Kindle Fire HDX - £100 off

[Brian G Turner]

Am currently re-evaluating whether to get just the Fire 6, when the Fire HDX is now £100 off at Amazon - same price for the 16GB models, but better specs on the HDX:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CYR6UTM/?tag=brite-21

 

[Ray McCarthy]

But it's only an LCD screen Tablet. If getting a Tablet, I'd go for standard Android rather than Amazon's strange customisation. There are loads of decent cheap Tablets that use Playstore and can run Amazon's Kindle Reader, so you have same thing as Fire at similar price but more flexible.

Actual eInk Readers:
The cheap Kindle Touch on amazon.co.uk isn't the pre-Paperwhite model, but it's only £69 (Wifi, select without Promotions, same price!) and the latest (Gen 7). The screen is incredible. I just got one for someone. It's got more storage and far better screen than original Touch (Gen 4).
For a big eReader for PDFs or bad eyes, the Kindle DXG (free 3G Wikipedia) is still available internationally (or was last week) via Amazon.com
The eInk Kindles actually also run a custom Android, but you'd not guess!

 

[willwallace]

I've had the 8.9" HDX for about a year, and it's by far the best android tablet I've owned(and that's out of about a dozen over the past few years). For that price it's a steal. The screen is great and the processor is fast. If you can swing the extra $30 for the 32GB one, it's worth it in my opinion, since there isn't a microsd card slot-one of the few complaints I would have about the device. On my 32GB model, you get about 28GB free after the OS takes up it's space, so you'll have really around 12GB to play with on a 16GB model. I have 12.4 in data now, so I would have ran out of space with a 16GB model. But that's me, you can be careful about how many apps you install, and uninstall ones you don't often use.

 

[willwallace]

But it's only an LCD screen Tablet. If getting a Tablet, I'd go for standard Android rather than Amazon's strange customisation. There are loads of decent cheap Tablets that use Playstore and can run Amazon's Kindle Reader, so you have same thing as Fire at similar price but more flexible.

The screen is by far the best I've seen on any tablet. As for the OS, it is strange, but you can not get a device with as good hardware for the same price.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Well, I succumbed, and Father Christmas is going to bring me the HDX instead of the Fire 6.

At that sort of price point it's hard not to resist, especially when it has a higher screen resolution.

Main uses will be for reading Kindle books, using Amazon's cloud storage for music (so don't need to worry about memory expansion) and making editing notes. Also, iPlayer, Prime Instant Video, and YouTube viewing.

So it'll easily do what I want, and makes better sense for me to buy into this offer, then to spend more money on an Android tab with a little more flexibility but lower hardware specs.

 

[willwallace]

I think that you will be pleased with the new tablet, good luck

 

[Ray McCarthy]

It certainly looks like great value, but having used five different models of eInk Kindle and tried the Sony PRC in a shop about 7 years ago, I'd only buy a tablet for general use, not for reading. Even the earliest eInk screen beats any CRT, LCD, OLED screen for reading a lot. The latest eInk Kindle (Generation 7 Touch) is fabulous.

Re Cloud:
No such thing, it's just the hosting available since 1960s, but now more available via Mobile and Broadband, in diagrams since 1980s we always represented the "Network" outside the premises as a Cloud symbol. This was adopted in diagrams for Internet even before 1992 (when Web sites started).
I certainly do not have the Internet reliability or cap to use "so called" cloud instead of my local server. I can't afford Mobile data at all.
Also security, access and privacy isn't trustworthy on so called Cloud services. I would absolutely not use MS, Google or Amazon for my own material. I'm only prepared to use Amazon's Cloud for stuff I purchase from Amazon.
I don't put very much private stuff on my own hosting, which has known security (we have no idea what Amazon, Google, Microsoft do) and has had far better up time. Curiously Amazon is 2nd best, Google 3rd and Microsoft Drive/Azure a very poor 4th. They ought to know how to do it.
People running a business and not having a mirrored NAS (4 people) or proper server, or cheap cluster and using "Cloud" instead are barking mad. One Administrator in 1000s instead of one in house person away from disaster. Or a local digger. There is a reason why the Data Centre / Cloud Services / Hosting my last employer sold services of had two different fibre routes and a very high capacity Microwave link. How many businesses using so called Cloud have alternate Broadband connection?

 

[Brian G Turner]

I'm only prepared to use Amazon's Cloud for stuff I purchase from Amazon

That's precisely why I wanted a Kindle - I'm turning all my books and music into a digital library I can store in the cloud, and access almost wherever I want.

I also no longer need to worry about losing all my books and CD's if the house burned down. Certainly not the important ones.

As for personal hosting vs corporate hosting - the vast majority of people will never be able to protect their digital assets online as well as Google and Amazon can do for them.

And nothing on the internet is truly private, ever.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Just lose them when Amazon deletes them!
Far better to make your own backups, keep a backup at friend/relative and/or your hosting if worried.
Use your own hosting
Keep a local copy.
Amazon is not answerable to you at all. Amazon nor Google nor Microsoft can be trusted to be a primary repository.
Amazon and Google are ZERO protection! Google definitely scans your content.

The so called Cloud is just hosting with less security, less up time, less privacy, less assurance of it being there tomorrow. Where are geocities or Microsoft "Plays for sure" today?

Cynical? I've worked in IT on and off since 1980 and my last job was with a major ISP / Hosting company selling Cloud services.

 

[markpud]

Lots of valid points Ray. I much prefer leveraging the Cloud as an affordable off-site backup whilst keeping a local copy (and local backup copy) at home... My latest phone purchase had 100GB of Google Drive thrown in!

 

[Brian G Turner]

Well, absolutely loving my touchscreen Kindle - I'm doing everything I need to with it. Barely use my iPhone for anything now, not least because I barely make any calls with it. My Kindle has also cured me of my desire for a Sony Xperia Z series - though I am keeping an eye out on the Xperia Z4 for when it comes out later this year, and might consider it next year, if the price has dropped enough.