Database Users

Second thoughts?

I'm not sure if this is the correct forum to post this under, seeing as I'm new to the XDA Developers community, but here goes nothing:
Has anyone else that has purchased an Kindle Fire been having second thoughts?
I think the main reason that I'm feeling this way is the whole thing feels sluggish, and the entire experience is frustrating. I did not buy the KF for a media consumption device; I bought it with the intention of rooting it, and having a $200 full-featured Android tablet, and having done so, something still feels off. It's extremely frustrating that I spent hours trying to get a custom wallpaper, and while I understand that it's a known-issue (So many threads made everyday...)
I played with my friends G2 today, which by no means is a new phone, and it (felt like), it kicked the KF's ass in speed. I just don't understand this at all. This (afaik) is a single core 800MHz device that feels more fluid than a 1GHz Dual Core. Is there something I'm missing?
Now, I'm new to Android, so I have absolutely no idea if this is a software issue that will get resolved (Honeycomb / Ice Cream Sandwich?), how long a wait that will be. (I understand that no one knows the answer to that.) Or... Is this just the hardware that $200 will buy you? I understand they're selling each KF at a loss, maybe I had higher expectations than I should have.
I noticed in a local Best Buy Black Friday ad, that the Acer Iconia 7" tablet will go on sale for $190, which has spurred thoughts of returning my KF, and purchasing the Iconia. Can anyone think of a good reason not to?
Please excuse my ignorance, I really am trying to learn something here. Will these issues improve with time, once custom ROMs start getting developed for the KF?
Thanks for reading. I appreciate any input, even if it's pointing out something I've missed. (Especially so.)

First off, welcome to the forums! and yeah, general is a pretty decent place for this sort of thing imo.
I think, if you're looking for a full featured android tablet for under $200, and are willing to brave the black friday madness to get it, then by all means, return your kindle and go for the Iconia. It's got better specs, cameras, honeycomb, etc - and lets face it, amazon designed the kindle to be just that, a kindle. Whatever android functionality we get past that should be looked at as a bonus to what was already there imo.
I've owned an asus transformer as my primary android tablet for close to 6months now, and got the kindle intending it to be mostly a device for media, so I was pleasantly surprised how well it did as an android tablet as well. I actually ended up falling in love with the size and ease of one-handed use of the 7" tablet, and am debating ditching the transformer and either going with just the kindle, or picking up a more powerful 7" tablet myself.
Don't get me wrong, I love the kindle and will definitely be hanging onto it - but one of the more main reasons I got it was it's integration to all of amazons media services.
I think you'll notice a considerable increase in speed and smoothness with the tegra 2 and more notably the 1gb of memory, especially if you root the iconia and install a more cut down rom.
The only thing I will say here is having used both the kindle and a 10" honeycomb tablet now... I'm not entirely sure how i'd like the honeycomb interface on a 7" tablet... it might almost feel too cluttered - but thats an ocd person with a very minimalist taste speaking.
Just my 2 cents, hope it helps.

I've seen quite a few complains about sluggish performance but I honestly haven't seen any of that after rooting and switching to go launcher. There was some noticible slow downs changing orientation of the device or just simply scrolling throught the carousel when I was using the stock launcher but that seems to be all gone now. Ive been playing Pandora while surfing on opera with several tabs open haven't seen any lag at all. Maybe im not stressing my tablet enought? Idk what other ppl do on it but coming from an ipad 1 im very satisified with my purchase . ICS is suppose to have similar ram usage to GB so I think the 512 ram should be suffice atleast for my usage.
Sent from my Kindle Fire using xda premium

Really appreciate the thought out reply.
I love the 7" form-factor myself; the only doubt that I'm having right now is battery life. It seems to be 5 hours of casual WiFi browsing, which is ridiculously low compared to the KF. The other features totally make it worth it. Mini-HDMI and Micro-SD would definitely be nice to have, as well as GPS? Jeez.
Edit: If I do return it, should I unroot it, is there a process to return it to factory settings?

Yeah, 5 hours battery life is a bit rough - although again to reference my experiences with the transformer, at least, a cut down Rom will likely help that a decent bit.
Sent from my Kindle Fire using xda premium

If you return any tablet you've rooted by all mean unroot it. It not only helps if you get a clerk who knows what to look for (and refuses your return justifiably as rooting voids warranty) but also it's good form. It avoids "surprises" for whomever gets your tab afterwards.
Having owned the Iconia A100 for about 2 weeks before returning it (battery life, viewing angles, Acer possibly leaving tabs and lack of dev support) I must say it's a fine little tab. Only 8G internal but uSD offsets, 1GB RAM, quality build and reported ICS in January are real pluses. Price ($330) is steep but if you can get it on BF then do so.
Now that root has been achieved on the NT, it's blows the doors off the KF (specs, battery life, etc). Seriously look into it as a replacement for the KF.
BTW I would not count on HC or ICS for the KF. No reason for Amazon to do that as it doesn't add revenue to buying anything from Amazon. B&N only upped the NC to 2.2 Froyo after almost a year on 2.1 then stopped.

skeeterpro said:
Now that root has been achieved on the NT, it's blows the doors off the KF (specs, battery life, etc). Seriously look into it as a replacement for the KF.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have a link for NT root? I can't find it and I am holding off on buying one until I see what's possible on it.

I already own the HTC flyer referenced in my .sig and I don't think anything comes close to it speedwise since it has a 1.5 GHz single core processor. And I've played with the Dell streak 7 which is dual core 1 GHz. Since app so few apps can actually use the second core it feels slower by comparison. It has 512 memory like the KF and I think that's much of the reason it seems so much slower. I used the V6 whatever script by Zepp-somebody (as you can see I'm just horrible with names) from here on XDA and it made a big difference. So I'd guess the Fire would also benefit from tweaked minfrees and OOM settings also. Considering some of that 512 is given to video I think almost all lag is actually the Android OS moving things out of memory and killing apps to make room for the new app or the app you're returning to.
Sent from my HTC Flyer P512 using Tapatalk

I have to add that I tried quite a few devices before settling on my 7". I brought home a couple, the Iconia screen was just unacceptable period, the angle you will want to view it the most is the worst, every Iconia I've seen has this problem on both sides of the border. Not to mention not so great battery life although I did find it better than the reviews, and random FCs. I eventually settled on a Flyer and it's miles ahead of the Iconia, what a polished device, it just works, so smooth, has a really nice screen, and is solid built.
I'm here cause I'm looking at the KF myself for my kids, but it sounds like it will be more trouble than it's worth to get them working north of the border. I tried a Vox for a couple of days and it was just so buggy, slow and locked down.

bsoplinger said:
I already own the HTC flyer referenced in my .sig and I don't think anything comes close to it speedwise since it has a 1.5 GHz single core processor. And I've played with the Dell streak 7 which is dual core 1 GHz. Since app so few apps can actually use the second core it feels slower by comparison. It has 512 memory like the KF and I think that's much of the reason it seems so much slower. I used the V6 whatever script by Zepp-somebody (as you can see I'm just horrible with names) from here on XDA and it made a big difference. So I'd guess the Fire would also benefit from tweaked minfrees and OOM settings also. Considering some of that 512 is given to video I think almost all lag is actually the Android OS moving things out of memory and killing apps to make room for the new app or the app you're returning to.
Sent from my HTC Flyer P512 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also considered the Flyer when I bought the A100. The digitizer for note taking attracted me but not paying upwards to $70-80 for the pen. No HC was a turn-off with little hope of upgrade. That plus a couple articles spectulating HTC getting out of the tab business broke the deal for me. But I have read that the Flyer is a serviceable device indeed!
---------- Post added at 09:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:36 AM ----------
sgood1971 said:
Do you have a link for NT root? I can't find it and I am holding off on buying one until I see what's possible on it.
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Sure. You'll need to be familiar with ADB (but then we all should).
Keep in mind the Search function is your friend!

To be completely honest, most of the things that I've noticed have performance issues are the Amazon-specific things -- the bottom buttons, the stock launcher, etc. In fact, everything else, now that I've rooted it, runs just fine even when I limit the processor to 600MHz per core.
I really am pretty sure the biggest performance thing is Amazon's modifications to the Android stuff. So, that *may* be fixed in upcoming updates. Or, heck, we'll just get a good custom rom sometime!

I've noticed intermittant sluggish performance only on Silk Browser. Using Opera Browser instead solves this and is much faster browsing experience.

skeeterpro said:
Sure. You'll need to be familiar with ADB (but then we all should).
Keep in mind the Search function is your friend!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the link. I did indeed use the search, I always do. Unfortunately my search-foo must have been weak indeed today.
Thanks again.

mewshi said:
Or, heck, we'll just get a good custom rom sometime!
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Click to collapse
This. I'm thinking it won't be too long before they start the ROM game...or hoping. I wouldn't keep the fire with its stock interface; I also bought it as a tablet. That said, the thing has been out a WEEK and they've already made leaps and bounds. The thing was rooted in like 12 hours, they've got CWM on it (just can't navigate easily) and I think they'll work out the kinks and start romming. My hope is for CM9, myself.

matt314159 said:
This. I'm thinking it won't be too long before they start the ROM game...or hoping. I wouldn't keep the fire with its stock interface; I also bought it as a tablet. That said, the thing has been out a WEEK and they've already made leaps and bounds. The thing was rooted in like 12 hours, they've got CWM on it (just can't navigate easily) and I think they'll work out the kinks and start romming. My hope is for CM9, myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True enough but regardless keep your hopes and expectations realistic. Remember that this device was not designed to be an open android tablet. The overlay and mods from Amazon might be tough to completely delete or bypass. Could be wrong but even so it's a $200 device. It will only ever be that. Which is fine but it is what it is.

I own a flyer also and it is a great tablet. I also bought the Fire for what is was advertised for, media content from Amazon. I don't intend on rooting because I think it performs just fine as it is. For your kids, watching movies, games and reading, I think they would enjoy this 7 inch device.
Sent from my GT-P7310 using xda premium

After going to Best Buy, and playing with the Iconia, it's re-affirmed my purchase in the KF. The display on the Iconia certainly leaves something to be desired.
I think I basically want a Galaxy Tab 7.0 at a $200 price point - not gonna happen, heh.

xodlike said:
After going to Best Buy, and playing with the Iconia, it's re-affirmed my purchase in the KF. The display on the Iconia certainly leaves something to be desired.
I think I basically want a Galaxy Tab 7.0 at a $200 price point - not gonna happen, heh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know.. display on that was one thing i never really thought about. heh.

At this point, I have to say the Fire is a keeper for me. What put it over the edge was that I was able to sideload the ereader.com app and read my books in full screen (I have been using this site for ebooks for more than a decade and probably have 200+ books in that library). The ereader app won't let me unlock my books on my Archos Honeycomb tablet and my HTC Flyer on Gingerbread will unlock the books, but the app is the screen size of a phone and I can't figure out how to make it bigger.
The Fire is the only device I can stream Amazon Instant Video without stuttering and allows me to use Netflix and Hulu too.
I've managed to sideload my manga reader apps and some other apps I love.
I can't plug a hard drive in, but I can stream with my Go Flex satellite.
Surfing isn't any better than any other device I own (maybe a little bit slower), but I can live with it for the other benefits.
Still not giving up my other tablets though

Expecting a "full featured" tablet from a $200 tablet is silly. The Kindle wasn't built to be a rooted device, it wasn't built to do all the things that Android tablets can do (GPS, bluetooth, video/voice calling, etc), it was built to be a media consumption device and a reader. It does both of those things well, and anything else it can do is just extra goodness. If you need more storage, GPS, bluetooth, or any of those other features... I'd recommend going with another tablet. You'll be spending more, but you get what you pay for.

This or the nook tablet?

Looking for an inexpensive tablet, I'm looking at either this or the nook tablet. Seems the nook tablet has slightly better hardware specs (ram, SD slot, internal memory) but has a locked boot loader and a possible OTA that will break root. Where as the kindle boot loader I believe is unlocked and I saw that someone has cm7 booting.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

I am not a developer, but after I had a motorola milestone with a locked bootloader, now I ran far away from it. As they are sure about Nook tablet being locked I decided not to take the chance of getting the device and no one finding a workaround.

Yeah, the nook seems to have a slight hardware edge, but if the boot loader stays locked its never going to reach its potential. I'm thinking I'm getting a kindle today instead of the NT.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA App

Having owned both, I lean Kindle Fire.
CM7 force closed a lot for me and while it was nice and very versatile, many times I wanted a functional device, not just something to hack around on.
The Fire, while it doesn't have the same flexibility as a rooted nook, I find is much more stable with what does work right now. Hacking it was a breeze. I run my own launcher now, and most apps work fine. The ones that don't, just don't.
So if you want a functional device you can hack around on, get a Fire.

hariustrk said:
Having owned both, I lean Kindle Fire.
CM7 force closed a lot for me and while it was nice and very versatile, many times I wanted a functional device, not just something to hack around on.
The Fire, while it doesn't have the same flexibility as a rooted nook, I find is much more stable with what does work right now. Hacking it was a breeze. I run my own launcher now, and most apps work fine. The ones that don't, just don't.
So if you want a functional device you can hack around on, get a Fire.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you've owned both, can you comment on any possible difference in performance between the two? I got a Nook Tablet last week and I've been having fun with it, but now I'm starting to think about returning it for a Kindle Fire because of the greater potential with custom ROMs. But I'm concerned about the performance issues people have been talking about, and I'd rather have a fast device than custom ROMs.
The other thing I don't like about the Nook Tablet is the whole experience feels a little rough around the edges. There are theme elements that just look wrong like white-on-white or black-on-black text. It feels a lot like a hacked device. Is the Fire any better in this regard or are there little reminders that you're not using it as intended?

So I've had my Fire for about a week, last night I got a chance to play with a nook tablet. It was rooted, installed GO launcher and bunch of other apps. Here are some things I found out besides the HW specs differences.
1) Fire is much smoother. Hardware-wise, the surface of Fire is glass, while Nook's "feels like" plastic. Your finger can definitely feel the difference the moment you touch them. Software-wise, the browser on Fire scrolls better, esp. on some lengthy websites. (That's all done after it stopped loading, so Silk is not the reason.)
2) While nook has one more button than Fire's zero, Fire has three software button always there. Some apps like to use the back button as exit, which can be annoying on nook since you have to manually kill them in the launcher or nook home.
3) Nook has better compatibility with Android apps. On Fire, there is one video player crashes whenever I bring out the on-screen control. On Nook, it works just fine.
4) Pdf file shows better on Fire. I have a photography book (PDF) with some beautiful pictures. When viewed on nook, some of the color washed out, like on a 32k color screen. I tried different pdf reader ( build-in, adobe reader and one I can't remember, they are all the same. ) I don't think it's a hardware problem though, since JPEG pictures are almost identical on both devices, apart with a slightly different tint.

Fire all the way.
Sent from my Kindle Fire using xda premium

I guess my biggest concern is the reports of poor touchscreen responsiveness. I haven't had a single problem with the Nook Tablet in that regard and I think it would bug me if I switched to the KF only to be confronted with that issue.

Mama Luigi said:
Since you've owned both, can you comment on any possible difference in performance between the two? I got a Nook Tablet last week and I've been having fun with it, but now I'm starting to think about returning it for a Kindle Fire because of the greater potential with custom ROMs. But I'm concerned about the performance issues people have been talking about, and I'd rather have a fast device than custom ROMs.
The other thing I don't like about the Nook Tablet is the whole experience feels a little rough around the edges. There are theme elements that just look wrong like white-on-white or black-on-black text. It feels a lot like a hacked device. Is the Fire any better in this regard or are there little reminders that you're not using it as intended?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, I like the Fire better. It feels more polished, and more responsive. To get around the same responsiveness you have to overclock the nook. This is easy, BUT it always felt like I got more force closes when I overclocked. I know overclocking is common these days, but there is usually a reason the processors are running at 800mhz instead of 1100, so I am always wary I am reducing the life span of the device.
I have yet to have a performance issue on my Fire. I've rooted it, installed a new launcher, the market, and a number of popular apps. I use dropbox, netflix, hulu, and amazons streamer with great success. I read everyday, either from the nook app or the Kindle app, and I find it suits my needs.
I have even installed DOSBOX on it and played alittle MOO2, just for fun. And it did fair running that old dos game.
The only two gripes I have with the Fire right now are:
1. I can't get Launcher Pro installed. It just force closes right away.
2. I can't do skype calls.
Beyond that, it's worth every penny to me.

Mama Luigi said:
I guess my biggest concern is the reports of poor touchscreen responsiveness. I haven't had a single problem with the Nook Tablet in that regard and I think it would bug me if I switched to the KF only to be confronted with that issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I almost returned it for that reason alone. The new 6.2 fw took care of that. It's much more responsive now.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1366813
Great software in this thread to resolve touchscreen issues.

hariustrk said:
For me, I like the Fire better. It feels more polished, and more responsive. To get around the same responsiveness you have to overclock the nook. This is easy, BUT it always felt like I got more force closes when I overclocked. I know overclocking is common these days, but there is usually a reason the processors are running at 800mhz instead of 1100, so I am always wary I am reducing the life span of the device.
I have yet to have a performance issue on my Fire. I've rooted it, installed a new launcher, the market, and a number of popular apps. I use dropbox, netflix, hulu, and amazons streamer with great success. I read everyday, either from the nook app or the Kindle app, and I find it suits my needs.
I have even installed DOSBOX on it and played alittle MOO2, just for fun. And it did fair running that old dos game.
The only two gripes I have with the Fire right now are:
1. I can't get Launcher Pro installed. It just force closes right away.
2. I can't do skype calls.
Beyond that, it's worth every penny to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also want to use launcher pro. but can't.
About skype there has been some people saying that if you have a phone+ mic on the same p2 it should work.

This morning I stopped in to Best Buy. Bought a Fire. Rooted it and played with it for a couple hours.
The Nook is going back tonight! My biggest concern was speed and responsiveness, but that hasn't been a problem at all. Maybe it helps that I installed 6.2 right off the bat. The only thing I like more on the Nook is that it feels more durable, with the thick padded bezel, but I'll just be extra careful.

[Q] Shoud I buy Kindle Fire?

I am planning to pick up KF but I am debating if 512MB RAM compare to 1GB (Nook Tablet) will be enough.
KF will be used for browsing internet, light gaming and web streaming (not movies). It will be rooted and replaced with custom ROM (ICS) eventually.
I owned Nook Color running CM7 nightly right now and trying to avoid having two look a like device.
Do you think 512MB will be sufficient for KF to operate smoothly?

It runs fine for me, doing pretty much the same as what you want to use it for.
I hit some lag once in a while, but overall, I do like it - so long as I do NOT keep comparing it to my wifes iPad.
Chris

I bought mine for web browsing, reading magazines and checking Facebook. So far, I am nothing less than pleased. It performs well, even when playing YouTube and Flash videos.
For the price, it's a winner, provided you don't expect it to perform like high-end Android devices or an iPad.

I bought both from Best Buy and used them for a little while before deciding which one to return. The difference in RAM was probably the biggest concern for me and the main reason I considered the Nook Tablet despite it costing $50 more.
In practice, I saw no difference in performance between the two. The only other big thing steering a lot of people toward the Nook is the microSD slot. If that isn't a concern then the Kindle Fire is fine. If you really want lots of local storage then the Nook is the only way to go.
Me, I listen to music through Pandora and I don't watch movies on the tablet, so local storage doesn't concern me. Thus I went with the cheaper Kindle Fire.

If you're wanting to do much outside of what comes with it and you're not too knowledgeable on how to fix things in unorthodox ways and think you'll be posting soon in the unbricking thread, I would find a more forgiving tablet to work with. The time you'll save on not having to fix things will offset any additional cost.
Disclaimer: I own 2 HP touchpads and no Kindle Fire.

Well I don't agree with yareally who has apparently not touched one yet.
I have 2, or more accurately, My wife has one and I have one.
Hers is stock... she loves it. Watches netflix, amazon prime and a number of books. works for her daily with no issues.
I got mine after I got her hers. Really didn't plan on getting one myself, however, I started playing with it and got the bug to see what it could do. $124 was too inexpensive to not.
Mine is rooted though I am still using the stock ROM as I am waiting for a proven recovery before trying something else. I am now using ADW, have the Android market, Google apps including Gmap and can even get GPS if i want to go to the trouble. etc... I use it a bit at work as well, Exchange email via Touchdown, Evernote, and lots of usable webapp browsing.
Like any device or smart phone, if you do dumb things, you get dumb results, but if you are careful and follow instructions well.. should be a fun device to play with.

krelvinaz said:
Well I don't agree with yareally who has apparently not touched one yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may not have touched one, but I've helped probably 70+ users with one directly to unbrick it and countless others that followed the guide I helped to start
Ironically, neither I or my friend that started the thread with me own a kindle fire, but it hasn't prevented us for knowing more about it than most.
I don't have to touch it to know how it works. I can do that quite well using adb shell remotely. Fancy user interfaces mean nothing. It's what is under the hood that matters.
Quite a few screwed it up installing cm7 as well.
Compared to other tablets, I have seen way more people screw their fire up without a way to get back out of it without spoon feeding directions to (including at times, going on teamviewer with them).

I think it is cool you have helped, especially that many people. Perhaps, the price point makes it too simple for people to dive in without bothering to understand what they are doing or reading the large red text warning them. (hence my comment about doing dumb things).
The lack of having a full recovery yet is perhaps also a stumbling block, but apparently that will be remedied soon.

krelvinaz said:
The lack of having a full recovery yet is perhaps also a stumbling block, but apparently that will be remedied soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I think once that happens, lots of the headaches will be a thing of the past as well.

Yeah, I think people bricking their Fire speaks more toward impatient people than any failings of the Fire. Anyone trying to install a custom rom at this point with anything other than above average skills needs to take a step back IMO.
Sent from my BAMForever Thunderbolt

The 512MB RAM has not been a limitation for anything I've done with it, and that's *with* all the Amazon crap running at the same time, I've not disabled any of the services.
I think the micro SD card on the Nook would be a nice addition, but not sure it's $50 nice, considering how easy it is to stream to the Fire. If you needed to store your movies locally maybe.

animez said:
Yeah, I think people bricking their Fire speaks more toward impatient people than any failings of the Fire. Anyone trying to install a custom rom at this point with anything other than above average skills needs to take a step back IMO.
Sent from my BAMForever Thunderbolt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm an above average user, and even I'm not crazy enough to mess with it too much right now! There are some amazing things going on in the Dev forum, and I really look forward to CM9 on my Fire.
I have 2 as well, and I'm more than happy with the speed/function even using stock kernel/ROM (albeit with a different launcher). The price point for this device was too hard to ignore. It's not in the same league as an iPad or Galaxy Tab, but I didn't buy it thinking it was.

Yeah with Go Launcher instead of that bookshelf, this is a superb bargain. Remember Amazon is basically selling these at cost to funnel people in to their store.

Thanks for the reply guys.
Only fools compare $199 KF to $499 Ipad.
Storage does not concern me, I just want a device that running smoothly for flash streaming and hackable
I have made up my mind, I am getting KF.

denoxster said:
I am planning to pick up KF but I am debating if 512MB RAM compare to 1GB (Nook Tablet) will be enough.
KF will be used for browsing internet, light gaming and web streaming (not movies). It will be rooted and replaced with custom ROM (ICS) eventually.
I owned Nook Color running CM7 nightly right now and trying to avoid having two look a like device.
Do you think 512MB will be sufficient for KF to operate smoothly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
512 appears to be just fine.
I'd recommend putting Dolphin HD on for browsing. I haven't had an issue with streaming video from Amazon, Netflix, Crackle or Epic. No problems with games, so far. Currently have over 100 apps installed.
I do use an app to control too many apps starting automatically (Startup Cleaner), as it seems to help performance.

Update:
After owning KF for a couple of month, I can tell you that I am pretty happy with my purchase.
Now my KF running CM9 ICS
Thank you guys.
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire using xda premium

Go for it
i bought mine because of the price and i liked the way it looked, so far i have rooted it and it still runs perfectly. So far the only difference i see between this and the ipad is the size and the camera. Its pretty darn fast and when its rooted you can customize almost every aspect about it.

Anyone else hesitant to order after rumors of Google $150/$200 Tablet?

I'm 90% of the way to ordering a Kindle Fire to root and unlock but after hearing of Google partnering with Asus to make a sub $200 tablet, I'm not sure anymore.
The big thing that gets me is the lack of SD Card for the Kindle Fire and the prominent lack of hardware acceleration on custom ROMs that are available right now.
Anyone else in this dilemma? Anyone who owns a Kindle Fire care to comment?
EDIT: Articles:
http://techland.time.com/2012/03/21/will-google-race-to-the-bottom-with-a-150-nexus-tablet/
http://www.tabletpcreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3158&news=asus+google+tablet+nexus+android

after seeing the non existent support for the problems with the original nexus 'Google phone", I would not buy any hardware product from them.
go with the fire.

Meh...there are enough people interested in the Fire for legitimate Kindle use (Prime, movies, reading, etc) that I'm confident I can sell it for the $150 I bought it for and then get whatever tablet I want at that point in time.

I just got a KF on Monday. Love it! I'm currently running CM7. Everything works. I tried CM9 which is really nice, but HW Acceleration is a deal breaker for me. I don't think it is too far off.
Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk

I dunno, unless someone was planning to root / flash an alternate ROM then I wouldn't suggest the Kindle Fire to anyone but my mom. Not sure what the draw is to Prime, or anything else, and the Amazon app store is sad as all hell.
If you wanted a device to read on, maybe browse the web and add a few apps, then I might say get the Kindle. Always the option to root and unlock, until, if ever, it gets locked down.
BUT, if you want an Android tablet, a cheap 7 inch, I'd say wait for the Nexus tab. The Nexus devices have continued to be some of the best option when it comes to phones, so in this case I'm not sure why it'd be any different.
Basically just depends on what you want out of it. IMO the Kindle Fire, stock, is one sad little piece. It really is. There is no way around it. I would say wait. But then again it is as cheap as it gets. I know I'll be copping that tab when it drops, keep my fire for maybe couch / throne duties.

bleedblue said:
I dunno, unless someone was planning to root / flash an alternate ROM then I wouldn't suggest the Kindle Fire to anyone but my mom. Not sure what the draw is to Prime, or anything else, and the Amazon app store is sad as all hell.
If you wanted a device to read on, maybe browse the web and add a few apps, then I might say get the Kindle. Always the option to root and unlock, until, if ever, it gets locked down.
BUT, if you want an Android tablet, a cheap 7 inch, I'd say wait for the Nexus tab. The Nexus devices have continued to be some of the best option when it comes to phones, so in this case I'm not sure why it'd be any different.
Basically just depends on what you want out of it. IMO the Kindle Fire, stock, is one sad little piece. It really is. There is no way around it. I would say wait. But then again it is as cheap as it gets. I know I'll be copping that tab when it drops, keep my fire for maybe couch / throne duties.
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Have you tried CM7/9 on the fire?

They would have to make a really good screen to convince me to buy one.
The screen on the kindle is really well for me, especially when watching videos/movies.

Well....... you did ask this in the fire forums so what do u think were gonna say . Get the fire for sure.. wait for kernel 3.0
~ BiteBlaze via SGH-T989

isaiahhhhh said:
Have you tried CM7/9 on the fire?
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Yeah running an ICS build right now. I really only used my Kindle for reading up until today ... was hungover and mad as hell at the state of my couch / bed device and rooted / flashed.
The only real positive I have taken from this experience is that I could get real use out of a tablet, something I questioned before. Maybe a little harsh to say it is a sad device, by it's pretty bad in its stock state.
For the Android enthusiast I say wait. There really is no reasonable draw for the Kindle fire.

Great replies everyone, thanks for the opinions.
For me I figured if it had an SD card slot, I could load up movies and watch them on the tablet.
Does it have enough processing power to watch 480p/720p/1080p videos?
Because that I think will be a big difference or the deal breaker between the KF and the google tablet for me.

Honestly, I find the KF to be just fine for what I do. I watch movies on Netflix. I browse the web. I read books. I just haven't found tablets to be as laptop-replacing as they've been marketed. I carry my Kindle in my inner jacket pocket, where it sits just fine on the go. I pull it out occasionally when I'm bored to read a book or play a game. Otherwise, it sits mostly at home, where I pick it up to watch movies or surf the internet. I haven't even replaced the stock ROM, just rooted it to get the Google suite and market. I don't mind the stock OS as some other around here have. And I don't see where hardware acceleration is necessary for any of the above tasks. $200 was well spent on this little thing.
One flaw I will admit though is the terrible screen. It's almost offensive to my retinas. While the colors are nice, it will reflect ANYTHING, which really cuts the viewing experience. You have to actively not focus on the reflection. In sunlight, the brightness needs to be insanely high to see plain text in a book. Even in a pitch black room, it'll reflect the light reflecting off the your face. If you need a mirror as well, this device kills two birds with one stone.
Otherwise, the Nexus tablet looks interesting. I'm a big fan of the Galaxy Nexus, so hopefully this will be on par. Only time will tell though
nxtfari​

i have a KF and the wife and daughter use it mostly to play games and watch a movie or two. i use it to read, which is really what it was intended to do
but IF the google tablet comes out i will get one of those for me to tinker with
so if you have not gotten a KF yet then you need to figure out what you want to do with your tablet before you decide which one to get

well this is just sad

dont' think i've ever had a device so locked down that wasn't a total dog with this little talk going on. Bravo amazon... you broke XDA

Someone had to say it

I keep telling myself not to regret this purchase yet....just wait a little longer, but the lack of talk going on in the HDX forum is quite depressing and far from reassuring

Am I the only one who likes the tablet as-is without any modifications? The app selection leaves a bit to be desired but all the major media apps are represented (Spotify, Rdio, Hulu, Netflix, etc...) and there are plenty of games available. The only thing that irks me is not being able to play content I already purchased on Google Play, but it's not enough to kill the device for me.

I used to feel myself regretful until I have discovered 1mobile market. Now, beside I cannot change wallpaper, I have decent launcher and a market that is comparable to the Google play. Ok root and custom rooms would be nice, also do I enjoy using HDX. Even, I could choice one more time, I would still (wait ) take HDX because it's specs and weight.
Before buying the HDX I've tried high end Asus and Samsung devices, which were really of poor quality and performance (user experience, not synthesized benchmarks).

I don't think this is over yet....
I do not think it's impossible to root Amazon Kindle HDX, as long as there is developers who keeps this project alive, there is still hope! Why is it so hard to root the last update! Wouldn't it be good to discuss this at a thread in the forum? How far have you come? Where in the process is it impossible to reach further? Then we could help each other! Will Amazon really emerge victorious out of this battle? I think not!

raptir said:
Am I the only one who likes the tablet as-is without any modifications? The app selection leaves a bit to be desired but all the major media apps are represented (Spotify, Rdio, Hulu, Netflix, etc...) and there are plenty of games available. The only thing that irks me is not being able to play content I already purchased on Google Play, but it's not enough to kill the device for me.
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Had I done more proper research, I would have gone with the Nexus 7 to be honest. I'm not a fan of this device in it's default form. I know I made the mistake of jumping in based on specs and a sale that was going on at the time, but I wish it were more Android through and through. I'm not a fan of the Amazon Fire OS GUI, and not being able to get Gapps by default was a serious oversight on my part....that's my main regret. The device performs just fine and the specs don't disappoint. I simply should have done more research on the rooting and unlocking bootloader side
dimi5 said:
I used to feel myself regretful until I have discovered 1mobile market. Now, beside I cannot change wallpaper, I have decent launcher and a market that is comparable to the Google play. Ok root and custom rooms would be nice, also do I enjoy using HDX. Even, I could choice one more time, I would still (wait ) take HDX because it's specs and weight.
Before buying the HDX I've tried high end Asus and Samsung devices, which were really of poor quality and performance (user experience, not synthesized benchmarks).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Atise said:
I do not think it's impossible to root Amazon Kindle HDX, as long as there is developers who keeps this project alive, there is still hope! Why is it so hard to root the last update! Wouldn't it be good to discuss this at a thread in the forum? How far have you come? Where in the process is it impossible to reach further? Then we could help each other! Will Amazon really emerge victorious out of this battle? I think not!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess I should add that I am still one of the lucky ones. I do have root still and as long as I keep playing it safe, I don't see me ever losing root. With that said, I guess my depressed and non-reassuring comment is a bit more selfish and on the getting an unlocked bootloader side of things. Of course, I definitely don't see that happening until a new root is found to get everyone back at the same place with root access.

icedtrip said:
Had I done more proper research, I would have gone with the Nexus 7 to be honest. I'm not a fan of this device in it's default form. I know I made the mistake of jumping in based on specs and a sale that was going on at the time, but I wish it were more Android through and through. I'm not a fan of the Amazon Fire OS GUI, and not being able to get Gapps by default was a serious oversight on my part....that's my main regret. The device performs just fine and the specs don't disappoint. I simply should have done more research on the rooting and unlocking bootloader side
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Click to collapse
I have a first-gen Nexus 7 and was considering the 2013 model but decided on the Kindle Fire HDX even knowing that it couldn't be rooted. My usage of the Nexus 7 was mostly reading (through the Kindle app) and watching videos (Hulu, Netflix). I played a few games on it but I'm fine with Amazon's selection. I went with the Kindle HDX because I could get 64GB of storage for only slightly more than the 32GB Nexus 7 and also gain support for Prime Instant Video.
Edit: I will say, I like being able to tinker with my Nexus 5 but I feel that the enhancements that come with custom ROMs are more important to me on a phone rather than a tablet. With a tablet I typically open a single app and use that for a prolonged period of time so I don't see much of the interface.

Yep. I agree with raptir. It was fun while it lasted but I notice now, I don't even need custom ROM. As long as I have my prime and xbmc, life is good.
Sent from my LG-D800 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I am doing the exact same thing I did with my 16GB Nook Tablet noneHD version when I had it for 2 years. I upgraded to the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 for the larger screen and newer hardware for movie playback across the network via DLNA. I also use it for reading and have finished several books on it and the Nook alike. Nook was running CM 10 but I felt like I could have just kept the basic B&N OS around for what I did with it. I still feel the same way about the Kindle Fire HDX. Stock handles everything I throw at it and I can keep my apps updated thanks to 1mobile. Things like Skifta and MX player along with Cool Reader for epub and mobi formatted books that I have had forever and did not get through amazon. For me the kindle/nook are Media consumption devices and they fill that roll pretty nicely with stock. The kindle more so becuase of the updated OS and larger screen along with newer hardware that is capible of 1080p playback via network unlike the nook where it would struggle with 720p playback for me.

IMHO, it's a fine MEDIA device, but not so much a regular tablet.

kschang said:
IMHO, it's a fine MEDIA device, but not so much a regular tablet.
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Pay attention. The Tech Geeks have decreed that this tablet must die. It must fail simply because Amazon has decided to be douchy about it. It must no be rooted and it must not be recommend. Amazon worked very hard to get this. I for one am going to do all I can to give them what they want. Kindle needs to go the way of the Nook which actually was better than kindle but not as popular imho lol. Regardless, Death to the kindle line.

kschang said:
IMHO, it's a fine MEDIA device, but not so much a regular tablet.
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i agree... however if i didnt' have amazon instant i wouldnt' even like it for that. my feedly crashes constantly, and i get way too many random reboots on this thing.
HOWEVER its become my treadmill partner thanks to the ability to download amazon instant

Pay attention. This thing is hard to hack, therefore it must die.
Listen to yourself saying that, 100 times.

kschang said:
IMHO, it's a fine MEDIA device, but not so much a regular tablet.
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Click to collapse
I guess that's where my opinion may differ from others'. To me, a tablet is primarily a media device. Movies, TV shows, books, games, news, etc... which all work great on the Fire. Productivity is the one place that it really falls short, but even with my Nexus 7 I still prefer my laptop for productivity.

just keep it offline for the next few months...an exploit is going to be found and published, it's happened with the previous firmware versions...

raptir said:
I guess that's where my opinion may differ from others'. To me, a tablet is primarily a media device. Movies, TV shows, books, games, news, etc... which all work great on the Fire. Productivity is the one place that it really falls short, but even with my Nexus 7 I still prefer my laptop for productivity.
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Depends on the media content. You can mostly work.around the YouTube issues with Google services, but that is a disadvantage other tablets don't have. I watch a lot of flash content on streaming movie sites and have found some ways to work around nuisances on most sites as well but without a good rooted pop-up blocker it is a disadvantage . It streams Amazon content fairly well but I learned how to do that long ago on a regular tablet. The screen is very nice and smooth though.
To the other guy. It isnt that the tablet must die because it's hard to hack. The tablet must die to teach corporations that they either give the public what they want or they lose. Simple pleasures I enjoy every day on normal tablets are either un attainable on the hdx or difficult at best, even if the build quality is excellent, and the hardware is outstanding Amazon needs an attitude adjustment.

FireOS is NOT Android. Never claimed to be. The current result is quite workable dual-use. I can use Unbeloved Host and/or AdAway and/or Chrome to block most ads. Amazon never designed an Android tablet. Amazon designed an AMAZON tablet (which happens to run an Android Fork).
Your "boycott" of Kindle HDX line is not going to have ANY effect on Amazon except deprive yourself, but then, you already own one. At best it's a mixed message. And you show a distinct lack of faith on ingenuity of the XDA Developer Community.
I have both Google Play services running fine along side Amazon services. I Chromecasted a bunch of cat videos to my TV today (there are two cats in the house). I download from both app stores, sometimes simultaneously. I am rooted and Xposed and Safestrapped and so on and so forth.
In other words, it's basically what you're willing to live with. Your have a different tolerance point than I do. The difference is you want Amazon to go against its nature and give you what you want, whereas I decided that the current HDX (well, technically last year's HDX) is quite usable as is with a few hacks.

Just because people aren't talking doesn't mean they aren't trying to work on it. Things come to those that are patient.

kschang said:
FireOS is NOT Android. Never claimed to be. The current result is quite workable dual-use. I can use Unbeloved Host and/or AdAway and/or Chrome to block most ads. Amazon never designed an Android tablet. Amazon designed an AMAZON tablet (which happens to run an Android Fork).
Your "boycott" of Kindle HDX line is not going to have ANY effect on Amazon except deprive yourself, but then, you already own one. At best it's a mixed message. And you show a distinct lack of faith on ingenuity of the XDA Developer Community.
I have both Google Play services running fine along side Amazon services. I Chromecasted a bunch of cat videos to my TV today (there are two cats in the house). I download from both app stores, sometimes simultaneously. I am rooted and Xposed and Safestrapped and so on and so forth.
In other words, it's basically what you're willing to live with. Your have a different tolerance point than I do. The difference is you want Amazon to go against its nature and give you what you want, whereas I decided that the current HDX (well, technically last year's HDX) is quite usable as is with a few hacks.
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Click to collapse
I'm not depriving myself in any way. I own literally dozens of tablets. I never claimed kindle as an android tablet. I claim it as an inferior product because it's OS holds it back since it is limited in many aspects that both Apple and Android have excelled in. Your argument is fragmented and invalid. You had to root in order to achieve your results. Asking for simple things such as a keyboard that half works or some control over turning off double space to period, simple things like widgets, well if that is against Amazon's nature then yes I am quite against Amazon tablets lol.