Jeez, I sure haven’t posted in a while. Of course, I’m trying to make this blog less me talking about television shoes and more sharing my opinion on whatever else. So in thinking of what I could talk about, I decided on tablet computers. This month, Amazon will release the Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet. With a price of $200, it sure is to be quite the seller, just as the Kindle was for the E-Reader market.

I myself do not have a tablet, and right now the biggest one is the iPad line from Apple Computers. I do know, I will NOT get anything Apple, especially an iPad. The devices are too limited, push iTunes more (which is a bloated piece of software (or should I say, package of useless software)), don’t get me started on DRM. I’ve been using iTunes, as I found it’s features easy to use and it did what I wanted (which was mostly just play MP3s (that I ripped from CDs I own, or bought from iTunes store (well, after I burned those and re-ripped them before the option of converting to MP3 came along, with a few more pennies added to the price)) while I surfed the net. But after I built my new computer to use as a DVR and media center, I decided, no iTunes. I had it on there briefly, but I would not want to listen to music through my TV, so iTunes (and Quicktime, Apple Update, Support) were taken off (luckily, I found how to never install crap like Bonjour to begin with, which Apple should learn to make an optional add-on, instead of forcing that shit on people).

Anyway, back to tablets. Regarding, not just the iPad, but the Xoom, and Acer, Toshiba ones out there. They all have hardly anything to offer, other than doing what smartphones do, except a bigger screen, slightly larger storage, and excluding the phone part. Sure, they are more light-weight and portable than a laptop, and have killed anyone’s desire to get a Netbook (very useless array of devices those were). But, in the end, why pay $400-$500 for such limited functionality, when for the same or slightly more, one could just get a decent laptop?

Then again, there are uses. As I’ve mentioned, from what I gathered with the iPad basically being the iPod Touch (which is the iPhone w/o the phone), but larger (and few extras), and the other ones are like larger Android-based phones, but without the phone part. I do not have a new phone, I actually have the same LG enV I’ve had for almost 4 years now. Why? Because it still works. (I hear another blog post I could rant about). And when Amazon announced their tablet, I near about thought, maybe I should consider.

If I just want to browse the Internet, then a tablet can be very useful when I don’t want to fire up my laptop. And with Amazon offering theirs for $200, it’s a much more attractive price that $500 the cheapest iPad throws out there. With an iPad, you’re stuck in the Apple world. With the Kindle Fire, yes, you are stuck in an Amazon world. But for a price, I’d rather be stuck in an Amazon world. I do have an Amazon account, Amazon does have individual MP3 songs as well as albums, just as iTunes. Both also allow for purchase of digital movies, though Amazon, from what I hear, allows for re-downloading that which you buy, while, from my experience with iTunes, once you download it, that’s it. Your hard drive crashes before you get a chance to back it up, it’s gone (though I hear Apple having an iCloud service, which I believe will do what Amazon is offering for its customers, storing content in the cloud that they can access). The plus, also on the side of Amazon, larger selection of books. But, I wouldn’t use a tablet for reading books anyway. With Fire’s announcement, also came the announcement that the basic Kindle with special offers is now $79, and that is something I now most definitely want to get. Store a thousand or so books on a little device is much more attractive than bookshelf of books taking up space and getting dusty.

In terms of specs, iPad’s internal storage starts at 16GB, while Fire is 8GB, but Fire is relying heavily on cloud storage. Hopefully, next generation Fire will up storage because, my music collection right now, sits at about 14 GB. In terms of Apps, okay, iPad may have an edge (90,000 vs 16,000), but honestly, 75% are more likely useless junk (on both sides) (remember, “there’s an app for that,” but I’ll reply back, “yeah, but do you REALLY need it?”). Pretty much, on both fronts, any useful and important apps, more likely would be available. Both are dual-core processors and have built-in wifi. iPad may have the cameras, but I would think a future Fire would eventually get one anyway. So iPad can be hooked into a cellular service, but I can’t afford those damn data plans anyway. Both don’t have external storage options (such as SD card or something). Both have near same battery life, but those numbers are usually inflated to minimal use.

In conclusion, I’m now open to getting a simple tablet for quick Internet surfing and media consumption, but not now. This is the first Kindle Fire, and I’m waiting until the rich people buy theirs to complement their iPads and Galaxy Tabs, and let the reviews and bugs come out for public consumption. Who knows, maybe there will be a Kindle Fire 2 next year, with the same $200 price tag, but has an expansion slot along with double internal storage, and those cameras people are bitching about.

Here are some iPad vs Kindle reads:
Fire vs iPad: Pick Your Garden – Technology News

Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2 vs. Nook Color: Specs and Features Compared – PCMag.com