Any Kindle Fire owners here?

[scfr]

I'm sorry to say that I gave up reading quite a while ago because my vision just isn't great and reading books is too difficult for me.

So sorry to hear that. Have you checked library resources, either audiobooks (physical or electronic) or large print books?

[disneysteve]

So sorry to hear that. Have you checked library resources, either audiobooks (physical or electronic) or large print books?

I used to listen to audiobooks a lot in the car when I had a longer commute but I don't drive that far anymore and there is a podcast that I listen to all the time now.

I haven't looked at the large print stuff at the library. I'm sure that would be better. I like the convenience of not having to go to the library, though, and the free selection is pretty large. Plus our library has a connection to get other books electronically through them.

[Gailete]

I got my Amazon Fire 8 today. I must say the initial set up was awful. It wouldn't accept my Amazon sign in and wouldn't set the date and time so I couldn't do anything with it. It did all resolve and work perfectly when I did a "restore to factory settings". From then on, it was great. But one would not expect to have to do a factory restore on a brand new device that you just got from the factory.

I installed the Netflix app and that works great. I also downloaded a free book from the Kindle store and will see if I like reading on there. I'm sorry to say that I gave up reading quite a while ago because my vision just isn't great and reading books is too difficult for me. I'm hoping that on the tablet, I can adjust the font size to make it easier.

The device seems speedy enough so far and the controls are pretty much copied from the iPad so everything is pretty intuitive for me.

When the Kindle Fire came out I got one for hubby and one for me. They promptly went right back to Amazon. The biggest font was like trying to read small print for hubby. He has corneal lattis dystrophy and has had three cornea transplants so far. Since he couldn't read anything on it, no point in keeping it. My Fire didn't work right whatsoever. I would press on a button for the letters and the wrong one would pop up. I couldn't get it working right and so I sent them back and was very happy to go back to my Kindle keyboard. I don't know what I will do when it stops working since I have found my hands aren't too happy trying to keep typing on the screen like on my cell phone which I keep forgetting to play with and charge it. I'm not doing so well with all the latest electronic stuff. I think I just might be getting a tad old

[disneysteve]

Quick update: I've had the Fire for a few days and I love it. It is perfect for what I wanted. I've used it on the treadmill at the gym and it is a great size for that, fitting nicely on the little shelf above the control panel.

I've watched 3 or 4 episodes of hour-long TV shows on Netflix.

I'm 41% of the way through a novel, literally the first leisure book I've read in many years. When I ordered the device, reading books wasn't even on my list of reasons that I wanted it, so that's a pleasant surprise.

I haven't played with too many other features. I did install Facebook and Messenger on it but I still primarily use my phone and computer for those things. It's just nice to see a notification pop up that I have a message while I'm watching something or reading.

So far, I'd give it a thumbs up.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

The new fires have netflix? I had to root my kiddos. Maybe christmas this year is new fires. But we seriously have a ridiculous amount of tablets and stuff.

2 kindle fires for kids, 1 for me, DH has 1 and we both have android tablets t mobile and I have another table asus. Plus he has i'm looking at four laptops and writing this on a desktop. This insanity needs to stop.

[maryadavies]

Yes the newer fires have Netflix. I admit I have two tablets (one a cheapie that I play a certain game on b/c it is a space hog; I use that one for Perk too) including my kindle. I think the kindle's better for reading stuff and light web browsing, tho I do miss Firefox when I have to use it for that. (I usually watch Netflix on my PS3, PS4 or my Fire Stick btw.)

I think I mentioned you can also install Google Play on the newer ones too without rooting them. Just google on how to do that; I'd put it on a kindle if I could anyway b/c the Amazon app store is sucky and doesn't have the best selection.

And yaaa...you have to be careful. If I ever stop playing KHUX, I'll prolly sell the extra tablet on Swappa. I am a believer in electronic decluttering, believe me!

[disneysteve]

The new fires have netflix?

Yes, and it works great.

I'm really impressed with what you get for $80.

[Tabs]

Apple has created their own walled garden because, at the time, they provided "insanely great" products.

Amazon wants to achieve the same thing, but provides nothing insanely great short of a very low upfront cost of entry. Perhaps that alone is good enough reason, but I know they are not adverse to cobbling your device to just to keep you in their ecosystem.

I am not complaining though. Amazon does what they think is best to compete in this area, and it is up to us to decide if their pitch is worth it for your money.

To me though, just because something is cheap up front, it doesn't mean it's a good value down the road. I don't think it's a good overall value but that's just personal two cents on it.

[disneysteve]

To me though, just because something is cheap up front, it doesn't mean it's a good value down the road.

I guess time will tell.

I got my Fire on July 29 and have used it every single day since. I've used it at home. I've used it at work. I've used it at the gym. So far, it has performed very well. I've had no issues at all. I've used it for Netflix, the main reason I bought it, and that's great. I've done both streaming and downloading with no trouble. I've used it to read books from Kindle and have finished one novel and am about 20 chapters into another. I've used it very minimally for Facebook and web browsing but I didn't really expect to use it for those applications.

As long as it keeps doing what it's doing, I'm very satisfied.

[Nutria]

I got my wife an Astro Tab A10 and she loves it. We don't have NetFlix so obviously haven't tried viewing it.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B50DXEI