Comment by nhangen | Hacker News Reader

Comment by nhangen | Hacker News Reader

I'm really disappointed with Marco's review because, quite frankly, it feels like he came into the purchase expecting to be disappointed, and colored his review as such.

Yes, it's not an iPad, we all get that. Stop reviewing every device as if it were.

I have an iPad, and love it to death. However, I bought the Fire because I'm a developer and I wanted to use my experience with it as a test to determine whether or not I should develop for it. My conclusion? Yes I should.

It's not perfect. Some of the hardware buttons seem like an odd choice. The back button does indeed fail sometimes, but that's it.

I think the touch works better than on any Android device I've used in the past, and I thought the mail app was just fine. Media is decent, and the Amazon Music/Video integration is awesome.

The screen size is a strange one, but I got used to it. The only thing I have really gotten used to is the weight, but I suppose that I will in time.

In short, it's not an iPad, but I didn't expect it to be.

Sure, but you're an edge case: most people don't buy tablets so they can develop for them. From a consumer perspective, its very much more a comparison to existing tablets, and especially the iPad (being the leading tablet).

There are arguments in favor of the Fire over the iPad--price comes to mind--but I very much think a comparison is appropriate.

True, but Marco didn't even mention price. The KF price is just 40% of the iPad price, and while the iPad has certainly raised expectations, it's unfair to expect a $199 tablet to perform at the same level of the iPad.

Marco has his mind made up on the Android, and though I'm not an Android fan (some would call me an Apple fanboy), I don't think he is giving this device a fair shot.

Why is it "unfair" to compare to the iPad? What else is there to compare to?

It sounds like you were the one expecting him to cut some slack for the Fire - "it's a cheap Android device after all" - not the other way around.

> What else is there to compare to?

No tablet at all, of course! Those are the people this is targeting.

It's sort of like comparing a Fiat 500 (the original ones) to a Ferrari. No, it's not as good. However, it's probably better than nothing for most people buying one.

I don't think accounting for price is equivalent to him cutting slack for the Fire.

However, to answer your question:

Any Android or WebOS tablet on the market still. The Nook Color Older Kindle models iPod Touch (Same price class, similar features)

Yes, the iPad SHOULD be in the conversation, but just as it defined the tablet market, so too did the Kindle define the e-reader market. It's a brand new market, and I have a hard time believing it's never going to evolve or see a worthy competitor.

> Marco has his mind made up on the Android, and though I'm not an Android fan (some would call me an Apple fanboy), I don't think he is giving this device a fair shot.

I don't think any tablet coming after the iPad (and iPad2) has a fair shot, to be honest... the market's boundaries are actively being defined by Apple and they aren't going to play nice.

A Nook with CM9 would warrant another look, though.

The Fire is going to get CM9 too (and probably will have an easier time of it, to boot).

Separately, there are plenty of markets where non-iPad tablets are going to get more than a fair shot (see: India and China). And there are plenty of reviewers that think Amazon has found one.

Me, I think they're probably on to something, but there are clearly rough edges they need to work on. That's why I believe the rumors that they've already started on an ICS upgrade for the Fire.

I don't think that the screen size is weird. It's good for people who don't want a size bigger than an iPhone but smaller than an iPad. I could see myself using one for commutes.

I think he was genuinely expecting a worthy iPad competitor. That's the impression I got from the (far too many) discussions about it on his podcast.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com