Wow. How's Google going to beat new HD Kindle Fire at $159?

[Ftspyder]

Oh and I agree with Amazon 8GB is DOA

 

[KitN]

The gauntlet has been thrown down. Go Amazon! Raise that bar! Force other tablets to meet or beat the pricing and specs. Force Google to think about their own content pricing. Competition is always good for the consumer. Thank you, Amazon!

I'd like the full specs on the 7" model including the "HD" screen.

As for the Nexus 7, Google really needs to think about content subscriptions similar to have Amazon Prime offers because as it stands, people will flock to the Kindle just for the cheap yearly subscription and Amazon ecosystem.

GET ON IT GOOGLE!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[rootbrain]

Let's be honest. This 250MB plan (or whatever that ridiculous number is) is just to suck you in to pay more.

Yep, watch a movie or two and 250MB is gone, even compressed. What's the per minute prices when you use it up?

You get 20GB of "Cloud Storage", which means if you have 15GB of things you want to store, it will take you 60 months to get it all there without going over you allotment.

Again, what the overage cost?

 

[jd914]

If you're tied into the amazon eco system this is a no brainer. As for me I want an un skinned android device running the latest OS.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[anon(847090)]

Still wont buy. It might be still in GingerBread

 

[HisSvt2]

250mb a month is nothing... 12 month commitment ..forget it. At&t.. HELL NO!

 

[rootbrain]

Still wont buy. It might be still in GingerBread

Don't know, but I would think Amazon would at least release ICS with this. Most people won't know or care, but Droid techies would howel like bansheees...

 

[skyrockett]

no matter how good those specs are.. i'm with N7 all the way!

Did they mentioned what software it runs? Same Cover Flow Crap? I'm sure it's much much more open to modify the software for dev teams. It's gonna be like a real cool project for those who does those third party Android os. But still not every app would work perfectly unless legitimate developers will support it as much as they support regular tablets

 

[natehoy]

How does 250MB a month actually translate? Is the amazon media stream that compact? It seems that the base of $50 a year for LTE would be exceeded quickly if you actually used it for streaming on the go.

Yes, if it's 250MB a month, you would certainly NEVER want to do any streaming media while on the go. However, if you used it carefully for small things like web browsing and checking the weather and traffic while on the go, and cached your media on WiFi whenever possible... yeah, you could make that work if you wanted to.

I can easily stay within 250MB a month of 4G data on my cell phone without too much work, and I do a lot on it. I'd just have to be a little careful just save high-bandwidth stuff for a WiFi connection. I'm currently on the unlimited plan on my smartphone and without even monitoring it or caring one bit, I'm at 253MB with 8 days left in the month.

If I had watched my 4G/3G use more carefully and really wanted to, I could probably get by on 100-150MB a month without too much worries. And for a $4/month data plan, for me, it would easily be worth the savings. Honestly, my unlimited data plan is totally not worth the money to me.

But 250MB is obviously not enough for everyone.

On the other hand, if you watched two high-definition movies a week and one 40-minute TV episode a day purely over 4G, you're going to have to really struggle to find an inexpensive data plan that will support that anyway. AT&T's $30 2GB tablet plan ain't gonna cut it.

 

[seriyb]

If you're tied into the amazon eco system this is a no brainer. As for me I want an un skinned android device running the latest OS.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

IMO Kindle will not scoop up many Google users. But it will certainly attract a lot of newcomers just like the last one did.

And I agree on the ecosystem. This is one place where Google can do a lot of improvements. Google Music is the only app that is really good or nearly "there".
They should use the Google Music framework on Google Mags and Google Books. Need a way to upload my own stuff at the very least.

 

[6tr6tr]

Let's be honest. This 250MB plan (or whatever that ridiculous number is) is just to suck you in to pay more.

Remember, the 4G LTE is just for when there's no Wifi. Chances are you'll be using this near wifi 90% of the time. So if 250MB is 10% of your usage, then for $4/month, you get about 2.5GB of data on Wifi+LTE.

 

[bawboh86]

You know, you can get all the content from Amazon via their app on the Nexus 7, and keep vanilla Android, have timely updates, have better hardware, and have the openness to use other content providers (ie: Google Books or B&N), all for the same price as the Kindle Fire 7" HD. Just sayin', there's still options out there that meet (or in my opinion, beat) the Kindle Fire 7" HD.

 

[6tr6tr]

The gauntlet has been thrown down. Go Amazon! Raise that bar! Force other tablets to meet or beat the pricing and specs. Force Google to think about their own content pricing. Competition is always good for the consumer. Thank you, Amazon!

I'd like the full specs on the 7" model including the "HD" screen.

As for the Nexus 7, Google really needs to think about content subscriptions similar to have Amazon Prime offers because as it stands, people will flock to the Kindle just for the cheap yearly subscription and Amazon ecosystem.

GET ON IT GOOGLE!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

It's not that easy. The content companies are all greedy and technology-backwards, so convincing them to sign on for streaming of their content to mobile devices at a price that allows Google to make money is very tough.

Pandora makes about $400 million a year in revenue from mobile streaming but because of the ridiculous prices with the music companies, they actually LOST money.

 

[JHBThree]

Competition. It's a beautiful thing.

Everyone benefits from this announcement, and I mean EVERYONE, because you know that Apple is watching and someone from Apple marketing is probably soiling his trousers right about now with how they are going to respond with pricing on their supposedly-upcoming iPad Mini. It sure won't lead to a higher price!

Samsung, Asus, et al have just had the bar reset again.

Yes, this will be a locked-down subsidized device. No, you'll never get Play Store or the Google Experience on it. Amazon will, you can be sure, lock the living snot out of all that.

So for Google Experience or iDevice purists, this will not be a tablet worthy of consideration.

But a well-speced well-built tablet at those prices, even with the limitations, is going to FLY off the virtual shelves. And Google and Apple, faced with folks being drawn into the Amazonosphere, will be forced to respond with something interesting.

Oh, this is going to be fun. Popcorn time!

The last kindle fire fell flat on its face right after launch, and these will have the same fate. Amazon thinks people only care about the prices on tablets and the content, but their ecosystem is not strong enough (thanks to their crippled software) to sway most people. If they're looking at this and a Nexus 7 (or even a slightly more expensive Samsung) they won't be choosing the fire.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[6tr6tr]

You know, you can get all the content from Amazon via their app on the Nexus 7, and keep vanilla Android, have timely updates, have better hardware, and have the openness to use other content providers (ie: Google Books or B&N), all for the same price as the Kindle Fire 7" HD. Just sayin', there's still options out there that meet (or in my opinion, beat) the Kindle Fire 7" HD.

No you can't. You cannot stream movies on a Nexus 7 from Amazon Prime.

 

[6tr6tr]

The last kindle fire fell flat on its face right after launch, and these will have the same fate. Amazon thinks people only care about the prices on tablets and the content, but their ecosystem is not strong enough (thanks to their crippled software) to sway most people. If they're looking at this and a Nexus 7 (or even a slightly more expensive Samsung) they won't be choosing the fire.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Really? The last Kindle Fire now has 22% of the U.S. tablet market (and that includes the iPad).

 

[6tr6tr]

Every reviewer says it's buttery smooth. Looks smooth here:
[YT]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkWB7WT47tc[/YT]

 

[6tr6tr]

According to this (from Gizmodo) it's based on ICS:

 

[NickA]

The last kindle fire fell flat on its face right after launch, and these will have the same fate. Amazon thinks people only care about the prices on tablets and the content, but their ecosystem is not strong enough (thanks to their crippled software) to sway most people. If they're looking at this and a Nexus 7 (or even a slightly more expensive Samsung) they won't be choosing the fire.

^^ This

Really? The last Kindle Fire now has 22% of the U.S. tablet market (and that includes the iPad).

^^ And not this. The Fire did well, until the new iPad was released. They dropped to #3, behind Apple and Samsung with 4% of the market share.

Kindle and iPad mini sitting side by side, same price. What is the average consumer going to purchase? It's a no brainer. You have to be heavily invested in the Amazon ecosystem to purchase a Kindle over the iPad mini.

 

[KitN]

It's not that easy. The content companies are all greedy and technology-backwards, so convincing them to sign on for streaming of their content to mobile devices at a price that allows Google to make money is very tough.

Sorry but I call "bull". Amazon has been doing it for years and years, so can Google!

And Google has far more weight it can push around than the Pandora example you used. Seriously?! We're talking one of the largest tech giants on the planet: GOOGLE!

And the Amazon content providers/makers are the same ones currently providing content in Google Play store! Its nothing new to them! But Google has to be the one to sit down at a table and play a little hardball and "persuade" those content providers to pen a deal for something similar to Amazon Prime but on a Google branded device!

GET MOVING GOOGLE!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2