The Kindle Fire is here but should I buy it?

Sep 12, 2012 by admin

Here at HLS Publishing Solutions I’m facing a huge dilemma!  The plan was to ugrade the trusty iPad 1 to a shiny new iPad 3 before Christmas, but the guys at Amazon have just thrown a spanner in the works in the shape of the all new Kindle Fire which is available for pre-order now and is released on October 25th.

So why the dilemma? I already own a traditional Kindle alongside my iPad but this new device promises so much more:

• 1280×800 HD display with polarising filter and anti-glare technology for rich colour and deep contrast from any viewing angle
• Custom Dolby audio and dual-driver stereo speakers for immersive, virtual surround sound
• World’s first tablet with dual antenna, dual-band Wi-Fi for ultra-fast downloads and HD streaming
• High performance 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor with Imagination PowerVR 3D graphics core for fast and fluid performance
• Thin, light, and portable design that’s easy to hold in one hand
• Access to over 22 million movies, TV shows, songs, books, and magazines, plus tens of thousands of popular apps and games such as Cut the Rope HD, Angry Birds Space HD, Skyscanner, Jamie’s 20-minute meals and Auto Trader
• One-month free trial of LOVEFiLM Instant video streaming for unlimited access to thousands of movies and TV series.
• Ultra-fast web browsing and e-mail over built-in Wi-Fi, with integrated support for Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, and more, as well as Exchange calendar, contacts, and email
• Free Skype-to-Skype video calls with front facing HD camera
• Free unlimited cloud storage for all your Amazon content
• Includes special offers personalised for you and sponsored screensavers

It’s small, it’s going to be light and portable, its going to integrate with Facebook and Gmail, it can do Skype, I can even watch my Lovefilm movies on it.

So what’s the downside? I strongly suspect that it will be even easier for me to buy content from Amazon, bad enough their iPad app only requires a couple of clicks before new products are winging their way to my letter box this new gadget is going to give me flashy screen reminders of new items that may entice me, leaving weak willed me with even more temptation.

Now my daughter will be gutted if I don’t upgrade the iPad as I had promised the old one to her, but would she be better with the new Kindle Fire instead? The 16gb HD version won’t cost much more than the value I’d get for the iPad if I sold it, although of course I want the full 32gb HD version because I am greedy like that!

Part of me says that the Kindle Fire is an essential investment since I publish so many books to Kindle and that therefore I can justify upgrading the iPad still as well.

What would you do?