Has anyone else looked into this device?

I also have preordered one and am anxiously awaiting delivery on November 17. I did not ever buy an iPad because of the monthly fee but the Kindle Fire sounds perfect for what I WANT (I can't say I really need it).

If you have wireless connectivity with your current Kindle or other devices the Kindle Fire should operate the same way.

Then I looked a bit closer. It seems to do the same things my new smart phone does. My phone has a four and a half inch screen... not quite as big as the Kindle Fire. But if I am already paying for one, why by a second? (If you can justify the purchase of a Fire for me... please do!) Am I wrong in thinking my Samsung Charge does pretty much the same stuff? Am I missing anything? I have kindle and nook on my phone. Maybe I am simply technologically confused. Not sure.

PAM

I do have to confess that sometimes my justifications are based solely on just wanting whatever it is.

I don't get great reception here for the Kindle wireless but of course once the book is on my device it works fine. We will see.

I kindled my phone, netbook and laptop as soon as that possibility existed, but have been buying few books-the free offerings have kept me going quite nicely. Now that the kindle talks to libraries I might have to revisit the real thing...I am on the waiting list for a couple library books and will see how they download and read on my current devices.

The absence of a monthly fee and contract are very big selling points for me.

My reasoning is that with the Kindle Fire if I am in a place where I just have to do something requiring 3G I can use my iPhone. My reasoning is not always reasonable.

The current Kindle provides both wifi and 3G with no extra fee. The Kindle Fire will provide only wifi -- no 3G, at least at first release.

Thank you!

PAM

My local library system (Phila. suburbs) now offers books to download to a Kindle, too. I have been able to download to my mp3 player for a long time.

I still like books with pages borrowed from the library, but the Kindle Fire is very tempting.

As for the "Pam" part, there are three or four of us here! Or at least there used to be. That is why I sign my name in all Caps. It was an easy way to help differentiate which Pam was which! It must surely be a great name for book people. Rumor has it that our name was created by Samuel Richardson when he wrote Pamela but I cannot substantiate that claim.

PAM

PAM

PAM, I also read that our name was invented by Richardson. I have a copy of "Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded" in my room. One of these days I will read it. I also want to read the parody of Pamela called Shamela, by Joseph Andrews. In Shamela, virtue is not rewarded!

Pamela was a very popular name in the 1940's. My sister's name, Patricia, was even more popular. I hated that we were Patty and Pam. Ugh.

I am still trying to decide whether to get a Kindle Fire or an iPad. I want the iPad but they are a lot more expensive. I was volunteering at the library today and a patron was showing me her iPad and it is very cool.

pam

I'm also leaving on a trip before the Fires are released and would love to have a tablet to take along. See? I am talking myself into an ipad!

In order to download non-Kindle books, I had to first download the Overdrive software. I'm not sure if you need that for Kindle too. Good luck!

PAM

I have the second generation Kindle, which I enjoy but use only for traveling, being an ardent fan of the printed book. I also hate to invest a lot of money in books that I will lose when the device grows old and fails. Electronic devices don't last forever. Printed books can last for a lifetime or longer if they are on good paper and are kept safe. But for traveling, nothing can suit a voracious reader better.

My DH and I recently debated getting the new Kindle Fire as a gift for his daughter, but decided to stick with the regular Kindle. Our point of decision was the flicker-less screen on the Kindle. You lose that when you get color. She works on a computer all day and rarely even turns on her laptop at home, so we thought that she would prefer the more book-like device. It turned out to be a good decision for us. She absolutely loves it, and has already downloaded several books.

Rosefolly

I am leaning more towards the Kindle Fire just because of the access to Amazon content. I have to have cataracts removed from both eyes in December, so this will be my gift to me for being brave.

Frances, can't wait to hear your review.

I was so miserable that I put off having the other eye done for six years! I needed new glasses for reading this fall so I had the second surgery, reminding the doctor of my earlier experience. He had changed the drops three times before and said we would begin this time with where we ended the first time. This was an absolute breeze, and I love my new glasses. I hardly need them for distance but am wearing them all the time anyway.

This is all to say, take heart. You will be pleasantly surprised after the deed is done.

So far I've downloaded an Audible audiobook with the free Audible app (sounds great), downloaded a magazine (the jury is still out on the magazine), did some web searches (perfect, fast response), and set up e-mail (easy as could be). I've not yet downloaded or watched a video or downloaded or listened to music but I have no doubt they will work just fine. I don't see a way to print wirelessly (or any other way) yet and that may be my one concern, although I didn't really expect to be able to print. I'm sure that capability will be available soon if I can't figure out something now, which I probably can.

I do believe I'm very happy with the Kindle Fire!!!

The Kindle Fire is probably best for anyone who uses Amazon extensively, not that it won't work for others, but it is really great for retrieving books, movies, or music from Amazon. They are my first choice for ordering just about anything. I fully expect that someday I will order a pizza from them for dinner that night!

The Nook is a little more expensive, but I have a B&N just up the road from my workplace so it's easy to go there if I need any help and I can download books from the library to it.

On the other hand, the Kindle has all of Amazon's selections available for downloading and many libraries now offer downloadable books for the Kindle. Since I've never had an e-reader, I thought I'd break down and order one of these. Sigh...it's a tough decision.

Maybe tomorrow I will have more to report.

And a question: I have a kindle-ized phone but I cannot get library books downloaded to it. I check them out on my computer and they never make it to my phone. I have wi-fi in the house and the kindle app says it is synched but no book. Any ideas of where it got to?

Thank you.
PAM

Pat

Pat, Welcome back! And where is the Kindle forum? Free books? Sounds intriguing.

Thanks to everyone who posted their thoughts and opinions on this thread from the very beginning.

PAM

I still read on my K2, but love to look at the colored book covers to help me decide what to read next & remind me what the book is about.
Kindle Lovers is a forum on Delphi Forums. Since the popularity of all e-readers it is a very popular place to visit. The hostess-Gigi-posts the long list of Free books each day.
So far (in nearly 2 years) I have 225 still to read, which includes 17 cookbooks and I have already read and archived 147 books. Some of course I did buy, but the majority of them were free.
I also ck Amazon each day for their "Deal of the Day" which is marked down book for that day only.
Also I ck the App store each day for the free app of the day.

Pat

For free books, go to Amazon's home page, at the left side of the page click Kindle, then from the drop down menu choose Kindle Books. At the right side of that page you'll see an ad for 100 Kindle books for $3.99 or less and just below that are two tabs....one of them is the "Top 100 Free" books. This lists changes frequently so you might want to add it to your bookmarks and check it weekly. Enjoy your new Fire!
another Pam

Also, I just found an interesting link... not sure if it was ever mentioned here. From the website: 'The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, we provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, and the general public.' They have etexts, movies, music, television and more. I have just started nosing around but have downloaded a few texts to my Kindle Fire and look forward to discovering more.

PAM