4 ms·

I think you are backing him up. Marco didn't say it wouldn't sell, he said it wasn't especially good. The consensus of the reviews I've read is that the Kindle

by epo 15y ago

I think you are backing him up. Marco didn't say it wouldn't sell, he said it wasn't especially good. The consensus of the reviews I've read is that the Kindle Fire is probably OK if you have low enough standards.

pacifika 15y ago
anything is OK with low enough standards, surely?
- qntm 15y ago
  Sure, but this raises enormous questions of where, exactly, the spread of personal standards is distributed for the various demographics in one's target audience.
ctdonath 15y ago
Of the people I know with various non-Apple readers/tablets, a recurring theme is making a purchase thinking it will be "good enough", then finding it isn't, and making another similar purchase or two to find a "good enough" that is ... spending enough cumulative $$$ to warrant just buying an iPad that they tried so hard not to.
- todsul 15y ago
  There's a HUGE difference between an eReader and a tablet. People who don't regularly read don't understand this. Many people think the iPad is a good eReader. But that's like saying a Koenigsegg is a good commuting car. Think about what makes a good eReader: * Very light * As small as possible (while retaining page size) * Long-lasting battery * Good reading screen With this in mind: * iPad as an eReader = fail * Kindle Fire as an eReader = fail * Most tablets as eReaders = fail * Standard Kindle as an eReader = excellent Personally, I can't justify a tablet, but I can absolutely justify an eReader for actual reading. As soon as I saw the announcements for the new Kindles, I saw that the $79 version was the smallest and knew it was the best of the bunch. The Touch is somewhat interesting, but every gram matters when you hold the device for 2, 3 or even 4 hours straight.
  - microtherion 15y ago
    I bought an iPad 2 this year and haven't gone back to my Kindle DX since I got it. The Kindle has a huge advantage in battery life and some advantage in weight, but neither of those are critical in my experience (iPad battery life is sufficient for a day's use, which is good enough for me, and weight is close enough). e-Ink and LED screens each have advantages in some lighting environments. For my purposes (indoors, airplanes, low light), LED works better. The iPad has a huge speed advantage over the e-Ink Kindle, which comes into play for any activity with an eBook that goes beyond "read a page/turn the page". Finally, the iPad has better fonts; especially for technical material, the fixed-width font on the Kindle is incredibly annoying (with e.g. the dot on the "i" near-invisible). [Full disclosure: I work for Apple, but in non-iOS engineering]
zmmmmm 15y ago
Yes, absolutely - I'm not contradicting his assessment of it in his own eyes. I think if you've been fed a diet of continuous iPad for 2 years you're probably going to hate the Kindle Fire. The only thing I disagree with is extrapolating this sentiment into any kind of prediction about whether the Kindle Fire will succeed or fail in the market (which is more related to what people are commenting on his post than what Marco says himself).

by epo 15y ago

pacifika 15y ago

anything is OK with low enough standards, surely?

qntm 15y ago
Sure, but this raises enormous questions of where, exactly, the spread of personal standards is distributed for the various demographics in one's target audience.

ctdonath 15y ago

Of the people I know with various non-Apple readers/tablets, a recurring theme is making a purchase thinking it will be "good enough", then finding it isn't, and making another similar purchase or two to find a "good enough" that is ... spending enough cumulative $$$ to warrant just buying an iPad that they tried so hard not to.

todsul 15y ago
There's a HUGE difference between an eReader and a tablet. People who don't regularly read don't understand this. Many people think the iPad is a good eReader. But that's like saying a Koenigsegg is a good commuting car. Think about what makes a good eReader: * Very light * As small as possible (while retaining page size) * Long-lasting battery * Good reading screen With this in mind: * iPad as an eReader = fail * Kindle Fire as an eReader = fail * Most tablets as eReaders = fail * Standard Kindle as an eReader = excellent Personally, I can't justify a tablet, but I can absolutely justify an eReader for actual reading. As soon as I saw the announcements for the new Kindles, I saw that the $79 version was the smallest and knew it was the best of the bunch. The Touch is somewhat interesting, but every gram matters when you hold the device for 2, 3 or even 4 hours straight.
- microtherion 15y ago
  I bought an iPad 2 this year and haven't gone back to my Kindle DX since I got it. The Kindle has a huge advantage in battery life and some advantage in weight, but neither of those are critical in my experience (iPad battery life is sufficient for a day's use, which is good enough for me, and weight is close enough). e-Ink and LED screens each have advantages in some lighting environments. For my purposes (indoors, airplanes, low light), LED works better. The iPad has a huge speed advantage over the e-Ink Kindle, which comes into play for any activity with an eBook that goes beyond "read a page/turn the page". Finally, the iPad has better fonts; especially for technical material, the fixed-width font on the Kindle is incredibly annoying (with e.g. the dot on the "i" near-invisible). [Full disclosure: I work for Apple, but in non-iOS engineering]

zmmmmm 15y ago

Yes, absolutely - I'm not contradicting his assessment of it in his own eyes. I think if you've been fed a diet of continuous iPad for 2 years you're probably going to hate the Kindle Fire. The only thing I disagree with is extrapolating this sentiment into any kind of prediction about whether the Kindle Fire will succeed or fail in the market (which is more related to what people are commenting on his post than what Marco says himself).