Amazon Unveils "Kindle Fire" Tablet to Rival iPad

Image from CNet

Over the years, we've adopted new technologies with more and more monthly charges. My $50 cable bill swelled to nearly $200 when high-speed internet and cable phone are added in. I've got a $7.99 Netflix subscription that I can't seem to get rid of. I have a smart phone (as does The Other Half), which has pushed our $60 mobile phone bill to $120. It happens in stages. But my media charges are now up to nearly $320 per month! And now various companies are trying to convince me I should have a tablet computing device too? Bah!

Right now, I have a desktop PC and a Mac PowerBook, in addition to my 4G phone. Near as I can figure, the iPad, the new Amazon Kindle Fire, and other tablets are basically jumbo smart phones that aren't phones. Which kind of makes sense, since smart phones are used as phones only part of the time. But these pads are still very small. 7"? My phone is 4.3". My Mac is 15". I really don't need a middle step, and can't figure out why I would. And I'm certainly not adding yet another monthly fee. If I could figure out a use for it though, the Kindle Fire is priced right. As long as it hooks to wi-fi, maybe I'll check it ut.


[Excerpt]

Kindle Fire an iPad killer? Yes. It's the price, stupid


The company's new Kindle Fire tablet, a 7-inch touch-screen device powered by Amazon's content ecosystem and priced at just $199, may be an orange toApple's iPad apple, but I'd argue that it's an iPad killer all the same. . .

Read more: Cnet