Kindle Fire

Scruff

ye dont need to root it to install apps, ye can "sideload" them by finding them on the web. If ye copy the apk files on to the fire ye can install them once ye have download a file browser like Astro or EF File Explorer.

seaner wrote:

Ok so i've since rooted the fire. Then I re-rooted it and installed android market. Its working great now. I've also loaded ice cream sandwich launcher and I now have a fairly nifty android tablet!

ohh.. must try ice cream sandwich launcher! Have it rooted and Go Launcher EX on it but its very handset orientated, not tablet.

DonalN wrote: »

can't decide on this or the galaxy 10.1 tab.
fairly small storage on it, and you can't play avi files - have to convert them first.

Yes storage is a pain but ye dont have to convert files, just install moboplayer or rockplayer.

things i dont like:
1) the two speakers are on the same side, seriously wtf?
2) no SD card slot
3) the amazon software is basically just a shop front to consume amazon products and doesnt like any media files ye load yerself
4) Cant stream videos from my NAS. Can do it with my phone but not this. even after installing UpnPlay and Skifta

but appart from all that i really like it. Small, cheap, rootable, good screen, tablet. tis a nice toy.

uvox

The report says it "could be coming to the UK in January". This one seems more definitive: http://www.knowyourmobile.com/blog/1158519/exclusive_amazon_kindle_fire_coming_to_uk_in_january.html

Shame not before Christmas though. Oh well. The Irish Times today (Dec 10, 2011) says of the Kindle Fire:


"Not available here. Even if you have access to a US address to get hold of one, a lot of the good things about the Fire are limited to US customers: Amazon Prime, media content, even apps. So perhaps wait until it’s available here. Also, it’s has only 8GB of storage, although it’s designed to work with Amazon’s cloud, allowing you to store your content off the tablet. Not much good if you are out of Wi-Fi coverage, either: the Fire doesn’t offer 3G."

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/weekend/2011/1210/1224308823980.html

Still tempted to buy one in the US as I travel often.

Carter P Fly

DonalN wrote: »

can't decide on this or the galaxy 10.1 tab.

fairly small storage on it, and you can't play avi files - have to convert them first.

I follwed this and can stream all my AVI's etc to my kindle without any conversion.

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=159808

uvox

UX reviewers aren't that keen on it, it seems:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/technology/personaltech/amazons-fire-some-say-may-become-the-edsel-of-tablets.html?_r=1


Mr. Nielsen, the consultant, disagreed.

The 7-inch Fire does a good job displaying sites optimized for smaller mobile devices, he said, but stumbles when it tries to show pages designed for 10-inch tablets. “Like squeezing a Size 10 person into a Size 7 suit,” Mr. Nielsen wrote in his report. “Not going to look good.” As for displaying desktop sites, forget it.

It is true that the device is only $199, but so what? “Look at your hand. Is it thin or fat?” he asked. “If it’s fat, you just know it’s going to be bad.”

The device does do one thing well, he said. Shopping on Amazon is a breeze. “If I were given to conspiracy theories, I’d say that Amazon deliberately designed a poor Web browsing user experience to keep Fire users from shopping on competing sites,” Mr. Nielsen said.

Newtown Warrior

Kindle Fire arrived today from Simply Electronics within 8 working days.

I experienced good customer care with them, my email on the order was replied within 12 hours and I was given a DHL tracking number.

Jet Black

My sister ordered from simply electronic on the 4th and it arrived today via DHL. I was a bit worried after seeing that post on here saying it was a scam but it was fine. It's a Christmas present for her partner so I won't get to see it til next week :-(

Still happy with my kindle 3.

InTheTrees

My free month of "amazon prime" expired yesterday.

I checked it out when I first got the fire last month and wasnt very impressive and havent looked at it since.

We have Netflix streaming already and its almost identical.

raheal

Seaner
Hi just wondered if the Kindle fire worked ok for you and could you download music books etc thanks

starlit

Hi sorry for barging into this thread but just have a couple of questions regarding kindles, I am wondering has the kindle fire come to Ireland yet?

Is the wifi ok with the eircom broadband/router or would an o2 hotspot wifi be a better option to pick up wifi?

I am looking into one and based on research most of them in Ireland just have the wifi some do have 3G which I'd prefer even if it does the same job as the ordinary kindle, will it not download book files properly unless the internet is in good working order?

Based on my location I think I'd need one with a 3G one for it to download books better. The wifi is only ok here my broadband be slightly better.

Regarding the kindle fire it only has hd or ordinary one with wifi, none of them in the UK have the 3G version of kindle fire? Is it true it similar to an ipad?

My only concern is the IP address issue whether it have wifi or just wifi and 3G.

Comparing kindle and the sony versions is there much of a difference between them?

Are kindles good value for money or would the sony be better value?

I've looked into getting in the UK as they be slightly cheaper just the IP address might be a cause of concern.

I didn't realise you'd need wifi for a kindle at all i've really only properly looked into it now, I always thought you'd connect to your pc from the internet and download books via toggle/usb or memory stick? Is that possible with the ordinary kindle? Just to read books like not necessary any other feature. I don't know that much about them as I'v not used them much before, I've seen them and used them once but never really had one of my own yet.

Is the kindle fire likely to have a 3G version out by next year?

I love reading books I love the novelty of it but the kindle probably help reduce the amount of books that I have!

nantony2011

hi just butting in there im also interested in getting this for my other half, could u tell me about the print size for reading?? i read on another site that its not great and the guy said 'you'll soon need glasses' so if u could clear that up for me.. they say its not like an e reader??? could u also tell me about getting it shipped to ireland how long were u waiting?? thanks in advance

vibe666

the kindle fire isn't an ereader at all, it's a tablet and wouldn't be ideal for lots of ebook reading compared to a normal kindle (or the new paperwhite), although it can be used as such. you can change the font size to suit your needs too, so don't worry about that part of it, although if you think she'll mainly be reading ebooks then go for the regular kindle, not the kindle fire.

at the moment, the fire is not going to work with the amazon store from ireland until it gets an official release. afaik, even if you have a UK address and credit card for buying stuff, it still requires a UK based IP address, so it's going to be a lot of hard work to get it working here properly.

of course you can still sideload apps (google it) and manage ebooks on it via calibre (google that too!), but you're better off with a nexus 7 or something like that with a proper android interface and not have to deal with amazon's clunky gui at all.

kel.lynch

Hi there,

I was bought a KindleFire as a gift last Christmas. Couldn't download any apps or anything, so decided to wait until it was released in Europe with the hope that I could download the European software. Turns out that there's no such thing. Had a terrible experience with an amazon customer service rep who told me to "migrate" my Kindle to the UK website where I could purchase apps, music, etc. Turns out that's not true and you need not only a UK address (which I have) but also a UK card (which I don't) and the Kindle also recognises that it is in Ireland, not the UK, via the WiFi.

Have now (with difficulty) returned my Kindle to its original US state, however I can't buy apps or music without an American address. Really disappointed as its nowhere near as useful without being able to do all the things I expected it to do. Seriously considering selling it and buying one in Ireland or the UK, but if I got it in the UK, I would probably still have the same issue

Don't understand why there is an Amazon site for almost every other European site except Ireland...so frustrating!

CombatCow

Create a fake american address in Amazon.com that's what I did when I needed to download free apps from the amazon app store....

kel.lynch

CombatCow wrote: »

Create a fake american address in Amazon.com that's what I did when I needed to download free apps from the amazon app store....

Hi

Thanks for the reply - does that actually work? It thought it recognised where you were via your WiFi connection? Does that work with paid apps too or just the free ones?

How do you get around the Zip Code etc - not exactly sure how the addresses work in the US.

Thanks again

CombatCow

Yup mine was something like:

123 fake st
Seattle
Washington
Zip:98121

Definitely works for free apps as I used it for the free app of the day all the time, cant remember about paid ones to be honest.

kel.lynch

Ha, alright well I shall give it a shot and see what I get. Thanks for your help

kel.lynch

Tried the fake American address, even deleted my other address from the address book so that that was the only one and when I try and download something from the App Store, it tells me that my payment method has a non-US billing address and that I need to use an American card

CombatCow

Ah yeah I remember I had to enter a "credit card" number too, I used this site to generate one http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/advanced.php It will then allow you to get the free apps, just don't try to buy anything with those details.

I dont know if there is a better way of doing this but it's what I used before, maybe someone else has another idea.

Mars Bar

I tried all that and didn't work for me.

I've just started sideloading apps. Works grand when you can find the apk files.

Nataliem

I was given the kindle fire as a gift, it came from the UK but i live in Ireland & i'm having major problems getting anything to download, i contacted Amazon who passed me to .co.uk who passed me back to .com who tried to pass me back to .co.uk to say i'm really frustrated is an understatement can anyone help i have this gift that i cannot use

Mars Bar

You cannot download apps or games because the market isn't open to Ireland.

You can download books from the American site.

Alternatively, you can look into side-loading applications and games.