Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
Summary: This review is about Amazon's strategy as much as it is about the device. You forget the hardware and just consume.
Amazon's Kindle Fire is a snappy tablet that hides Android's warts, serves up the e-commerce giant's various services and is built for consumption. And oh by the way, it's highly likely that you'll buy more stuff from Amazon while you're at it.
This review is about Amazon's strategy as much as it is about the device. The Kindle Fire is boiled down to seven tabs---newsstand, books, music, video, docs, apps and Web. Like Amazon's approach with its Kindle franchise---notably the new Kindle Touch, which is also well done---the goal is to relegate the hardware to the background. When the Fire is unboxed it's already set up to your Amazon account.
CNET: The Kindle Fire: Here to entertain us | Reviews around the Web | Amazon Kindle Fire screenshots |
It's worth noting that there's only one button on the Kindle Fire, an on-off switch. The Kindle Fire was separated at birth---actually the contract equipment manufacturer---from Research in Motion's PlayBook. The PlayBook is bulkier, but the screen and profile is almost identical to the Kindle Fire.
Kindle Fire: Separated at birth from RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook. Credit: Larry Dignan
Where everything changes is the software. Amazon's user interface hides Android well. In fact, if I didn't click on settings you'd have no idea there was an Android 2.3 OS at all. You really can't find the Androidness on the Fire. The Kindle Fire just works and felt snappy for the most part (there were a few kids' books that seemed to cause some latency). Magazines are likely to be a killer app as well as comic books, video is handy for kids but adults may find the 7-inch screen small, apps work well as does the Web browser and the music player is well integrated. The Fire is built to entertain you. This fact hit me over the head when someone asked about email on the Fire---I didn't even think about it. On email, Amazon is including an email client.
With that email note, it's worth noting what the Kindle Fire can't do:
- It can't take pictures.
- It's not a device to create content.
- If you go to Android Market on the browser you wind up on Amazon's App Store. Why? Amazon uses its App Store as a redirect because it wants to ensure app quality.
The only port you'll get is to charge. Credit: Larry Dignan
But like the e-ink Kindle, I'm good with those tradeoffs. In fact, Amazon appears to be going for the two and three Kindle households with its pricing. An e-ink Kindle can ride shotgun with the Kindle Fire and not break the bank. If the price point is right I don't need a do-it-all device. I can live in Amazon's world and for the most part already do. More importantly, the Kindle Fire passed my daughter test. Let's face it a big part of tablet return on investment is handing it to your kids---8 and 5 year olds in my case---and keeping them occupied. Apps, video and kids books did the job nicely.
What Amazon's Kindle Fire really excels at is blending the cloud with local storage. Barnes & Noble made a lot of noise about its tablet and 16GB of memory (Fire has 8GB), but for many of us this comparison will be a non-issue. My music was uploaded to Amazon's Cloud Player and I haven't stored much of anything locally. Cloud and local storage blends together well. That equation changes when disconnected, but 8GB can get you through cross-country flight without any issues.
Every category on the Fire has a store button on the right. I called the Fire a consumption device earlier, but on further review it's really an impulse purchase device. Want the free video? Become a Prime subscriber. Want all your music from iTunes in Amazon's cloud? Get the 20GB of storage for $20. Need that new song? Click. Ditto for movies. And oh yeah physical goods are there from the home button and I ordered some tea. Amazon isn't annoying with the shopping pitches, but the ecosystem is all about e-commerce. With the Kindle Fire you're in Amazon's world. That world happens to be about commerce and services.
I couldn't help but play with the Kindle Fire and chuckle at Wall Street analysts who have been fretting about margins. Amazon will get its returns---probably within a month from the time the Fire is purchased. It's hard not to buy something. At $199, Amazon doesn't need much to break even. And if you buy the lifetime value of a customer argument, carrying the Kindle Fire is really like toting an e-commerce kiosk.
Amazon's price points will lead to two Kindle households. Credit: Larry Dignan
The other big theme with the Kindle Fire is that it's also a platform play. By making it easier to suck out iTunes library to Amazon's cloud---I uploaded my library in 2 hours---the company is making it easier to switch allegiance and hedge your entertainment bets. I argue that's highly likely that there will be folks that own an iPad, a Kindle Fire and maybe a Kindle Touch. No matter how you slice it Amazon will garner more of your time. It's a store that's quickly becoming a hangout for entertainment services. However, the Fire isn't necessarily an iPad killer. If anything the Amazon and Apple approaches will occupy the low and high ends of the tablet equation, respectively, and crush everything caught in the middle.
Overall, the Kindle Fire is worth the $199 and integrated well. The differentiation with the Nook will be its integrated music and video stores combined with cloud services.
Clarification: An earlier version noted there was no USB. There is a charger that can be used to turn the Kindle into a storage device to load content.
Related:
- Kindle Fire besting Nook Tablet with more third-party partners
- Kindle Fire vs. iPad heats up for holiday shoppers (survey)
- Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook duel plays out on retail shelves
- New Nook Tablet has a shot against Kindle Fire
- Amazon’s Kindle Fire economics: A focus on lifetime value of customer
- Amazon’s latest Prime gambit: Kindle book lending
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Talkback
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
Would this hypothetical Apple product simply take more sales from the iPad tablet or would this product steal sales from Amazon's Kindle Fire?
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
That's like saying Amazon Music (10-13% share) and iTunes (77% share) competes. Sure they compete but it's clear Apple is dominating. The same would happen if Apple releases a 7" iPad Touch or smaller little brother to the iPad, with Siri, Facetime, 4s Cam, retina....Apple would own that space also. I won't be surprise if they eventually release a 7" iPad marketed towards teens and kids.
Pincers of death
dave: Whatever happened to the antitrust case against Apple?
Case or Investigation?
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
combining a tablet and a fully functional keyboard with usb and sd card ports and charges as well are much more attrative options.
and to simple neglect the nook color and tablet is quite foolish IMHO especially since the Kindle Fire is more of a response to the nook color than it is to the iPad.
Amazon Kindle Fire
Amazon need to remember that there are markets other than the US ones and millions of consumers taking decisions on what they will buy as Christmas presents. In the UK we will have to wait until after the holiday season for the pleasure of purchasing the Kindle Fire: I for one will not wait, taking my custom elsewhere (to one of the collateral damage products from, perhaps, Barnes and Noble or Nook). And with me goes all of the content purchases that I will not make. Multiply this by a large, aggrieved population and you are missing out on a huge number of sales. Worse, your market continuity in related purchases has gone. Once we deserters have moved and made an investment in alternative technologies and platforms, there is no going back. Is it me or is this the marketing blunder of the century?
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
Even mighty Apple cannot compete, because should someone persuade them to sell an ipad-lite at a loss (unlikely), they'd not recoup as much through sales as Amazon, partly because they don't have such a universal rangeof products, but mainly because their products, like the ipad, all have premium prices: Sure they sell like hot cakes, but the secret of getting impulse buyers has always been competitive prices. It lulls the buying conscience into a stupor! Apple just isn't in this market, and daren't enter it.
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
Who's XOOMin who
Eh?
Wrong on two counts. The premium refers to the large margin Apple makes on its products. And if you have read the articles about how Apple is able to invest in large stocks of material, you will understand why their unit costs are lower and their their margins better.
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
"And that's the very reason the iPad took off, competitive pricing."
How can you use the term competitive as an explanation for why the iPad took off? There were no Android tablets on the market when Apple launched the iPad - they had the field to themselves at first.
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
We'll see. Perhaps people are stingier than you think. I'm not sure how you figure that Apple has premium prices most of the tablets, including 7" ones have had the same price. Even the cheaper ones were within a few dollars.
Apples phones range from free,$99,$199,$299, and $399. That's a price for anyone.
Amazon is hoping that people with only $200 to spend will spend even more later to make up the hardware loses? Let's say that's the case. Are going going to give this to your kid? Apple include in-app purchasing with two levels of passwords and people were up in arms about kid purchases. I can't wait to see what happens with Amazon.
It just doesn't seem like a good strategy is losing money on units by selling them cheap to people with little money and hoping those same people will suddenly open up their wallets.
Amazon has already taken a huge hit in their profits over this thing and sites are reporting that it is slow.
And remember, Amazon has a great return policy. Let's all keep an eye on returns.
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
Suddenly $200 for the Fire and a couple bucks here and there for Amazon services seems much more reasonable.
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
Your premise seems to be that this is a tablet vs. tablet competition and that the Kindle Fire is just going to get the people who can't afford an iPad. But, they're not in direct competition. The Kindle Fire will appeal to people who want to be part of the seamless Amazon ecosystem (that's more people than you might think). In fact, it isn't inconceivable for households to own both.
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device
RE: Amazon's Kindle Fire: Snappy consumption, impulse purchase device