So, I have been a Kindle user since the Kindle 2, I think I own 400+ books. I have had the Kindle 2, the Kindle 3G (a couple of them), the keyboard-less Kindle (for my kid), and a Kindle Paperwhite. Of course in the past two years, I have done far more reading on the Kindle App for iPad (2 and then retina-display iPad 3). The actual kindle e-reader was limited to outside use in summer, and occasional use on trips. While the touch screen paperwhite was good, it wasn't quite all that impressive.
when the Kindle Fire came out I thought it was intriguing, but seemed un-necessary with an iPad; and the sub-retina display on the first ones failed to impress me. (It is amazing how once you use a retina display, you see PIXELS on anything else). Yet the Fire still seemed interesting. And the Fire HD and then HDX seemed to over-come the PIXEL issue. I made the mistake of playing with one in Best Buy. I could immediately see how the redesign of the Kindle iPad app was really tied to the the design of the Kindle app on the Fire. I was curious. And then I had about $200 in Amazon gift cards after christmas...
Yup, I bought a 7" Kindle Fire HDX, spent a little extra for the 32GB model. It came on Friday. Two days later, I have the following reflections. As a 7" tablet, it has all the failings that I found with all 7" tablets; but as a Kindle e-reader, it is very nice. I like the size, the easy access to my Prime Video (for the gym), The screen resolution is stunning. Definitely a locked-down version of Android, but given its intended usage and audience, it is pretty decent.
I decided I would not put social media (other than log-in to Good reads), or email on it. My iPad is my tablet. This is a reader. and by using it as such, I will avoid all the distractions that reading on the iPad brings. i.e., constant notifications. So far, it is quite enjoyable. Feels like a Kindle, (granted, I had no interest in the iPad-sized 8.9" model). Was it worth the price? Time will tell. But it was Christmas, and I wanted a new toy
