General Chat

Would a kindle fire be suitable for somebody old
and who only puts the news and TV listings up :-D

Depends which model it is - not all Fires have both front and rear facing cameras.

As I said earlier, you can get much better performing and better value kit but there are some who are duped by the Amazon hype I suppose.

I have the Kindle Fire. I am off to Scotland soon and will be taking it. If e-mails is your no 1 then its perfect. You just press the e-mail sign and you are straight in. I use it for Facebook as well. The only thing I cant sort out so far is the camera. You go on camera and it takes a photo of you lol

Thanks Anne.

My daughter in law has a tesco Hudle, she uses it for facebook, emails, reading and loves it.
Anne

Thank you Errol, Mersey and Brenda

Hi Ann,
I have my iPad 2 which I bought 4 years ago and I have loved it..
But last year I decided to buy a mini,synced it with my larger model and find it easier to carry around...took lovely photos while in Oz with it and as I'm used to Apple ,I can use either.
I still use my larger iPad as well at home.
Suppose my 4 yr old will soon be outdated,but I have backup!

Just noticed this ....

Hi Ann I have the Kindle 8.9 HDX now and for me (personally) its excellent for what I need it for....reading, internet and downloading ....so easy to use.....Each to their own I suppose, but well worth looking at the reviews ....... :-D

Enjoy whatever you choose :-D

I think all that refers to is the fact that you don't slot a sim card in as you do with some tablets.

It has wifi built in so can connect to any public wireless network (pub, cafe, Tesco etc) or your own home network.

You could (possibly) use the micro USB slot to connect a wireless dongle if you really wanted to, or tether your phone.

However, the easiest way is simply to use the built in wifi and connect to either your home network or a wireless hotspot - just ask if you need instructions for how to do this but it is very easy so don't worry.

OH just looked up the Hudl2 and it says 'no wireless data' Anyone know what that means? Does Wifi have to be downloaded/paid for separately?

Thank you again Errol and thanks also Rollo. shall have a look at the Tesco Hudle then, or the Samsung, which I think may be the one my sister has.

yeah, Errol is bang on the Tesco HUDL2 is terrific value for money and not stuffed with bloatware. Tough too.
don't hang about though it is a product line which may get pruned.

OTOH if what you really want is a small tablet then a Samsung Note is far better than Kindle Fire. I have a KF (with color) but pulled the Amazon OS and installed vanilla Android (not for the faint hearted).

Nearly all of them installed a shedload of bloatware ( Tesco v little ) some of which can be disabled if not removed but it takes up a lot of memory. Amazon is an especially bad repeat offender. If you have a device on contract that is fair enough as it underwrites the price but not ok at all if you shell out up front.

If it is merely for occasional use then I would be tempted to go for a low end machine.

Surprisingly, you could do an awful lot worse than Tesco's very own (and recently revamped) bargain basement Hudl which has also had a price reduction.

(I know you didn't want to be bamboozled by loads of suggestions but it really should be considered.)

Thank you Errol, that is very helpful. I do already have an IPad but when away and 'joining the coffe shop brigade' to access emails it is a bit heavy and inconvenient to lug around. I will have another think.

For a cheap piece of kit it isn't too bad but I would never buy one to use as a tablet.

The sound is quite good - which is useful if you are using it for Amazon's desired intention of buying from them (particularly films). But there is a lot more that is missing.

I do take exception to parting with my hard earned cash for the privilege of having Amazon push products my way - and then parting with even more just to have that facility removed at point of sale!

They are not badly manufactured for something in that price range and are ok if you are purely using them to access the Amazon store (although the Fire can be very slow when doing this).

The interface can be a little slow and is somewhat clumsy and confusing, especially when used for email, and things that you would normally expect of a tablet are, well, simply not there.

There are far, far better tablets out there if you want to join the masses of pseudo-iPad toting buffoons in coffee shops up and down the country.

And there are even pieces of kit which are not pretenders and do the job infinitely better without an overinflated price label.

Has anyone got a Kindle Fire? If so, how do you rate it? Is it convenient for accessing the Internet (emails, Facebook, Genes). Is it easy to use?

I am only interested in the Kindle fire, mainly to use as a tablet. I already have one of the original Kindles.And please no info on other tablets at the moment. Thanks.