. . . wherein Paul Gorman plays with ideas for old-school fantasy roleplaying games
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Kindle Fire
I'm posting this from my new Kindle Fire. There are a few rough edges, but it's a great value for the money. It'll be handy at the game table, although ezPDF is a must-have upgrade from the built-in reader.
Yeah... dork that I am, I let my partner buy me a Kindle just days before they announced the Kindle Fire. I love it, but every time I pick it up I am infected with the nagging suspicion that I would like the Fire better. Now, is it just me or does anyone else think that it is strange that Amazon named their e-readers "Kindle" and "Fire"? Are they trying to suggest that these things will make you burn your books?
If you only want to read non-PDF books, the non-Fire e-ink Kindle is still the best bet. For gaming PDF's (or any reference where you would want to follow hyperlinks or flip back-and-fort to different sections), I find the e-ink Kindles inadequate. I admit that I haven't looked at the Nooks.
As for tablets, the iPad is still the better device in absolute terms—more applications, a more polished user experience, and a higher resolution screen with better font rendering. The Fire is 85% as good as the iPad at 40% of the price.
For $200, I feel pretty good about the Fire. If it had been priced any higher, I'd be disappointed.
In the words of the cast of Grease, 'Tell me more, tell me more!"
ReplyDeleteThinking about one of these, but I'm betting most online reviewers aren't going to use for gaming in the same way the OSRers might.
Nice Paul. Just broke down and god the NookColor a couple of weeks ago and then I think it was a week later they released the NookTablet.
ReplyDeleteYeah... dork that I am, I let my partner buy me a Kindle just days before they announced the Kindle Fire. I love it, but every time I pick it up I am infected with the nagging suspicion that I would like the Fire better.
ReplyDeleteNow, is it just me or does anyone else think that it is strange that Amazon named their e-readers "Kindle" and "Fire"? Are they trying to suggest that these things will make you burn your books?
If you only want to read non-PDF books, the non-Fire e-ink Kindle is still the best bet. For gaming PDF's (or any reference where you would want to follow hyperlinks or flip back-and-fort to different sections), I find the e-ink Kindles inadequate. I admit that I haven't looked at the Nooks.
ReplyDeleteAs for tablets, the iPad is still the better device in absolute terms—more applications, a more polished user experience, and a higher resolution screen with better font rendering. The Fire is 85% as good as the iPad at 40% of the price.
For $200, I feel pretty good about the Fire. If it had been priced any higher, I'd be disappointed.