$199 Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Unveiled, is it a steal?

The stock market is a mess this week but there were still exciting news announced in NYC at the Amazon Tablet Event.  The very first Amazon android tablet called Kindle Fire is all over the news, but is it a steal at $199 price tag?

Lets first examine the specs and then compare it to the competitor.

Specifications

•  7-inch IPS panel
• Gorilla Glass coating
•  1GHz TI OMAP dual-core CPU
• 512MB of RAM,
• 8GB of internal storage
•  weighs 14.6 ounces
• Access to Amazon's services (Android Appstore,  Kindle books,  free Amazon Cloud Storage )

Comparisons (taken from geekapolis.fooyoh.com and unplggd.com)

Final Verdict

It is one of the cheapest android tablet given the spec.  All the cheap tablets out there under $200 do not have IPS screen and duo core processor.  However, the lack of camera,  expandable storage, bluetooth, GPS and Google's android market will pull some people's interest away from this tablet.  If you want all that bells and whistles (i.e bluetooth, GPS, front and back camera, USB ports, HDMI ports), you are still better off getting other tablets like Ipad or honeycomb tablet.

If you want a very portable device specifically for reading books, surfing the net, play multimedia, casual gaming, this device is for you.   Also, if you like Amazon services and you shop from amazon often, this tablet is really good for that as well since you can get a month of free amazon prime membership if you pre-order the device now.

By the way, if you are only interested in ebook reading, then you should also consider the new Amazon Kindle and Kindle touch as they are much cheaper.

You can buy this amazing tablet here.

Resources

-Engadget's  liveblog of the Amazon event and Amazon Kindle Fire First impression (Video)

-Cnet's take on the Kindle Fire

-Gizmodo's take on the Kindle Fire

$114 Amazon Kindle 3 Wifi Special Edition

Just recently found a deal from dealslava.com that book lovers shouldn't pass up.  This special edition is the newest kindle 3 WIFI along with bunch of freebies and sponsored screen savers.  It is cheaper than the normal version which is $139.  The only draw back to this deal is that it's on pre-order and they will not be released until beginning of May.  The Kindle3 is a really neat device and many specs were improved from the previous version.

Below are the features and improvements of Kindle3 as compared to Kindle2 (taken from Amazon.com):

• All-New, High-Contrast E Ink Screen - 50% better contrast with latest E Ink Pearl technology
• Read in Bright Sunlight - No glare
• New and Improved Fonts - New crisper, darker fonts
• New Sleek Design - 21% smaller body while keeping the same 6" size reading area
• 17% Lighter - Only 8.5 ounces, weighs less than a paperback
• Battery Life of Up to One Month - A single charge lasts up to one month with wireless off
• Double the Storage - Up to 3,500 books
• Built-In Wi-Fi - Shop and download books in less than 60 seconds
• 20% Faster Page Turns - Seamless reading
• Enhanced PDF Reader - With dictionary lookup, notes, and highlights
• New WebKit-Based Browser - Browse the web over Wi-Fi (experimental)
• Special Offers - Special offers and sponsored screensavers display on the Kindle screensaver and on the bottom of the home screen—they don't interrupt reading

In my opinion, the specifications for the Kindle3 is really decent considering the fact that it's a relatively low cost device.  It's about the same or cheaper than it's predecessor but with all the above improvements.  Personally, I would get this device just because of it's great e-ink screen, it's super light weight, and it's superb battery life.  Although some people think that ipad or other tablet would do the trick, but I believe this version of Kindle is best ebook reader you can get on the block. 


VIDEO REVIEWS

MobileTechReview:


D3Live(this kid did a really good job talking about the Kindle3):


A user review on the PDF part of the Kindle3: