December
7
Kindle Fires are being returned to Amazon
Kindle Fires are being returned to Amazon
Although it has been on the U. S. market for just three weeks, Amazon’s Kindle Fire is expected to become the second-most popular tablet in the world by the end of this year, according to the research firm IHS.There were 3,678 write-ups in all, nearly half of them (47%) glowing five-star reviews that basically said the same thing (Typical headline: “Outstanding value at $199″).But the device is not having a very good week.
To get a feel for what makes them unhappy — and how unhappy they are — we spent some time Saturday morning reading the Kindle Fire feedback on Amazon.com.There have been complaints on Amazon community forums by some Kindle Fire users who are experiencing problems accessing Wi-Fi networks and the Internet.All happy Kindle Fire customers, to paraphrase Tolstoy, are the same. Unhappy customers, however, are unhappy in their own way.
“Using the Web with the Silk browser is clunky and error-prone.On the older Kindles, it’s easy to keep a finger on the button when all you use it for is to turn the page. Reading downloaded magazines is not much better.” How do the iPad reviews compare? Amazon doesn’t promote the iPad like it does the Kindle, and it only sells it through third party vendors. But of the 475 iPad 2 reviews posted on Amazon.com, more than 60% gave it five stars and only 7.2% gave it one star.
A couple of disappointed customers had to return defective devices, but only one asked for his money back. He was upset because he couldn’t charge the device using USB port on his (old) Windows laptop.The Kindle Fire is inferior to Apple’s tablet, to be sure, but it’s much smaller and much cheaper — so that should be no surprise. Other Kindle Fire reviews have been much more positive, and I think the device will find a big audience of consumers willing to sacrifice some performance and size for the more attractive price.”
“The Fire is a heavy object. The lack of physical buttons for turning the page also impedes on the reading experience for fiction. It’s unpleasant to hold for extended periods of time. Unless you have forearm muscles like Popeye, you can’t comfortably sit and read an engaging novel all evening.In contrast, tapping an area of the screen disrupts reading enjoyment, is slightly error-prone, and leaves smudges on the screen. The Fire screen also has more glare than the traditional Kindle.”
