Kindle Fire: Ten Important Things to Know

Kindle Fire is making a name for itself because of its $200 price and because so many people are getting used to the idea of a tablet computer. iPad came out just a couple years ago, and widespread adoption of the large screen devices has not happened outside of the notable Apple products. Now that people have seen tablets in use and can see themselves owning one, the Kindle Fire fits right in line with what people think they should cost. First, you need to know the Kindle Fire will not be able to access the Android Market. Apps can be downloaded instead from the Amazon Appstore. Many popular apps are there, but there aren't as many programmers out there making new exciting apps for Kindle Fire. Not yet.

It's also important to keep in mind there is limited space available on Kindle Fire for downloading things. If you get something from Amazon, they will store it on their servers for you, but everything else you want will have to be kept to a minimum. There are about six gigabytes of storage available, while it's not a tiny amount, if you are an avid downloader, it will get used up fast. The fifth thing you should know is that Kindle Fire is a seven inch tablet with 1024x600p resolution. That equals about 169 pixels per inch, a rate that is about half what the iPhone 4S displays. It means the images displayed may not appear as sharp on Kindle Fire as they will on other devices. Those devices many not have a $200 price tag, though. Next, you should know Kindle Fire is a Wi-Fi only device, and this is a good thing. Yes, you need to be near a hot spot to connect to the Internet, but you don't have to sign any contracts or pay any monthly data fees either. Kindle Fire comes with its own charger, but can be charged by connecting to a laptop via USB as well. The battery will last for up to eight hours if you are just reading (with Wi-Fi turned off). Let us know in the comments if you are trying to decide between Kindle Fire and the iPad.