Kindle Fire

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Kindle Fire
Developer Amazon.com, Inc.
Manufacturer Quanta Computer[1]
Generation 1st
Release date November 15, 2011 (2011-11-15) (USA)
September 6,  2012 (2012-09-06) (Europe)
December 18, 2012 (2012-12-18) (Japan)
Units sold 7 million (as of October 2012)[2]
Operating system Based on Android OS 2.3.3 (customized: 6.3.2_user_4110520) (1st gen.)
Based on Android 4.0.3 (customized: 10.3.1_user_3130720) (2nd gen.)
System-on-chip used Texas Instruments OMAP 4 4430
CPU 1.2 GHz Dual-core Cortex-A9 (ARMv7)
Memory 512 MB RAM (1st gen.)
1 GB RAM (2nd gen.)[3]
Storage 8 GB[4]
Display 7 inch multi-touch Gorilla Glass display, 1024×600 at 169 ppi, 16 million colors.[4] Capacitive touch sensitive.[5]
Connectivity Micro-USB 2.0 (type B)[6]
3.5 mm stereo socket[6]
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
Online services Amazon Prime, Amazon Cloud Storage, Amazon Cloud Player, Amazon Instant video, Amazon Silk, Amazon App Store, Amazon Kindle Store
Dimensions 190 mm (7.5 in) H
120 mm (4.7 in) W
11.4 mm (0.45 in) D
Weight 413 g (14.6 oz)[7]
Successor Kindle Fire HD
Website Amazon Kindle Fire
Kindle Fire showing components, back cover removed

The Kindle Fire is a mini tablet computer version of Amazon.com's Kindle e-book reader. Announced on September 28, 2011, the Kindle Fire has a color 7-inch multi-touch display with IPS technology and runs a custom version of Google's Android operating system called Fire OS. The device—which includes access to the Amazon Appstore, streaming movies and TV shows, and Kindle's e-books—was released to consumers in the United States on November 15, 2011. On September 7, 2012, upgrades to the device were announced with consumer availability to those European countries with a localized version of Amazon's website (United Kingdom,[8] France, Germany, Italy and Spain).[9]

The Kindle Fire's external dimensions are 7.5 × 4.7 × 0.45 inches (191 × 119 × 11 mm).[10] The visible area of the screen is 6 × 3.5 inches (152 × 89 mm). The Kindle Fire originally retailed for US$199.[11] Estimates of the device's initial bill of materials ranged from $150 to $201.70.[12][13] Amazon's business strategy is to make money through sales of digital content on the Fire, rather than through the device itself.[14][15][16]

On September 6, 2012, the Kindle Fire was upgrade to the second generation, and its price was reduced to $159, RAM upgraded to 1 GB and processor clock speed upgraded to 1.2 GHz. A more powerful and video-friendly version, the Kindle Fire HD (7 and 8.9 inch versions) were also made available, initially priced at $199 and $299.[17][18]

On September 25, 2013, the new Kindle Fire HD (7 inch), priced at $139, and the Kindle Fire HDX were introduced. The Kindle Fire HDX has a new graphics engine, double the memory, and triple the processor speed of the previous model. The 7-inch and 8.99-inch versions were introduced at $229 and $379 respectively.[19][20]

As of May 2013, the Kindle Fire is the #2 best selling tablet after Apple's iPad, with about 7 million units sold according to estimates by Forrester Research.[2]

Design

Hardware

Most Kindle Fire devices employ a 1-GHz Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 dual-core processor. The device has a multi-touch color screen with a diagonal length of 7 inches (180 mm) and a 600×1024-pixel resolution (160 dpi density). Connectivity is through 802.11n Wi-Fi and USB 2.0 (Micro-B connector). The device includes 8 GB of internal storage—said to be enough for 80 applications, plus either 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books.[21][22] According to Amazon's list of technical details, the Kindle Fire's 4400 mAh battery sustains up to 8 hours of consecutive reading and up to 7.5 hours of video playback with wireless off.[23]

Of the 8 GB internal storage, approximately 6.5 GB is available for content.[24]

The first-generation Kindle Fire has a sensor on the upper left-hand corner of the screen. This is widely considered to be an ambient-light sensor, disabled since an early software upgrade.[25]

Software

The first generation of Kindle Fire devices run a customized Android 2.3.3 Gingerbread OS.[26] The second generation Kindle Fire HD runs a customized Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich OS.[27] Along with access to Amazon Appstore,[6][28] the Fire includes a cloud-accelerated "split browser", Amazon Silk, using Amazon EC2 for off-device cloud computation; including webpage layout and rendering, and Google's SPDY protocol for faster webpage content transmission.[29][30][31] The user's Amazon digital content is given free storage in Amazon Cloud's web-storage platform,[6] 5 GB music storage in Amazon Cloud Drive, and a built-in email application allows webmail (Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail, AOL Mail, etc.) to be merged into one inbox.[6] The subscription-based Amazon Prime, which includes unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows, is available with a free 30 day trial period.[6]

Content formats supported are Kindle Format 8 (KF8), Kindle Mobi (.azw), TXT, PDF, unrestricted MOBI, PRC natively, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV, MP4, VP8.[6]

Because of Amazon's USB driver implementation, the Kindle Fire suffers from slow USB transfer speeds. For example, transferring an 800MB video file may take more than three minutes.[32]

Reception

Analysts had projected the device to be a strong competitor to Apple's iPad,[11][33] and that other Android device makers would suffer lost sales.[34][35]

In a review published by Project Gutenberg, the Kindle Fire was called a "huge step back in freedom from the Kindle 3"; the reviewer noted that Amazon introduced a "deliberate limitation" into the Fire that didn't exist in the previous version: it is no longer possible to download free e-books from websites such as Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive and Google Books and have them stored permanently in the same places where books from Amazon are kept.[36]

Sales

Customers began receiving their Kindle Fires on November 15, 2011, and by the following December, customers had purchased over a million Kindle devices per week.[37] International Data Corporation (IDC) estimated that the Kindle Fire sold about 4.7 million units during the fourth quarter of 2011.[38]

Recently, the Amazon Kindle Fire helped the company beat their 2012 first quarter estimates and boosted the company's stock in extended trading.[39] As of May 2013, about 7 million units have been sold according to estimates.[2]

Models

Generation 1st generation (2011) 2nd generation (2012)
Model Kindle Fire Kindle Fire
Release date November 15, 2011 September 14, 2012
Status Discontinued Current
Screen size 7
Resolution 1024 × 600 (169 ppi)
OS Based on Android OS 2.3.3 Based on Android OS 4.0.3
CPU Dual-core 1 GHz TI OMAP4 4430 Dual-core 1.2 GHz TI OMAP4 4430
GPU Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX540
RAM 512 MB 1 GB
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
Storage 8 GB
Dimensions 190 × 120 × 11.4 mm (7.48 × 4.72 × 0.45 in) 189 × 120 × 11.5 mm (7.44 × 4.72 × 0.45 in)
Weight 413 g (14.6 oz) 400 g (14 oz)
Battery 4400 mAh

Gallery

  • The Kindle Fire in horizontal position displaying web page

  • Kindle Fire 7 in (180 mm) size relative to a hand

  • The iPad (left) compared with the Kindle Fire (right)

  • The Kindle Fire (left) compared with the iPod Touch (right)

  • The Kindle Fire (left) compared with the iPad Mini (center) and the 2012 Nexus 7 (right)

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lai, Marcus (27 September 2011). "Amazon to burn new tablet this week, says report". Punch Jump. Punch Jump LL C. Retrieved 29 September 2011. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Brian X. Chen (2012-10-19). "How Are 7-Inch Tablets Doing?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-10-20. 
  3. ↑ "Kindle Fire Device and Feature Specifications". Amazon Mobile app distribution. Amazon. Retrieved 16 February 2013. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lee, Tyler (28 September 2011). "Amazon Kindle Fire unveiled". Ubergizmo. Blogzilla LLC. 
  5. ↑ Shahbaaz (September 28, 2011). "Amazon Unveils Kindle Fire Android Tablet ($199) & Kindle Touch ($99), Kindle 2011 Priced at $79!". tnerd.com. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 "Kindle Fire - the Amazon Tablet with Full Color 7" Multi-Touch Display, Wi-Fi". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-10-02 
  7. ↑ Grabham, Dan (October 31, 2011). "Amazon Kindle Fire: what you need to know Updated: Kindle tablet release date, specs, features and more". TechRadar UK. Future Publishing Ltd. 
  8. ↑ "Kindle Fire Comes to the UK—Introducing the All-New Kindle Fire HD and Kindle Fire". Press releases. Amazon.co.uk. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012. 
  9. ↑ "Amazon's Kindle Fire to go on sale in Europe (AFP)". Phys.org. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012. 
  10. ↑ Kindle Fire Amazon description Accessed: 11/23/2011
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet to sell at $199, challenging iPad". Chicago Tribune. 28 September 2011. 
  12. ↑ Merritt, Rick (28 September 2011). "Kindle Fire profitable at estimated $150 BoM". eetimes.com. eetimes. 
  13. ↑ Olivarez-Giles, Nathan (18 November 2011). "Amazons 199 Kindle Fire costs 201.70 to build, report says". Los Angeles Times. 
  14. ↑ Myslewski, Rik (30 September 2011). "Amazon's Kindle Fire is sold at a loss". theregister.co.uk. The Register. 
  15. ↑ Whitney, Lance (29 September 2011). "Amazon to lose $50 on each Kindle Fire, says analyst". news.cnet.com. CNET. 
  16. ↑ Naughton, John (2 October 2011). "Kindle Fire: the tablet that knows your next move". The Guardian / The Observer. 
  17. ↑ Martin, James. "Amazon Kindle Fire". CNET. Retrieved 7 September 2012. 
  18. ↑ Kindle Fire HD at Amazon.com store
  19. ↑ Franklin, Eric. "Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7 - Tablets - CNET Reviews". Reviews.cnet.com. Retrieved 2013-09-25. 
  20. ↑ Wilson Rothman (2012-05-18). "Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX tablets pose real threat to iPad dominance". NBC News.com. Retrieved 2013-09-25. 
  21. ↑ Murph, Darren (28 September 2011). "Amazon Kindle Fire tablet unveiled: Android-based, 7-inch display, $199 price tag". Engadget. AOL Inc. 
  22. ↑ Ziegler, Chris (28 September 2011). "Amazon Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2 vs. Nook Color: by the numbers". This Is My Next. 
  23. ↑ "Kindle Fire - Full Color 7" Multi-Touch Display with Wi-Fi". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18. 
  24. ↑ Dawson, Christopher (17 November 2011). "Kindle Fire: Edu holy grail or one more DRM-ridden toy?". ZDNet. Retrieved 2013-03-18. 
  25. ↑ "Eric Bergman-Terrell's Blog". Ericbt.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18. 
  26. ↑ Hollister, Sean (28 September 2011). "Amazon’s Kindle Fire UI: it’s Android, but not quite". This Is My Next. 
  27. ↑ "Getting Started with Kindle Fire". 
  28. ↑ Tung, Liam (2011-09-20). "Amazon opens global Appstore by stealth". Itnews.com.au. Retrieved 2013-03-18. 
  29. ↑ Boulton, Clint (29 September 2011). "Amazon EC2 Underlies Kindle Tablet 'Silk' Browser". www.eweekeurope.co.uk. 
  30. ↑ "Introducing Amazon Silk". amazon.com. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-10-02. 
  31. ↑ 'Amazon Silk team' (28 September 2011). "Introducing Amazon Silk". amazonsilk.wordpress.com. 
  32. ↑ Ku, Andrew (November 24, 2011). "Storage Performance: Slightly Faster Than USB 1.0?! : The Amazon Kindle Fire: Benchmarked, Tested, And Reviewed". Tom's Hardware: Hardware News, Tests and Reviews. Retrieved 2011-12-04. 
  33. ↑ Letzing, John (September 28, 2011). "Amazon to Challenge iPad". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved 2011-10-01. 
  34. ↑ "Amazon's Kindle Fire Will 'Vaporize' Android But Leave Apple Unscathed". TheWrap.com. Retrieved 2013-03-18. 
  35. ↑ Lee Brodie, ed. (28 September 2011). "Gene Munster: Samsung, Others Should Worry about Kindle Fire". cnbc.com (CNBC). 
  36. ↑ "Kindle Fire Review". Project Gutenberg. 21 December 2012 (last modified). Retrieved 2013-03-17. "You can get free ebooks to the Fire too, but the process is so cumbersome that it isn't worth the trouble given the alternative of buying a Nexus 7, which handles free ebooks with ease. To be specific, there is no way to download free books from the web and have the Kindle Fire store them permanently or in the same places where your books from Amazon are kept. This was easy with the Kindle 3. No more." 
  37. ↑ "Amazon Appstore Presentation at CES". Amazon Appstore Developer Blog. January 6, 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2012. 
  38. ↑ Thomas Claburn (2012-04-07). "iPad Mini: 6 Reasons Apple Must Do It". InformationWeek. Retrieved 2012-04-13. 
  39. ↑ Nakashima, Ryan. "Kindle Fire helps Amazon beat 1Q estimates". Yahoo News -Tech. Retrieved 28 April 2012. 

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