Currently one of the most booming markets when it comes to technology is the vast tablet field. After the introduction of the iPad people started to realize the true potential behind having a larger smart phone type device. Originally thought to just be a bulkier version of the iPhone.. The iPad revolutionized the market and has created what will be one of the most fierce markets, competition-wise, this fall. For the holidays it looks like companies are holding nothing back in hopes to sell the most and give themselves a head start for 2012. Today I had the opportunity to take a look at the all-new Kindle Fire. It looks like this android-based tablet will be giving the iPad a run for its money this holiday season!
Tablets happen to be one of my favorite devices to review, due to the fun entertainment factor that they bring. I have always wanted to get what my friends call a ‘man-cave’ in my basement filled with flat-screen TV’s and gaming consoles, with a 7.1 surround sound system to boot, but it looks like with the ever increasing prices on those high-end items and my ever decreasing wallet that just won’t happen. Fortunately, I won’t be missing out on much this holiday season because the Kindle Fire almost hits the nail right on the head when it comes to home entertainment.
Packaged in a nice 7-inch screen this device is personal size, but large enough to share with a friend during a car ride. Judging from it’s looks, the device has a sort of plain style to it, a black back with some lightly engraved ‘Fire’ into the back. On the front is the usual full glass panel that we have grown to love. Interestingly enough, Kindle has decided to go with a 1024 x 600 pixel display that seems to be low in resolution, but the picture quality on screen is actually very nice. This seems to go along with my notion that resolution is just a screen size and the real picture quality is found in the pixels. The device feels fairly strong when held, so that’s always a plus, I would hate to carry around something like a tablet that will get used and possibly abused over time and be constantly afraid of it breaking from an accidental drop. Due to the very affordable price of $200 it seems that Kindle has had to make some cuts on the technology. It comes with a dual core CPU clocked to 1 ghz, alright but nothing too great, and 512mb of RAM, plus the always great WiFi enabled b/g/n chip. The only real trouble I see here is the included 8GB of storage. I’m sorry but in today’s age… even a few years ago, we were seeing flash drives that hold four times as much as is built into this supposed media player. I don’t see why other companies choose to not offer storage specific options at least, similar to Apple’s different models for the iPods, why couldn’t Kindle have released another 16 or even 32 gig version? Overall a solid tablet, but we will have to wait for December before we find out if the Fire is strong enough to compete with the big boys.
