Anybody buy one?

[KennyJohnson]

Mine is out for delivery.

 

[SpookDroid]

Did you fall for the 'cute' kids-turned-adults ad? Hehehe (personally I just hated the kid, don't know why).

 

[KennyJohnson]

i hate the advertisements. I'm keeping my Nexus 5, I just mainly want to play with the phone and see the stuff. I'm into the Amazon platform pretty hard. I have a Kindle Paperwhite, Kinde Fire HDX, and now the Fire Phone. The lack of amazon instant video on Android sucks.

 

[SpookDroid]

Well, it's supposed to be coming out soon... But I tought Fire devices had Instant Video available, don't they? If not, that's a HUGE oversight on Amazon's.

 

[KennyJohnson]

Well, it's supposed to be coming out soon... But I tought Fire devices had Instant Video available, don't they? If not, that's a HUGE oversight on Amazon's.

They do. It's a big reason I own them. I love my Kindle Fire HDX, it's in my opinion, the best tablet I've used. I'm a big Amazon homer just because I use them so often. I want to support the product and hope that the second release is the one that I really want.

Big first problem: NO MLB AT BAT?!?! It's on my Kindle Fire HDX but not the phone. That sucks.

 

[bryanmsi]

We bought one at work for testing and I spent about 45 minutes with it. I'm not going to beat around the bush. Its horrific. I would rather use a BlackBerry. The dynamic perspective works well but at best is just annoying. At worst, it gets in the way. Fonts look horrible on many screens because the have a hokey 3D drop shadow. The UI itself is not very intuitive, and certainly isn't anything like stock android. The silk browser is fast for simple pages but seemed slow for JavaScript. The gestures worked inconsistently and were annoying. But the worst flaw is the overall UI. Its just really bad.

Glad I didn't spend my own money on this thing!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[B. Diddy]

I'm not going to beat around the bush. Its horrific

Ouch! It'll be interesting to see more real world reviews. Although if it tanks, I'm sure Amazon won't really feel it. Or maybe they'll overhaul the UI.

 

[KennyJohnson]

We bought one at work for testing and I spent about 45 minutes with it. I'm not going to beat around the bush. Its horrific. I would rather use a BlackBerry. The dynamic perspective works well but at best is just annoying. At worst, it gets in the way. Fonts look horrible on many screens because the have a hokey 3D drop shadow. The UI itself is not very intuitive, and certainly isn't anything like stock android. The silk browser is fast for simple pages but seemed slow for JavaScript. The gestures worked inconsistently and were annoying. But the worst flaw is the overall UI. Its just really bad.

Glad I didn't spend my own money on this thing!

Posted via Android Central App

i disagree. I find that the UI is very intuitive. It's more intuitive than I think stock android. My parents both got the phone because they have a Kindle Fire HDX and like it. They were able to move to it very easily. My dad had the HTC One (M7) prior and was very frustrated by it.

Dynamic perspective works great on the lock screen and in games. When using the phone in most day to day tasks I haven't found a need. I have used the gestures while playing music and they work but I think just using the thumb to slide from the left/right is just as easy.

The UI is easier to use than TouchWiz.

 

[SpookDroid]

i disagree. I find that the UI is very intuitive. It's more intuitive than I think stock android. My parents both got the phone because they have a Kindle Fire HDX and like it. They were able to move to it very easily. My dad had the HTC One (M7) prior and was very frustrated by it.

Dynamic perspective works great on the lock screen and in games. When using the phone in most day to day tasks I haven't found a need. I have used the gestures while playing music and they work but I think just using the thumb to slide from the left/right is just as easy.

The UI is easier to use than TouchWiz.

I think you missed a critical point here: Your parents USE another Kindle device. They're used to stuff 'their way'. It's just like going from iOS to Android or from Android to iOS. You'll always find the new stuff uncomfortable, until you get used to it.

 

[bryanmsi]

i disagree. I find that the UI is very intuitive. It's more intuitive than I think stock android. My parents both got the phone because they have a Kindle Fire HDX and like it. They were able to move to it very easily. My dad had the HTC One (M7) prior and was very frustrated by it.

Dynamic perspective works great on the lock screen and in games. When using the phone in most day to day tasks I haven't found a need. I have used the gestures while playing music and they work but I think just using the thumb to slide from the left/right is just as easy.

The UI is easier to use than TouchWiz.

Two of the keys of any effective UI are consistency and intuitiveness. Fire OS has neither. Start with the carousel. It is literally different every time you pick up the phone. Swiping madly through icons there trying to find the one you want is frustrating and unnecessary. Instead of being able to remember that an app, say the e-mail app, is always near the left edge of the carousel would be useful. Having no idea where it is because it changes its place every single time the phone is used is not useful. Another example is the switch between dark grey backgrounds with orange highlights to white backgrounds with fuzzy black fake 3D highlights. Not helpful.

Want another example? The gestures of tipping right or tipping left don't consistently work. Swiping in from the sides always works, so why even have the motion gestures? Oh, but if you are swiping through photos in your gallery, stay away from the edge. If you don't, you get a menu where instead you wanted the next photo.

The 3D effect on the left menu just makes the fonts look unreadable. Sure, you can keep the phone pointed at you and minimize this, but then why have it. Or, you can do what most people will do and just turn off all of that. The dynamic perspective feature as implemented in v1 add almost nothing positive to the experience, and in many cases add unnecessary complexity to the UI.

The Fire OS is objectively NOT great UI. And subjectively, I have shared it around to 10 tech enthusiasts here at the office, and the reaction is universally bad. Those aren't great odds for Amazon. Sure, maybe they don't use the Fire tablets, but nobody had ever used an iPhone before it was invented and yet t was an instant hit. You shouldn't have to use a Fire Tablet as a prerequisite to appreciate a different device.

 

[KennyJohnson]

I think you missed a critical point here: Your parents USE another Kindle device. They're used to stuff 'their way'. It's just like going from iOS to Android or from Android to iOS. You'll always find the new stuff uncomfortable, until you get used to it.

You're making my point for me. Going from iOS or Android to Fire OS and you'll find new stuff uncomfortable until you get used to it. Who do you think Amazon is making this phone for? I think it's for people who own a Fire tablet.

 

[KennyJohnson]

Two of the keys of any effective UI are consistency and intuitiveness. Fire OS has neither. Start with the carousel. It is literally different every time you pick up the phone. Swiping madly through icons there trying to find the one you want is frustrating and unnecessary. Instead of being able to remember that an app, say the e-mail app, is always near the left edge of the carousel would be useful. Having no idea where it is because it changes its place every single time the phone is used is not useful. Another example is the switch between dark grey backgrounds with orange highlights to white backgrounds with fuzzy black fake 3D highlights. Not helpful.

Want another example? The gestures of tipping right or tipping left don't consistently work. Swiping in from the sides always works, so why even have the motion gestures? Oh, but if you are swiping through photos in your gallery, stay away from the edge. If you don't, you get a menu where instead you wanted the next photo.

The 3D effect on the left menu just makes the fonts look unreadable. Sure, you can keep the phone pointed at you and minimize this, but then why have it. Or, you can do what most people will do and just turn off all of that. The dynamic perspective feature as implemented in v1 add almost nothing positive to the experience, and in many cases add unnecessary complexity to the UI.

The Fire OS is objectively NOT great UI. And subjectively, I have shared it around to 10 tech enthusiasts here at the office, and the reaction is universally bad. Those aren't great odds for Amazon. Sure, maybe they don't use the Fire tablets, but nobody had ever used an iPhone before it was invented and yet t was an instant hit. You shouldn't have to use a Fire Tablet as a prerequisite to appreciate a different device.

It's subjectively a bad UI. I don't think showing the phone to ten tech enthusiasts is the right audience. I work for a large software company and when I showed the phone to the other engineers on my floor they aren't going to want it. I took it down to the basement where sales and marketing folk sit and they were impressed. The phone isn't for a tech enthusiast. It's for Amazon customers and first time mobile phone buyers.

The carousel is actually a really nice element of the interface. Your last used app is front and center and it flows out from there. IF you want something else you swipe up and go to your app drawer. It's not complicated. I prefer stock Android. I'm sending the fire back to Amazon tomorrow. But having using the S5 and the Fire Phone, I'd take the Fire Phone over it. It's a lot easier to use than TouchWiz.

 

[B. Diddy]

One thing I wonder about is what is the main purpose for the 4 front-facing cams? Is it really just for the 3D effects for the UI? Seems like an excessive amount of tech for an effect. Is it supposed to allow for 3D movies without glasses some time in the future?

 

[SpookDroid]

You're making my point for me. Going from iOS or Android to Fire OS and you'll find new stuff uncomfortable until you get used to it. Who do you think Amazon is making this phone for? I think it's for people who own a Fire tablet.

Yup, that's what I was going for hehe. Most people will find a new phone, with a different OS, uncomfortable. My main driver is Android, but my work phone is an iDevice, and though I like how straight forward things are on iOS (yes, limited, and very locked down, but still straight forward) I still fringe every time I pick it up and can't do the things I'm used to do on my Androids.

Same thing happened when I saw the Fire phone. It may be Android underneath, but the top UI is not, and that makes things different. Too different for my taste, and yeah, I didn't like it. But I'm sure that if I were given a Kindle and this phone, after a couple of weeks I would get used to it. Maybe I wouldn't love it, but I would definitely start liking it and getting used to it.

 

[bryanmsi]

It's subjectively a bad UI. I don't think showing the phone to ten tech enthusiasts is the right audience. I work for a large software company and when I showed the phone to the other engineers on my floor they aren't going to want it. I took it down to the basement where sales and marketing folk sit and they were impressed. The phone isn't for a tech enthusiast. It's for Amazon customers and first time mobile phone buyers.

The carousel is actually a really nice element of the interface. Your last used app is front and center and it flows out from there. IF you want something else you swipe up and go to your app drawer. It's not complicated. I prefer stock Android. I'm sending the fire back to Amazon tomorrow. But having using the S5 and the Fire Phone, I'd take the Fire Phone over it. It's a lot easier to use than TouchWiz.

First, any good ui will appeal to almost everyone. If Fire OS only appeals to people who don't actually like, or really understand, technology then they have already made a big misstep.

Second, most tech novices I know buy what their tech loving friends recommend. And if all the techies hate Fire phone, then that closes down the recommendations.

I guess time will tell which of us is right. It won't take long. Big hits become, well, big hits. And flops fail quick.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[bryanmsi]

And....we have the (unsurprising) answer....

http://www.androidcentral.com/study-suggests-fire-phone-sales-are-not-lighting-fire

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[deploylinux]

Bought 3 of the phones, one for me and two for the kids. We also have fire tv, a fire hd tablet, ~2,500 songs in amazon music, thousands of kindle books, subscriptions to prime fresh (for groceries/same day deliveries), and kindle unlimited. How? We've been a customer of Amazon since shortly after they first launched their site almost 20 years ago...and we just become more impressed with Amazon customer service and value every year.

We do not buy anything from google, no google content, nothing from the play store....I did have a nexus 4 before which was nice enough but there was no real compelling reason to use the phone other than the free software updates from Google.

The fire phones do have a few software teething issues, but work more than well enough for being a first generation. There are quite a number of nice touches, including that we are immediately notified whenever one of our amazon deliveries arrives or ships. When the kids play a video upstairs on the fire tv, a message pops up on my fire phone. Everything works great together. There are good parental controls ensuring the kids can not purchase anything on the amazon store, while allowing them access to all previously purchased content and cloud storage. The camera and firefly are helpful. The grocery shopping app, amazon fresh, is reasonably easy to use. Email, Calendar, and Essential Apps are all there. There is also a good selection of educational software.

Yes, we chose the Amazon ecosystem over the google one. Amazon treats us like valued customers, doesn't go crazy on DRM, and generally pays attention to us and fixes any issues we have. Google, on the other hand, will give us lots of free stuff but only if we are willing to get zero support outside of mass forums that they don't respond to, only if we lock ourselves using their services for practically everything, and only if I'm content with having all my email, movements, and voicemail scanned so that Google can sell information about me or tailor ads to me. We made the decision to trust Amazon over Google quite awhile back.

 

[tn_friend]

I purchased one, and so far I have really enjoyed it. It takes a couple of days to get used to the gestures, but when you do it works well. I like the gesture of swiping up to go back, and getting additional information with a flick of the wrist. With the release of Fire 3.5.1 and to be able to pin certain apps to the carousel, and make folders for apps. I would recommend this phone.

 

[LongJohnSilverstone]

Yes, I couldn't resist the $.99 deal!

I'm happy with the phone. But I had to sideload several apps b/c they're not in the Amazon appstore.

Full disclosure: I'm new to smartphones so don't have a solid basis for comparison. But I'm no stranger to Android tablets.


LJS

 

[DiVirus]

Got Fire Phone a week ago. Used Android based phones since droid eris on Verizon. Had iPhone 4s and 5s. Used few Nokia windows phones latest being Lumia 1020. To be honest, Amazon Eco system was designed to work well with same system. Like Fire Phone and Fire TV so on. So did Android with Chromecast and so on. Google services are the only thing I miss, especially with them updating them quite often lately and new material design. If you don't rely on Google services like Maps or hangouts you will not miss android well stock or should I say one that includes Google services. I do use Aptoide to download apps that are missing on amazon app store. It definitely takes time getting used to interface of Fire phone and the fact that you can't really customize anything other than lock screen and ringtones. I think people coming from iOS would be best fit for fire phone.

Posted via Android Central App