Kindle Fire HD on sale again, this time at $40 off both 16GB & 32GB models
Amazon's Kindle Fire HD 7" tablet page is showing, wthout other announcements, a sale for a limited time. $159 for the 16G model and $189 for the 32GB one (the latter is recommended if you want a lot of media files on it).
Remember that if you paid a higher price at Amazon itself within the last 30 days, you can ask Amazon Kindle Support for a credit (1-866-321-8851 or contact them this way). A difference-credit has been the case for a few years, at least -- and of course that's somewhat based on the fact there is always a 30-day full refund offer on any new Kindle if you don't want it after all, as Amazon seems to feel very secure about its positives.
I'm going to include here some thoughts and info I wrote for the $30 off sale they had on June 30 for a limited time also, as most new readers won't have seen it and some might be interested.
As with the Kindle Fire HD, the production-halted Nook tablets do have a great display, with somewhat higher resolution than on the Kindle. B&N doesn't, as Amazon does, allow straight downloading of any apps from any other sites though, including vendors' own sites. So, any app you bought from Amazon.com for any other tablet you may have been using has to be re-purchased from Google Play.
But Google Store access on the Nook is a plus if you don't mind a lack of customer support compared with Amazon and don't care if you can't get apps from other app stores as can be done with the Kindle Fires. Flash video sites like network broadcasting ones (series episodes, etc.) would require a user find a way to get the older Flash file on an Android tablet using OS v4.x because of the wall put up by B&N against that type of download.
16 or 32 GB storage?
Although I tend to recommend lower-priced items as a rule, I recommend, for some, getting the 32-Gig-storage version for the $189 (normally $229) because multimedia files (graphics galore in complex apps and games, plus videos especially) are just very large and with 32GB you wouldn't need to worry often about what to swap out (to the Cloud) next before doing something else you want to do.
However, for the sale-priced $159 16 GB-storage model, if you've no interest in the 32-GB model for $189, the Cloud storage (free and unlimited for any Amazon digital purchases) is meant for holding apps, music, and books until you need them and then they're easily downloadable.
The Amazon PRIME program, as regular readers of the Amazon forums and this blog know, is a feature that's popular (and along with all this goes the X-Ray feature on many of their instant videos).
The free trial on any new Kindle Fire gives the owner an idea of whether or not to pay the $79/yr (equiv to $6.58/mo.) for the Prime program's free 2-day shipping of physical products and then the bonus features of free instant videos (thousands of older movies and tv series, the latter having some very popular just-ended season series which are now exclusive to Amazon).
Also included is the free borrowing of one Kindle book per calendar month from the Prime Lending Library, with no waiting time or due dates.
Amazon considered #1 "most desirable brand" in the U.S. market, per Clear's report this year
"According to a new “Brand Desire” study by M&C Saatchi’s brand consultancy division Clear, Amazon leads in the U.S. market as the most desirable brand. Clear surveyed consumers in the U.S., U.K., and Australia about 678 different brands."
For those interested in the details or to see the reasons given:
' Per news.investors.com:
In the U.S., it interviewed 4,600 consumers about 245 familiar brands.
...
The Reese's brand, owned by Hershey (HSY), ranked No. 2, followed by Disney, owned by Walt Disney (DIS).
...
While Amazon kept up its allure, Apple (AAPL) lost some of its luster. Its brand desirability dropped to No. 50 from No. 8 in 2012 as the brand wavered and lost focus, according to the report.
"Starting with an onslaught of too many products in the fall of 2012, the debacle of Maps' reliability, as well as 'function over feeling' branding, has affected its reputation for providing technology that truly matters," the report found."[My note: That seems unduly harsh and likely not accurate, as survey wording is key. As we all know, Apple is doing just fine. What's ultimately important in our modern world is the bottom line, and its customers are devoted and, for any of the above factors, pretty forgiving, from what I've encountered.]... "Amazon’s desirability stems from the great success of the Kindle Fire HD, a steady stream of perks for Amazon Prime members, an increased focus on its Prime Instant Video, and a continued stream of meaningful innovation such as Amazon Lockers. Amazon has truly transformed from a marketplace for shopping to a digital hub for consumers to manage their lives,” states Clear in a press release via Investor’s Business Daily.
"However, Apple was still the top-rated brand in the British and Australian markets"
Will end this here, so I can get this one out earlier.
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Amazon's forum announcement
