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Alternatives to Fire

M

Manute

Newbie
Hello all.

I have been looking at the Fire for awhile, but I am not convinced that it is the best tablet for me.
My main uses would be reading books and watching movies.
I have been looking for alternatives to the Fire (7inch screen)for around the same price point.
I have seen people mention the Flyer at $300 the Lenovo A1 at $200 and the Archos.

Any recommendations or other suggestions? Let me know.

I would like to be able to add my own movies and books to the tablet.

Thanks
 
Manute said:
Hello all.

I have been looking at the Fire for awhile, but I am not convinced that it is the best tablet for me.
My main uses would be reading books and watching movies.
I have been looking for alternatives to the Fire (7inch screen)for around the same price point.
I have seen people mention the Flyer at $300 the Lenovo A1 at $200 and the Archos.

Any recommendations or other suggestions? Let me know.

I would like to be able to add my own movies and books to the tablet.

Thanks
Click to expand...


Nook color, nook tablet, and there's a tablet for $190 at best buy on black Friday. I don't remember the make and model though.
 
You can get the BB Playbook for about $200 as well. (Staples will have it on BF) I personally wouldn't, but it is an options if you really like the 7" form factor.
 
Yeah, was gonna say the Playbook or Flyer, but I personally wouldn't go that route. The Playbook is crap and the Flyer doesn't have Honeycomb. This is a pretty solid tablet at this price point and size.
 
Personally, I wouldn't jump onto the KF until it gets rooted/ROM'd. If you're ok with the limitations that Amazon built into it, it's a good choice. Just don't expect it to do half of what all the other tablets do.
 
Other than the Amazon Prime Video service is there anything else that can't be accessed on other Android Tablets?
 
Manute said:
Hello all.

I have been looking at the Fire for awhile, but I am not convinced that it is the best tablet for me.
My main uses would be reading books and watching movies.
I have been looking for alternatives to the Fire (7inch screen)for around the same price point.
I have seen people mention the Flyer at $300 the Lenovo A1 at $200 and the Archos.

Any recommendations or other suggestions? Let me know.

I would like to be able to add my own movies and books to the tablet.

Thanks
Click to expand...

If your main uses for this are to read books and watch movies then why do you think it wouldnt be the right tablet for you? Those two features are the primary focus on this device. And for the price, i dont think you can get any more simple. :confused:
 
psipher said:
Other than the Amazon Prime Video service is there anything else that can't be accessed on other Android Tablets?
Click to expand...

No I think you can basically do everything and more on another tablet of your choice. The point here is that the Fire is offering all Amazon has to give you in one unified package. It's simply a consumption device for media and web browsing. Its not intended for power users.
 
psipher said:
Other than the Amazon Prime Video service is there anything else that can't be accessed on other Android Tablets?
Click to expand...
Can't you just watch that through the browser on any Android tablet? You might need to set the user agent to desktop, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.
 
I would go with an old, yet great tab, the Samsung Galaxy 7.0 tablet. Sure, it is old, but it works great and you can get it for a great price nowadays.
 
Manute said:
Hello all.

I have been looking at the Fire for awhile, but I am not convinced that it is the best tablet for me.
My main uses would be reading books and watching movies.
I have been looking for alternatives to the Fire (7inch screen)for around the same price point.
I have seen people mention the Flyer at $300 the Lenovo A1 at $200 and the Archos.

Any recommendations or other suggestions? Let me know.

I would like to be able to add my own movies and books to the tablet.

Thanks
Click to expand...
If it must be a 7" and you'll just be using it for watching movies and reading books the original nook color can be bought for less than $180 new and close to $140 used. It has a microsd slot which can store many more movies than the 8gb the kindle fire can. The dual core really isn't necessary for the tasks you want to do (movies and books).

However if you're willing to consider another form factor I highly suggest the HP Touchpad. It can be bought for less than $200 used (craigslist) and is by and large a much more powerful tablet (functionality wise like apps and hackability) and would give you a more pleasurable movie viewing experience on the 9.7" display.
 
If i were you i would wait just a bit longer. The Samsung Galaxy tab 7.7 should be out in a month or so. It may be a bit over your budget buts its specs are worth it imo. It will have a 7.7" Super Amoled Plus 1280x800 screen, a 1.4 ghz processor, 3mp camera and 5100mah battery for 10 hours of vid playback.
 
Nook Tablet seems to be the closest competitor - assuming Amazon doesn't trump itself with a rumored 8.9 or 10.1 inch tab before the new year is rung in.
 
HP Touchpad? Pretty much anything that's "affordable and cheap" that is rootable is worthwhile. Nook Color is something worth looking into if you don't want to go the Kindle Fire route.
 
Manute said:
Hello all.

I have been looking at the Fire for awhile, but I am not convinced that it is the best tablet for me.
My main uses would be reading books and watching movies.
I have been looking for alternatives to the Fire (7inch screen)for around the same price point.
I have seen people mention the Flyer at $300 the Lenovo A1 at $200 and the Archos.

Any recommendations or other suggestions? Let me know.

I would like to be able to add my own movies and books to the tablet.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I don't understand why you are looking for a tablet other than the Kindle Fire if your main use is for reading books and watching movies?

The Kindle Fire is a tablet that is made for reading and watching movies. It is also tired to the biggest online store where you can purchase book, movies and music from and stream them to the Kindle Fire. Amazon has alot of free books. With an Amazon Prime membership (only $79 per YEAR), you get free streaming movies and tv shows; also you get one free book rental a month.

The Amazon Kindle is perfect for you.
 
You quite literally get what you pay for with tablets, as well.

I would certainly consider simply saving up for a longer period of time, and then considering Asus Transformer Prime, iPad 3 eventually, and so on.

I realize this doesn't particularly answer the thread question, but with the higher classed options coming out (and even the ones out, iPad 2, etc) you "will not be disappoint," as they say. I also know you said your uses were simply movies and reading, but eventually you will want more -- once you realize all you can do -- and you will be looking to replace the cheaper tablet fast.
 
ylexot said:
Personally, I wouldn't jump onto the KF until it gets rooted/ROM'd. If you're ok with the limitations that Amazon built into it, it's a good choice. Just don't expect it to do half of what all the other tablets do.
Click to expand...

I think it would be more inline to say that you wouldn't expect it to do 85% of what other tablets can do. I mean it's a fairly functional device...yes it does have it's limitations but for the price it's pretty on point.
 
I think the Nook Tablet is about the only thing that is really comparable to this because both of them are limited in what they can do stock out of the box. If you pay a bit more for an actual full-featured tablet you will get all the functionality that these two lack.
 
Saltine713 said:
I would go with an old, yet great tab, the Samsung Galaxy 7.0 tablet. Sure, it is old, but it works great and you can get it for a great price nowadays.
Click to expand...

I second this. I've got this and the 10.1 Galaxy Tab and I frequentlyf ind myself going back to the 7.0. It's a very nice tablet. Nice size. Reliable. Just works. If I was travelling somewhere I'd carry it over the 10.1 any day.
 
For your needs this seems like a good tablet for you! Especially if you like to use Amazon's services.
 
jestyr said:
I think it would be more inline to say that you wouldn't expect it to do 85% of what other tablets can do. I mean it's a fairly functional device...yes it does have it's limitations but for the price it's pretty on point.
Click to expand...


You're right, it probably only does 15% of what a real tablet does out of the box.
 
Thanks for the responses...

I would like to clarify some things.
1. I would like to add my own content, not Amazon content. I have movies and books from alternative sources that I will be using.
2. I live in Canada, but have access to a USA mailbox.
3. I have time, I'm not going out tomorrow to buy a tablet, I'm just looking for suggestions for tablets to research.
4. Thanks for all the replies and advice.
M
 
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