Kindle Fire is likely to be the first successful tablet not sold by Apple, and there are several good reasons for it: the low price of $199, the convenient, portable size of 7 inches, and a rich catalog of books, movies and music.

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The Amazon Kindle Fire has already become a tablet to be reckoned with since its introduction on
Sept. 28. In just one month (Sept. 28-Oct. 28) Amazon is rumored to have collected 500,000 pre-
orders for the new tablet, with possibly another million or more pre-sales made through retail
partners such as Target, Walmart, and Best Buy.
What makes the Kindle Fire so popular? How does it compare with other tablets on the market?
Here's the low-down.
The 5 Best Features
Price-- Price is undoubtedly the most attractive feature. At $199, the Kindle Fire is less than half
the price of most other tablets; its nearest cost competitor is the Nook Tablet from Barnes & Noble
at $249.
To achieve this cost advantage, Amazon has likely adopted a loss-leader strategy and priced its
tablet below cost, anticipating that it will create more sales for Amazon down the line. In addition,
the device forgoes many of the frills offered by other tablets. For example, it has no camera/video,
no GPS, no microphone, and no Bluetooth or 3G wireless connectivity. (More on that below.)
Portability -- The 7-in. touchscreen makes the Kindle Fire more portable than larger tablets such
as Apple's iPad2 and HP's TouchPad. The whole tablet is less than half an inch thick and slightly
smaller than a mid-sized paperback book in width and height. It weighs just 14.6 oz.
Of course, size is a classic Goldilocks dilemma when it comes to tablets. Too big, too small, and
just right depend on how you use it. If you do mostly Web browsing, then a 7-in. screen is usually
too small for the typical Web page. You'd be doing a lot of scrolling around. But if you like to watch
streaming video or movies, play games, listen to music, or read an e-book, then a 7-in. screen is
usually just right.
The device is clearly designed as a portable content-delivery device, particularly for Amazon
content (but not exclusively). The 7-in., 1024 x 600-pixel display works well for streamed or
downloaded visual media and delivers crisp, bright, vibrant images.
Seamless Access to Amazon Portal -- When you order the Kindle Fire from Amazon's online store,
it will be delivered with pre-links to all your favorite Amazon accounts, such as Apps, Games,
Kindle eBooks, Cloud Player and Kindle Prime. The media can be bought or rented and then
streamed or downloaded to the tablet from the vast server farms of Amazon Web Services (AWS).
If you have other devices for streaming media, Amazon's Whispersync technology keeps them all

2. synchronized with the tablet. For example, if you stop watching a movie on the Kindle Fire, and
later you want to start watching it again on your MacBook, Whispersync saves your place so you
can pick up where you left off whenever you reconnect to the Web.
Amazon also provides 5 GB of free Cloud storage, which helps compensate for the meager 8-GB
of onboard storage. (More on that below.)
In addition to Amazon's ginormous library of more than 18 million movies, TV shows, songs,
books, and magazines, the Kindle Fire also provides seamless access to many other sources of
content such as Netflix, Rhapsody, Pandora, Twitter, Comics by comiXology, Facebook, The
Weather Channel and games from Zynga, EA, Gameloft, PopCap and Rovio.
Simplicity -- Amazon has done a great job with the user interface (UI). The home screen is
intuitively graphical, consisting of two virtual bookshelves with media icons arrayed on them. The
upper, larger bookshelf, called the "carousel," contains icons that are stacked chronologically with
the last-used item on top. The lower, smaller shelf is designed to hold your favorites.
In one stroke, Amazon's bookshelf UI pays homage to its bookstore roots while also
demonstrating a flair for form and function once found only in Apple products.
Innovative 'Silk' Web Browser-- Perhaps the most innovative feature is the Web browser. Unlike
standard browsers, Amazon's "Silk" browser does not compose a requested page locally. Instead,
the high-speed AWS Cloud server caches the page first, then sends it to the tablet in one stream
of code.
The result is a split browser system that resides both on the tablet and in the server cloud. The
division of labor enables web pages to download faster than with typical Android devices.
According to Amazon, the servers also adapt to your browsing habits, so the process gets faster
over time.
Kindle Fire vs. Other Tablets
Much has been said about the Kindle Fire vs. the Apple iPad2. Let's be clear: Apple has nothing to
worry about. The two tablets are not really comparable in any meaningful way. In fact, Amazon
has created its own genre of tablet, which makes it a little awkward to draw straight comparisons
with other devices. Amazon has also created its own closed-platform version of Google's Android
OS, so even comparing the Kindle Fire with other Android tablets is tricky. Nevertheless, it is
useful to list the specs of other popular tablets just to see how the Amazon Kindle Fire stacks up
against them.
Kindle Fire:
Operating System: Android (custom)
Processor: 1-GHz Dual-Core TI OMAP 4
RAM: 512 MB
Storage: 8 GB
Display: 7-in. IPS LCD
Resolution: 1024 x 600

3. Cameras: None
Video: None
Battery Life: 8 hrs. (reading only)
WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n
3G/4G: No
Bluetooth: No
GPS: No
Dimensions: 7.5 x 4.7 x 0.45 in.
Weight: 14.6 oz.
Price: $199
Apple iPad2:
Operating System: iOS 4
Processor: 1-GHz Dual-Core Apple A5
RAM: 512 MB
Storage: 16 GB
Display: 9.7-in. IPS LCD
Resolution: 1024 x 768
Cameras: Two
Video: 720p
Battery Life: 10 hrs. (browsing, video, etc.)
WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n
3G/4G: 3G (+$130)
Bluetooth: Yes
GPS: Yes
Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.3 x 0.35 in.
Weight: 1.33 lb.
Price: $499
BlackBerry Playbook:
Operating System: QNX
Processor: 1-GHz Dual-Core TI OMAP 4430
RAM: 1 GB
Storage: 16 GB
Display: 7-in. IPS LCD
Resolution: 1024 x 600
Cameras: Two
Video: 1080p
Battery Life: 7 hrs. (playing video)
WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n
3G/4G: 3G/4G
Bluetooth: Yes
GPS: Yes
Dimensions: 5.1 x 7.6 x 0.4 in.

4. Weight: 0.9 lb.
Price: $499
Nook Tablet:
Operating System: Android (custom)
Processor: 1-GHz Dual-Core TI OMAP 4
RAM: 1 GB
Storage: 16 GB
Display: 7-in. IPS LCD
Resolution: 1024 x 600
Cameras: None
Video: None
Battery Life: 11.5 hrs. (reading only)
WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n
3G/4G: No
Bluetooth: No
GPS: No
Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 0.48 in.
Weight: 14.1 oz.
Price: $249
HP TouchPad:
Operating System: WebOS 3.0
Processor: 1.2-GHz Dual-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon
RAM: 1 GB
Storage: 16 GB
Display: 10.1-in. IPS LCD
Resolution: 1024 x 768
Cameras: None
Video: None
Battery Life: 9 hrs. (playing video)
WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n
3G/4G: 3G
Bluetooth: Yes
GPS: Yes
Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.5 0.54 in.
Weight: 1.6 lb.
Price: $499
The list makes it pretty clear how Amazon can offer its tablet for only $199. It's no-frills all the way.
The tablet has 512 MB of RAM, 8 GB of storage memory (half the storage of other devices), no
camera, no video, no microphone, no 3G/4G, no Bluetooth, and no GPS. It also lacks an
expandable memory slot.

5. If the Amazon Kindle Fire were competing head-to-head with other more-established tablets, it
would lose. Instead, Amazon has shrewdly recognized that content is king, so it has created a low-
cost, no-frills tablet that taps into what is arguably the largest online repository of content on the
planet. Who needs a GPS for that? Do I really need to know my exact coordinates while streaming
my favorite episode of "Mad Men?"
Of all the other tablets in the above list, Barnes & Noble's newly announced Nook is the closest
competitor. The Nook also runs a custom Android OS and taps into Barnes & Noble's content. The
Nook has twice the RAM (1 GB), twice the storage (16 GB), and a longer-lasting battery. It also
has an expandable memory slot and a microphone. Based on hardware specs alone, the Nook
offers more, but it also costs $50 more. Moreover, when it comes to content Barnes & Noble is still
mostly an online bookstore. Not even Apple can compete across the board with Amazon's vast
array of media, products, software, etc. When it comes to overall content, Amazon is king.
The 3 Worst Features
7-in. Display-- Although the 7-in. display is an asset when it comes to portability, it is an
annoyance when viewing certain content. Web browsing and magazine reading, for example, are
frustrating on a 7-in. screen. Screen size, therefore, cuts both ways.
There is no obvious way to avoid this "Goldilocks dilemma" for all types of content without a
technological breakthrough such as a flexible, roll-up tablet (which is probably just around the
corner). For now, the trade-off is between the full viewing experience of larger displays vs. the
more limited experience of smaller, cheaper, more portable screens.
No Expandable Memory Slot-- When designing a bare-bones tablet, it makes sense to skimp on
memory to lower your cost. But how much more, if anything, does it cost to include an expandable
memory slot in your design? Including a memory slot not only keeps your manufacturing costs low,
it also adds value for your customers, who now have the option of adding more memory.
One can only assume that Amazon wants its users to store their media in the Amazon Cloud.
Amazon provides free, unlimited cloud storage for all Amazon-acquired content, but non-Amazon
content over 5 GB costs money to store. When combined with the onboard storage of 8 GB, the
total free storage for generic content is just 13 GB. That's still less capacity than the onboard
storage of other tablets, and not very much capacity for digital media.
Also, the only access to the Amazon Cloud is through the Wi-Fi modem. There is no 3G or 4G
connectivity. If you're traveling, for example, and have no Wi-Fi connection to the Cloud, all of the
content you want to access must be pre-loaded. It would be better for Amazon and its customers if
the Kindle Fire came with a memory slot.
Mediocre Battery Life-- When compared to its closest competitor, Barnes & Noble's Nook, the
stated battery life of the Kindle Fire comes up short by about 3 1/2 hours. An 8-hr. battery life for
just reading is nothing to write home about. Besides, most people would be doing a lot more than
just reading.
Unfortunately, the rechargeable battery is sealed inside and can't be upgraded.

6. Verdict
Kudos to Amazon for recognizing the value of a low-cost tablet specifically designed for delivering
content. The beauty of this tablet is that it plays to Amazon's indisputable strength as a content
provider while also extending the Kindle legacy. It's ironic to think back to November of 2007 when
the Kindle First Generation was introduced for $399. It sold out in 5 1/2 hours. It was the only
Kindle to have an expandable memory slot, too. (Hint, hint.)
If pre-sales are any indication, the Kindle Fire is going to be another raging success. Despite the
dismal economy, or perhaps because of it, people were lining up to buy this low-cost no-frills tablet
even before it started to ship.
The Kindle Fire is no iPad2, but it has the potential to become an important new media and
information platform. Only time will tell if this is just another Kindle or something else altogether.
Who knows, the Kindle Fire could do for Amazon what the Walkman did for Sony.
If you found this article useful, visit http://whatshotthismonth.com for more informative articles by
T.V. Higgins on a variety of popular topics. What's Hot This Month offers compelling coverage on
the hottest products, media, trends, and news events of the month.
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