Amazon announced their 7-inch Android tablet, the Kindle Fire, to the tech world today at a New York press conference, but we thought we’d take a look at what it can’t do rather than what it can.
While the tablet has a lot to offer, you should be well aware of what you are actually buying and what it can’t do when compared to other tablet devices on the market.
Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet may be based on a version of Android, but it is not an ‘Android Tablet’ in the way a Samsung Galaxy Tab or Asus EEE Transformer Tab is. It is not running the tablet-specific Honeycomb version of Android and this is a major drawback.
If you’re expecting a fully-fledged tablet experience for $199 then this is not the tablet for you. The price means it is being aimed at customers who want something simple and effective – but not something that can really compete with the iPad 2’s of this world in some ways.
The Kindle Fire runs on a heavily reworked version of Android (possibly Gingerbread 2.3) and with this you’d probably even struggle to recognise the revised user interface. Amazon has revamped it and redesigned it to suit their needs, and to bring all their online multimedia and services to one small device.
Already there are numerous reports to suggest it’s a version of Android 2.3, aka Gingerbread, which will almost certainly create limitations in app availability from the offset.
Now, the Amazon App Store does have some great apps from trusted brands, but it lacks the depth and breadth of the actual Android Marketplace.
In terms of hardware it’s a similar story. The Fire doesn’t have a camera or microphone – so no video chat – and it doesn’t have 3G or GPS functionality, only Wi-Fi connection.
Ultimately, the device is a hub for a host of media connections. You’ve got access to apps (and some very good ones at that, including Angry Birds and Plants Vs Zombies), movies, music and cloud storage. It’s just that the device is missing a few key features that you’d see on most other tablets – but hey! It’s only $199.
Although Amazon is using an Android base for its product, the company has effectively created its own platform. The price point is fantastic and the tablet will sell well with current Kindle users, but it not a iPad killer, far from it in fact.
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