…But Canadians hoping to get their hands on Amazon’s hotly anticipated Android tablet will have to keep waiting. The device will launch November 15th in the United States — and the U.S. alone. …International availability was not discussed…
…The device looks strikingly similar to another 7-inch tablet, Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry PlayBook. And that may not be a coincidence, either. Former Engadget editor and gdgt founder Ryan Block claims the Kindle Fire was designed and manufactured by Quanta — the same Taiwanese supplier of RIM’s device.
But in a likely effort to reduce costs, Amazon’s tablet is missing some of the the PlayBook’s key features — in particular, a built-in microphone, and front and back-facing cameras…
…Not only will the device be unavailable in Canada at launch, but those looking to import the device from abroad will find that many of the tablet’s key features will fail to work.
Amazon Instant and MP3 — the company’s video and music streaming services — are not available in other countries. And in the long run, that could pose a problem for Amazon’s international expansion plans…
By Matt Braga, Financial Post September 29, 2011 http://www.canada.com/business/Amazon+unveils+Kindle+Fire+Canadians+left+cold/5471835/story.html
6 Comments
kindle canada · March 7, 2012 at 3:28 am
Kindle Touch Now shipping internationally to Canada, Brits.
I think the next in amazon queue is the Kindle Fire tablet…just waiting for that.
Ian Matthews · March 7, 2012 at 4:48 pm
Thanks for the update.
Kindle Canada Reader · November 30, 2011 at 7:15 am
I don’t think the Kindle Fire is more suitable for either.
Its a table meant for consuming movies and media, not reading. For reading its best to get the Kindle keyboard or kindle 3g which is actually available for canadians (And the 3g works too). I got it from http://www.kindlecanada.fh.ca/ and even though this kindle came from the US it works 100%.
As for tablets and consuming media, I rather get an ipad.
Ian Matthews · November 30, 2011 at 12:52 pm
I just bought a Kobo ($119 at Chaprters) , Kobo Vox ($189 at Chapters), and Blackberry PlayBook ($199 everywhere).
– The Kobo Touch is great for books and very very basic surfing because it is not backlit.
– The Kobo VOX is an excellent android tablet
– The Blackberry Playbook is soooo much better and faster than an Apple iPad. The only drawback is email, and that will be fixed with OS2 in February which RIM says will be a free upgrade.
Add those up and I am still less than an iPad.
Note that I bought the Kobo Touch for my kids to read on, the Vox for my wife to play with, and the Playbook for me. I would, of course, not recommend buying three different devices. I am in the rare circumstance of needing to play with all devices to provide advise and support to my clients.
chris · October 13, 2011 at 11:48 am
More suitable than what? More suitable than say, watching movies or using the Internet on the Kindle Fire? Or more suitable for reading than another product, like the Amazon e-reader?
lilo9412 · October 1, 2011 at 11:40 pm
i think kindle fire is more suitable for reading.