Although the Kindle Fire is packed with great features, which poses serious threat to Apple’s iPad.
Since the launch of the first Kindle, Amazon managed to sell a whopping 3 million tablets in 2010, and as speculations broke out indicating that it is planning to launch its next Kindle in 2011, the tablet became one of the most anticipated devices of the year.
The tablet comes with great features, which include streaming movies and TV shows and access to Amazon’s app store. The tablet boasts a 7-inch Gorilla Glass color display and is powered by Google’s Android OS with Wi-Fi connectivity – however, it does not feature a camera, microphone, or a 3G connection.
Amazon Kindle Fire Specifications
Here are the full technical specifications of the newly launched Amazon Kindle Fire:
| Display | 7-inch multi-touch display with IPS (in-plane switching) technology and anti-reflective treatment, 1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi, 16 million colors. |
| Size (in inches) | 7.5″ x 4.7″ x 0.45″ (190 mm x 120 mm x 11.4 mm). |
| Weight | 14.6 ounces (413 grams). |
| On-device Storage | 8GB internal. That’s enough for 80 apps, plus either 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books. |
| Cloud Storage | Free cloud storage for all Amazon content |
| Battery Life | Up to 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback, with wireless off. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as web browsing and downloading content. |
| Wi-Fi Connectivity | Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.1X standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks. |
| USB Port | USB 2.0 (micro-B connector) |
| Audio | 3.5 mm stereo audio jack, top-mounted stereo speakers. |
| Content Formats Supported | Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8. |
IMPORTANT NOTICE : SA users of Kindle Fire will not be able to access Amazon cloud services (for storing your content) nor will they be able to download music, movies/videos or applications from the app-store. However, downloading of books/magazines, browsing of the internet and reading email using the built-in email client all work perfectly as tested by us.
Amazon launches the Fire in Europe around mid-December, and the apps-store and certain cloud services should be activated for non-US users at this time, but we cannot guarantee this. It is unclear when music or movies/videos will be enabled for South Africa. For the price you are paying, even with just email, internet browsing and book/magazine reading (full e-reader functionality) this is a great bargain as we are sure Amazon are selling these at a loss. Anything over and above this basic functionality at a future date is merely a bonus as far as we are concerned.
