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Amazon Acknowledges Problems with Kindle Fire, Promises Update

By | December 12, 2011 | 9 comments
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Amazon Kindle FireLast week, Jakob Nielsen, known as the “Guru of Usability,” let us know in no uncertain terms that Amazon’s Kindle Fire suffers from some serious form factor and interface issues. His comments are in line with other reports from Kindle Fire users, who have found the experience to be slow, choppy, and less than ideal in many regards.

A lack of privacy and no parental controls are a major concern for many Kindle Fire users. There’s no way to erase browser history or viewed items, and with one touch purchasing enabled, it’s easy for children to accidentally purchase items.

After reviewing the Kindle Fire, Nielsen felt that it would be a failure, and said that he would not recommend purchasing the device. The Kindle Fire may be the most successful product that Amazon’s ever released, but without some improvements, it could very well tank in the long run.

Amazon is addressing user concerns with a planned update. According to Drew Herdener, Amazon spokesman, Amazon will be releasing an over-the-air update to the Kindle Fire in less than two weeks.

The update will improve performance and multitouch navigation, which should relieve some of the issues that people have had with response times. It will also add privacy options to allow users to edit their recent activity on the carousel, making the device slightly more private. Amazon didn’t mention changing the way one-click purchases work, so it’s still best to keep your tablet out of the hands of kids and other ne’er do wells who are likely to charge items to your account.

Amazon has not released sales numbers on the Kindle Fire, but analysts estimate that the retailer will sell between three and five million units this quarter. Despite its issues, the tablet is still selling well and Amazon is planning a revised version that may come as early as next spring. For now, if you’re considering a Kindle Fire, I’d suggest doing some serious research before making the purchase. Remember, you get what you pay for.

[via The New York Times]

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  • Lee Swain

    I have one and this is mostly a NON-story. Especially the claims of the “experience to be slow, choppy, and less than ideal in many regards.” Sorry but that is utter nonsense! I have an iPad 2 aswel and in my experience the Fire is AT LEAST as fast an responsive as my iPad 2. I have not had any experience of it being “slow or choppy”, and I find the navigation experience to be anything but “less than ideal”. In fact in some ways it is nicer than IOS. I have experienced none of the so called issues with “Response times”.

    So I have to STRONGLY disagree with this assessment. In fact it sounds rather ill informed and biased from my point of view since it does not at all describe the experience I have had. 
    Parental controls and a password for purchasing may be a concern for some for sure, but for anyone that does not intend to allow children to play with there device or buy one for a child it is not a concern at all. Would be a nice additional feature but far from a deal breaker for most I would imagine.

    And the comment on “you get what you pay for” sounds like it came from an Apple-fanboy.

    While I won’t be giving up my iPad 2 for the Fire (it’s going to be a gift), I would have to say that if I was in the market for a tablet I would go with the Fire over paying the additional $300 for an iPad!

    And I WOULD NOT feel I was getting an inferier experience either!

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dl-Betty/1671975345 Dl Betty

      We gave one to our daughter and she returned it and got an Ipad instead, of course she paid the difference! 

  • Lee Swain

    Also reading the NYT article now and the list of complaints are just not true in my experience. Why would my experience be so different to other?

    Let me be clear I’m no anti-Apple person or a Kindle fanboy. I don’t own a Kindle other than the Fire (which was bought to be a gift but I have tested extensively out of interest and to set up for the person it is for). I have owned an iPad since it was first released and now own both the 1 and the 2. I love my iPad 2 and my iPhone 4S. 

    However I am not a blind anti-Android Apple fanboy either.To address the so called issue’s as listed -1. Web pages take long to load – NOT TRUE. When I got mine I tested it side by side my iPad 2 and found it to be every bit as quick MOST of the time. Sometimes it was a few seconds slower and sometimes it was a little faster. Also it supports Flash by default (which is how I tested it) and loads faster when that is set to “On demand”.2. No privacy on the device/parental controls – OK this one is true, if it’s deal breaker for you, fair enough. No doubt Amazon will add this in an update though. However if you want web browsing privacy (the main complaint aimed at this issue) just download a web browser that supports it from the app store.

    3. The touch screen is frequently hesitant – NOT TRUE! I have used the device for hours and hours at this point and found it to be VERY responsive and very fast. In fact I was amazed at how well it ran. Maybe it slows down if you have a ton of web pages left open or something, but in my experience this claim is completely false.

    4. Without fingers as slender as toothpicks the screen will be frustrating to use – UTTER NONSENSE! This idiotic claim is aimed at all 7″ tablets by this guy and is just silly. He is mainly talking about selecting small text boxes and web pages. Anyone with half a brain knows to zoom in first. By this rationale the iPhone and all touch screen phones are unusable!

    • Juli Clover

      It’s great that you’ve had a good experience with the Kindle Fire – many others have as well. However, you only need to look at the feedback on Amazon to see that plenty of users are experiencing some significant problems with the device. 

      • Lee Swain

        The device has 4 stars out of 7 thousand reviews. The iPad also has 4 stars out of about 500 reviews. So the percentage of criticism is exactly the same! 

        Again I own an iPad and will not be switching to the Kindle Fire as I believe it is not as good. But I hate such obvious bias. People talking as if the Fire as serious problems is just outright bias from what I can tell. I have yet to hear a legitimate “serious” criticism beyond the lack or parental controls and NOBODY criticizes the iPad for the having many of the same issues!

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dl-Betty/1671975345 Dl Betty

          I guess it’s each to his own! Then all are happy!

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dl-Betty/1671975345 Dl Betty

      We did not have such good luck. The scrolling was sticking and choppy, no volume controls drove us nuts and we could not read the magazines and books we like with any comfort or ease, so we returned our 2 and got one Ipad 2 which has been a fantastic experience. The Fire being an Amazon version of Android was not appealing to us as well, plus being mainly an Amazon content device. That was not enough for us, we don’t watch TV, Movies that often and prefer the full variety and experience we found on our Ipads. I’m glad your’s was good for you. Don’t hate each other for the device someone prefers! Peace.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dl-Betty/1671975345 Dl Betty

    Huh, I wonder if it has to do with the wifi connections or something, we got 2 Kindle Fires and they were a horror, choppy, the scrolling, as you’ve seen on some video’s on youtube etc, was worse than that, while the Ipad scrolls as slippery as ice, fast and smooth, the browser, Silk, was supposed to be phenomenal, and it stuck, lagged, or did not load, we never have that problem on our Ipads. We thought the Fire’s might be a nice portable size, but we returned them and got Ipod’s to stick in our pocket/purses instead. Each to his own I guess. 

  • jagu

    I just bought my Kindle Fire—love everything about except one thing.  I purchased it to use Facebook when I have to travel and be at the hospital.  Books are great on this device.  My only gripe is that I cannot play Slotomania, which I play everyday on Facebook on my laptop. Why can I not get this????? It makes me want to take back my Kindle and get an ipad!