Ron's Log

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September 28, 2011

Color, backlighted display, touchscreen, video, web access, no camera. Smaller than an iPad (iPad: 9.5 x 7.31 x 0.34 inches, 601 grams; Kindle Fire: 7.5 x 4.7 x 0.45 inches, 413 grams). Promotional video here. Connects via Wi-Fi, and it's got a USB connection. Battery life is said to be 7.5 to 8 hours if Wi-Fi is off. 8 GB internal.

The display: "7-inch multi-touch display with IPS (in-plane switching) technology and anti-reflective treatment, 1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi, 16 million colors." It's the "anti-reflective" treatment that's critical in my opinion. The iPad is way too shiny. The plain Kindle screen is very readable. But how does the Fire look with color and backlighting and video? Somebody buy one and show me.

They created a new browser for it called Amazon Silk. Info and promotional video here. The video is reminiscent of Apple's videos when they release something new, only maybe a bit less breathless. You'll see black shirts and men speaking a language somewhere between plain English and tech jargon overload, all of which is designed to make you want to buy. Their point is that the major advantage to Amazon Silk is that most of the heavy lifting is done up on the Amazon servers (one of the "clouds" that are referred to by those who want to be cool). Then your 'umble Kindle Fire sends a web request to the cloud, which quickly responds with what it has already anticipated you will be wanting.

Here's what it looks like next to a human hand. Only $199 and Amazon has a good return policy. Pre-ordering now, shipping November 15.

CNet passes along rumors that there is a 10-inch model in the works that will have 3G connectivity and an option to switch between backlight and e-ink.

Filed under Books,Shopping,Technology,Web/Tech | permalink | September 28, 2011 at 09:18 AM

Comments

I was right about the keyboard on the bottom-of-the-line Kindle. "a virtual keyboard that appears just when you need it." Here's a photo that shows it. Yuk.

Posted by: Ron's Log at Sep 30, 2011 12:22:37 PM

Good info! I could make the leap.

I find the Kindle offerings far better than what's available for my iPad2.

Amazon truly rules content.
Marilyn

Posted by: Marilyn McKay at Sep 28, 2011 6:04:15 PM

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