Josh Topolsky on the Kindle Fire

Josh Topolsky:

I am confused about a number of decisions here, however. Unlike the PlayBook, iPad, or pretty much any other tablet on the market, the Fire has no hardware volume controls, meaning that you have to go through a series of taps (especially if the device is sleeping) to just change the volume. The Fire also has no “home” button — simply a small, hard-to-find nub along the bottom used for sleeping and waking the device, and powering up and down. That means that Amazon had to create software navigation for getting around the tablet, which would be fine… if the home button wasn’t always disappearing into a hidden menu. Also, I found myself accidentally pressing the power button when I was typing or holding the tablet in certain positions, causing the Fire to think I wanted to shut it down. I’m not sure why it’s located where it’s located, but it seems like a poor choice to me.

Man, do I love The Verge’s video reviews. They look great and are very tightly edited. If you’re going to skim, just jump to the bottom and watch the video.

Anyway, sounds like the Kindle Fire is exactly what you’d expect from a $199 Amazon tablet — the best parts are what you’d expect, and so are the worst.

★ Monday, 14 November 2011