The Amazon Kindle Fire tablet is everything the pundits expected, but even cheaper. Rumoured to sell at $250, it has in fact been announced to sell at $199, making it the cheapest Android-powered tablet on the market.
Rather than competing with the Apple iPad, this tablet is squarely aimed at the Barnes and Noble Nook tablet (which I own). However, whereas the Nook is almost totally useless for reading Australian ebooks, the Amazon Fire will probably be able to sell some Australian ebooks to me for digital reading.
Barnes and Noble saw 1.2 billion dollars this year so far in Nook Sales and is considered an unheralded success for the retail chain.
Part of the reason why it does so well is thanks to the female demographic. Doug (Doug Klein the VP of Product development in the B&N Nook division) speculated that 70% of all Nook Color users are females and they use the device to access books, magazines and other content such as NookKids.
The Nook Color is priced at $249 and is within the price reach of most customers looking for a device that not only can read books but can access most media in full color.
So the strengths of the Nook Color entail Magazines, eBooks, Apps, NookStudy, NookKids and a deep content distribution system.
- from The real battle with the Kindle Fire is with the Nook Color By Michael Kozlowski
The main limitation of both the Barnes and Noble Nook and of the Amazon Kindle Fire is that they are wi-fi-only devices, and finding public wi-fi in Australia is difficult unless you eat hamburger regularly.
But for me in Australia the Nook is useless for buying ebook content:
The biggest con is that the device and all of the content is primarily USA only. You must have a registered billing and shipping address in the United States and the company does not ship the device overseas.
The only way to get it is via 3rd party companies... from The real battle with the Kindle Fire is with the Nook Color By Michael Kozlowski
I have had to 'root' the Nook to be able to read ebooks on it in Australia. The Amazon Kindle Fire will also be able to be 'rooted', so its sales will be tremendously high because of that and the cheaper price.
The new Kindle Fire tablet coming out in November is poised to be one of the most successful tablets of all time.
It is priced very aggressively at $199 and may get more sales because it is within the price range of the average person.
It is designed the same way the Nook Color is, in the respect that it is a locked Android experience and promotes exclusively Amazon products and services.
Amazon has said that it is not going to lock the bootloader and will allow customers to load in their own applications. This means if you want a more traditional Android experience you won’t have to wait very long until someone roots the device.
-from The real battle with the Kindle Fire is with the Nook Color By Michael Kozlowski
For me the biggest ebook issue is the availability of Australian titles and access to them from my Nook tablet. I can buy some titles as ebooks, but can't use the Nook to buy them. I have to buy them on my home computer system, then download them into the Nook by wi-fi or by cable, laborious work compared to the iPad or the Kindle ereader.
I can't even read newspapers or magazines on my Nook because B&N offers no periodical access outside the USA.
Amazon has made inroads in securing the top publishing companies to offer subscriptions and single issues. This puts the Fire in direct competition because it intends on offering magazines at more affordable costs.
The big draw on the new Kindle Fire is the ebook, audiobook and the cloud based solutions.
Amazon has one of the best ebook stores in the world and has everything from classic books to modern day best sellers. It is also a nexus in terms of authors self-publishing so you can easily discover new authors who are rising up and comers.
So the Amazon Fire will offer magazines, books, audio books, apps, textbook rentals, video on demand, Amazon Prime and a slew of other services. The company really does offer a more media experience with its device then the Nook Color does.
The primary battle for LCD Reading devices this holiday season will definitely be the Kindle Fire vs the Barnes and Noble Nook Color.
For the first time B&N will have serious competition on all fronts from its biggest rival. Amazon controls over 70% of the entire e-reader market in the USA and could make strong gains with the release of the Fire tablet in November. - from The real battle with the Kindle Fire is with the Nook Color By Michael Kozlowski
So should I buy an Amazon Kindle Fire and chuck the Nook? A very serious possibility, and an affordable one.
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