talk to me about the kindle fire

[regentrude]

title says it. Do you have one? Do you like it? Is it worth having it if you already have a computer? Anything to watch out for?

[OrganicJen]

We really like it especially because of the family safety features that allow us to easily pick and choose exactly what our kiddo can access on his account.

[Night Elf]

I love my Fire. I use it predominantly for e-reading. I like the internet access because I often look up stuff I read about it my books. I also like that I can watch shows and movies with Amazon Prime and listen to music as well. I also have a few game apps I play. I use it for those things much more often than I use my computer. I use my laptop to read this board, google and play games. Really, I use my laptop when I'm in the living room and my Kindle when I'm in the bedroom. I have had a Kindle for at least 8 years and it's something I use every single day. When I got the Fire, I splurged and got the big screen and it has been worth the extra money. It did break within the first year I owned it but it was under warranty and they sent me a replacement no questions asked and it's been fine since then.

[Ottakee]

I bought the 8 with 16gb for $49 on sale a few weeks ago. It might not be as slick or fast as an iPad but since I don't know the difference I am happy. I did ad an SD card.

 

I use it mostly for listening to audio books, Pandora, and now watching Netflix while I walk on the treadmill. I find that the sound for those things is much better with my $15 blue tooth speaker. I also added a sound booster app which really helps.

 

I also check email and Facebook occasionally on it and have a few very simple games.

 

I don't do much with it but often use it a few hours a day for the audio books and music and about 30 minutes a day for Netflix. Just those 3 things alone make it worth the $49 to me.

[Word Nerd]

We had an older model that was bricked after only a couple of years (if that) because the charging port stopped working. I know multiple people who had the same problem. Hopefully the newest models are better designed, but I’d research first.

[Pippen]

We had an older model that was bricked after only a couple of years (if that) because the charging port stopped working. I know multiple people who had the same problem. Hopefully the newest models are better designed, but I’d research first.

 

I had that early model. Amazon replaced it 3 times. My newer (3 yo) model had had no port problems and I use and charge it almost every day.

[chiguirre]

I've had one for the last 4 or 5 years. I use it for internet access when I'm travelling, playing games, watching videos and reading magazines. I prefer my paperwhite for reading.

 

My kids each have one too. In general, they'll last a couple of years with daily, non-gentle kid use. Mine last until I want to upgrade. I've had one brick and they replaced it because it was only about a month old. Several have died from being dropped but since they were the cheapest ones I just replaced them for $30 or $40 bucks.

 

Dh's ipad is sleeker. Dh tends to use it for the same sorts of things I use my kindle for and I don't see a big difference in performance as long as you have good earphones. The price differential isn't worth upgrading to an ipad for me.

[marbel]

I'm still using the Kindle fire we bought in March of 2013. I just looked up the order to be sure of the date. It is a 16mb and cost $200. They are a lot cheaper now.

I have loved it. Before I got a smartphone I used it for casual websurfing, reading the boards, listening to audiobooks and music, and of course reading. Now it's used almost exclusively as an e-reader though I will occasionally watch something on it.

My kids got fires a few years later, but they haven't really taken to them. We did get 8mb for them and they said they would have gotten better use with 16.

 

ETA: I was late to take to electronic books. Now I happily read them - though I read paper books too; I don't have a preference either way, except when traveling - so nice to have one small device with multiple books on it.  I have a kindle app on my phone, but it's not as easy to read on that, and the battery doesn't last as long as the kindle with wi-fi turned off.  It's also nice for reading really long books.  I read The Count of Monte Cristo while waiting in the orthodontist's office - much easier on the kindle than carrying that giant book around. 

Edited December 13, 2017 by marbel

[PeterPan]

The kindle fire is a great device for the price, but if you're pricepoint goes higher you might want to move on. Partly depends on what you want to do with it. The Kindle Fire is an amazon media consumption device, at its best, so that's what the software is set up to do best. My ds uses his to listen to audiobooks, watch amazon prime videos, play apps, etc. hours upon hours every day. We're on our 3rd, and I like them for their ease of use and low pricepoint. If you want to surf, use email, etc., you are probably going to be happier on an ipad. Are you looking at the 8" or 10"? I wouldn't buy the 7", because the dual speakers on the 8" give dramatically better sound. Unless you never use it without earbuds, I'd go 8 or 10. 

 

So what you're really saying is ipad mini vs. kindle 8 or ipad regular vs. kindle 10". Reasons to go ipad would be better apps (yes still), better wifi speed (yes), ability to use ibooks, and integration with other apple products (apple ecosystem for your docs, etc.). Reasons to go amazon fire would be better pricepoint (dramatically better), surf less so you don't care so much about the wifi speed (which isn't horrific but is slower), need for parental controls that you can fine-tune (which I assume doesn't apply to you), did we mention pricepoint (this is huge), and consuming media largely in the amazon ecosystem. Bonus is that the amazon kindle os is really stellar for non-readers. Love the cover flow. For my dyslexic, it really makes sense. Consuming media on the ipad isn't actually quite as in your face easy as on the kindle. 

 

What kind of phone do you have? That will tell you about what you like. An ipad is going to give you the characteristic feel of the buttons, etc. If you want to surf and do email and use significant apps (keynote for lectures, etc.), then I'd go ipad. If you want to consume media, go with the kindle. The kindle fire is an awesome device for the money. It's just a bad buy if what it doesn't well isn't what you're trying to do.

 

[Pawz4me]

I bought one a couple of years ago at Christmas when Amazon had a dirt cheap sale. It was so incredibly aggravating to use that after a couple of months of minimal usage I threw it in the back of a drawer and it's still sitting there, untouched. I should take it to be recycled. But I already had an iPad and so that was my comparison. It was like going from a luxury car to a beater. So my advice is that if you want a usable tablet look elsewhere, and if you want an e-reader look at the regular Kindles.

[slackermom]

I am replying on my kindle fire. Everyone on the house has one now, since I like mine enough to not share. I bought them for about $40 each, I think, during an amazon deal. I use amazon a lot, because we have prime, and free shipping is great when it works, plus lots of movies, books, etc to watch/read. My 13 year old uses the music service, and dh reads library books on it. It is easier on my eyes than my phone, but I can read it in bed, throw it in my bag, etc. I got protective covers in a bunch of different colors so I don't walk off with the wrong one.

 

Edited typo.

Edited December 13, 2017 by slackermom

[Rachel]

They have the best parental controls for kids, far better than an iPad. I know that isn’t an issue for the ages of your kids but sharing in case anyone else is curious.

 

For the price point, if you aren’t sure how much you would use a tablet device, you can’t really go wrong. They are easy to use and intuitive. I do like my iPad mini better than the original Fire (given to us used 4 years ago and still going strong) but it was significantly more expensive. If you only want it to read ebooks, I would go with a Kindle Paperwhite as they are nicer for reading.

[regentrude]

Thanks a lot, that was very helpful.

[Miss Tick]

I got mine a few years ago and it has been great for what I have needed, and cheap enough that I don't stress about it. Mainly i use it for reading, particularly on travel. I have to admit, though, that it is a bit heavy and if reading were the sole use I might look at a dedicated e-reader for less weight.

[Ottakee]

Yes for purely e reading I would look at the Paperwhite or other kindle e-readers. I love my Paperwhite.....even though I have a fire 8

[TrixieB]

I have a Kindle Fire and a laptop.

 

What I like about the Fire:

 

It's easy to stream Netflix and Amazon movies/shows.  I particularly like Amazon's x-ray feature, as does one of my teens. I find it much more comfortable to hold than a laptop when watching movies/shows.

 

I can use it as a Kindle and read books on it.

 

It is inexpensive for a tablet.

[HSmomof2]

I got the Fire when they first came out. That one is still working fine. Dh uses it almost daily. I got another one three years ago, and I use it a lot. Both dc got them for Christmas last year. We love our Kindle Fires and have had no problems with any of them.

[Arcadia]

I have all the models of kindle fire and almost all the models of iPads except the 1st generation. I also have Asus windows tablets. What are you thinking of using the kindle fire for? My kids use the biggest 10†kindle fire HD for reading PDFs and watching YouTube. I use the smallest and oldest kindle fire for playing sudoku and as an alarm clock as that one is very slow already.

 

I have a 17†old but functional laptop, a 12.9†iPad Pro and a 2017 iPad so I rarely use my kindle. My kids have 15†windows 10 laptops and 9.7†iPads so they rarely use their kindle fires.

 

My husband has a MacBook, iPhone 7 and the latest kindle fire model. He use his kindle fire for playing Bloons Tower Defense before bedtime.

 

We also have the Kindle Oasis ereader which any of us who want to use can use.

[Angie in VA]

I bought the 8 with 16gb for $49 on sale a few weeks ago. It might not be as slick or fast as an iPad but since I don't know the difference I am happy. I did ad an SD card.

 

I use it mostly for listening to audio books, Pandora, and now watching Netflix while I walk on the treadmill. I find that the sound for those things is much better with my $15 blue tooth speaker. I also added a sound booster app which really helps.

 

I also check email and Facebook occasionally on it and have a few very simple games.

 

I don't do much with it but often use it a few hours a day for the audio books and music and about 30 minutes a day for Netflix. Just those 3 things alone make it worth the $49 to me.

 

 

Maybe someone already asked this, but what speaker did you get and recommend, and what is that app?

 

We have an Anker bluetooth that was on sale for ~$25. It works great. DD wants one and $15 is a good price. 

[shawthorne44]

We got one for daughter.  I like the child-safe internet browsing.   Bonus was that every CD I'd ever purchased on Amazon had the mp3's loaded on the music player.   

For the price, I think it is great.  

[Ottakee]

Maybe someone already asked this, but what speaker did you get and recommend, and what is that app?

 

We have an Anker bluetooth that was on sale for ~$25. It works great. DD wants one and $15 is a good price.

That is the speaker I have. Just a simple little round one.

 

I will have to look up the app. It was something like sound booster. I just googled it and it came up.