Buying a Kindle Fire

Foolproof

I'm buying my gf a Kindle Fire this week, probably retail. I was wondering if anyone knows of any current promotions for this product? Also, is there anything I should know about it in advance?

Will I be able to buy some books for it before giving it away or will it need to be registered to it's owner beforehand?

Tox

I think @ceres just got one. Or was going to get one. Or wanted one, at least.

Bullio

You can buy books off of the web Kindle store at any time and use them on the Fire. Kindle purchases are tied to your Amazon account, not a device. As long as you sign into it with the account the book is tied to you'll be able to download and view the book you want.

No discounts or promos from what I've seen.

Not really sure what you'd need to know about it in advance. It does what it needs to do, but in my experience with store demo units it's a bit choppy and pokey. As long as you go into it with the mindset that it's a color ereader that also does apps, web, video, etc instead of just books and isn't intended to be a full-on tablet like a Galaxy Tab or an iPad then I don't think you (or your girlfriend) will be disappointed.

DirtyDirtyVagrant

It's somewhere between a tablet and a normal e-reader. You can use apps, play games, browse the internet, and watch netflix on it. And also read books.

I love mine - the only thing that I find somewhat annoying about it is that it keeps a giant fucking thing of all the stuff on your device and you have to scroll through it. It gets to be a lot of stuff eventually.

see317

It's probably not what you're looking for, and may not help at all because I don't know where you live, but my bank is offering a free* kindle fire when you open a checking account.
I'm screwed out of it though, as I'm not a new customer and already have a checking account.

*Offer valid only for customers residing in Colorado, Arizona, or Riverside County, CA. Offer valid for new personal checking accounts opened. Limit one gift per household, per lifetime. Limit one gift per account. The gift is redeemable online and a redemption code will be given if the account opened is in good standing, the customer enrolls for online banking, and (1) at least one direct deposit greater than $300 posts to the new account (it cannot be multiple direct deposits combined that exceed $300), or (2) three bill payments are made from the new account to three separate corporate entities using FirstBank's Bill Pay service. Requirements (1) and (2) above must be met within 60 days of account opening and the code will be sent via Internet Banking Bank Mail within 90 days of account opening. Direct deposit must be payroll, pension, Social Security or other government benefits. Direct deposit or Bill Pay enrollment must be new to FirstBank. We reserve the right to substitute gifts offered at any time with an item of similar value. Limited time offer. The cost of the gift is considered interest and is subject to IRS and other tax reporting. The cost of the gift is considered a bonus that can be revoked if the account is closed within six months of opening. FirstBank employees are not eligible to receive the gift. Amazon, and the Kindle Fire are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Kindle devices are given away on behalf of FirstBank. iPod Touch© is a registered trademark of Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, Garmin and Amazon are not a participant in or a sponsor of this promotion. Member FDIC.
**While there is no fee from FirstBank, connectivity and usage rates may apply. Contact your wireless service provider for more details.
***If you sign up for the Optional Bill Pay service and less than three bill payments are made per month, a $5 inactivity fee will be assessed.

Personally, I love my Kindle Fire. If your girlfriend doesn't already have it, getting an Amazon Prime account is worth the cost. Lots of movies/shows available to stream for ~80.00 a year, plus the normal benefits of an Amazon Prime account.
(I'm currently watching the Dresden Files series, and I'm pretty sure all three seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender are available too).

JHunz

You can buy books for it before giving it to her by choosing "Give as a Gift", then choosing an email address to send the redemption codes to. It doesn't matter if that email address is hers or not (I assume you don't want to spoil the surprise), just make sure that her amazon account is logged in whenever you open the emails and click the redeem links. Alternately, she can just enter in the codes on their website.

Also, random book recommendation:

http://www.amazon.com/Pants-Adventures-Idiot-Abroad-ebook/dp/B0057P6FNO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331524610&sr=8-1.
It's no longer promotionally free like when I got it a couple weeks ago, but I and both of my family members who have also read it all enjoyed it immensely. Well worth $3 IMO.

Foolproof

Oh, ok. I'll probably buy an amazon gift card to go with it then.

I appreciate the help.

Elin

DirtyDirtyVagrant wrote: »

It's somewhere between a tablet and a normal e-reader. You can use apps, play games, browse the internet, and watch netflix on it. And also read books.

I love mine - the only thing that I find somewhat annoying about it is that it keeps a giant fucking thing of all the stuff on your device and you have to scroll through it. It gets to be a lot of stuff eventually.

Uh, you know that by long pressing an icon you are given the option to remove it from your carousel, right?

The Kindle Fire is great for someone that doesn't want an actual tablet. It is a media consumption device and I feel it does it pretty well. The battery life is decent. I use it to veiw pdf's, excel docoments, and powerpoints for class frequently (using a 3rd party app). If your girlfriend doesn't have Prime you may want to look into that as well, the free streaming is nice. Prime is 80$ a year and gets you free 2 day shipping, 4$ 1 day shipping, unlimited streaming, and 1 book rental a month.

You can use your Kindle email to send yourself documents to read on the Fire as well. I buy ebooks from Baen and email them to my Kindle and it works fine. You can also use a usb to connect to your PC and drag and drop. The Fire, for whatever reason, does not come with a usb to micro connector for easy PC connection though.

Foolproof

Elin wrote: »

The Fire, for whatever reason, does not come with a usb to micro connector for easy PC connection though.

This is good to know, I'll look for one when I buy the device. Our public library has music and books for kindle so hopefully more free content will become available in the future.

Siska

How is the battery on that thing holding up? Is in possible to change it once it's so old it's unable to hold much of a charge?

Athenor

Siska wrote: »

How is the battery on that thing holding up? Is in possible to change it once it's so old it's unable to hold much of a charge?

Can't change the battery, but the battery life is really good. It turns off the wireless when the screen is off for more than 5 seconds or if you are in reading mode.

mts

mine lasts for 2-3 days with moderate use. i was pleasantly surprised by that. i can't stand the carousel myself and have contemplated rooting it to put on a different launcher

Crazed Llama

If you want to save a few bucks amazon sells refurbished units, they come with the same warranty as a new one.

Foolproof

got one. does anyone know if it comes with a charge on the battery or should I open it up and fill it up with electrons?

oldsak

I'm pretty sure mine had a charge on it.

see317

Mine had a light charge. Enough to read the manual up to "you should really charge this bastard..." anyway. On the plus side it charged fast and could be usedwhile charging.