The Kindle Fire: It’s Unique! And It Has Lots of Competition!
By Harry McCracken | Thursday, September 29, 2011 at 3:10 pm
Over at my Challengers blog on Cnet News, I took a look at Amazon’s Kindle Fire vs. everything else that looks sort of like it. I came to the conclusion that it’s a new take on tablets that’s not precisely like anything else–but that consumers will still compare it against the iPad, Android tablets, the Nook Color, other Kindles, and even the iPod Touch.
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September 29th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
"but that consumers will still compare it against the iPad, Android tablets, the Nook Color, other Kindles, and even the iPod Touch."
Actually Harry, that type of determination would take quite a bit of mktg surveys & polling to establish with any sort of accuracy…
September 29th, 2011 at 7:48 pm
True, Harry. I've already seen a couple of articles doing exactly that. Nevertheless, competition is also good for both the developers of these devices and us consumers. For example, with the low price of Amazon Fire, hopefully, other tablet PCs will follow suit.
September 29th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Kindle Fire is not a tablet PC.
September 30th, 2011 at 6:54 am
Umm, journalists aren't "consumers".
LOL
September 30th, 2011 at 8:14 am
But journalists ARE consumers. Or at least you’re far more likely to say intelligent things if you don’t take off your consumer hat when you isit down to write.
–Harry
September 30th, 2011 at 8:56 am
No, not in the context of the article they aren't. The "conclusion" made was not based on ANY credible study. It was simply a preconceived notion that the "journalist" (loosely used here) wished to project onto the actual consumers…
September 30th, 2011 at 9:42 am
If you're talking about my story, all I'm saying is that some of the time, some consumers will compare it against some other tablet-type devices before they plunk down their money. That doesn't seem like a controversial stance or one which requires a study to prove. And studies aren't gospel either: Remember the ones which "showed" that people weren't all that interested in buying a tablet from Apple?
–Harry
September 29th, 2011 at 9:33 pm
Anyone who compares this to anything other than another media player is high on fumes.
What is this device?
– $200-$300 price point
– the top level menu is types of media (music, movies, books, games, etc.)
– you hold it in one hand
– you listen with headphones, it has no speaker
– if it runs downloadable apps, they are phone apps
– sold directly to consumers
– syncs with a master library of media stored on a larger device
– much smaller screen than a PC
Answer: any Kindle or any iPod or any of many other media players.
I know the iPad is making people crazy, but come on!
The only device that has yet even been suggested that is like an iPad is Windows 8 on ARM. That is it. Nobody else has the IP to make a tablet PC. The #1 complaint with Motorola or Samsung tablets is they did not replace a PC because they are just big phones.
It is disappointing to me that nobody but Apple and Microsoft is making computers, but I can't change the facts.
October 1st, 2011 at 9:16 pm
I'm currently typing this on my Nook Color (I love the underdog). Am I excited about the Kindle Fire? You bet (in particular the Silk browser despite the privacy concerns). We are a gadget family (three ipad 1's in the home as well). Going to be interesting to hold a Kindle Fire – I am expecting the non book reading experience is going to be much faster than the Nook Color.