Hey.
Look closely for a moment.
See that little red book in the back of
my newly sewn purse?
Ha! Tricked Ya.
That’s not really a book at all.
Oh wait….actually it is a book!
It’s thousands of books….and so much more!
It’s the Kindle Fire,
And let me tell ya,
This thing is HOT!
Not “Hot” as in stolen,
I assure you that I paid for my kindle,
but the price was so good that I almost FEEL guilty.
You see, I’ve wanted a tablet FOREVER.
But I could never get over the crazy price tags,
or the monthly subscription prices for web service.
So, when I first learned about the kindle,
the first question that came to mind was:
How does it work?:
(read: how much more am I going to pay in monthly fees?)
Cynical I know, but every penny counts.
Now I’ve only had this baby for a week or so,
but I’ll tell ya what I know:
Kindle Fire uses a Wifi connection to access most content.
(i.e. No additional monthly charges)
However, that means that to connect to the internet
you will need you’re own Wifi, or to be at a Wifi hotspot.
Now wait. I know what you’re thinking.
Oh darn. I was hoping that I could take my content with me.
I mean come on, I need to be able to hand this thing to the kids
to keep them quiet to let them play around while we’re
in the car, or grocery shopping or doing anything else in which I need
a few peaceful seconds to collect my thoughts.
Well, let me tell ya, You can!
Here’s How:
There are two ways to store your content with the Kindle Fire:
You can store your content on the CLOUD,
(which is free with your Kindle Fire purchase)
OR
You can store your content on your actual Kindle device.
(it comes with 8GB of data storage btw)
Anything that you STORE on your Kindle is accessible without a Wifi connection,
Anything that you leave in the Cloud is only accessible with a Wifi connection.
You decide what content you want to actually STORE on your Kindle,
and what content you only want available in the CLOUD.
Make sense? Are you following here?
It was a little confusing for me at first too.
But Here’s What I DO:
Anything I want to access on the road, I put on the device
Anything I want to access when I have WiFi I keep in the Cloud.
Pretty Simple right?
Here’s the breakdown for some of the features:
Books:
Pro: All my e-books in one spot, syncs with my kindle reader on my iPhone.
Con: The kindle fire screen isn’t like the original screen. Since it is a color screen there is a little bit of glare.
You can change the brightness of the screen depending on the enviornment you’re in.
I haven’t had any problems reading it , just wanted to point that out.
Apps:
Pro: Apps usually work without the wifi connection
Con: Not as many apps available in the Amazon Android market.
Check out some of the Top Apps here
Music:
Pro: I Love the interface for my music.
Nice and large, easy to connect to my car stereo.
I can FIND a song without crashing my car. Bonus!
(btw: I’m listening in my car with a simple tape deck–> mp3 adapter.)
Con: None
PDF Documents:
Pro: The kindle comes with a Document reader, it’s very simple to use.
You email yourself any files that you want to access on the kindle.
Con: PDF links are not clickable. However, there is a APP that I downloaded
that makes the PDF links clickable! Score.
Movies/TV:
Pro: Hulu, and Netflix work on Kindle.
You can purchase or rent additional movies using Amazon Prime.
AND You can upload movies you already own to the CLOUD.
Con: If you want to take movies on the go, you have to make sure you download
them to your kindle first. You can download your own movies or ones that you rent or
purchase from the Kindle Video library.
You can’t download videos from hulu or netflix, they are streaming (wifi connected) only.
Web Browsing:
Pro: FAST, FAST, FAST. I have fast WiFi though so that may be part of the deal.
Our favorite websites are accessible!
Cons: No Web Browsing outside a Wifi connection.
(this is where you would pay the monthly service fee)
Sometimes certain platforms don’t work.
For example when viewing the 3-D panorama of King Khufu’s tomb the connection slowed a bit.
Size/Shape:
Pro: Fits in one hand, not to heavy…and did I mention it fits in my purse!
Con: Nothing, I love the smaller handheld size. It’s just right for what I need.
Overall: LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
I know that it’s not as amazing as a higher end tablet
but it does the job for what I’ll be using it for!
And in CASE you’re wondering,
This is the case I purchased, which I also love:
M-Edge Incline Jacket
It has a magnetic closure, and will prop up my kindle
legnth or width ways.
Additionally I’d recommend getting this amazing screen protector:
ZAGG Shield for Kindle Fire
I know they sell a similar version for cheaper,
but I’ve had some experience with protective screens,
and this baby is AMAZING. There are no bubbles or fingerprints or smug marks
and I actually prefer the texture to the touch screen.
The trick with installing the screen is to really get the sticky side wet with the solution they provide.
BEST protective screen experience EVER!
I hope that helps you decide about the Kindle Fire!
You can learn so much more by reading about it on Amazon.
All I can say is This Homeschool Mama is Super Happy with it:
And if you have a question feel free to ask,
I’m not an expert but I’ll do my best to see what I can tell ya!
