New Amazon Kindle Fire tablet said to be slower version of RIM's PlayBook

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Comments

  • Reply 41 of 80
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stelligent View Post


    When the iPad 3 comes out in Jan or Feb, you can get him an iPad 2 at a good discount.



    Which is what I'm planning to do. I'm hoping my Mom can get a little iPad time as well, but knowing my Dad he'll probably hog it.
  • Reply 42 of 80
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    .. "and eventually sacrifices were made (like using a slower processor)."



    Block said the first generation Android Kindle is "supposed to be pretty poor," calling the device a "stopgap" device and part of an effort to "do whatever it takes to get in the game."



    Is the competition really this stupid, or are they just in complete denial with what it takes to make an "iPad Killer"??



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Negafox View Post


    Given that it's really an Android tablet with Amazon's custom UI and app store, I don't get why anybody would want it except for novices who don't know any better. You can already find inexpensive Android 7" tablets for around $99.



    I'm already getting bombarded by associates, and friends that got suckered into buying those sub-$100.00 Android tablets into helping them diagnose problems with their tablets.



    No disrespect intended, but people need to raise their standards a bit. These sub-$100 tablets are absolutely worthless pieces of junk. Lowball chinese, ridiculously cheap quality control. Some I've been shown make every attempt to appear like an iPad (a 7" version), made with cheap plastic, but has all the colors and button, switches like an iPad. Shameful.



    These folks are not technically savvy. They bought them on false advertising, or by some cheapskate Android fanboy that swore they were "just as good as an iPad". Total junk. The makers should be ashamed of themselves for putting out such garbage. It leaves the consumers frustrated, angry, and feeling ripped off. Sure, they are partly to blame for their ignorance but this also (imho) affects Apple's sales since some users will be put off of tablets (including iPads) because of this bad experience.
  • Reply 43 of 80
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by stelligent View Post


    That in no way means 400k people called this an iPad killer. No correlation at all.



    It's true that it doesn't mean that 400k people have called it an iPad killer, but my link is proof that quite a few people have. Some people here are acting as if nobody has called this an iPad killer, and I have proven that that is not true.
  • Reply 44 of 80
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,179member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    It's true that it doesn't mean that 400k people have called it an iPad killer, but my link is proof that quite a few people have. Some people here are acting as if nobody has called this an iPad killer, and I have proven that that is not true.



    Yes you have. Blogs and news sites want eyes, and what better way than being controversial.
  • Reply 45 of 80
    shenshen Posts: 434member
    This can't be a good product for Amazon.



    No, i don't think it is meant to be an iPad competitor, nor should it be. But the point of a touch screen is that when you touch it, the data responds. I don't notice a minor delay when i use a laptop, or desktop, because mentally i am sitting somewhat removed from the data in the first place. That isn't to say that a long delay is acceptable, but a very brief delay is something you just don't register. I would argue that in your mind the distance from keyboard to screen implies some delay, and so you subconsciously ignore minor pauses.



    When you are actually touching the icons or page, the illusion is that you are interacting with the actual content, not an input device. You expect reactions to be instant. Even a tiny delay registers in the brain in some way because in the real world a page doesn't pause for a half second before moving when you drag it somewhere. The lack of input devices necessitates instant response. Otherwise, the illusion of direct interaction is broken.



    That is why I found the PlayBook to be useless. Half or even full second delays before the UI reacts make it a particularly inelegant tool for using it to do... anything really.



    And Amazon is making a slower version?



    It will be interesting to see if even their advertise and sales reach can overcome that!
  • Reply 46 of 80
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Since the tablet market began a few years ago with the release of the iPad, I think it has evolved into or at least become recognized by the non-tech public as something that average mom and pop type people can manage. Unlike Windows or even Mac predecessors, the tablet IS your father's computer. In that sense it mimics the auto industry where there are all types of models ranging from mini-vans to sports cars. This revelation that computing doesn't have to be difficult opens the door for many models so the Kindle Fire may in fact appeal to a certain segment of the population.
  • Reply 47 of 80
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by al_bundy View Post


    Yes, Apple uses outside designers as well which is why you see copy cat.products in the market fairly quickly



    Your ignorance is showing. Apple has never used outside designers! Show me one instance where Apple has used an outside designer.



    And BTW if a company does use an outside designer doesn't mean that the product can then be copied by the designer or anybody else.
  • Reply 48 of 80
    shenshen Posts: 434member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mstone View Post


    Since the tablet market began a few years ago with the release of the iPad, I think it has evolved into or at least become recognized by the non-tech public as something that average mom and pop type people can manage. Unlike Windows or even Mac predecessors, the tablet IS your father's computer. In that sense it mimics the auto industry where there are all types of models ranging from mini-vans to sports cars. This revelation that computing doesn't have to be difficult opens the door for many models so the Kindle Fire may in fact appeal to a certain segment of the population.



    I agree. A simplified Android device with a name people know and trust with a baked in reason to want it (lets get one honey, if you don't like all that app stuff at worst it is still a nice kindle) should be a no brainer. I think Amazon would be fools to not be working on it.



    But... It Is Even Slower!



    Seriously, that is just a bad idea. If the speed and response is bad enough they could get bad reviews and sour people on the entire idea of an Amazon tablet for years. That could potentially be disastrous for them. They really don't have a lot of room to get this wrong. Would be a shame too, as they have a good reputation from the kindle so far. I didn't like the build quality of our first one, but it was "good enough" and the second appears to be much improved so far.



    Be a shame to ruin that.
  • Reply 49 of 80
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AbsoluteDesignz View Post




    I'll probably end up with a Windows 8 tablet though...



    Wow. You would? I am shocked.
  • Reply 50 of 80
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    I wasn't replying specifically to what that Block guy wrote, he sounds a bit more reasonable than the stuff that some analysts are saying. Some are even calling the Amazon tablet a game changer. And the term "iPad KIller" does get thrown out a lot. Those people deserve mocking for their sheer stupidity and cluelessness.



    Then those kind of people shouldn't be buying any tablets at all, not even a $99 TouchPad in a firesale.



    Wrong on all counts. Impressive.



    First of all, since not only did no one in the piece use the term 'iPad killer' but in fact went to pains to make exactly the opposite statement, what you did was completely inappropriate. None of 'those people' are in the room, so give your easy-to-bash, tired strawman a rest for a while.



    As far as 'those kind of people' (what an ugly phrase, and you're in the habit of abusing it, too) not buying a tablet, get a clue about real life, fella. For a lot of people, the ability to access the internet (and a world of cheap apps) on as cheap a platform as they can attain is manna from heaven. In fact, an early iPad story concerned a woman who walked into an Apple Store and wanted to pay cash for an iPad, because she had no access to a bank card. (Apple changed its policy about cash sales after that.) She was broke, but she saw a chance to get 'net access on a device that was better priced than anything out there at that point. For some people, an iPad is still too much but a $99 Touchpad in a fire sale is a grand opportunity.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by itsalive View Post


    If they are, they have no business buying something so pointless when there are bills to pay. Think before you post



    I realize you're ignorant of such things, but throughout history there have been families on the edge who scrimp and save for what they see (often quite properly) as a life-changing invention. They did this for the early refrigerator, automobile, telephone, TV, etc. The advantages of such things outweighed their financial hardship, because the devices were long-term enabling - with the fridge, your food lasted longer than with an icebox, the car could get you a job out of town, etc. An iPad (or similar device), for a household that cannot afford (or maintain) a computer, is a Big Deal. But they still have to get the device at the best possible price, because they are living on the edge.



    I have an idea - try thinking before you post. How's that feel?
  • Reply 51 of 80
    Amazon has got to be kidding. The electronic book market is saturated and IMHO a ho hum market. I don't think the older crowd is going to be switching to new e readers the way the younger folk switch out their cell phone every month.
  • Reply 52 of 80
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Amazon's new Android-based tablet, apparently named the Kindle Fire, is said to be based on the same basic design as RIM's PlayBook, built by the same maker, apart from having a slower processor intended to make it cheaper.




    Everyone else is saying it will have a dual-core OMAP chip. What dies the Playbook use?
  • Reply 53 of 80
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mister Snitch View Post


    No - in fact, pains were taken to say exactly the opposite:



    Block wrote, "I wouldn't get my hopes up that this is going to be an iPad-killer -- nor do I think Amazon really intends it to be."










    Yeah, but what are all the Fandroids saying! All they talk about is kill the iPad.
  • Reply 54 of 80
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by katastroff View Post




    Amazon's market has nothing to do with Apple's in that field.

    They do ebook readers with add-on features.



    the kindle is 90's technologies. (I handle one more often than I should)



    they need a competitive product in their field.





    This will be an always-on, always at hand portal into Amazon's giant shopping mall. Music, movies, books, sure. But everything that anybody would ever want to buy will be in the palm of their hand with this thing.



    Think about it.
  • Reply 55 of 80
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Realistic View Post


    Your ignorance is showing. Apple has never used outside designers! Show me one instance where Apple has used an outside designer.



    And BTW if a company does use an outside designer doesn't mean that the product can then be copied by the designer or anybody else.



    Actually, Apple has made extensive use of outside designers in its history. Less so in current years but still.



    The original Mac was designed by Frog Design, as was the Apple IIc. They also designed tablets for Apple in the 1980s, although those were never brought to market. Ideo has also designed some peripherals for Apple.



    More recently, a company called SurfaceInk did some design contracts for Apple, and may have played a part in the design of the iPad.



    So yeah, you're the one displaying ignorance. Seriously.
  • Reply 56 of 80
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    Or, if you simply want an ereader, you can get one for $129.



    I can see someone paying $250 for something that's less capable than the iPad. I can not, however, see someone paying twice as much as a Kindle in order to get the limited advantages that this unit has- and an arguably worse screen.



    Agreed. Between a rock and a hard place I'd say.
  • Reply 57 of 80
    axualaxual Posts: 244member
    What century are we in?
  • Reply 58 of 80
    Has any product "killed" a popular Apple product? Nothing killed the iPod, what did the Zune do? Android phones come close but there are too many versions if you ask me. Each new tablet i see just looks bulky and poorly designed.
  • Reply 59 of 80
    People see iPad as the premium and at 200-250 buck range people will purchase the new Fire. Sure it will have less features and not be as performant as an iPad but that's good enough for most people's needs. Amazon gets it! I don't think it's an iPad killer but it's definitely a smart release from Amazon.
  • Reply 60 of 80
    Amazon just using this as a marketing ploy to draw attention and test the waters.
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