The Kindle Fire HDX
I pre-ordered the original Kindle Fire the first day it was available and it was in Nov 2011 that it showed up on the doorstep. I have to admit I haven’t used the Kindle to it’s full potential since I’ve had multiple iPads the entire time. However, it’s been a pretty reasonable device. But I didn’t buy the device because I thought it would be better than the iPad, I bought one because of the potential I saw in the device and to encourage Amazon to continue it’s development. Besides, it makes a pretty decent, albeit small capacity MP3 player.
See, it’s more than just the what the Kindle has under the hood, it’s about what it represents. The Fire is a true consumption device and Amazon is a supplier of almost limitless content. Apple has iTunes with an ever expanding library of apps, books and music. Amazon has their own vast library with a massive selection of music and books and an app library that is growing everyday. From a numbers game in both content and the financial backing, Apple and Amazon are working on equal footing. And now Amazon has released their third iteration of the Kindle Fire.
It may not be the most technologically advanced device on the market, but the quad cores, 2560×1600 screen resolution and 8MP camera is no slouch. Plus as at price under $500 for the 8.9 inch, 64GB model, that’s pretty sweet value for money. Really the only problem lies in the app store of Amazon itself. Unfortunately, the amount and availability of content simply doesn’t match that of iTunes. But this is Amazon and I have no doubt they will be building their app selection at great speed. And let’s not forget, the big want for the Kindle is the impressive selection of books, music and the fact you can stream Amazon Prime movies as well as Netflix videos to it without any trouble at all. And in HD.
When you look down the road, the two major content providers for devices will be Apple and Amazon. Microsoft won’t play a part and Google is a fair way behind although you can tell they’re building up YouTube.
With all that in mind, I kind of want one of these new HDX Kindles, the 8.9 inch model. It looks pretty sweet and the size is pretty appealing. I didn’t really see the point of the iPad mini when it first came out, but I like this slightly smaller size, plus the camera has a pretty impressive resolution – not that taking pictures with a tablet really appeals to me, but in a pinch or when working with pictures for a blog, it’s not a bad choice. I do the same sort of thing with my iPad 3 right now.
So, the quad core is appealing, the screen resolution is impressive and the price is pretty damn reasonable, so the question is, should I wait for the iPad Mini 2 which is more than likely going to be 64 bit with iOS7 and an improved display or go for the Kindle Fire HDX with it’s streaming media and improved OS? Who’s already on the pre-order list?
