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Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us

By | November 15, 2011, 11:35am PST

Summary: Amazon has positioned the Kindle Fire as the tablet for the rest of us, not the iPad-toting nor Android techie crowd. It will kick off the next stage of the tablet phase, in a big way.

The big news this week is the Kindle Fire starting to hit eager customers’ hands. The $199 tablet from Amazon is being touted as a big competitor to the Apple iPad, and also to the crowded Android tablet field. While it’s true the Kindle Fire will compete with all of those tablets, the beauty of it is that it is the tablet for the rest of us.

Android tablets buyers are predominantly the tech-savviest in the gadget market. They appreciate the inclusion of dual, even quad-core processors, USB ports, and other whiz-bang hardware features. This is the crowd anxiously awaiting the arrival of Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich.

The iPad crowd is by-and-large quite different. These buyers are looking for simplicity and design. The typical iPad owner doesn’t care about ports or other technical features, he/she just wants the tablet to do what is needed, and easily.

The Kindle Fire is the tablet for the rest of the market. The reasonable price of less than $200 puts it in the realm of an impulse buy. No doubt many buyers will see one in a Target, Best Buy, or other retail shop they frequent, and pick one up to see what all the fuss is about.

Amazon has taken a good approach by positioning the Kindle Fire as an ereader that does much more. The Kindle has been around for a good while and most prospective customers are familiar with it. More importantly, they are not intimidated by it, and that will be big when they see one in the store.

Many non-techie “regular” folks are already curious about the tablet phenomenon started by the iPad. They have been too intimidated by the high prices, and their lack of familiarity of how to use a tablet. The Kindle Fire will grab them due to the familiar Amazon brand and the Kindle name, and draw them in with the easy-to-use interface.

Amazon has reportedly gotten a million pre-orders for the Kindle Fire, and while that is impressive it is only the beginning. When mainstream consumers get a taste of the Fire, that $199 price is going to make the fly off retailers’ shelves. The next phase of the tablet era will be born, as the Kindle Fire will be the tablet for the rest of the market. And that market is huge.

Image credit: ZDNet’s Larry Dignan

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Amazon Kindle Fire, Tablets, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long.

Disclosure

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has no affiliations or relationships that need to be disclosed.

Biography

James Kendrick

James Kendrick has been using mobile devices since they weighed 30 pounds, and has been sharing his insights on mobile technology for almost that long. Prior to joining ZDNet, James was the Founding Editor of jkOnTheRun, a CNET Top 100 Tech Blog that was acquired by GigaOM in 2008 and is now part of that prestigious tech network. James' writing has appeared in many print publications: Smartphone and Pocket PC Magazine, Information Week and Laptop Magazine to name a few. James' coverage of the mobile technology sector has regularly appeared in the New York Times, Salon.com and CNN/ Fortune online. Not just a writer, James has filmed numerous video reviews and how-tos that have garnered well over a million viewers. He has appeared on local news segments and been interviewed by the Associated Press on mobile technology topics. Additionally, James has been podcasting about mobile technology for years.

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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
momohl 4th Jan
All I wanna know is which device (besides my Droid) will allow me to read with the lights off?
View in thread
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What is your source?
toddybottom 15th Nov
"The $199 tablet from Amazon is being touted as a big competitor to the Apple iPad"

Who is touting this as a competitor to iPad? It isn't Apple and unless I've missed the press release, it isn't Amazon either.
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Contributr
RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
JamesKendrick 15th Nov
@toddybottom It was on ABC news last night. It is happening.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
Habiloso 15th Nov
@JamesKendrick

JK, I'm curious as to whether you think that someone looking at a $200 Kindle is really in the same market as someone looking at an iPad? Are these the same markets or different markets?
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
Jere01 15th Nov
JK, For $25 more I'd rather go with the Nook Tablet, upgradable memory, & NOT Amazon!
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Try the Kindle Fire and then try the Nook
Uralbas Updated - 15th Nov
Nook hands down!

Kindle Fire is a disappointment.

Its buggy, it freezes, the browser is just not good.

For 225 you have a Nook Color
For 250 you have a Dual Core Nook Color that runs faster
For 275 you get an Asus Transformer (the real deal) 10' display!
For 294 you get an HTC Flyer
For 378 you get an Asus Slyder (now we're talking! 10' + keyboard!).
For 400 you get a Sony Tablet S or a Samsung Tablet.

If you are in for under 200 dollars

Idolian Turbo 8 has the specs. (havent tried it.. sorry) but at 149 with a capacitive display, mic and camera, its still better than the Kindle Fire it does have a 1 year warranty and 1.2GHz Cortex processor.

On the net a lot of people like the Coby Kyros MID7015 for 129. Again, can't say more than that. Never used this unit either.

Regardless, when ever possible go for the 10' screen, it makes all the difference in the world. The Nook Color and the new version are the only sub 10' units worth using. The HTC Flyer rocks, but the screen ends up being just a bit too small.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
admiraljkb 17th Nov
@JamesKendrick

@Habiloso
Yep, aunt of mine for her college going kid is going the Fire route instead of an iPad. She has no clue about any of this at all, and no exposure. For her - $200 Amazon Kindle tablet that functions for college textbooks as well as "other things", or a $500 iPad that does "other things". No brainer for her. This market is the antithesis of the power user market.

To top it off, I'm what I consider a "pragmatic power user". I've been making a living off tech since the late 80's and burned out on the latest thing ages ago when there are more affordable options. One thing I figured out, is something that is "good enough" costs 1/2 to 1/3 of the Unobtanium 5000 that just came out. The following year the "good enough" device will outperform the Unobtanium 5000, but won't be able to keep up with the Unobtanium 6000 just released. BUT typically I'll have spent less on 2 separate devices, than just ONE big one, and for the second year, I'll have something better than the guy that purchased the "5000" model and doesn't have budget to upgrade again. Am I ever running the latest? Most of the time not, unless there is a bonafide mission requirement that dictates it.

True story - mid 90's my brother was fixated on a "5 year" computer. I recommended for something more affordable and just upgrade in a couple of years, but he wouldn't have it. As a consultant I was a distributor for what he wanted, and got it for him. It was 4 times more powerful than anything I had. At the end of 5 years though, I'd spent the same money as he had, but had 3 computers, one which was the same as his roughly and two much more powerful. His was coughing and wheezing.

Sooo, I've got a Fire. It's a great little device, it more than gets the job done for books and magazines, web browsing is good, gaming is good for a mobile device, and I'm happy. It is also 7", which is about as big as a tablet can get if you are using it as a book/magazine reader as well. In fact, my wife would like it just a bit smaller because the Fire for her is too big, so I think there is definitely a market for 6" tablets as well. iPad sized itself out of the market with 10". Next year I'll get the Kindle Fire2/Inferno/whatever that will better than the current iPad and still have spent less than on an iPad.
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Contributr
RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
JamesKendrick Updated - 15th Nov
@toddybottom Sorry, duplicate
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Contributr
RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
JamesKendrick Updated - 15th Nov
@toddybottom Triplicate
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
nomikhokher 15th Nov
@toddybottom OK....Ok that was great one.... but guys for a moment check here some new type of phone that you will never seen before: http://www.technologyfazer.com/nokia-gem-concept-entire-touch-mobile.html
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Don't see the appeal
MobileAdmin 15th Nov
I've read a lot about the KF and just don't see the appeal for it, unless you use Amazon for all your content. Like people who have a large investment in iTunes there is a big market that doesn't use either service / ecosystem.

KF is a glorified shopping cart. The hardware is crippled and without a prime membership I guess it would appeal to those that "want a tablet like experience".

Considering I am approaching 5tb of media I have pretty much every possible movie and cd I could ever want. I want a device I can sync this content onto easily and use it. Right now thats Blackberry Playbook. Soon as they have a MKV codec I will buy another 64gb model. I'd love OTA support also.

How does one sync their OWN media onto KF, it's a nightmare on iPad.
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Contributr
RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
JamesKendrick 15th Nov
@MobileAdmin Amazon has the Cloud Drive/Player that lets you do just that.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
MobileAdmin 15th Nov
@JamesKendrick

Not with 8gb of storage and unable to expand it.
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Contributr
RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
JamesKendrick Updated - 15th Nov
@MobileAdmin Another duplicate, don't know why this is happening.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
Peter Perry 15th Nov
@JamesKendrick Because ZDNET forum software is horrible!
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James
William Farrell 16th Nov
@JamesKendrick
if this happens to you as a ZDNet blogger, imagine how the rest of us feel, seeing as we don't have your pull wink
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
dodgefan67 15th Nov
@MobileAdmin yes you can use the amazon cloud and you are right, 8gb is a limit on this device, but if all your music and videos are in the cloud, you dont need more storage. granted to get to the cloud you need to be connected and since this is only wifi then you are limited there, but honestly, where are you going to be where you cant find a hotspot where you need to watch a movie?
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For some, their own homes.
vulpine@... 15th Nov
@dodgefan67: Not everybody is techie enough to have their computer or home network set up for Wi-Fi. I think what we're going to find is a lot of people buying one and pretty quickly putting it down because it doesn't do enough. Yes, as an Amazon-only device it will be as good if not better than the Kindle e-reader, but it simply won't compete as a Tablet.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
Practicality 15th Nov
Love it. Getting an Android is like buying a Linux machine. It can do anything... as long as you can figure out how to get it to do anything at all.

Apple is, well, pretty.

Finally, there is something for the mainstream.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
Peter Perry 15th Nov
@Practicality Nah, Android ha lots of Apps and can do a ton of things.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
whatagenda 15th Nov
So James, hows that ZDNET talkback software workin' for ya? happy
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
Peter Perry 15th Nov
@whatagenda BIG +1, Like or whatever your preference might be.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
eksweeney 15th Nov
Received my Fire today and have to say I really like it. The size is great when I don't want to use something larger and heavier. I have the prime membership and that really makes the Fire an attractive purchase. I have an Ipad2 and HP touchpad as well
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
dodgefan67 15th Nov
still on the fence about getting one of these. i like amazon and am a Prime member, but would like to have a little more to the device than what they are giving us.

Plus - who says you need a KF to take advantage of your Prime membership? i think the only thing Kindle owners get (all Kindles) is the new lending library, but even that is limited, and the silk browser, but some people have reservations about that (i dont)

if i keep typing i'm going to talk myself out of buying one LOL (but i still might get something else, Transformer Prime anyone?)
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
chapelhillice 15th Nov
Waiting for my Kindle Fire to come in. $199 is a killer price point.
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More unicorns and rainbows
Robert Hahn 15th Nov
I don't doubt that Amazon will sell a bizillion of these, a lot of them to people who think they're going to get an iPad equivalent for $199.

I'm suspicious. Yeah, I know that Amazon is subsidizing the 'razor' to sell you the 'blades,' but even then, something about this doesn't ring true. Companies like Samsung, Motorola, and Hewlett-Packard are not stupid. They could not even get close to this price point. That tells me that there are some ugly surprises buried in the Kindle Fire... component choices and skimping of various kinds to get the price down that the early reviews are glossing over. Common sense ought to tell us that if five or six reputable companies are charging $400 or more for an iPad-like device (or an actual iPad), then some guy who walks in with one that's $199 ought to get at least 30 seconds from the Hairy Eyeball. Yet that doesn't seem to be happening. People want so badly for there to be a "$199 iPad" that they'll believe in the Tooth Fairy to get one.
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Might just Be a Business Strategy
PreachJohn 15th Nov
@Robert Hahn---Not necessarily something nefarious, especially with all the TI innards.
Perhaps a loss leader to place a conduit into people's hands, as a straight pipe to Amazon Mercantile's multifarious wares.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
MobileAdmin 16th Nov
@PreachJohn

Right thus my above comment, the KF is less tablet and more tablet cash register. Heck the browser even proxys through Amazon. I don't want to be "owned" by any company. The extent I want is I buy a product that I feel best meets by needs and I own it. The market is moving to this leasing model very similar to what cable companies do with a cable box. I don't want to buy cloud services. I want full ownership. Without a Prime account and no desire to buy from Amazon what is the appeal? zero.

- no cameras
- no GPS
- Less storage
- Less RAM

The choices remain - iPad, Galaxy and RIM. Everyone else is just a niche/clone.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
Dodgson1832 16th Nov
@Robert Hahn When you plan on making money from content, it doesn't matter if the main device makes money: see game systems.
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Something's wrong
Robert Hahn 16th Nov
Sure it matters. The whole package has to make economic sense. Just saying "they'll make it up on content" is meaningless without a little math. How long will this device last before the consumer replaces it? Three years? Four? Let's say they have four years to recoup $100, i.e. $25 per year for four years. According to Amazon's "guidance" to Wall Street, they are expecting average operating margins to be 3.4% of sales in 2011. That means that to make $25, they need to sell the average 'Fire' buyer $735 worth of stuff per year to cover the subsidy on the device.

Doesn't that sound awfully high? $735 on average?
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You've overlooked something important
William Farrell 16th Nov
@Robert Hahn

Samsung, Motorola, and Hewlett-Packard are not stupid, and they aren't content providers either.

Amazon is, and they can wait awhile for the "razor blades" to become profitable. It doesn't need to "pay for itself" in 7 days. Just like HP does with their printers, seeing that they are the cartidge providers for HP printers.

It doesn't mean they made them with cheap parts, it means that they subsidizing them more heavily will pay off.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
kindlemad 16th Nov
The new nook app for Kindle is brilliant - you can get all the Android apps for free now! We got the nook app download instructions from www.kindlemad.com through google.

I love my new Kindle!
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
AmediaN Updated - 16th Nov
actually it is only for US market. Amazon apps does not work except a few countries. so best choice over there are still android tablets.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
Dodgson1832 16th Nov
Well, the price is certainly reasonable, I just still cannot think of a reason why I would want a tablet. Still prefer desktop/laptop and then some other media option. If I'm going to watch something I'll do it on my tv or comp. If I'm going to read something it will certainly be a regular old book, the digital reading experience is just not the same for me.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
richardmagic 16th Nov
No camera and no mic and a semi-android at that.Look they even took a corner off the tablet.More hype and no chance for skype.Its a loser and they can't admit it.
Every time I read something about this I am greatfull for my Pandigital Tablet.
Get a life and make a teblet. 10 inches and no cut off corner.4g at least and lower the profile on amazon.Cant even get on the appstore.What a crock.I am sorely disapointed.
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RE: Kindle Fire: The tablet for the rest of us
momohl 4th Jan
All I wanna know is which device (besides my Droid) will allow me to read with the lights off?

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