Interested in a Kindle Colour Experience?

kindle colourIf you’re into ereaders at all, you’re probably at least a little bit excited to find out about the new Kindle colour offering, the Kindle Fire.

The release date has come and gone (November 15, 2011) and Amazon has been feverishly ramping up production in order to keep up with demand.

Just what does this Kindle colour ereader have to offer that’s new? Quite a bit, actually!

Kindle Colour Features

  • Price: $199 US
  • Offers up a beautiful 7″color touchscreen (16 million colors in high resolution).
  • Display screen utilizes a highly damage-resistant glass for its display screen called Gorilla Glass
  • 1 GHz dual-core processor
  • 8 GB storage (somewhat small, but you get the Cloud as well, which adds another 5 GB)
  • Uses IPS (in-plane switching) technology (similar to what is utilized with the iPad).
  • Easy to use, with touchscreen capability
  • Watch 10,000 popular movies and TV shows commercial free
  • Magazines display in full colour
  • 1000′s of the most popular apps, such as Netflix, Hulu +, Pandora, ESPN Score Center, Comics by comiXology, etc. You also get a paid app free each day
  • Has the new Silk browser which is supposed to be very fast
  • Store your library on the Amazon Cloud for free
  • Access to over 17 million songs in the mp3 library
  • Email capability
  • Reads documents such as PDFs and Word
  • Whispersync allows you to share your library with other devices (such as your TV)
  • Email capability
  • Free 1-month trial of Amazon Prime with Kindle Colour purchase (a membership program which gives you certain freebies and access to special products for an annual fee of $79).

Obviously, the Kindle has a lot going on and from the looks of the initial reviews, it’s should be a good pick. I only wish it were available in Canada (c’maaaan, Amazon!) and there’s no word yet when it will be available outside the U.S.

What Kindle Colour Does Best

kindle colourAs per real users comments, there are some things that are exceptional about the Kindle Colour Fire.

  • Nice and light, good handfeel
  • Beautiful, sharp display. “The IPS screen is nothing short of fabulous.”
  • Easy navigation, especially for anyone familiar with Android
  • Not a fully-locked tablet, so adding media is easy
  • Amazon Cloud storage makes and extensive library inconsequential – your large library can be accessed at a touch
  • Great choice for anyone wanting a device for web browsing, photos, game apps and videos
  • Rubber/silicone backing protects the Kindle Colour well
  • Good speed
  • Great-looking email
  • Amazon Prime Subscription saves money with the free book per month giveaway

Areas Where Kindle Colour Lacks

  • No GPS, Google Maps or Bluetooth
  • Content lock-in (can’t share Amazon content with other ereaders)
  • Fairly short battery life (recharge every 2 days or so, depending on use)
  • No eInk, so if you intend your use for mainly reading ebooks, you’re better off with one of the other Kindles available here.
  • No 3G, camera or additional memory expansion (other than the Cloud)

Amazon Customer Review:

“I am writing this after only a couple of hours of use and I expect to revise and expand my remarks in a couple of days but I can say the following so far.

I love the Fire because it’s an inexpensive, easy to use, capable, not fully locked tablet. It makes it easy to ‘consume’ all kinds of media, especially that stored in Amazon’s cloud (free for all Amazon purchases). The Fire is not a replacement for PCs or laptops but no tablets are, in my view. I don’t miss on outward looking camera because there are much better alternatives to taking pics with tablet but a little cam looking at user’s face (video calls) would add some value to an already great product.

I’m going to grant the Fire 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 because I love the product and, knowing what I know now, I’d still buy it.” – A. Dent “Aragorn” (Minas Anor, GD) from Amazon website

 

Conclusion

The Kindle Colour (Kindle Fire) has tons of really cool capabilities. If you really want to read mainly ebooks on your ereader, the Kindle Colour isn’t your best choice though and you may want to consider one of the other Kindle models or the Nook, Kobo or Bebook instead.

Keep in mind that the Kindle Colour isn’t a replacement for an iPad and was never intended to be. If you’re looking for a handheld device which offers huge entertainment value in the areas where the Kindle Fire really shines, it just may be that this Kindle is a great fit for you.

CLICK HERE To Visit the Official Amazon Kindle Colour Website