Alan has a review. So does Ace of Spades, Walt Mossberg at the WSJ, and Engadget.
I’ll say this as a comment on how much my kids like it. I’ve already had to referee their first big fight over who gets to use it.
My kids use the Fire for the video more than for the apps so far, though it will be interesting to see if that changes over time. I like the Kindle Fire best as a video and Android app platform. For Web browsing the 1000 x 600 screen is unsatisfying, so I surf from our Windows computer when we’re at home. If we’re out, then the Fire is a better Web browser than my wife’s Samsung Android phone and lightyears better than my Blackberry, but so far we haven’t thought to take it with us.
I think Rex Hammock is right that iPad vs. Kindle Fire isn’t really a vs. The Fire really starts making a lot of sense if you’re an Amazon Prime customer. That’s when you start getting free TV shows, movies, and the one book a month from the Kindle lending library. The iPad’s bigger screen makes it a better browsing platform, and the iPad has a bigger app library and more gadgets like the GPS and camera.
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I really agree with the “vs.” statement. If nothing else, the different sizes make for different use cases. (Not to mention price – someone pointed out you can get 2 Fires and a Touch for the price of an iPad.)
I rarely get to use the iPad – the wife has it for surfing or the daughter has it for her apps. I’ve got a Nook Color (hacked to run Android) that I use as an eReader (Kindle App mostly) and a RSS reader. If I’m going to blog or do serious surfing, then I turn to the laptop. For either tablet, they are a supplement to our existing computers.
On a bit of a tangent… It blows my mind to think about how many connected devices we have in the house. I’ve had a LAN of one flavor or another in my house for years – who knew it would be common place now. And wireless to boot!
I enjoy reading on my wifi kindle 3; eReaders are to books as MP3 players / iPods were to music. About 200 books in my to read queue on it, good screen, long battery life and the price was right.
IMO, pads are spendy faddish limited use devices with functions and price ranges better suited to netbooks/small but full function laptops like 10″ to 12″ 2 to 3 pound units.