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| Amazon updates Kindle line, adds HD Fires |
| By Thom Holwerda on 2012-09-06 23:57:39 |
| Some impressive new stuff from Amazon today. Great hardware, good price points, and, unlike Nokia, Amazon opens up pre-orders right away and gives us shipping dates. Still, I would personally advice waiting with buying one until you can replace Amazon's Frankendroid with Cyanogenmod or something. |
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| Why is "Frankendroid" a reason to wait? |
| By chithanh on 2012-09-07 00:51:02 |
| And do you also advice waiting with buying Windows RT tablets until you can replace their operating system with Metro^8, or holding off iPad purchases until it has PureDarwin support? |
 - Score: 2 |
| RE: Why is "Frankendroid" a reason to wait? |
| By quackalist on 2012-09-07 01:03:15 |
|
"Frankendroid" or not, always await the next something or other excuse to buy. Save yourself hundreds of dollars with next to no loss in the quality of life. Usually, the reverse. Besides, no memory card slot is always the kiss of death. |
| - Score: 3 |
| RE: Why is "Frankendroid" a reason to wait? |
| By WorknMan on 2012-09-07 01:51:36 |
|
> And do you also advice waiting with buying Windows RT tablets until you can replace their operating system with Metro^8, or holding off iPad purchases until it has PureDarwin support? The Fire tablets run a very gimped version of Android, so I'd never consider them until/unless they were unlocked. Once they hack this thing and put Jellybean proper on it, assuming they don't screw up the hardware somehow, it's probably going to replace the Nexus 7 as the 'low end' Android tablet of choice, especially since it has an HDMI port, which the 7 lacks. And thank god, they put physical volume buttons on this one :) I'm betting it's going to get lots of love from the dev community also. As for the lack of an SD card slot, just get an OTG adapter for the micro USB port (one can be had for less than $1) and you can plug whatever the hell you want in there. |
| - Score: 5 |
| RE: Why is "Frankendroid" a reason to wait? |
| By Radio on 2012-09-07 05:28:32 |
|
Replacing Amazon's version of Android is more like replacing/upgrading Windows 7 Starter Edition on a cheap notebook. An act of sanity. As for the Windows RT tablets, the bios lockdown is a very good reason to avoid them, yes. |
| - Score: 7 |
| US only excersise |
| By dsmogor on 2012-09-07 07:09:48 |
|
Aren't most of the added value services destined to US only? I think Kindle is a nice hardware but the selection of material from Amazon store in my language is so poor I'd never seriously consider it. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE[2]: Why is "Frankendroid" a reason to wait? |
| By rklrkl on 2012-09-07 08:38:02 |
|
Sorry, but replacing the heavily crippled Kindle Fire's Frankendroid is the first thing anyone with any sense would do. Without that, you're limited to Amazon's Appstore, which is nowhere near as comprehensive as Google Play, plus no doubt other limitations Amazon will impose. Heck, I even rooted my Nexus 7 and put CyanogenMod 10 on it, which brings a lot more customisability (including a percentage figure next to the battery icon - yay!) than even the vanilla JellyBean release that came with it. |
| - Score: 4 |
| No thanks |
| By Drunkula on 2012-09-07 12:41:20 |
|
I'll take a Nexus 7 instead... EDIT: For the record I was considering a Kindle Fire before the Nexus 7 came out. If I scratch together enough money I will get the Nexus. Edited 2012-09-07 12:43 UTC |
| - Score: 5 |
| Comment by Radio |
| By Radio on 2012-09-07 13:40:51 |
| Will the older Kindles be updated? Just akin'. |
| - Score: 2 |
| Nice, but... |
| By gan17 on 2012-09-07 13:52:02 |
|
I do think Amazon have a very good ecosystem for media and entertainment. They were at it for years before tablet/smartphones came out, after all. Sadly, most of the content is US only (maybe UK too, though I'm not certain), which is probably the main reason why it's only sold there. It's not really that much different with the Nexus 7, to be frank. The movies, mags, books and music are only available (to varying degrees) in its launch countries. It does make a better proposition for the amount of apps alone, though, even if Android tablet apps aren't that great. There's also the appeal of running non-butchered Android. For most "international" folk, I'd still say Apple's the best (or at least the least terrible) option with regards to media and entertainment. You can sort of 'bluff' the AppStore/iTunes into thinking you're American by registering a US account and making all purchases with iTunes gift cards (which you can easily buy online). I've been doing that for years. Apple probably knows where I'm buying from, but I suppose they don't care. Might be possible to do the same for Android now that Google have started rolling out gift cards as well, I suppose. If not, you'll still need a US VPN or proxy of some sort. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE: US only excersise |
| By quackalist on 2012-09-07 14:49:26 |
| Added value is the rent extracted by locking down devices over and above what a 'Free-Market' would allow, so they can shove it, thanks all the same. |
| - Score: 2 |
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