Kindle Fire just a flash in the pan?

My wife tried using her iPad as an e-reader, but ended up getting a Nook, which I believe Microsoft now wants to convert to Kindle Fire II. She got the Nook because it was much lighter than an iPad, something she could just throw in her purse.

I understand the iPad success has put pressure on everyone to get into the tablet business, but for some, unless the tablet is as light and easy as an e-reader, there is a need and a place for a single-use device. Especially if it's relatively inexpensive.

 

Probably doesn't help them that there's a Kindle app you can download for free onto an iPad and other mobile devices.

 

You mean they sold more over Christmas, when it was the most popular gift out there, than during the first quarter of the year?

Duh.

The only reason the iPad doesn't have the same dips is because they put out a new one every year or so.

I'm getting an iPad through work at the end of the summer, but I love my Kindle Fire.

 

I have all Apple products for my technology with one exception: the Kindle Fire. And out of all that stuff, the iPod, the iPhone, my MacBook, the Kindle Fire is my favorite.

 

If I hadn't gotten an iPad as a gift at Christmastime, I would almost certainly have bought a Fire. I do remember a good amount of Fire backlash when it came out. People seemed to think it was going to be the same as an iPad, only smaller and cheaper, and when it wasn't, they were pissed. I remember reading the comments on Amazon.com and there were a lot more negatives than I expected (this was around the time I fully expected I'd be buying one).

 

I can't imagine being much happier than I am with mine.

I wish it had more memory, but all that means is you have to rotate things in and out. If I'm not working, I almost never use the laptop anymore.

 

A week ago, the news was that helped Amazon blow out 1q earnings.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/kindle-fire-helps-amazon-beat-224100670.html

I can't imagine ever getting more value for my $200 than I've received from my Fire.

 

Amazon forgot that part of Apple's success came from underselling the features of its products. Jobs sold really cool things and made simplistic things about them sound amazing. So when you found out you could hold it to the sky and see constellations, you were floored.

Amazon sold a really nice product, an ereader with a browser, as an alternative to an IPad. They didn't control expectations.

 

Is Amazon going to be all that upset if the Kindle Fire does fail? They're selling it for $199, which I believe leaves them little or no profit on the item itself. There's still a huge revenue stream for them as a content provider even if it's on another piece of hardware.

 

And in January, the post-Christmas earnings report led to a 10 percent one-day drop in Amazon's stock price (since recovered, and then some). At that time, the too-low price of the Fire was cited as a factor.

Here's more on the Kindle Fire being a loss leader -- there was a report in November that Amazon spent $201 to build every Kindle Fire that was priced at $199. By contrast, Apple spent $326 on the iPad2 and sells it at $499.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/11/amazons-199-kindle-fire-costs-20170-to-build-report-says.html

They're probably going to make more money by promoting the Kindle App on the iPad or other tablets.

 

How many of you that have the Fire have signed up for Amazon Prime?