# Does the lack of review Kindle Fires seem unusual to you?



## tnt (Aug 17, 2010)

It's Saturday... the way shipping info is being parceled out, it won't totally surprise me if some receive their Fires on Monday.

Here's something I find interesting:  it's the weekend before a huge product launch, and, so far, no one in the press seems to have touched a Fire.  Unless I've missed something, I've not even seen a single article that says, "While the Fire won't be available until Tuesday, we might... just might... have a 'hands-on' review on Sunday (wink, wink, nod, nod)."

With movies, TV shows and such, that always means the producers are too embarrassed to have a review published before the public opening.

I'm not suggesting Amazon is embarrassed about the Fire.  It just seems unusual that the first hands-on reactions are going to come from the public instead of the pros (a loose term).

(Of course, I may have missed something here, and every publication is going to have a pro review the moment an embargo breaks at, say, midnight.  If so... oops.)


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## jonathanmoeller (Apr 19, 2011)

I actually prefer hands-on reviews from customers than pro review sites, for the most part - much less chance of a quid pro quo for a favorable review.


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## Brodys Mom (Nov 8, 2009)

jonathanmoeller said:


> I actually prefer hands-on reviews from customers than pro review sites, for the most part - much less chance of a quid pro quo for a favorable review.


Me too. I'd much rather have a review by a customer.


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## tnt (Aug 17, 2010)

I understand what you're saying about pro reviewers and real users.  Still, in September Amazon held a press conference solely to build up hype for the new Kindles, primarily the Fire.  That day, and in the days the following, an almost insane amount of hype was spread about the Fire.

But now we're just days away from release, and it seems no one outside of Amazon has been allowed to actually touch one.

I don't know... there's a story there.  Not sure what it is, but there's a story. (PS:  I'm not a pro reviewer.)


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

If it makes you feel any better, I got a look at.the Kindle 3 a few monghs before launch, but because of the NDA that I signed, wasnt allowed to say anything until release day. I am just a regular customer, not press, or big reviewer.

I would think that they surelh did something similar with the Fire.  Watch how many articles get written the first day.

Sent from my SPH-P100 using Tapatalk


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## PhillyGuy (Dec 18, 2010)

tnt said:


> it's the weekend before a huge product launch, and, so far, no one in the press seems to have touched a Fire.


The December 2011 _Consumer Reports_ has a short positive review of the Fire, based on an Amazon-loaned device. This violated that magazine's long-standing policy of basing reviews on products they purchased anonymously, so as to make sure the manufacturer has given them a typical unit. If I was the type to write a complaining letter to the editor, I would have. But since I am the type to complain on the internet, I just did.


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## laurie_lu (May 10, 2010)

There are several hands on video reviews of the Kindle Fire out there. I think I've seen more hands on reviews of the Fire than any of the previous Kindles.


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## Jesslyn (Oct 29, 2008)

In all the hands-on reviews that I've seen---none were hands-on that I recall.  Every review (except the early TechCrunch review) was based upon a demo. Reviewers weren't allowed to handle the device at the release.  The only one that I saw which was hands-on was the TechCrunch review where they had removed any web browsing--probably because they didn't want Silk getting spoiled prior to release.

And Consumer Reports?  For shame.


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## Hadou (Jun 1, 2011)

I'm with those who would rather read reviews from actual customers and not some "professional" sites.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I'm one who would like to read a review by this customer ...c'mon, Amazon, ship my Fire!

Betsy


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## mooshie78 (Jul 15, 2010)

I like a mix of customer and professional reviews personally.  For the latter I tend to stick with sites I trust to not be biased like Engadget.

Customer reviews are nice to get a sense of actual users experience. But most tend to lack the detail of professional reviews, where as a good professional review site like Engadget will do a lengthy write up and break down all the pros and cons, all the features etc.

Plus, customer reviews can be just as biased.  Especially on a fan site like this.  User reviews of anything Kindle on here are going to skew positive, and negative reviews tend to get shouted down.  See how often threads get started linking to articles where someone bashed the Kindle or e-ink readers in general etc.  So user reviews have to be taken with a grain of salt just like professional ones.  Not just for positive bias either, as there are plenty of people that hate a certain company and go around bashing everything they put out.

So for the most part I prefer a good professional review as it will at least provide a good overview of the hardware and all the features that help me decide if it's for me or not.  I don't pay a lot of attention to whether something is recommended or not by a single review anyway.  I mainly just want a breakdown of the features, and then I'll skim a bunch more reviews (pro and user), message boards etc. and see if there are any recurring complaints etc.


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## CNDudley (May 14, 2010)

Looking forward to some feedback from you all. They were renting Fire-like media viewers on the plane for $14, and I was surprised how many people got 'em. A few rentals add up!


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## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

Sorry for the cliche', but all reviews, professional or otherwise "have to be taken with a grain of salt."  For example, I've been a fan of Kim Komando for years and am a member of her club.  However, she initially was dissing the Fire because of battery life and less RAM.  This perturbed me because I thought she was missing Amazon's cloud concepts and multitude of digital producsts available to the Fire.  Kim has change her tune a little of late though.  My point is that professionals do not always take into account all the features/capabilities of a device that might be important to certain customers.  Over the years, I've found Amazon's customer reviews to be a very valuable resource to consult before buying. The tendency is always to "compare."  This is part of human nature, but not always realistic... Just sayin'...


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## tnt (Aug 17, 2010)

I don't know... I don't want to make too big of a deal out of things because Amazon has always treated me well.  But, I'm increasing concerned about a couple of things:

1.  We're very near the shipping date and still no one outside of Amazon (and presumably developers) has actually held a Fire in their hands.  We can't even be sure about developers because they could be using simulators. I'd like to think we'll see some minor, but nifty, unannounced surprises.  Another part of me thinks Amazon would rather have the units in customer's hands before it becomes known that the Fire may be underwhelming.  Imagine if reviewers were allowed to publish today and the consensus was, "it's good, but not nearly as interesting as we were led to believe."  Mass cancellations.

2.  Amazon changed my status to "shipping soon" and charged my card... or at least put a hold on the funds... on Friday.  Three days later, nothing else has changed... my estimated arrival date remains sometime between the 15th and 18th (I paid for overnight shipping).  It seems Amazon should at least be able to commit to something by now.

... and let's put a third thing in...

3.  The stories that Amazon is asking some users in Cupertino to be present when the buyer unboxes their Fire.  I can't think of a single scenario for this that doesn't include the word, "insipid."

Really... I don't want to start even a mini-panic.  I'm used to Amazon exceeding my expectations.  Still... I can't shake the feeling that I don't like the way this is developing.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Wow, the conspiracy theories are out in full flight! Considering that Amazon offers full refunds on their Kindles - I'm not sure how afraid they are of cancellations since people can return Fires at Amazon's expense as soon as they decide they don't like it.  And since Amazon is making Fires available for hands-on test rides at numerous major chains like Target, Best Buy, Radio Shacks, etc. on release date, that hardly seems like they're trying to hide it.


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## tnt (Aug 17, 2010)

DYB said:


> Wow, the conspiracy theories are out in full flight! Considering that Amazon offers full refunds on their Kindles - I'm not sure how afraid they are of cancellations since people can return Fires at Amazon's expense as soon as they decide they don't like it. And since Amazon is making Fires available for hands-on test rides at numerous major chains like Target, Best Buy, Radio Shacks, etc. on release date, that hardly seems like they're trying to hide it.


No conspiracy theories here. Just legitimate observations that will soon be answered.


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## jd78 (Dec 8, 2009)

Engadget's review is up. I made a thread here. http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,91414.0.html


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

I think the reason for the wait is the old "I 'accidentally' left my iPhone prototype in the bar" thing had already been done...a couple of times.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/14/8790557-kindle-fire-review-yes-its-that-good


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## laurie_lu (May 10, 2010)

Here's a few more.....

http://www.wired.com/reviews/2011/11/kindle-fire/

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/14/amazon-kindle-fire-review/

http://gizmodo.com/5858779/kindle-fire-review-the-ipad-finally-has-serious-competition

http://reviews.cnet.com/tablets/amazon-kindle-fire/4505-3126_7-35022491.html

http://www.theverge.com/2011/11/14/2560084/kindle-fire-review


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Today's the day. . . . reviews for both Kindle Fire and Touch are coming out of the ether. . . . please link in these threads:

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,91414.0.html For the Fire

http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,91419.0.html For the Touch


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## tnt (Aug 17, 2010)

Thanks, everybody, for posting the reviews.  When the embargo wasn't lifted in time for Sunday's papers, I gave up hope.  That still seems a strange decision, but judging from some of the poor reviews, probably planned.  (One thing I would disagree on is the speed of the Silk... it seems like that needs a ton of users surfing the web for any benefit to show.)


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

And there seems to be some disagreement on the speed, some reviews I've read said it was acceptable, others not so much.  I need mine in my own hands to tell!  (Although, truthfully, I think the iPad is going to be my primary sufing device still....)  I'm getting the Fire as a media consumption device.  Which sounds like it'll be great to me.

Betsy


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## TerryS (Mar 29, 2011)

I agree with needing it in my hands. That's always the best way. Hopefully I won't be as disappointed as I am with my Xoom.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

tnt said:


> (One thing I would disagree on is the speed of the Silk... it seems like that needs a ton of users surfing the web for any benefit to show.)


I will do my part, I promise.


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## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

laurie_lu said:


> Here's a few more.....
> 
> http://www.wired.com/reviews/2011/11/kindle-fire/
> 
> ...


Thanks for those, laurie_lu. I only read the CNET review which I thought was pretty objective. I'm thinking that some may have read some reviews and canceled their orders in favor of waiting for a bigger screen or saving up for an Ipad. The smaller screen size is a positve feature for me since our Fire will be for traveling and I won't have to lug the netbook around. Although we could afford an ipad, I don't want one due to the size and weight. Mobile ready is a term that I understand better now having read the review.


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## CollinKelley (Sep 1, 2011)

Time Magazine has a round-up of reviews from across the web:

http://techland.time.com/2011/11/14/kindle-fire-reviews-run-hot-and-cold/?iid=tl-main-mostpop1


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

PCWorld review (definitely not a "strong buy" -- more of a "it's definitely not an iPad, but probably good for users who mainly want to consume Amazon digital content.")


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## Shastastan (Oct 28, 2009)

NogDog said:


> PCWorld review (definitely not a "strong buy" -- more of a "it's definitely not an iPad, but probably good for users who mainly want to consume Amazon digital content.")


Yep. More newsies not wanting to see Amazon get some business. Like I said, I just don't get it.


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