Amazon Re-Kindles Their Tablet

Breaking news! The Amazon Kindle Fire is out and I hate to say this but...I think it looks quite cool. It's a huge step up from the old Kindle design where the lack of diversity (one model, one colour) really annoyed me, because it could have been done so much more tastefully.

However, the Fire also has flaws. It's fat (11.4mm, 2.5 mm off the iPad). Interestingly though, it is 200g lighter than an iPad, which is a lot when you're carrying it in your briefcase. The new Kindle lacks a camera and a microphone, a huge omission by Amazon and most importantly, no 3g connectivity! That is pointless. There are basic abilities your tablet must have before it is even considered to be an iPad rival, and two of those are 3g connectivity and a camera. If I were even considering buying a Kindle Fire (which I'm not), those two omissions are dealbreakers for a Facebook addict like me.

It also has poor memory (just 8gb), no bluetooth, no GPS and 2 hours less run time than the iPad. I cannot stand this. I've been waiting to find a tablet where I could honestly say 'This is way better than an iPad', and I really wanted it to be this one. But I can't. The only tablet that the Kindle rivals is the HP Tablet, but I think it loses out on that rivalry as well. The HP is really well priced, and one of the only true iPad competitors (Find a bargain price on the 32gb version here)

Like: Cheap, good for books

Dislike: No 3G connectivity, no camera, a bit fat

iPad rival? No