Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Kindle Fire HD 7" and 8.9" screen resolutions...TuneIn Radio app...Kindle's 5th anniversary.

This image from The Book of Spells for Wonderbook (for PlayStation 3) has been showing up on the lock-screen of the Kindle Fire, as I haven't opted out of the "Special Offers" because some of the discount offers have been useful for me (though not this one as I've no interest in PS3's or Harry Potter).

  But, the image display was striking so I thought I'd take a screenshot (how?) of it and look at the resulting file, since the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD has a screen resolution of 1280x800 pixels.

  Here's what the resulting screenshot file is like in the original 1280x800 image resolution size.  Seen on a 7-inch display instead, the result is pretty sharp.

The new 8.9" Kindle Fire HD
  In comparison, the 8.9" Kindle Fire HD just released has a screen resolution of 1920x1200, or 254 pixels per inch (ppi) on an 8.9" display.
  That's vs a screen resolution of 1024x768 (163 ppi) on the 7.9" iPad mini.

Increasingly, comparison reviews of the iPad mini with other 7" - 9" tablets show more discontent with the screen resolution of the iPad mini at $329 (while loving the apps and the lightness of it) and more appreciation of the Kindle Fire HD's special features as well as for the Google Nexus' pure Android-ness.

  I collected a large assortment of these and will quote some specifics from those in the next day.


Some useful and popular apps (most are free)
  In the meantime, note the currently top-rated apps for the Kindle Fire models.

    Recommended Android app today: TuneIn Radio.

    This has 742 customer reviews, with an average rating of 4.6 stars.


Kindle turned 5 yrs old yesterday
Many tech sites noted the 5th anniversary of the Kindle, which began the recent intense interest in e-books and reading, due in large part to the ability to get a book within a minute without needing to connect to a computer.

  The free cellular network access for 3G downloads, which don't require WiFi networks either, remains a feature of the Kindles that offer 3G.  All the new e-readers with that feature (including the 3G Paperwhite) still offer free Wikipedia access also, from almost wherever you are, 24/7.

For nostalgia, here's a photo of the first Kindle e-reader, doing the web (slowly) at a cafe.  It was not the sleekest creature but that strange silver, mercury-like vertical cursor column with scroll wheel was a kick.  We couldn't access the screen directly with a cursor but could indicate the line wanted and had to choose from several words in the row when wanting a word definition or a search... And, hard to believe today, it was $390 and sold out for most of its time, before the Kindle 2 was released in Feb. 2009, for $360. (Yes.)


Interesting Kindle Daily Deal today
The Kindle Daily Deal for today, Tuesday Nov. 20, is William Shirer's Berlin Diary: The Journal of a Foreign Correspondent 1934-1941.

  Amazon's description: "A radio broadcaster and journalist for Edward R. Murrow at CBS, William Shirer began keeping a diary while in Europe during the 1930s.  His honest and passionate chronicle is considered the first full record of the rise of the Third Reich and the brutality with which Hitler came to power."
  It has 42 customer reviews with an average rating of 4.6 stars. 80% savings today only.




Current Kindle Models for reference, plus free-ebook search links.
NOTES on newer Kindles.
US:
Updated Kindle Fire Basic  7" tablet - $159
Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB - $199/$249
Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 16/32GB - $299/$369
Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G 32/64GB - $499/$599
Kindle NoTouch ("Kindle") - $69/$89
Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi - $119/$139
Kindle Paperwhite, 3G - $179/$199
Kindle Keybd 3G - $139/$159, Free but slow web
Kindle DX - $379 $299, Free, slow web
UK:
Kindle Basic, NoTouch - £69
Kindle Touch WiFi, UK - £89 Refurb'd
Kindle Keyboard 3G, UK - £149
  Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB
Kindle Paperwhite, WiFi
£109
Kindle Paperwhite 3G, UK
£169
Kindle Fire 2, UK
 £129
Kindle Fire HD 7" 16/32GB, UK
£159/199
OTHER International
Kindle NoTouch Basic - $89
Kindle Touch WiFi - $139
Kindle Keybd 3G - $189
  Keybd: w/ Free, slow 3G WEB

France
Boutique Kindle
Deutschland - Kindle Store
Italia - Kindle Store
Spain - Tienda Kindle


Check often: Temporarily-free recently published Kindle books
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

  *Click* to Return to the HOME PAGE.  Or click on the web browser's BACK button Below are ways to Share this post if you'd like others to see it.
-- The Send to Kindle button works well only on Firefox currently.

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(Older posts have older Kindle model info. For latest models, see CURRENT KINDLES page. )
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2 comments:

  1. I don't see the constant comparisons with iPads. They are trendy yeah, and Apple products, but there are several way better tablets out there, now including the Amazin Fire HD.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. George,
      People are looking for different things. The Apple iPad has a rep for some really unusually good apps (educational variety especially) and for good quality devices, though I feel they fell down on the iPad mini, with the low-resolution screen on an 8" device. But it has its virtues too, in lightness and those apps, which will be key for people who have Apple phones...

      Delete

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