[howarmat]

This is the dumbest post of them all. Do you know how slow cloud transfer is? Or are you just talking about <10MB files? I can imagine transferring a 4GB file from the cloud would take a whole day.

The GPS comment is even dumber.

i guess you dont know what the cloud is about either


Any digital media you purchase from amazon is stored in their cloud. you have over 18 million movies, mp3s, books and magazines that you can get and can be stored in the cloud server for access to your tablets, phones, PC, laptops etc. Its not for large file transfer, its for digital purchases/storage mostly that can be steamed at anytime anywhere

[adamkesher]

Trying to recall the last time I saw someone running around town snapping video or photos with a tablet computer....not getting anything. The disasterous release of the Playbook has become RIM's Vietnam, and Amazon is just piling on. At least the mystery of no Kindle for Playbook has been solved.

[Setanta]

You would think that a company with Co-CEO's (joint CEO's) would understand the benefits of the occasional joint venture.

How awesome would it have been to have gone with the Blackberry hardware and the Amazon content?????

Then, I could see a device that would have Apple looking over their shoulder for.

[vlade31]

That's a lot of capability to give up for $50.

sure, except I gain an entire ecosystem in return...Amazon Music (w/cloud storage), streaming movies and tv shows, and Amazon's Android App Store. I can run actual android apps as opposed to using a app player with limitations.

[Kerms]

Trying to recall the last time I saw someone running around town snapping video or photos with a tablet computer....not getting anything. The disasterous release of the Playbook has become RIM's Vietnam, and Amazon is just piling on. At least the mystery of no Kindle for Playbook has been solved.

LOL
Seriously though that Kindle does look interesting but I got the HP TP during the firesale and waiting for the Android port to be finished up. If not I could see myself getting a Kindle Fire to add to the collection still might.

I do think they should have put a front camera & mic on it for Skype and video chatting.

[nievz]

i guess you dont know what the cloud is about either


Any digital media you purchase from amazon is stored in their cloud. you have over 18 million movies, mp3s, books and magazines that you can get and can be stored in the cloud server for access to your tablets, phones, PC, laptops etc. Its not for large file transfer, its for digital purchases/storage mostly that can be steamed at anytime anywhere

I know that but to have access to those stuff, you have to pay right? Anyway, that's not even the point. The guy talks about the cloud like it was an extended partition.

[TBone4eva]

More storage memory.
Fine, but with the cloud I'm not sure it matters. Disclosure: I have no idea how seamless it will be to move stuff from cloud to device, so it could matter.

Dual cameras.
Nobody cares about cameras on a tablet. Except stupid bloggers reviewing based on specs and not actual use "OMG it doesn't have a camera!" Nobody cares. I could see video chat becoming a big thing very soon but for right now, 2011, it's not a big deal. You don't use your tablet as a camera, ever. That's what cell phones or cameras are for.

Microphone.
Nobody cares.

GPS.
I'm sorry, is it 2004? Nobody cares.

Everything else you mentioned.
Nobody cares.

PlayBook has ONE advantage -- the BES/security. Which it hasn't even rolled out yet, am I right?

You can say the same thing about the cloud, it's not all that mainstream in 2011 yet either. You sure you are going to be able to carry enough content when you're not around Wifi? I guess nobody cares for volume buttons or an accelerometer either, right? I also guess that nobody cares that you don't have access to the Android Marketplace either, right? Like I said though, if you're only going to use it for consuming content then it will be an excellent device, but it's an e-reader in tablet clothing and no different, other than amount of content than a Nook Color or the Pandigital Novel that my dad uses.

The one thing I do like is the Silk web browser. I think it will really show the potential of clous computing and I really wish RIM would have deployed something similar for BIS.

[TBone4eva]

sure, except I gain an entire ecosystem in return...Amazon Music (w/cloud storage), streaming movies and tv shows, and Amazon's Android App Store. I can run actual android apps as opposed to using a app player with limitations.

You can probably get most of the content anyway, though I agree having the intregration in the UI is a plus. With the limitations of the hardware you'll have limitations with some apps as well. Good luck playing a game like NFS without an accelerometer and not having access to the Android Marketplace is a minus. It means all your apps have to be approved by Amazon and 2.3 compatible so I don't see what the difference will be assuming that RIM gets decent buy in from the Android community.

[willtothewong]

I really hope RIM drops their price either right before or right after OS 2.0 comes out. As tempting as the Kindle looks, I feel my needs will be meet with the playbook + OS 2.0.

Competition is good for all us consumers =D

[shootsscores]

Trying to recall the last time I saw someone running around town snapping video or photos with a tablet computer....not getting anything. The disasterous release of the Playbook has become RIM's Vietnam, and Amazon is just piling on. At least the mystery of no Kindle for Playbook has been solved.

You have to get out more. The PB takes excellent photos/vids. People on this forum use it all the time. It's not a replacement for a dedicated camera but there are some great shots floating around on this site. A couple of folks have videoed concerts and the results are pretty impressive. You must remember, the PB is much smaller and portable than islab size devices.

[lawguyman]

Playbook's window is closing rapidly.

In addition to the Kindle Fire, there are many other good 7" tablets coming soon from Samsung, Toshiba and others.

RIM seems happy to sit idly by. Many people here explain away the do-nothingness.

The window is not closed yet - it is still open a crack.

[Mystic205]

umm.. there are plenty of news releases about playbook prices coming down to $249

you mean $499 ??

[ImGeorgeous]

Am I the only one who is curious to how/why RIM allowed this to happen?

[Beakman]

Meh. It won't be any different in effect than the Nook Color. At best, a hacked Nook. If it pulls the rug out from under the PB it will pull the rug under all tablets equally. If.

[Blacklac]

Am I the only one who is curious to how/why RIM allowed this to happen?

RIM didn't make it themselves, so if they didn't have some agreement for the manufacturing company to not use those parts for another device, I'm not sure what they CAN do. There are a few subtle changes, so maybe legally, its different? (Size is slightly different, no stereo speakers, I don't see cameras, etc.)

Just my guess though.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[howarmat]

I know that but to have access to those stuff, you have to pay right? Anyway, that's not even the point. The guy talks about the cloud like it was an extended partition.

you get space from amazon for free. i have 20 GBs of space last i checked and didnt pay for any of it. You can also upload media to it if you want.

[howarmat]

umm.. there are plenty of news releases about playbook prices coming down to $249

that is not a new retail price though. its still 499 retail and you have to rely on discounts by the stores. Its still 499 many places and RIM made it clear that there was not a "price cut" across the board

[ImGeorgeous]

RIM didn't make it themselves, so if they didn't have some agreement for the manufacturing company to not use those parts for another device, I'm not sure what they CAN do. There are a few subtle changes, so maybe legally, its different? (Size is slightly different, no stereo speakers, I don't see cameras, etc.)

Just my guess though.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

That's what I'm saying. Why didn't management have the foresight to have an agreement in place? Amazon piggybacked on the design and will ultimately be successful, or at least more successful than the PlayBook.

Imagine what would go down if someone came out with an iPad 2 without a camera...

[PineappleUnderTheSea]

you get space from amazon for free. i have 20 GBs of space last i checked and didnt pay for any of it. You can also upload media to it if you want.

And that's exactly why you won't necessarily need huge amounts of storage space with the Fire, you can sync everything to the Amazon cloud. If you know you won't have a Wifi connection, even the 8 GB is enough to get a few movies, music, and your favorite apps to satisfy the majority of users that would buy the tablet.

I think analysts are wrong in saying that this tablet won't necessarily hurt Apple: I think it will because just like the iPad, it will be very simple to use because of its closed ecosystem. So no need for grandma to buy an iPad to read books and play Scrabble, she'll be able to do that easily on the Fire for much cheaper (although screen size is still an issue, imo).

The PB, like "pure" Android tablets, is still for the technically inclined. But that is not the majority of consumers out there.

[laurah2215]

I agree with those that have pointed out the differences in specs. They're not the same tablet and thus the price difference can be justified. I don't think RIM can price the PB at $200 on any great scale (they could for sales, but not long term). Well, okay, they can price it at $200 because of retail markup, but they won't be making the same profit because it costs more for RIM to make the PB than it does for Amazon to make the Kindle and I'm sure their retail mark ups are similar.

[grover5]

Its pretty much a nook color with a better processor. I use Amazon Prime on my playbook. I don't use cloud services personally but also have that option on my playbook. I don't feel the new kindle is as good as the playbook but I want QNX apps and the QNX operating system. The android apps may be a nice bonus. At any rate, this new kindle is a scaled down android tablet much like the nook with less hardware than the playbook. I use the camera and the videocamera constantly by the way. They are fantastic for performances and events with the kids. That"s my take at least. By the way it does seem like the same folks who generally always slam the playbook have once again lined up with their bats in hand for this round as well. Funny stuff.