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[outunderthestars]

So for those that have purchased a movie on Amazon Instant Video, how big is the file size for an average 90 minute film when downloaded to the Fire?

I just bought Shaun of the dead (via the amazon website) and it showed up instantly. downloading now to test the size.

edit: downloaded a 100 minute movie in 7 minutes over my crappy internet and wifi.

The file was 448 MB.

 

[Vyer]

So, uh...every time I put the Fire on my wireless, it kills the connection. grrr...

 

[VindictiveGnome]

I don't think there will be any issues with supply. They've been hyping this for months and haven't had any problems fulfilling orders.

My wife ordered me one this morning, and it arrives tomorrow. Got it mainly to stream movies while in bed. Interested to checkout Amazons selection.

When I go to order one it says delivery estimate Nov. 22 to 28th. That's with one-day shipping too! I think I may wait for one to pop up on the warehouse for a bit cheaper.

 

[Snaku]

I just bought Shaun of the dead (via the amazon website) and it showed up instantly. downloading now to test the size.

edit: downloaded a 100 minute movie in 7 minutes over my crappy internet and wifi.

The file was 448 MB.

That's pretty reasonable. How does it look? Any noticeable compression artifacts?

 

[Marty Chinn]

I just bought Shaun of the dead (via the amazon website) and it showed up instantly. downloading now to test the size.

edit: downloaded a 100 minute movie in 7 minutes over my crappy internet and wifi.

The file was 448 MB.

Ouch, that's pretty shitty quality.

 

[giga]

Ouch, that's pretty shitty quality.

Yeah, they seem to use a much lower bitrate file for "portable devices".

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018OIK0E/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[DownWithTheShip]

When I go to order one it says delivery estimate Nov. 22 to 28th. That's with one-day shipping too! I think I may wait for one to pop up on the warehouse for a bit cheaper.

That's what mine said when it was ordered this morning. Then by afternoon it had switched to shipped with an estimated delivery of the 16th. Although I have Prime with 2-day free shipping.

 

[VindictiveGnome]

That's what mine said when it was ordered this morning. Then by afternoon it had switched to shipped with an estimated delivery of the 16th. Although I have Prime with 2-day free shipping.

Ah, that's great news. I will order one right away. Thanks.

 

[outunderthestars]

That's pretty reasonable. How does it look? Any noticeable compression artifacts?

if you hold it at a normal viewing distance it looks perfectly fine.

Also, I loaded some ppts (converted to pdf) on there and they look amazing. I might suck it up and keep this thing just for the pdf viewing abilities.

 

[BFIB]

Do you mind loading a PPT file and taking some pics of going between slides?

Here is a link to Microsoft/Yahoo ppt presentation. I really appreciate it!
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...cu7_NRlpFMmma7K2Q&sig2=rVlcXpGvOt9swIUGmkaaaA

RevDM,

No problem, just got home from the gym, so give me an hour or so and I'll reply w/ some screenshots.

 

[Otheradam]

Browsing would be a lot better if you could full screen.

This is true. Between the top bar with the time/settings/battery and then a tabs bar right under that and a huge home/back/forward/bookmarks bar at the bottom, that's like 30-40% of the screen viewing space. They should scale down or get rid of the tabs bar unless you actually have tabs open.

The fact that there is no reload button on the bottom tab and only on the url link (which you have to scroll all the way back up the page for or tap the tab) is really annoying, especially if I am browsing gaf and just want to reload the front page.

 

[Vyer]

So that was interesting. As soon as I connected the Fire, my connection would die for everything without fail. Once it was off, everything was fine.

If anyone has the same issues, there's a firmware update you can push manually (you need a USB cable obviously). The newest version should be 6.1.

Just go to amazons kindle updates page.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Yeah, they seem to use a much lower bitrate file for "portable devices".

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018OIK0E/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Probably have to because of the limited storage space. Pretty bad compromise on all fronts IMO. I bet it's almost like watching a VCD.

 

[bggrthnjsus]

i have one preordered and i had a bunch of points built up from my amazon credit card so it's sort of like i'm not paying anything for it

 

[outunderthestars]

RevDM,

No problem, just got home from the gym, so give me an hour or so and I'll reply w/ some screenshots.

The Kindle Fire itself cannot view ppt files.

I just bought Quick Office which syncs with google docs and Power Point files look great!

 

[Big Baybee]

I don't know if I want to get this or the Touch.

 

[Deleted member 284]

I was hoping Amazon would have mine here by today. (lol) Anyhow, it's shipping in a cold UPS warehouse in Secaucus. The waiting game continues...

 

[Stormwatch]

I was hoping Amazon would have mine here by today. (lol) Anyhow, it's shipping in a cold UPS warehouse in Secaucus. The waiting game continues...

Yeah, mine was scheduled to arrive today but it never came and UPS never updated my tracking data. Apparently it is up in Massachusetts somewhere when it is supposed to be in Connecticut.

 

[BFIB]

The Kindle Fire itself cannot view ppt files.

I just bought Quick Office which syncs with google docs and Power Point files look great!

Dang, thats a bummer. Could you upload a few shots for RevDM?

 

[Vyer]

So far the.streaming quality is pretty disappointing.

 

[cvxfreak]

My Kindle Fire will be delivered to my house in San Francisco on the 17th -- then gotta wait another few days for it to reach Japan.

Should hopefully be here on Monday.

 

[DownWithTheShip]

Great! Amazon is using ONTRAC to ship it to my house in southern CA.

They don't exactly have the best reputation. Would rather UPS.

 

[RevDM]

Dang, thats a bummer. Could you upload a few shots for RevDM?

You're a nice guy. I appreciate the willingness.

outunderthestars, that would be great if you could!

 

[Gattsu25]

I like it, so far, but it seems to have weak wifi. It can barely detect wifi signals that the iphone can connect to with high signal strength (when I'm at work)

No twitter app is available on the Amazon store?

edit: I have to say that I really wish the recharge cable was USB

 

[outunderthestars]

You're a nice guy. I appreciate the willingness.

outunderthestars, that would be great if you could!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzaTtgk9nbM

I shot this rather quickly, so it is not the best quality, but it shows how smoothly it scrolls through the document as well as tap and pinch to zoom. Works in both portrait and landscape modes.

Sorry for the shitty quality.

I like it, so far, but it seems to have weak wifi. It can barely detect wifi signals that the iphone can connect to with high signal strength (when I'm at work)

No twitter app is available on the Amazon store?

edit: I have to say that I really wish the recharge cable was USB

I'd agree with the wifi problems. I think that is why the streaming video doesn't look as good as it should.

And yes, the new charger sucks. Why can't everyone just agree to use the same damn usb connectors?

 

[RevDM]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzaTtgk9nbM

I shot this rather quickly, so it is not the best quality, but it shows how smoothly it scrolls through the document as well as tap and pinch to zoom. Works in both portrait and landscape modes.

Sorry for the shitty quality.

Oh wow you did one better and actually loaded a video, nice! That looks really great actually. I'm assuming the app you're using doesn't allow you to edit ppt or to read the creators notes, correct?

thanks btw!

 

[outunderthestars]

Oh wow you did one better and actually loaded a video, nice! That looks really great actually. I'm assuming the app you're using doesn't allow you to edit ppt or to read the creators notes, correct?

thanks btw!

This is the app.

No problem at all! Glad I could help!

It syncs with a ton of cloud storage sites, and allows to to views, edit or create powerpoint, excel, and word files. It also reads pdf's really well.

If you don't want to buy a program, you can easily convert any ppt into a pdf and just email it to your kindle. The free PDF reader is really good at displaying those.

 

[Vyer]

Comixology works pretty well, so comics aren't bad for being a 7" screen.

Browser isn't blazing fast, but pretty snappy.

 

[RevDM]

This is the app.

No problem at all! Glad I could help!

It syncs with a ton of cloud storage sites, and allows to to views, edit or create powerpoint, excel, and word files. It also reads pdf's really well.

If you don't want to buy a program, you can easily convert any ppt into a pdf and just email it to your kindle. The free PDF reader is really good at displaying those.

Fantastic. Looks really good, I really want to put my order in but I just can't until the Nook Tablet comes out. What would it take for you to return the Fire and get the Nook Tablet?

 

[outunderthestars]

Fantastic. Looks really good, I really want to put my order in but I just can't until the Nook Tablet comes out. What would it take for you to return the Fire and get the Nook Tablet?

While I find a great deal of the Fire's quirks really annoying, I love amazon's customer service and content ecosystem. I have more faith in Amazon to continue to develop the OS and fix alot of the annoying quirks of this first gen system.

I don't keep a ton a of media on devices, so the storage space doesn't matter to me. I really bought it for basic web browsing, ppt/pdf viewing, and movie/music/tv streaming. While it isn't a perfect device, I think I like it enough to keep it.

And if not, I can always send it back in 30 days!

Comixology works pretty well, so comics aren't bad for being a 7" screen.

Browser isn't blazing fast, but pretty snappy.

I agree. I was shocked with how awesome comics looked on the thing. I just wish the had Battle Angel Alita on there. I'd love to go back and read that series.

 

[jogarrr]

Also, the mail app doesn't have an archive button for gmail users.

Figured out how to set this up:

1. Go to settings for your gmail account in the mail app.

2. Under the 'Fetching Mail' section set 'When I delete a message' to 'Delete from server.'

3. Under 'Folders' set 'Trash Folder' to '[Gmail]/All Mail' (you can set up the other folders as well).

Then you can use the trash icon when viewing a message to archive it.

 

[CzarTim]

Figured out how to set this up:

1. Go to settings for your gmail account in the mail app.

2. Under the 'Fetching Mail' section set 'When I delete a message' to 'Delete from server.'

3. Under 'Folders' set 'Trash Folder' to '[Gmail]/All Mail' (you can set up the other folders as well).

Then you can use the trash icon when viewing a message to archive it.

Thanks!

 

[CzarTim]

No twitter app is available on the Amazon store?

This bothered me at first too, but twitter's mobile site works surprisingly well.

The Kindle Fire itself cannot view ppt files.

I just bought Quick Office which syncs with google docs and Power Point files look great!

This app was free a day or two ago, and it was free a few weeks back too. Might be worth it to wait and see if anyone is on the fence.

 

[outunderthestars]

This bothered me at first too, but twitter's mobile site works surprisingly well.


This app was free a day or two ago, and it was free a few weeks back too. Might be worth it to wait and see if anyone is on the fence.

Holy crap. Quick Office was free? That's a rather pricey app to give away!

 

[jvm]

Got it, enjoying it so far. Nothing worrying about browsing or video or music.

Edit: I tried secondapps.com/neogaf to view this site and it doesn't recognize the KF as a mobile device... ideas?

 

[Marty Chinn]

Got it, enjoying it so far. Nothing worrying about browsing or video or music.

Edit: I tried secondapps.com/neogaf to view this site and it doesn't recognize the KF as a mobile device... ideas?

Post to the official thread so that the profile can get added.

 

[bangai-o]

edit: I have to say that I really wish the recharge cable was USB

im watching some unboxings, it looks like its mini usb. Im not sure what you are referring about.

 

[Robobandit]

im watching some unboxings, it looks like its mini usb. Im not sure what you are referring about.

It is (microUSB), but it doesn't apper to charge when connected to a computer.. the included cable has a wallwart (AC Adapter) on the other end.

 

[BFIB]

im watching some unboxings, it looks like its mini usb. Im not sure what you are referring about.

Yep, its the same USB, but I noticed a huge difference in the charging time compared to the Kindle Keyboard USB plug in, and the Kindle Fire plug in.

As far as streaming goes, I've had quite a few sutters in the video, but I'm sure this is all kinks that can be worked out via firmware upgrades.

The wallpapers look great, but hopefully we'll be able to upload our own at some point.

Reading The Walking Dead finally on ComiXology, and I have to say, I am extremely impressed w/ the device for a comic reader. Between that, and catching up on the new 52, I'm going to be busy for a while.

 

[Jayayess1190]

Free $25 credit for new Zinio users

Zinio didn't waste any time making its magazine store available on the newly-released Kindle Fire, bolstering Amazon's library of content with over 5,000 titles. Available publications range from Rolling Stone to The Economist, though we don't expect the majority of those to offer an experience tailored to the Fire's 7-inch screen. Most Zinio titles on other devices (including the iPad, TouchPad, and more conventional Android tablets) are strictly page-to-screen conversions, and can feel a little cramped even on larger displays. If you're okay with that, the app is available now on the Amazon Appstore for Android, and there's even a free $25 credit for new registrants that can be used against any magazine purchases.

 

[bangai-o]

It is (microUSB), but it doesn't apper to charge when connected to a computer.. the included cable has a wallwart (AC Adapter) on the other end.

that sucks if it doesnt charge connected to a PC. I didnt want to be carrying around an AC adapter.

 

[jvm]

Post to the official thread so that the profile can get added.

Done. I see I'm not the only one...

 

[upandaway]

Huuuh. Does it really not charge through the computer?

I'll need to get an American outlet adapter... dang.

 

[outunderthestars]

Free $25 credit for new Zinio users

still not up on the store.

 

[luoapp]

that sucks if it doesnt charge connected to a PC. I didnt want to be carrying around an AC adapter.

The Fire ( or tablet in general) has a greater current requirement than a PC can provide. The only inconvenience is you have to carry a usb cable.

 

[bangai-o]

The Fire ( or tablet in general) has a greater current requirement than a PC can provide. The only inconvenience is you have to carry a usb cable.

well so long as this works Im okay with it.

i wonder why they didnt just include the same charge unit they had always been including in Kindles.

 

[luoapp]

well so long as this works Im okay with it.

[/IMG]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_G47RleUYmGA/SnEesEy3qkI/AAAAAAAAE4k/PvoGyf_14pk/s400/kindle2-charger.jpg[/IMG]

i wonder why they didnt just include the same charge unit they had always been including in Kindles.

I couldn't find mine What's the output current on this thing?

 

[CzarTim]

I didn't realize the Amazon Cloud Storage includes Unlimited Music Storage for free. The 20 gigs for $20 a year is hard to pass up with that in mind. Just wish it had a Dropbox-esk service attached to it so it can auto-upload certain folders.

 

[HoTHiTTeR]

Got my Fire today - still in the box, and I don't know why...

I've got a Prime membership but still debating one of the Best Buy Black Friday tablet deals - the Transformer 10.1's or the Iconia 7" - Pretty much guaranteed one of them since I'm getting in on the early bird sale. All of the so-so reviews have me nervous.

Halp!

 

[outunderthestars]

Got my Fire today - still in the box, and I don't know why...

I've got a Prime membership but still debating one of the Best Buy Black Friday tablet deals - the Transformer 10.1's or the Iconia 7" - Pretty much guaranteed one of them since I'm getting in on the early bird sale. All of the so-so reviews have me nervous.

Halp!

open it, try it for a few weeks, send it back if you don't like it.