[image error] C.V. HuntThis information was collected fromAmazon's website, and is offered to help review the new Kindle Fire.

[image error] 4 out of 5Connectivity: Wi-Fi Supports public and private Wi-Finetworks or hotspots that use 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or enterprise networkswith support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; doesnot support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.
Content: 18 million movies, TV shows, apps,games, songs, books, newspapers, audiobooks, magazines, and docs.
System Requirements: None, because it's wireless and doesn'trequire a computer.
Content Formats Supported: Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotectedMOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF,PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.
Web: Amazon Silk cloud-accelerated browser
Display: 7" multi-touch display with IPS(in-plane switching) technology and anti-reflective treatment, 1024 x 600 pixelresolution at 169 ppi, 16 million colors.
Battery Life: 8 hours continuous reading or 7.5 hoursvideo playback
Charge Time: Fully charges in approximately 4 hoursvia included U.S. power adapter. Also supports charging from your computer viaUSB.
Storage: 8GB on device for 80 apps plus either 10movies or 800 songs or 6000 books. Plus free cloud storage for all Amazoncontent so you never have to worry about running out of space.
Dimensions: 7" x 4.7" x 0.45"
Weight: 14.6 ounces
Interface: multi-touch
USB Port: USB 2.0 (micro-B connector)
Audio: 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, top-mounted stereo speakers.
Amazon Prime: Amazon Prime is an annual membershipprogram that offers customers unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions ofitems, instant streaming of more than 10,000 movies and TV shows and access toborrow a Kindle book every month, including New York Times Bestsellers, with nodue dates -- all for just $79 a year. Eligible customers who purchase a KindleFire will be given a free month of Amazon Prime.
I received theKindle Fire in the mail a couple of days ago and have been playing with it eversince. This is the first tablet that I've ever owned; my previous Ereader wasthe second edition Kindle. There was nothing wrong with current Ereader, butthere were some features that the Fire owned that I could greatly benefit from.So I took the leap in technology and decided to upgrade. I'll go through eachaspect of the Fire in order from the list above that was provided from amazon.
Connectivity: The Fire fell a little short in this areaL. Amazon has dropped the 3G capability onthe Fire, and only allows Wi-Fi connectivity. I understand why they did this.Wi-Fi is faster than 3G, and with their new Cloud storage, it gives you theability to stream items from their internet-based storage. By eliminating the3G, they also eliminated any problems of TV and movies that were streamedhaving poor quality, choppy reception, or frozen vids. I think that they haveroom for improvement here. Mainly, I believe that they could bring back the 3G,but make the items that they are worried about unavailable on the 3G network.This would enable the customer to continue to shop, browse the internet, andaccess apps while away from home or hotspots.    
Content: There is more than enough content tokeep anyone entertained and busy for hours on endJ. I will mainly use the Fire to read Ebooks, and thatfeature works great. I have downloaded one movie and the quality is awesome.Also I have fiddled with a few of the apps, which just like everything else,the apps are endless. I already used the Cloud for my music downloads before Ipurchased the Fire, so all of my music was already accessible as soon as theFire was set up with my account information. Then there is the ability to readall kinds of docs, but I'll get to that in a minute.
System Requirements: Amazon claims that the Fire does notrequire a computer. I'm sure that would be true if you didn't need to transferdocuments over to it. There is a small catch with this. Make sure that the Fireis powered on before plugging it into your computer, or your computer will notthink that it exists. Also, you're going to have to purchase the cord thatconnects it to your computer (not includedL).
Content Formats Supported: It speaks for itselfJ: Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotectedMOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF,PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8. This is just awesome, andit is the #1 reason that I decided to upgrade. The ability for the Fire to readall of these documents is phenomenal for me. I write reviews, and sometimes anauthor doesn't have their book available for sell yet, but they have it as aPDF or DOC. I want to read their book, but now I'm forced to sit in front of mycomputer to read it, and that is only when I have time. Being able to readthese documents on the go now makes me give the Fire a huge thumbs up. Itransferred two books that I received as PDFs, and I was really impressed. Theyopened and interacted no differently than any of my purchased Kindle Ebooks.This is something that I am very happy with, and also something that some ofthe other tablets need to work on from what I hear.
Web: Amazon invented their own web browser call the Amazon Silkcloud-accelerated browser. Although they say that it is accelerated, I reallydidn't see much difference between it, and Google Chrome, which is what I useon my home computer. There is nothing wrong with it, but it is a slightdisappointment after being told that it's accelerated. It works… it's a webbrowser… I'm happy with itJ.
Display: Amazon had to let go of their claim beingable to read their products in the sun. The consumer wanted a touch screen LCD,and that is what they gotJ. I read some online complaints that thereaction time is slow, but personally I have not had any problems. I did buy anantiglare screen protector for it though.
Battery Life and Charge Time: My previous Ereader had a very longbattery life, the Fire is only 8 hours. That is mainly due to all the featuresand the LCD screen. I've charged it since I've gotten it, and have been playingwith it off and on, and I still have more than 50% of the battery left. I'venever messed with any other tablets so I can't really compare how much juice itsucks, but I'm impressed. I thought I would have to charge it every day. ApparentlyI don't mess with it as much as I thought it would, or my perceptions ofbatteries are offJ.
Storage: 8GB would be puny in the way of storagefor a tablet, if the Fire didn't also come with the Cloud storage. The Cloud -for some of you that don't know - is an unlimited online storage data base forall of your content. The Fire enables you to stream your downloads from theCloud, and never even download it to your device, in return saving you thatspace for other items. You can also download your items from the Cloud to yourFire's memory, so that you can view those items when you are not connected to aWi-Fi network, delete them at any time to save internal storage, and download itagain later if you want. The Cloud is a secure backup for all of your contentJ.
Dimensions, Weight, and Interface: The fire is actually smaller than mysecond generation Kindle. The screen is larger and it does weigh more, bit itfairly compact compared to some of the other tablets that I have seen. I guessit's a matter of personal preference on screen size for the customer. I likeit. Even with it in a case, it's about the same size as a small bookJ.
USB Port: This was almost a show stopper at myhouseL. If you buy a Fire, you will open thebox and find the tablet, and the power cord… that's it. My previous Kindle camewith the adapter cord and a nifty little attachment that plugged into the USBto convert it into a wall charger. People that own an iPhone (or otherelectronics) will know what I'm talking about. The Fire does not have this. Ifyou plan on transferring docs to your Fire, you need to buy this cord; it isnot included with it. Luckily my previous adapter worked. Also remember, thatthe Fire has to be powered on in order for your computer to recognize it whenyou plug it in.
Audio: I set up the Fire to play my favorite movie that Idownloaded (Fight Club) in my kitchen, and then went about fixing supper. Hereis another area that I think could use improvements. I found that over thenoise that I was making, that I had to turn the volume all the way up. So in anoisy area, headphones might be recommended. Also, there are not externalbuttons to turn the volume up or down, you have to use the touch screen panelto adjust the volumeL.
Amazon Prime: Amazon gives you one month of AmazonPrime free for purchasing the Fire. At first glance, I want to jump all overthis. The free 2-day shipping for one year on products purchased from themalone is enough to make me squeal, but on looking at it further, I'm not sosure if it would be worth it for me. For some people this may be a dream cometrue. With the Amazon Prime yearly package - which cost $79 year – you're ableto stream 10,000 TV shows and movies, and borrow one book a month for free. Itsounded pretty tempting until I investigated further. The TV shows and moviesthat they offer for free are much older, and they only offer the free booksfrom about 5,000 titles. That seems like a lot of books, but if you consider thatAmazon boosts that they house millions of books, it's really just a drop in thebucket. Free books, movies, and TV shows do nothing for me if they aren'tsomething that I want to watch and read. I'm sure that this is something thateach person would have to investigate on their own to decide whether it isright for them. I personally would have to still have to pay for: Fight Club(movie), American Horror Story (TV episodes), and Frostbite by David Wellington(Ebook). And after looking at my purchase history, I would be cheaper paying theshipping charges on items that I purchased. Remember, the free shipping is foritems purchased through Amazon, not the 3rd party merchants thatsupply a lot of items that are sold on Amazon.
With all ofthese cool features, Amazon almost forgets to mention their Whispersynctechnology. This is the ability to drop what you are reading on one device, andpick up in the same spot on another. For someone like me - that has the Kindleapp on my phone - this is great. I can read a book at home and take off for anappointment, find out that I'll be sitting in a waiting room a while, pull outmy phone and pick up exactly where I left off. Then when I get back home to mytablet, it is synced up to spot where I stopped on my phone.
Overall I'mimpressed with the Fire, and the pros more than outweighed the cons for me. Mymain purpose was to use it as an Ereader, and with its ability to read allkinds of docs, it has surpassed my expectations. On the tablet side of thedevice, there are areas that could use some improvement. In another words – Idon't regret spending the money on it, and I hope that it serves its purposewell over the years, just as my old second generation Kindle has. 

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