Why The "Kindle Fire" Will Never Replace My Kindle Keyboard 3G

The new Kindle Fire sports lots of cool things for a tablet and at a great price

Why The "Kindle Fire" Will Never Replace My Kindle Keyboard 3G


As you may have heard, Amazon just came out with a string of new kindles, all touch-screen devices, all at a great price. The biggest incoming device of course being the "kindle fire," a 7" handheld tablet that costs only $200. So ... is it worth it to get one? What if you already own a Kindle?

Here are the following reasons why I think a Kindle Fire can never replace a Kindle Keyboard 3G (as I have now)

1. 3G Capability - The new Fire sports a faster internet browser that'll be a lot quicker than Kindle 3's ancient one. Plus, on Fire you'll be able to watch things like youtube & play games and music and use other streaming media on the internet that you can't use on the Kindle 3. BUT, its only available in WiFi. Which means, all that internet streaming stuff? You'll probably be home when you use it. Which ... you might as well just use your home computer then. On my Kindle 3 I can be driving on the highway 70mph and check out the following kindle-internet optimized websites:
1. facebook, gmail, google reader, internet movie database, movie times (fandango), movie reviews (rottentomatoes), my church email, an online translator, hotmail, google news (most popular), google maps & directions, bible translations & word search, amazon.com, google docs, superherohype.com, weather.com, wikipedia
1. and there are kindle-optimized websites for each of them so they load quick on the kindle 3's internet browser whether i'm driving in the hills of northern ireland or in the mall seeing if their prices are as good as i can find online
2. Battery Life - The kindle fire's battery lasts up to 8 hrs. depending on your video and internet usage. This makes since, especially because the Fire has a dual core processor, its battery isn't going to last much longer than that. The Kindle 3 however has a battery life of a month. In my experience, I can go for 2 weeks (easy) with heavy internet usage, and not need to recharge my kindle. That's impressive. 
3. Weight - The nice thing about the Kindle 3 is that its lighter than a lot of books; you can easily hold it with one hand. The kindle fire is twice as heavy. 
4. Glare & Reading - The Fire isn't an e-ink display. It will have glare in the sunlight and the LCD screen if on full will most certainly wear out the eyes. Plus, even if there's a capability to lower the brightness of the display, now you have a dim display that's hard to read. 
5. Simplicity - one of the things i like best about the kindle is its really good at what its for: reading anything. I can read anything I want on the internet with ease whether its email or facebook. I can make my own documents and send them to my kindle wirelessly to read. And I got a bunch of great books I can read at any time. With a Kindle Fire, i feel like it would disturb my reading rather than help it as I would be more tempted to play games, online videos, and other apps that I don't need. I originally fell in love with the kindle because it rekindled my love for reading. I feel like the new kindle would do a good job of setting that love on fire.

So there's my thoughts! Not to say that a $200 tablet doesn't look enticing. It does. But it'll never replace what I already have.