Amazon Kindle Fire – First Videos and Hands On Inspections
September 28th saw Amazon unveil perhaps the biggest new competitor the tablet PC market has seen so far, by way of the Kindle Fire. Rumors had been circulating for months that the retailer has something rather stunning up its sleeves, suggesting that a 7 inch tablet with a purpose-built version of Android would be arriving in the near future – which of course turned out to be right on the money.
As it stands, the Amazon Kindle Fire is due for an official public launch on November 15th for a staggeringly low price of $199, but in the meantime to keep interest well and truly peak, a luck few have been given the first hands-on look at the new tablet PC in all its glory.
As predicted all along, the Kindle Fire bears a striking resemblance to the BlackBerry PlayBook from RIM by way of overall aesthetics, which of course is not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. No glossy plastics or rather distracting patterns and the like have been used, with nothing other than a Micro USB port and headphone jack to speak of. The back is made from the usual non-slip rubber coating, which of course feels just great to hold.
The most impressive immediate feature is the 7 inch screen with 1024×600 resolution, which considering the $199 price tag is quite extraordinary. The screen is highly responsive and offers generously wide viewing angles – again quite seriously impressive for the price.
Not only this, but the custom-build version of Android featured onboard is truly a marvel in its own right. The way in which the Amazon experience has been built around the already excellent OS is truly admirable and again, almost incomprehensible for the price.
All in all, the Amazon Kindle Fire was pegged to be the biggest competitor for the likes of the iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab upon its release later this month…and indeed it looks to be exactly that.
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