Processor comparison between Amazon Kindle Fire and Lenovo IdeaPad A1

There are many reviews which compare these two "Price Killers", if you follow the link I listed on the right side "Kindle Fire v.s. Lenovo IdeaPad A1" , you will find that Lenovo IdeaPad A1 beats Kindle Fire easily except for one important feature-Processor(or I call it heart of the pad).  Though A1 has a list price of $249, from time to time you can find the price tag of Lenovo A1 8G is reduced to the same level as Fire's.

      What is the difference between these two processors? Does this difference matter a lot?  Is it worth to have a weaker processor but possess more other features (cameras,external expansion slot, micorphone, bluetooth, GPS and one more important fact-no Android root needed to get access to Andorid Apps Market)?  It seems that it is a no-brainer question: IdeaPad wins! Before we make this conclusion, we'd better take a deep look at TI OMAP Dual Core (Fire) and TI OMAP Single Core(A1). 

Comparison Chart of CPUs used by Kindle Fire v.s. Lenovo IdeaPad A1

Tablet	Kindle Fire	IdeaPad A1
CPU Model No.	OMAP4430                                      (Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9)	OMAP3622                                 (Single Core Cortex-A8)
Generation of CPU	4th	3rd
Semiconductor technology	45nm	45nm
CPU Speed	1GHz	1GHz
No. Cores	2	1
Graphics processing unit (GPU)	PowerVR SGX540 @ 304 MHz	PowerVR SGX530@ 200MHz
Comments	Fire CPU has Faster speed with better graphic performance

Many users who owe both tablets report little difference is noticed when using the tablets though A1 has only single core.

When coming to the point of making a final choice, other factor has to be considered such as user faith on some certain brand and manufacturer. Both Amazon and Lenovo are big player in business, while Lenovo actually have a much longer history in the delivery of computer hardware and Amazon is sure to be superior to Lenovo in contents.  

Root, JailBreak and Legality

You may encounter many such jargons used by many who are in favor of up-to-date technology about "Gadget" (A gadget is a small technological object such as a device or an appliance that has a particular function typical examples are smart phone, tablet). 

Root: 

    Rooting enables users to use the superuser, or root, permissions of the Linux-based operating system (OS)(Android is based on Linux system) thus have more control over it,thus overcome limitations carriers or manufacturers put on your devices. One example is Amazon Kindle Fire, the Android on the Fire is extensively customized to allow users more easily buy stuffs from them, and has many limitations. Another example is the fire-saled HP TouchPad (TP), the WebOS does not have as many apps as on Android, thus a totally new Android has to be installed on the TP.

    Advantages of rooting are: more freedom to control your gadgets, fun to explore

    Disadvantages are: risk of "bricking" (Firmware cannot start and run on your device) your gadgets and loss your data; void your phone’s factory and/or service provider warranty  

JailBreak:         

   This is often applied to only Apple's system IOS. Hacking the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad allows users to

Migrating from Love-Kindle to Hello-EReader

Please do not be surprised when you notice you are redirected from my old blog love-kindle.blogspot.com to this new one Hello-EReader.blogspot.com.  For some reason, I have to move to this new blog, and actually it makes more sense to name it as " Hello-EReader " since I am not only dealing with kindle. But you can still use my old  love-kindle.blogspot.com which will be automatically redirected to this new site.
Thanks for your continuing support!!

Migrating...

Kindles, which one should I have?

This might be one of the most frequently asked questions:
First read AMAZON's compare chart
Still hard to decide?   Please continue reading through to the end for simplified conclusions.

1. $139 Kindle Keyboard 3G:  This one is the third generation model. Before and during the blackfriday, there is $85 (in target)  deal and $89 ( BestBuy )  deal.  It looks like K3 is too old, but actually not really. I have Kindle Keyboard WiFi and 3G and like both of them. If you prefer physical keys and need to travel very often, K3 3G is not a bad idea. One more thing, it has real 3G which means you may use internet where there is 3G network coverage in this planet. This is the selling point considering the new kindle family does not support the real 3G.
2. $79 Kindle, Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display - includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers: This most basic value 4th generation model delivers access to all Kindle books and sports a 6-inch screen. Books are delivered over Wi-Fi in under a minute. Ads are displayed when browsing new titles. It weighs under 6 ounces, holds 1,400 books and offers a one-month battery life which is only half of the Kindle Touch's.  It does support both tex-to-speech and Portrait/Landscape mode. It does not have the keys as K3 keyboard, you have to resort to the soft keyboard. 
3. $99 Kindle Touch, Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display - includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers: Same screen size as the $79 Kindle  and adds touch-screen navigation, reducing buttons down to one for on/off. Wi-Fi for downloading, no ads, weighs 7.5 ounces, holds 3,000 books and has a two-month battery life. So it has as twice battery life as the basic kindle. Alert!!  kindle touch doesn't have landscape mode, if you read a lot of PDF files, this is not the good one for you. While kindle keyboard does have this feature. It might be easier for some to use the dictionary by touching and holding compared to the cursor moving on kindle keyboard.  It does support tex-to-speech but DOES NOT support  landscape mode.
4. $149 Kindle Touch 3G, Free 3G + Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display - includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers: has 3G connection for downloading books when no Wi-Fi is available. It will not be able to browse the Internet without a WiFi connection. Users will still be able to use 3G to sync book and document purchases, but anything beyond Wikipedia will be off-limits  It’s slightly heavier at 7.8 ounces, but otherwise is the same as the $99 model.
5. $199 Kindle Fire, Full Color 7" Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi: This is Amazon’s low-cost tablet and often is compared to the iPad, Nook Color/Tablet or Lenovo IdeaPad A1. The Fire  allows users to browse the Internet in full color via Amazon’s “Silk” browser. It also offers access to Amazon’s Kindle Fire android marketplace. You may be able to install some of the third party non Amazon market android apps on it without even rooting. Like the $500 iPad model, the Fire offers Wi-Fi connection only — no 3G available. The screen measures 7 inches. Amazon claims it will hold 80 apps plus 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books. However, Amazon offers free cloud storage with all of its devices. The Kindle Fire weighs just under a pound at 14.6 ounces (After using my Fire for about two weeks, I like the lightweight best)  and offers 7.5 hours of video playback or 8 hours of reading and browsing time on a single battery charge. It is portable compared to those 10" tablets. Keep in mind, Fire is not the best device to read since it does not possess E-Ink technology.  With the case on Fire, it has almost the same size as the Kindle 3 with cover---like carrying a book (No!! actually you can bring thousands of books if you like).  At this time, I use my Fire to do the followings: surfing internet, streaming and watching live TV while working before my large screen desktop, reading books and pdf documents, and play the free games Amazon offered daily (Another wonderful feature why I like my Fire!!). Less  storage capacity does not bother me at all since I rarely download movies to device and play.  I did wish my Fire has camera thus I can capture some videos for my little ones and show them. Other than that, it meets most of my needs and I spent the amount of only one ipad on:   Fire ($131, sorry if this deal makes you upset, but even $199 is a slick deal) + Kindle keyboard ($139) + Kindle keyboard 3G (target $85+tax deal) + HP TouchPad ($99+tax) = $469 ($537 if paid by full for Fire) < $499 +tax =$545  (16G IPad 2).   How do you make your own choice? If you are an apple fan, I know your answer.    UPDATE: Apple is going to reveal its high-end new generation IPAD in Jan, and the current IPAD 2 will play with Kindle Fire. Is Kindle Fire the real IPAD killer? We still do not know the answer.                                                                       

In conclusion: 

• Physical keys, real 3G connection, book reader and frequent traveler ===> $139/(deal $85) Kindle Keyboard 3G
• Lower cost, lighter weight,  PDF documents to read  ===> $79 basic kindle
• Touchscreen, fewer PDFs to read, longer battery life, large amounts of books  ===> $99 Kindle Touch
• Need downloading books everywhere and use Wiki ===> $149 Kindle Touch    Not a good value 
• Reading PDF papers extensively ===> $379(deal $259) Kindle DX
• Doing more than reading, surfing internet, watching TV and video, reading magazines and newspaper in color, playing games, teaching kids, need portable and low cost tablet ===> $199 Kindle Fire       
• An alternative of Kindle Fire is B&N's Nook Color (Amazon, B&N) which has the same price tag ($199) now but have additional microSD expansion slot, and supports EPUB format,there is a newly released Nook Tablet (may be regarded as an updated Nook Color) with a listed price of $249+tax.

My fresh taste of Kindle Fire

I would say it is a great little tablet with excellent value considering its sweet price ( I got it in an even lower price).

• It is not as great as a kindle keyboard or the new 4th generation family as a book ereader without e-ink technology.
• I notice there are many complains about its no physical volume buttons, no cameras, no expansion slots etc.   
• Without the physical buttons is indeed a drawback. What I really want is one button (as the "U" button on Nook Color) which allows you quickly return to the home screen. If it had hdmi port, that would be great.

PPTV for pad & CNTV Apps installed on Kindle Fire successfully

Apps "PPTV for pad" and "CNTV" had been installed and run smoothly on my new Kindle Fire. For those who have no idea about PPTV and CNTV, PPTV  is a leading online TV service offering both live streaming and video-on-demand of TV programs/shows, movies, drama, sports, news and entertainment video contents in China. CNTV ( China Network Television) is the online digital network archive for China Central Television (CCTV) in China. The smart phone version App of CNTV did not work very well (small screen) on 9.7" HP TP but works flawlessly on Kindle Fire. Please refer to the post " How to install non-AMAZON android apps on your kindle fire on this blog" for steps on how to install these two apps on your Fire.

How to install non-Amazon Kindle Fire apps on your Kindle Fire without rooting

Think again before rooting your Fire since you will lose the privilege of streaming video from Amazon. But you do not have to root in order to install third-party non Amazon Kindle Fire apps.

It is very similar to those steps to install non-Market android apps on HP TouchPad. First you need to change the settings (allow installation of third-party apps) on your kindle fire to "ON" , then install a free document viewing app such as   ES File Explorer.

Step 1:  Go to the settings of your Kindle Fire by tapping the top part of the screen. Click “More…” then
              select “Device.” Where it says “Allow Installation of Application,” change your Kindle Fire settings
              from “Off” to “On.”


Step 2:  Download and install the Amazon Kindle fire free app such as "  ES File Explorer or File Expert ".


Step 3:  Use  "ES File Explorer" to get access to the app file (*.apk) you'v already copied to your Kindle
              Fire（such as the directory "download"--- look for directory "sdcard/Download" by the file manager
              such as ES File Explorer or File Expert and install the app.

Step 4: You are done.