The Kindle Fire entered the market with projections by experts that it would be a direct competitor to the Apple iPad. There are even rumors that Apple plans to answer with a smaller iPad with a similar price. The Amazon Kindle Fire as a tablet does offer rivalry to higher priced Android tablets in particular. As the cost of the Amazon Kindle Fire is hard to beat, there’s one area in which the Amazon Kindle Fire falls horribly short.
So, what are the shortcomings? Connectivity! The moment the first generation Kindles hit the market as an e-readers, one of many selling points was free 3G service by AT&T. You purchased the Ereader and had the capability to surf Amazon’s e-book store everywhere you could get AT&T service which is most areas throughout the United States. Earlier Kindles also came with a cable that connected it with your computer, so you could download books and copy them manually.
The service ceased as soon as the Amazon Kindle Fire came out. Providing 3G to the Kindle Fire would mean data overload for AT&T. Not to mention, 3G speeds wouldn’t be able to support the ability of the Kindle Fire’s dual core processor. Therefore, users are limited to wi-fi service only on the Kindle Fire. This implies in order to use the web with the device , you must have access to a wi-fi hotspot or your home wi-fi.
The Amazon Kindle Fire on Lockdown. It seems that Amazon is so concerned that users might gain access to an app market other than their own, that they’ve omitted all other sources of connectivity from the Fire. The Kindle has 2 ports. One is a typical earphone jack and the other is a micro USB to charge the unit. Amazon does not even include the USB cable in order to connect the Fire to your computer like with their earlier Kindles. In order to connect the Fire to your computer, you will need to buy the cable separately. Only a conventional charging cable is included.
Just why the Kindle Fire may well not stand up to competition. Even cheaper budget tablets ship with a lot more connectivity than the Kindle Fire. These units usually are loaded with options including an SD card slot, USB port and an HDMI interface. Adding this connectivity would make the Kindle Fire unstoppable. Having a USB port, users could have the option of using a mobile broadband plan to increase connectivity. A USB port additionally allows expansion of the 8 gb memory space available on the Kindle as would an SD card interface.
Solutions to the connectivity issue are limited. The only way to gain full access to the Kindle Fire’s whole potential is to root the unit. A task that is not for the newbie and is somewhat of a gamble that will void your warranty. Nonetheless, once the device is rooted, you then have the choice of installing more app markets and broadening the ways the Fire can be used. Other than that, there’s no way currently to expand the ability to connect the device to the Net. Many apps are worthless without online connectivity except for downloaded games and standalone productivity apps and tools.
If rooting is out of the question, then users can get the connector cable and sideload software onto the device. It is not too hard to acquire app files, download them to your computer, and then drag and drop the file onto your Kindle Fire. The Fire is going to do the rest.
With new tablets hitting the market all the time targeting the cheaper prices, the Amazon Kindle Fire will quickly lose its edge. Currently you can find tablets available which are $30 or so more than the Kindle with all the current features together with the connectivity options mentioned above. Do keep in mind Bluetooth. Bluetooth adds a new dimension of connectivity to your device. Imagine a Kindle Fire which has a real keyboard, not the virtual onscreen type. It’s really a waiting game to find out if Amazon will step up with a tablet that actually has the user in mind as opposed to their pocket book.
To learn more about the Kindle Fire and Android tablets, review some of the many resources available on the web. Make sure you read as many Android tablet reviews as possible to make sure you are getting a product that is right for your lifestyle.
Comments are closed.