of the hottest gifts of the season. I can imagine a million screens flaring on, millions of ebooks winging their way to reading nooks around the world. People will be impressed by the screen, the Angry Birds, and the Prime movies – all excellent aspects of an excellent product – and settle into a long winter’s read.
The Kindle Fire 8.9 just showed up on our doorstep. It looks as lovely as we remember it. And instead of banging out a half-baked review in a day or two, we’re giving you our quick impressions of it, and will chime in with a full review later. More »
Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ has begun shipping, with the LTE-enabled version due to ship out next week, although the stock of the Android slates is already tight. Available ahead of schedule, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ has a 1920 x 1200 254ppi display and runs Amazon’s customized Android OS on a TI OMAP4470 processor with SXG544 graphics; the WiFi-only model is priced at $299, while the 4G version starts at $499.
Two capacity versions of the Kindle HD 8.9″ WiFi are offered – 16GB and 32GB – and it’s possible to choose a subsidized model with Amazon’s Special Offers or, for $15 more, opt out of the advertising. The 4G model comes in 32GB and 64GB versions, again with a choice of having Special Offers or not.
The 4G HD 8.9″ also offers a $49.99 annual data plan, offering 250MB of AT&T data per month for a one-off payment (and only valid for the first year of ownership). Monthly plans for 3GB or 5GB of data are also available, and can be signed up for on the tablet itself.
However, if you haven’t had a preorder in, you may be waiting some time to actually get your new slate. Amazon warns that orders placed today aren’t expected to ship until the week of December 3. You may be able to find one sooner in Best Buy, however, where the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ will go on sale from Friday this week, or in Staples or Radio Shack “in the coming weeks.”
More on the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 in our hands-on.
Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ shipping now; 4G LTE version due next week is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
See the end of the editorial for an important update.
When Google unveiled the Nexus 4, Nexus 10 and a refreshed Nexus 7 in October, the moment was arguably the crescendo of a change in the Android ecosystem that had been building ever since Amazon’s Kindle Fire first braved the marketplace in 2011. Along with a widely expanded Amazon lineup that includes multiple Kindle Fire HD models and a price-cut tweak to the original Fire, two of the largest players in the mobile world now have top-to-bottom device businesses built around selling at break-even prices and recouping their money through content. That might sound good on the surface, but it’s a bad omen for competitors that genuinely can’t respond in kind — and it could erode some of the values of diversity and innovation that we’re supposed to hold dear as technology fans.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, ASUS, Google, Amazon, LG, RIM
Editorial: Amazon and Google are undermining mobile pricing, and that may hurt everyone (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Nov 2012 13:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Amazon Game Studios has launched its first title for Kindle Fire users, Air Patriots, complete with GameCircle achievements and Whispersync for synchronizing progress to the cloud. The game – also available for iPhone, iPad, and Android users – is a simple tower defense style title, but what makes it distinct is that it’s the retailer’s debut mobile game, as Amazon attempts to strengthen its position against Apple and Google.
In Air Patriots, players can guide a squadron of planes through territory by sketching out a flight plan with their finger. Bombs can be dropped on enemy tanks, and the route of the squadron changed midway through by re-drawing it.
Although the game works on iOS and other Android hardware, Amazon’s real goal is to push its own cloud services. GameCircle, for instance, was announced back in July as a push back against Apple’s Game Center, and allows multiple Kindle Fire devices to synchronize highscore tables and allow gamers to pause and resume gameplay on different units with Whispersync.
Seven maps and various planes are included, plus unlockable levels. HD-compatible devices get an HD version of Air Patriots, and the game is free to download on all platforms. Amazon’s studio previously released Living Classics in August, built on Facebook’s browser-based gaming platform.
Amazon Air Patriots game released to push Kindle GameCircle is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Three months can make all the difference, at least if you’re drafting estimates at Strategy Analytics. Now that we know 14 million iPads shipped in the third quarter, the analyst group believes that Apple’s tablet market share dropped from 68.3 percent in the spring to 56.7 percent in the summer. All of the shift is attributed to Android — researchers think that shipments of Google-based tablets surged from 7.3 million to 10.2 million, handing the platform 41 percent of an increasingly crowded space. It’s the “collective weight” of so many Android-reliant companies leaping into the market rather than any one of them pulling ahead, Strategy Analytics says. We wouldn’t be shocked if a few Kindle Fire HD sales played a part.
More than a few wildcards still surround the figures and their long-term impact. First is that these are estimates, not concrete results: companies like Amazon steadfastly refuse to provide shipment numbers and leave most of the final tally beyond Apple to educated guesswork. It’s also an understatement to say that the market will change dramatically before 2012 is over. Between Windows 8‘s launch, possible Nexus 7 upgrades and two new iPads, there are a lot of pieces moving on the chessboard.
Filed under: Tablets, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon
Strategy Analytics claims Android reached 41 percent of tablets in Q3, iPad may have felt the heat originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 20:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Amazon has confirmed it’s using LOVEFiLM, the movie rental company it acquired at the start of 2011, to power the video service in Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD tablets sold in the U.K.. The slates go on sale in the U.K. today and Amazon is offering Fire buyers a one month free trial of LOVEFiLM.
Earlier this month LOVEFiLM added the ability to sign in with an Amazon account – a precursor to the service being “deeply integrated” into the Fire tablets. As well as streaming movies and TV shows from the thousands in LOVEFiLM’s catalogue, the Kindle Fire LOVEFiLM integration supports watch lists, for creating movie and TV playlists, and the IMDb-powered Amazon X-Ray for Movies feature which lets Fire users look up information about actors — such as biog details and photos — without leaving the film.
The LOVEFiLM Pause and Resume function is powered by Amazon’s multi-platform viewing Whispersync technology.
Even closer service integration is coming “in the near future”, with Amazon noting that existing LOVEFiLM members will be able to link their Amazon and LOVEFiLM accounts together with a single sign in soon.
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