Tag: Amazon Prime

Kindle Fire isn’t a Full Tablet, but the Price is Right

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NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 28: Amazon founder J...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Everyone wants to compare the Kindle Fire to the iPad, or some other tablet. The truth is…it isn’t comparable. But for those interested in owning a tablet, it is a good solid option at an affordable price.

The Fire runs a stripped down version of Android 2.3, but we predict that the hacking will commence immediately, and with the recent release of the Ice Cream Sandwich source code, someone will quickly enhance the software side of things.

We did not buy a Kindle Fire, but it might be a consideration as a gift. It is a great option as a media consumption device. Magazines, videos, music…all are customized around Amazon’s media offerings.

Whatever you can say about Amazon, they offer a good variety of media services, and if you pay for Amazon Prime($79/yr), you will not want for videos to watch, even if they are not current blockbusters, Amazon is committed to adding new content.

If we do get a Fire, we’ll have more on this. In the meantime, there are a lot of reviews out there. The bottom line, it is a good product for the price, and a great entry into the tablet world. If you are trying to compare it to an iPad, which is several hundred dollars more, the comparison is flawed.

We own a Nook Color, which we’ve hacked into a full fledged Android tablet. The new Nook Tablet is pretty much, except for the guts, identical to the old. It is the closest comparison to the Kindle Fire. To be honest, Amazon is offering a more integrated experience, but the Nook Tablet offers its own advantages.

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Amazon Partners with AT&T to Offer Kindle 3G for $139

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Kindles at The Unquiet Library
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We love the Kindle. And it continues to get less expensive. There have been predictions that a new Kindle will come before the end of the year, that the Kindle will go sub $100, that Kindles will come free with Amazon Prime, etc.

But Amazon launched the Kindle 3G with Special Offers, sponsored by AT&T for $139. That is the same price we paid for a Kindle Wi-Fi last year, so we bought one.

Many have complained about the Special Offers, but they are nonobtrusive. And, global 3G data for life is a useful thing to have. Of course, we have a smartphone, but it has a monthly fee for data. Any tablet would have a monthly fee for data. The Kindle is not for games(although it has some great simple ones). The Kindle is for reading. But some reading, for example, news, is best delivered whereever you happen to be without need to hunt for an internet connection.

Conversely, there is a value to disconnecting and focusing on one thing, rather than switching. Multitasking, some say, is preventing us from giving proper focus to any one item.

Argue as you might, but the Kindle has a place in our society. And we’ve already taken advantage of our first special offer…a book for a buck.

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Downstreaming: Amazon Prime Instant Video

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Amazon Prime
Image by zcopley via Flickr

Amazon Instant Video for Prime Subscribers is a great idea. Many think this is Amazon’s move to compete withNetflix and Hulu. Amazon already has a well-reviewed pay-per-view service and a rental service can get access to movies that a subscription service cannot.

Amazon Prime is a service that offers 2-day shipping on any Amazon purchase for $79 a year. Now, for that $6.58 a month, you get 500 TV Shows and 1800 movies. These are generally library titles, as opposed to first-run movies, but the selection will improve. And classics still have entertainment value.

Prime is a way to get $79 from their customers, but more importantly $79 that encourages people to buy Amazon products over other vendors. By adding video subscriptions, they make that more appetizing. We wouldn’t suggest you get the video without the two day shipping, but together, they are a compelling deal.

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Downstreaming: Is Amazon Set to add a Subscription Service?

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Free 2 Day Shipping With Amazon Prime
Image by adria.richards via Flickr

Amazon Prime is a service for Amazon users offered for $79 a year that offers free shipping on Amazon purchases, no matter the order size, with a small upcharge to one-day shipping. If you are a habitual Amazon user, it is a great deal.

Engadget offered screenshots yesterday of Prime members who were noticing “Prime Instant Videos”, unlimited streaming on select movies for those who join Prime. It includes the note: “Your Amazon Prime membership now includes unlimited, commercial free instant streaming of 5,000 movies and TV shows at no additional cost. If this is confirmed and the selection is good, we could very well give their our money without hesitation, as Prime by itself as a shipping option is already tempting. Too often have we waited to buy Amazon products till we could fill a $25 super saver requirement.

On a practical level, free shipping aside, $79 a year turns out as $6.58 a month, a full $1.41 less than Netflix. Of course, Netflix is estimated to have four times the amount of movies at 20,000. But with a good quality selection, and Amazon negotiating and increasing the selection over time, launching with this number is promising for the future.

As Business Insider points out, Amazon already sells and rents digital content. It is already on a variety of boxes, and sells many of them on their site, and could engage in a variety of great bundling deals. Just like Amazon getting into the Android app store space, Amazon in the video subscription space could mean a lot of changes to come.

We look forward to an official announcement.

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