# Considering Fire for a b'day gift--pros, cons?



## AnitaBartholomew (Jun 27, 2011)

I realize I'm in a forum where people already own Fires, and are probably fans, but you're also probably the most knowledgeable about what it can do.

I have a plain vanilla Kindle, and I use it to read books, period. I'm thinking of buying a Kindle, either Fire or e-ink, for my son for his birthday. I'm trying to figure out what about the Fire makes it more appealing. Is it mostly because it has a color screen, or because of the apps--or something else? 

And if it's because of the apps, are they useful for a person who already has an iPhone?

Thanks in advance.

Anita


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## J.I.Greco (Apr 10, 2011)

I'd describe the Fire as an oversized smart-phone without the actual phone. Reading books on it is great, but it does so much more. I use it for web surfing and games as much as reading books. It's essentially replaced my laptop for all but "work" stuff.


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## AnitaBartholomew (Jun 27, 2011)

JIGreco said:


> I'd describe the Fire as an oversized smart-phone without the actual phone. Reading books on it is great, but it does so much more. I use it for web surfing and games as much as reading books. It's essentially replaced my laptop for all but "work" stuff.


Thanks. So, if I understand you correctly, for someone who already has a smartphone, this offers similar functions? In that case, I might go with the plain Kindle, unless there's some other reason to get Fire.

Anita


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## J.I.Greco (Apr 10, 2011)

AnitaBartholomew said:


> Thanks. So, if I understand you correctly, for someone who already has a smartphone, this offers similar functions? In that case, I might go with the plain Kindle, unless there's some other reason to get Fire.
> 
> Anita


Pretty much, at least for me that was the decision. I use the Fire for everything I used to use my iPhone for, except calls... and my old eyes appreciate the bigger screen.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I'd agree with JI's assessment. . . .probably not big enough for any intense stuff. . . like writing long documents. . .but fine for short notes, email, etc. . . given, of course, that you're limited to internet access where there is a WiFi network available.  Many of the apps available are games. . . and movies work too.

Note that if the smartphone you already have is NOT Android based, then any apps you already have will not work on the Fire.  If it IS Android based, then the apps may work, but you may have to side load them.  Of course, many may be available via the Amazon Appstore -- if that's where you've purchased them, you'll be able to download any that are compatible easily.


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## CegAbq (Mar 17, 2009)

I'd ditto everything said here. I have both an Android smartphone & a Fire (as well as a Kindle Touch & Kindle Keyboard). I got the Fire to check out whether I'd like/use a tablet or not & went with the Fire because of the Amazon ecosystem & streaming Instant Videos.
I like the  Fire for it's slightly bigger screen & use it in work meetings (love Evernote & access to my calendar), but I find that I use my smartphone for most things. It's just always with me and I don't have to tote another gadget. 
IF I didn't have an Android smartphone, I'm quite sure I'd use my Fire lots more.


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## Hoosiermama (Dec 28, 2009)

I got a Fire for myself when it came out. I love the larger screen, and find myself surfing more on that than on the computer or laptop these days. Once my 20-something sons saw it, both wanted one! We now have 3 Fires in the family. On the upside, both are reading more than they ever have, and both enjoy surfing/gaming on it. My oldest son's 3 year old loves it, too.

I have an Android smartphone, so I've been able to transfer apps to the Fire easily. I hardly use the phone's apps when I'm at home any more--the Fire is so much easier to see, and more fun to use.

My only problem now is that DH loves it, too, and is reading more because he's downloading books onto it...so I'm not getting my hands on it nearly enough!


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## dori chatelain (Dec 31, 2011)

I have both a kk3 and a fire. I love them both. they are both gifts. well the money that I bought the fire with was a gift. The kk3 was first. Even though I love it and use it not as often as I used to prefire I still love it. I wanted a was toying with either a Ipod touch or the.fire. I went with the fire.for a few reasons but the.most inportant was size and the fact that it was amazon. Since I already had a kk3 I knew I could use the books I already had. I can do everything on the fire that I could do with the ills. except it has no camera. But for me the camera wasn't inportant I have a phone with a camera and we have many cameras in the house for me to choice to use I felt it wasn't an inportant feature to have. I love the fact that I can read, play games, watch movies, listen to music and aloft more on the fire. I also love the feature of having my photos on my fire. I have been able to share my favorite photos with all ky friends when I am out and about. the other feature I like is I can read my daughters nook boos on the fire. she reads.my books on her ipod touch.  I have been reading more on the fire lately as much as I like the kk3 and the eink. i find carrying around both devices is a pain in the arms. I carry the fire with me more because it does more.

good luck with hour decision. If I was going to purchase a kindle as a gift for somebody I would gift the fire if it was for a younger person. If it was for a older person and they weren't into technology inclinded I would gift them an eink kindle.  I know a few people that have the eink kindles and after they see my fire the wish they had one. 

sent from the BRIGHTEST FIRE EVER!


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## B.A. Spangler (Jan 25, 2012)

I cannot speak highly enough for the Kindle Fire given the price. Just awesome.

For consuming books, video, browsing web pages, reading email, etc. – you cannot beat the Fire.

For producing documents, engaging in process workflows, using productivity apps like spreadsheets, then a bigger footprint tablet like the iPad is better.

I am finding a lot of people have both. I use my iPad more at work for work related activity while I use my Fire for everything else.


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## Djworton (Feb 22, 2012)

Hi

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk


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## Bob327 (Nov 17, 2011)

Frankly I use my smartphone (Android) a lot more then I do any of the apps on my fire ..mainly because the phone is always in my pocket...

BUT much to  my surprise I am now reading almost exclusively on the fire instead of my regular kindle  
even so I'll often "close" the book I am reading and start checking out the news on the fire .. I have absolutely no games on the fire Nor do I have any on the phone..

No regrets about buying the fire at all... 

Bob G.


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## fancynancy (Aug 9, 2009)

I am very surprised to see so many people saying that they read books on the Fire.  The Fire screen is even brighter and has more glare than my laptop screen, and I would not want to read a book on my laptop screen.  My kk3 is for reading books and The New Yorker magazine.  But I also love my Fire.  However, my phone is a Blackberry, with a very small screen, so the Fire is really fun for me.  If I had a larger screen Android phone or an iphone, I don't know if I would use the Fire as much. 

Pros: the screen quality.  Really beautiful, vibrant color.  Small and portable.  So easy to use, I didn't even have to read the manual.  It works so intuitively, I think a 4-year old could use it.  I like the simple design, and after having mine for several months, I have to say the quality is quite impressive, as is true of most Amazon products IMHO.  

Cons: Yes, you can turn down the brightness of the screen and even turn it a beige-like color, but no, I would never read a book on it.  A magazine though, yes.  This is not really a con for me because I have a kk3.  The battery life is very short compared to my kk3.  The Fire battery life is about 5 hours and the kk3 battery life is about 5 weeks.  

For your son's purposes, it sounds like one of the black & white kindles would be best.  They have e-ink screens, are very lightweight with a very long battery life.  In short, perfect for taking your book with you wherever you go.


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## William G. Jones (Sep 6, 2011)

If your son likes to read, I'd second anybody here who suggested the e-ink Kindle. I rarely use my Fire for reading, and I use my Kindle Touch WAY more than I do my Fire, as reading on the Fire really bothers my eyes. 

More and more, I find myself wishing I hadn't bought a Fire, but then there's times I'll watch Netflix on where a TV isn't available it or use it while riding in the car to edit a Word document, and I'm glad I have it. But those times are rare and far between for me. YMMV.


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