I’M ON FIRE FOR THE NEW KINDLE FIRE
by Hazed
Amazon has just announced the new models of the Kindle Fire, its colour e-book reader which is also pushing into the tablet market. This is of interest to me because the Fire hasn’t been available in the UK, only in the US, but it’s going to be launched here at the end of October. The new models have just gone on sale in the States and I know people who have snapped them up: their reports are that it’s a lovely bit of kit.
Regular readers will know that I am a massive fan of the Kindle. I was a bit sceptical about the whole idea, but I bought it because I needed it for my new job producing electronic books. It took about 2 minutes of use for me to fall in love with it. Since then I have upgraded (twice) so I now use the Kindle Touch, a lovely gadget that I carry with me everywhere. It’s got to the point where I resent it when I have to read a “real” book.
So of course I am going to experience severe gadget lust over the Kindle Fire.
But the extra attraction is that it’s not just a e-reader. It’s also a tablet. It’ll do email, and web browsing, and it’ll run apps, and you can watch movies on it. I’ve lusted after an iPad so I can do all those things when on the move but just haven’t been able to justify the cost. The Kindle Fire is considerably cheaper than the iPad and as far as I can see it’ll do everything I want it to just as well.
Of course, it is considerably smaller. And that’s a good thing! I finally got to use an iPad a few days ago at work, to test the iBooks reader with our ebooks, and the experience just confirmed that the Kindle Fire is the one for me. The iPad is so heavy! Being a weak and feeble demi-goddess, just a few minutes of holding it in one hand while prodding the screen with the other made my wrists and shoulders ache.
Putting it flat on the desk, though, made my neck ache. I can’t imagine using it for reading or watching movies for long periods. Sure, you can prop it up on a stand, but then it’s at the wrong angle to prod the screen. I covered this in the Star back in February but now I can personally confirm it.
So when the Kindle Fire launches in the UK, I’m going to be squeezing my credit cards to find the cash to buy myself one. I can’t wait!
