eReaders Throughout the Years-Kindle Fire

My Kindle Fire

If you're new here, check out my first post about this series where I explain what I am working on this month here. Today's post is going to be going over the Kindle Fire, Amazon's tablet. For starters this tablet was called the "Kindle Fire" when I was gifted the first generation. Now if you look for it on Amazon it is simply referred to as "Fire". Today's review will be looking at how this machine holds up to reading and why it'll always hold a place in my heart.

I was gifted the very first generation Kindle Fire tablet in 2011 for Christmas by my wonderful mother. This was easily one of my
favorite presents that year and I immediately loaded it up with books, excited to finally make the venture into being a part of the Kindle family. I loved the sheer size of the Kindle book store and that I could access it straight from the device. My older Sony reader had no WIFI capabilities and the limited books available had to be downloaded to a computer then saved onto your reader. Today, on my third Kindle, I still love the Kindle store. It's convenient, has a great selection, and of course because I have been using it for 9 years the recommendations are pretty spot on.

I used my Kindle consistently for approximately six years. My primary uses were to read novels and watch Amazon Prime videos. It worked well for both but where it had a clear advantage over my later Kindles was that I was able to easily read comics and magazines. The screen is bright and crisp, and unlike the Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, or Kindle Oasis it is in color. This bright color screen is definitely a disadvantage though if you are looking to use this anywhere that is particularly bright. I could not read outdoors or when traveling in a plane or car by day without dealing with a large amount of glare on the screen. This is ultimately what would drive me to consider other Kindles years later.

The Fire of today is a different beast and advertised more heavily as a tablet since it dropped the

Image from Amazon's site

"Kindle" aspect of its name. My grandparents each have one that they use daily to play puzzles on and keep mentally sharp while my eight year old cousin has the kid's edition that she plays various games on and occasionally reads on. They all still love their tablets.

When I was gifted my tablet there really was only one option: a black 7" tablet. Now there are five models available to include the Fire 7, Fire HD 8, Fire HD Plus 8, Fire HD 10, and of course the Fire HD 8 kids edition. Each offers a variety of speakers, screen size, battery life, colors, operating capabilities, and of course price points. They range from $49.99 to $149.99 with frequent sales that allow you to get them cheaper.

What do I like about the newer models? I do like the sudden increase in options. If you're primarily into reading full page comics or watching movies, you're going to want the bigger Fire with better speakers. If you see that as a secondary focus and are planning on reading more books then you can go for the smaller, more budget friendly option. If your kids want to read and play games you can go for the Fire that has a super protective case and parental controls. There is also an increased sense of individuality that I have seen with a greater color selection. Rather than just black you can now select

Colors from Amazon's site

from black, white, twilight blue, plum, and in some models slate.

The screen is obviously still going to be an issue for reading outdoors or in a very bright location. If reading is going to be your primary focus and you need something you can use in all locations, this isn't going to be it. Another consideration is the battery life. I have known multiple people that within a few years have to replace their Fire tablets due to the battery failing. For the price, that is not too terrible and most people I have talked to don't mind having to replace it after a couple of years, but if you are looking for something with a longer life I would read some reviews and forums on the battery issue to see if it is isolated to a few generations or a bug that has been worked out. My Fire is almost a decade old and has not had any such issues.

Despite these flaws, the Fire is still a solid choice for the more casual reader who wants a multipurpose device. If you want to watch movies, play games, have apps, but also be within the Amazon family of devices I think this is a pretty solid device. It has worked well for me and the line seems to be improving.

Next up in this series of eReaders throughout the years I will be covering the Kindle Oasis, Amazon's luxury dedicated reader. Check back next week to see if it's worth the price and happy reading!