Anyone have these? Talking about the 7’ one. Is one better or worst than the other?
Since the OP is seeking opinions, let’s move this to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Galaxy is far more flexible, kindle fires are nice but more targeted as a platform to sell books with a few other options to keep everyone interested. Also of note, several versions of kindle fires (not sure of current one) have had notoriously bad power connectors that were damaged very easily and are not easy to repair.
How big? 7’?
No comment.
I have this model Galaxy Tab 2. I’m somewhat used to the Android OS having gone from 2.2 to 4 although I can’t say I was ever proficient with the former. I did run into a problem with an update to the OS though. I had downloaded an adblocker, some anti-malware stuff and other software and the update seemed to wipe everything out. Not cool. I know it wasn’t me since I had just left the thing plugged in for a few days at the time that I knew an update was pending.
If that happens every time I’ll be very unhappy but assuming it was just a glitch, I rather like the interface. There is a lot of crapware and you would have to root the device to get rid of some of it. That however is apparently not permitted for tablets while not being an issue for phones - or at least I think I read that someplace (assume I’m wrong and check for yourself). Rooting can be risking though. I did it on my old Optimus V and it was never the same but on the Samsung Reverb, it was cake and I’ve had no issues at all.
If I have a whole bunch of Kindle books, will Amazon allow me to move them to another brand of reader?
Another brand like a nook? you can’t do that. You can use them on any type of kindle though.
I would say the Kindle Fire is more a targeted platform to sell videos, music and movies for Amazon’s Prime Instant Video service rather than a book service. The Kindle eReader is still a better reader than the various tablets. Really. It does everything the Galaxy does (or the iPad). It just ties into Amazon’s web store rather than iTunes or Goggle Play. The one you want is whichever one connects easiest to the web service you use most.
I’ve had no problem with the Kindle connectors on the 1gen or HD versions, among my circle of Kindle owners but that’s anecdotal of course.
For Christmas, I got a Kindle Fire HD and my husband got a Samsung Galaxy 7. So we have both, though neither of us has spent any time using the other’s device.
My Kindle Fire is a fun toy. I read books and play games on it, and do web surfing when I am away from home. So far it has been fun and reliable and I have no complaints. One thing to be aware of is that you don’t buy apps from the Google Play store, you buy them from Amazon. Not every app that is on Google Play is on Amazon.
My husband uses his tablet primarily to surf the web while sacked out on the sofa in the evening. He has purchased and used some circuit board software that he is impressed with and uses to do real work. He has also downloaded bunches of MIT lecture videos to take on vacations, and I have been astounded not only that the thing can hold so much video, but that it plays them back seamlessly and the battery lasts so long while doing so. He is extremely happy with it.
I think they are both good devices. The Kindle is better for people who want a toy, the Galaxy is better for people who want a tool.
From what I’ve seen, the Kindle has no microSD slot and doesn’t support USB OTG. Can someone who has the Galaxy Tab 2 confirm that it supports USB OTG (rooting/special apps needed)?
You can get a Kindle app for Android and read them on there. In fact, I’ve heard you can get the Kindle app loaded onto a Nook if you’re reasonably tech savvy since they both have an Android base operating system.
True, but it should be noted that, if you have an Android phone, an app is available to let you access the Amazon App Store on your phone as well. So, if you have some cool Free Apps of the Day, or you bought Minecraft or whatever, from the Amazon store, you can use the Amazon Appstore app to install those apps on your phone as well; you don’t have to pay for the same app twice.
(I wish I could have said “app” less, but I didn’t know how.)
If you are looking for a 7 inch Android Tablet, have you looked at the Google Nexus?
There is a kindle app available that you can use to read your kindle books on the device. It doesn’t have the Amazon Prime Instant video available, but you can use Netflix’s instant video service.
Yes, I totally forgot. Google Nexus is the way to go. Although, you may want to wait and/or do your research because I am not sure if Google is coming out with a second generation of it soon.
Actually, you can. Import them into Calibre and then export them to the new device.
The main advantage of the Kindle Fire series is that it allows you to download videos you purchased from Amazon. I bought it just for that reason, for passing time on long international flights. (However, downloading is only possible for purchased titles; the “free” Prime videos can only be streamed.)
The 7" Kindle Fire HD also has the best speakers of any tablet I’ve owned. I often use it at home to stream Amazon Prime videos. (I used it constantly last weekend as I lay in bed recovering from a sinus surgery.)
Other than those two advantages, a generic modern Android tablet is better, as they have access to the full Google Play app store. And you can still buy and download videos, you just have to buy it from Google Play. (Unfortunately the selection isn’t quite as good as Amazon.) I would recommend the Google Nexus series because they have the latest version of the Android operating system, and are usually the first to get updates.
I’ve got the Galaxy Tab 2 with the Kindle app, and it runs like a dream.
For someone that would use it mainly to stream movies and not buy it such as through youtube etc and browsing websites and chat… would that mean samsung galaxy tablet is definitely the way to go? No desire to read any books on it so that means this is an easy choice right and go with the samsung tablet?
Also, how come amazon has so many good reviews for the samsung tablet as oppose to kindle fire? I see so many negative reviews on the kindle compared to the samsung tablet.
I have a Samsung Galaxy 2 7in and I absolutely love it. I use it for everything from surfing the internet, reading Kindle books, managing my home file server, games, and watching streaming video (both Youtube and from my home file server).