So, what are the shortcomings? Connectivity! As soon as first generation Kindles hit the market as an e-readers, one of the major selling points was totally free 3G service from AT&T. You purchased the Kindle coupled with the ability to surf Amazon's e-book market place from anywhere you were able to pick-up AT&T service which is most areas throughout the United States. Earlier Kindles also shipped with a cable that connected it to the computer, therefore, you could download books and move them manually.
This service flew out the window as soon as the Fire became available. Giving 3G for the Kindle Fire would mean data overload for AT&T. And of course, 3G speeds would not begin to support the capability of the Kindle Fire's dual core processor. Hence, users are tied to wi-fi service only on the Fire. This implies in order to use the net on the device at all, you require access to a wi-fi hotspot or your home wi-fi.
The Kindle Fire on Lockdown. It seems that Amazon is so uneasy that users might get access to an app market other than their own, that they have left out all other sources of connectivity from the Kindle Fire. The Kindle fire has 2 ports. The first is an ordinary headphone jack and the other is the micro USB to charge the device. Amazon will not even include the USB cable to connect the Fire to your computer like with their other Kindles. To be able to connect the Kindle Fire to your computer, you must buy the cable separately. Only a conventional charging cable is included.
Just why the Kindle Fire may not stand up to its competitors. Actually more cost effective budget tablets ship with more connectivity compared to the Kindle Fire. These devices are generally full of options such as an SD card slot, USB port and a High-Definition Multimedia Interface interface. Including this connectivity would make the Fire unbeatable. Including a USB port, users would have the choice of using a mobile broadband plan to increase connectivity. A USB port additionally allows expansion of the 8GB memory space available on the Fire as would an SD card interface.
Solutions to the connectivity issue are very limited. The only way to gain full accessibility to Kindle Fire's whole potential is usually to root the unit. A task which is not for the beginner and is somewhat of a gamble that would void your warranty. Nonetheless, once the device is rooted, you then have the choice of adding in more app stores and expanding the ways the Fire could be used. Besides that, there is no way presently to expand the cabability to connect the device to the Internet. A good number of apps are pointless without connectivity except for downloaded games and standalone productivity apps and tools.
If rooting is not an option, then users can buy the connection cable and side-load applications onto the gadget. It isn't too hard to locate app files, download them to your computer, and then drag and drop the file onto your Fire. The Fire will perform the rest.
With new tablets hitting the market regularly targeting the less expensive prices, the Kindle Fire will rapidly lose its edge. Currently you can find tablets on the market which are $30 more than the Kindle with all the current features in addition to the connectivity options mentioned above. Do not forget Bluetooth. Bluetooth adds a whole new dimension of connectivity to your device. Think of a Fire with a real keyboard, not the virtual onscreen variety. It's a waiting game to find out if Amazon will step-up with a tablet that really has the user at heart as opposed to their pocket book.
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