- 18 Comments
- HOTNESS UNHOT
The new Kindle Fire tablets have been announced... Amazon has the Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16GB Android Touchscreen Tablet on pre-order for $299 with free shipping. The 32GB model is $369 shipped. The Fire HD sports a 1920x1200 screen, quad-core TI OMAP 4470 CPU and dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi. It's rumored to have Android 4.0.3, but those details have not been revealed. Scheduled for release on November 20th.
- Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE Wireless 8.9" Android Tablet (32GB) on pre-order for $499 shipped [release: 11/20]
- Kindle Fire HD 7" Android Tablet (16GB) on pre-order for $199 shipped [release: 9/14]
- Kindle Paperwhite eReader w/ Built-in Light on pre-order for $119 shipped [release: 9/14]
$299
There will soon come a day when SD storage is no longer offered on tablets. Damn you, Steve Jobs!
Dear Amazon,
Two words: MEMORY SLOT!!!
I know you believe that I don't need it, because you're giving me cloud storage.....but if you're not going to put a micro SDHC slot on your tablet, at least put a full sized USB port, so I can stick a USB card reader in there!
NO SALE!!
I'm not really in the market, but I agree with the previous comments.
Who wants to be the next iPad will have 802.11ac and true 4G? I don't, but it's possible.
I don't see why people are so hot for memory slots. Those clamoring for them are old fuddy duddies who want them out of nostalgia. And most people who buy something for $199 don't want to spend ours tinkering with it.
Tickering? I can understand rooting/jailbraking, etc but memory cards are not complicated.
1. insert memory card
2. start using it.
3. Enjoy the extra 32GB in your 8GB device. It only cost you an extra $20.
An SD slot or usb port should be stantard by now. Give one the choice of what they may want to install, yes I have dropbox,amazon cloud and skydrive as well, but all personal content should not have to be in the cloud for one to get full use of these tablets.
This needs a glory hole slot.
I have to agree...No memory slot/no usb port=NO SALE. Not just because of the lost functionality, but as a vote for freedom. If we consumers do not vote for freedom with our dollars, then the terrorists win! (In this case the suits at the helm of big business) How is a person any less of a terrorist just because he or she wears a suit? I'm already boycotting car manufacturers that sit on fuel efficient technology instead of selling economical cars. Look at the Tata. Look at the smart car in Europe and in Asia. Even the US had a 60 mpg car that cost 15 grand in the 80's--the Geo Metro. Why isn't one model as economical in purchase price and fuel consumption as a car from 25 years ago? Now its the same with tablets. Withholding useful and cheap value to the customer is UNAMERICAN and they can't get away with it if we withhold our dollars. Join me.
Amazon expects you to stream everything, hence the lack of storage. Dear Amazon, there are times when I'm out of wi-fi range, or simply do not want to connect , so it would be nice to have some room to store some movies and stuff. Just saying.
8GB tablets like the entry-priced Nexus 7 is a joke but 16GB (Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD) is enough to store an HD video or two and a thousands of books and 32GB (Kindle Fire HD 7 or 8.9") is plenty to store 2-3 videos and thousands of books. Plus you can play Amazon Prime and Netflix videos when in range of wifi. It's a pretty sure bet that Google will have a $250 32GB Nexus 7 within a couple of weeks but with a lower resolution display. Hopefully Google will introduce a $300 32GB 9" Nexus 9 with a full HD display before the Kindle HD 8.9 ships but I'm not holding my breath.
For my uses I'm most interested in the Paper-White reader to replace my old Kindle Keyboard. And possibly the 32GB 8.9" wifi-only Fire HD. I can live with the Amazon interface because I don't care about the OS - I care what I can do with the tablet. If it can run the apps that I want it to run and run them fast, and play the videos I want to play without skipping, and play my Kindle books and audiobooks then it does what I need it to do and everything else is a bonus. Tablets aren't a lifetime investment they are a 2 year investment like a phone because by the end of 2 years the non-replaceable battery will start getting weak and newer-better-cheaper devices will come along and we get to spend money all over again.
Yes it would take hours to put a memory card in a slot and it makes no sense at all to be able to reuse the memory you've invested in instead of abandoning it when you upgrade in 18 months.
Are any of these new Fire tablets free 3g/4g?
There is a $500 4G 32GB (64GB optional) 8.9" with a 250MB (yes MB) per month plan for $50/yr. I think you can expect to go over for anything but email but it's still a good deal for a 4G tablet.
I want a new tablet. I want one with memory card or USB. Going to have to wait and see about the Surface and decide what's best in regard to price and performance between the Amazon iPad and Microsoft. Will the surface come with a memory card slot? I'm guessing no.
"I don't see why people are so hot for memory slots. Those clamoring for them are old fuddy duddies who want them out of nostalgia. And most people who buy something for $199 don't want to spend ours tinkering with it."
I take my tablet to my vacation cabin in the redwoods. No phone, cell service, or internet. It's nice to get away from all that, but watching some flicks by the fire is nice too. Therefore a memory slot would be nice.
I like to put movies for my kid on a tablet for road trips or plane rides. Memory slots are very handy for this and streaming won't work. I'm firmly in the no slot, no sale camp. If Amazon wants to go the Apple disposable route I bet someone else will step up with the more expandable model.
Memory slots are nice, but Android is being designed around no memory slot. It streamlines the operating system and allows everything to work much better. I thought I had to have one (and do on my Xoom) however I find myself hardly using it as I stream so much content (especially music).
Wife bought a 16GB Ipad 3 a few months ago. What a mistake not buying the 32GB. She's constantly shuffling app's and videos trying to make room.