Kindle Fire

My friend , Evelyn (@Joyce Mcgregor here) just got one of the new Fire 8 kindles, and she really likes it, at least so far. It was pretty easy for us to set up for her, and it also has Alexa on it if she wants to use that for something. We loaded the link for the forum on her Kindle, but I couldn’t see a way to put it on the desktop like we can do with the iPad. I am not sure if I just didn’t know how to do that, or whether maybe you can’t do it on the kindle; so I need to do some more reading and see if we can do that.
She has the Roku on her television set, and now the Kindle Fire, so Evelyn is pretty well set up with her tech needs for now. Once she gets more familiar with using the Kindle, I am hoping that we will see her here on the forum again !
The Fire 8 is almost the same size as my iPad Mini; but I think that the Kindle is a little longer, and not quite as tall (assuming it is in landscape position). Overall, I do not see how a person could beat the quality of the Kindle Fire, and especially in its price range.

 

If you are a Prime member, you can get a Kindle Fire for as little as $29.99 today, during Prime Day. Actually, I'm not sure if the Prime Day specials are for Prime members only. Because I am a Prime member, that's the price it shows me.

 

The 7" Kindle Fires are on sale for $29.99 right now. I don't know about the larger ones but they usually go on sale at the same time.

 

Since I often bring my Kindle with me when I accompany my wife when she has appointments at the eye clinic, and other medical appointments, some of which can be long, and I have trouble typing on a Kindle virtual keyboard, I bought a case for my Kindle that comes with a keyboard.

The keyboard will take some getting used to because it is smaller than the traditional Mac keyboard, with the keys closer together, and at least one of the functions - the apostrophe - appears to be missing. Maybe it is there somewhere, but I have not found it yet.

Overall, it seems like a good idea, though.



I tried taking a picture of it on my desk but it's so black that all I could see on the picture was the Kindle itself, so I had to move it to my washing machine.

 

The case that includes a small keyboard for my Kindle Fire ain't bad and, while it would never replace my computers, it's a bit easier typing on that.

 

Kindle Fires (and other Amazon electronics) are on sale again. They go on sale fairly often but the savings are significant. I always wait until they are on sale before I upgrade or replace an old one.

If you don't already have an iPad, the Kindle Fires are really pretty good. I have a Kindle Fire 8 and a Kindle Fire 10 that I use regularly, as well as some older Kindles (not Fires) that I use occasionally, one of them being an older version that has an actual (as opposed to a virtual) keyboard and page buttons; I kind of like that so I take that along sometimes when I am going to read. It also has Whispernet, which doesn't require a separate Internet connection or hotspot to purchase new books.

I use my Kindle 8 in the bedroom because that's the one I use to read before falling asleep. The Kindle 10 is too heavy for that, and I would end up dropping it on the floor or something. I take the Kindle 10 with me when I go with Michelle to doctor's appointments and stuff, where she might need a driver because it has a bigger screen, which makes it easier if I want to get online with it. I also use the Kindle 10 if I need an extra screen for something that I'm doing online.

I also have an external keyboard for my Kindle Fire so I could use it as a computer if I needed to, and I have, although I wouldn't replace a real computer with it except in an emergency. I do not like virtual keyboards and rarely use them.

Anyhow, the Kindle Fires are pretty cheap.

 

The keyboard case is for the Fire 10, I am guessing ?
That would make it similar to how my iPad works, since I have a case with the apple keyboard for my 12.9 iPad, which is the one that I use for when I am going to be writing something. I have the smaller 9.7 iPad that I use mainly for when I am browsing the internet but not typing, and the small 7” Kindle Fire for when I am just reading.
I like all of them.
I probably need at least one more, but I have not been able to come up with a logical reason why yet.

 

Given that I have a MacBook Pro, an iPad would be too much of an expense. For anything that I might prefer an iPad over a Kindle, I could use my MacBook.

 

The Apple keyboard comes with a trackpad, @Beth Gallagher . I am so used to having the touchscreen that i seldom remember that I have one, but it is there and works just like one on a laptop does.
I like the apple magic keyboard because the ipad just “magnetizes” to the back of the keyboard case, so there is none of the hassle of removing the ipad, like there are with most tablet cases when you want to remove it from the case.
You can charge it either from the case or the ipad, whichever you prefer, and it just uses the regular apple charging port. Most of the cases have to have the mini-usb port, and charge separately from the ipad.
Robin gifted us this one , and I really enjoy it. It also has a lighted keyboard, which is very helpful for someone like me who has to look at the keyboard to type.

This picture will give you an idea of how it works.

 

I like those too, and for the same reason. I use the Fire at night because I don't need to disturb my wife by having a light on.

 

Pretty sure that they come in different sizes, for different sized ipads. I was just showing you an example so that you can see how they look. I think that you can find some of them cheaper than the example that I posted, especially if you get the version without the trackpad.
Robin had an attachable mouse that she can use with hers, and you might like something like that even better ?