Amazon

The Kindle iOS app — which can be used on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch devices — has received a nice little update on Wednesday. One of the most noteworthy changes? On the iPad version, users are now granted access magazines, newspapers, and textbooks — just like Kindle Fire users.

According to Amazon, all iOS users — iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad — can now sync compatible documents to read on the app, either via iTunes or by emailing files to their Send-to-Kindle addresses. A built-in PDF reader means that you don't have to use a separate app for non-book reading.

The updated (and free) app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store right now. 

But on the iPad, the app has even more. It allows users to access over 400 magazines and newspapers — the same ones that are available to Kindle Fire users — including Martha Stewart Living, Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Popular Science, and more. It'll be possible to buy single issues or subscriptions thanks to the Kindle Newsstand feature (not to be confused with the iOS Newsstand, of course).

Electronic textbooks that preserve the layout and graphics of the original printed versions will also be available for purchase or rental.

And frankly, the magazine service surprises us a bit. Not that Amazon would bring it to the iPad, but that Apple would allow it in an app. Amazon is blatantly trying to get into magazine subscriptions on the iPad, and Apple has made it clear that it wants to dominate this business — especially on its own turf.

We've reached out to Apple to see why it let things go, at least for now. I will update if there is any comment.

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Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

Amazon

Good news if you own a Kindle Fire: Amazon has issued a software update for the device. It'll take a bit of time to download and install, but it's worth it thanks to a pile of performance and bug fixes.

According to Amazon, you can either grab the update manually or directly over-the-air. No matter which option you choose though, make sure your device is fully charged before going through the update process. (Oh, and don't forget about making sure you're connected to Wi-Fi if updating over-the-air, of course.)

If you prefer to grab the software update — which is version 6.2.1, by the way — over-the-air, you just need to reach for your Kindle Fire, tap the "Quick Settings" icon in the upper right corner, press "Sync" and wait. The update will be automatically downloaded in the background and installed afterwards (while the device is asleep).

The manual approach to the update is a bit messier, but Amazon's got detailed instructions to get you through the process. All you're basically doing is downloading the new software to your computer and then transferring it to your device. (Keep in mind that the micro-USB cable you'll need to do this is sold separately from the Kindle Fire, but is conveniently the same cable that comes with most non-iPhones these days.)

Once you're done updating your device — whether manually or over-the-air — you should be left with enhanced fluidity and performance, improved touch navigation responsiveness, the option to choose which items are displayed on your Kindle Fire's carousel, and the ability to add a password lock on Wi-Fi access.

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• Kindle Fire review: Yes, it's that good

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

John Brecher / msnbc.com

The New York Times reported that Amazon will roll out a Kindle Fire update "in less than two weeks," citing a company spokesman. The cause for the update? Fixes for problems that have concerned many early users.

The update will be pushed to devices over the air, no syncing necessary, and will bring improved performance and multitouch navigation, says the Times. Furthermore, users will be able to erase recent activity for improved privacy. "No more will wives wonder why their husbands were looking at a dating site when they said they were playing Angry Birds," wrote the Times' David Streitfeld.

Here's the full text of Amazon's statement, which we received directly from the company on Monday:

Kindle Fire is the most successful product we've ever launched — we've already sold millions of units and we're building more to meet the strong demand. As with all of our products, we continue to make them better for customers with regular software updates — in fact, in less than two weeks, we're rolling out an over-the-air update to Kindle Fire that will improve performance, touch navigation, and give customers the option to choose what items display on the carousel.

These particular issues are not ones I noticed when I reviewed the Kindle Fire, perhaps in part because I didn't do anything on the device that I wouldn't want my wife to see, and in part because I viewed the Kindle Fire as an excellent compromise: It's not a $500 iPad, but it's a $200 tablet that brings you the best of Amazon (along with the best non-Google Android apps). It works well in this capacity, and while the $250 Nook Tablet is a better device, what Amazon offers, beyond books, is hard to beat and getting better all the time.

Not all issues have fixes. As I pointed out in my review, there's a lack of physical volume buttons and an awkwardly placed power button, neither of which can be fixed with software.

There's one hardware concern that may have a software fix: The battery life on the Kindle Fire is not as good as the Nook Tablet or the iPad. Often, this has to do with how well the OS can control the various processes of the core system and apps, and how much it can shut down when it goes into sleep mode.

Amazon did not answer my specific query about battery life, nor is it mentioned in the above statement, so it likely will not change with this update.

More on the Kindle Fire from msnbc.com:

• Kindle Fire review: Yes, it's that good
• Amazon's Kindle Fire lets kids charge up a storm
• Kindle Fire will be No. 2 tablet after iPad
• Tablet war 2011: Nook vs. Kindle vs. iPad

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.

Amazon

Many consider the Kindle Fire to be a decent deal at $199 — and how could they not? After all, the 7-inch Android tablet is likely to be selling for less than it costs Amazon to make it.

According to a report by the IHS iSuppli Teardown Analysis Service, it is estimated to cost Amazon $201.70 to manufacture each Kindle Fire.

This cost was determined after a Kindle Fire was taken apart and its parts were analyzed to create a list of components — better known as a bill of materials (BOM). Once that list was complete, the expenses were added up.

IHS

According to IHS, the Kinde Fire carries an estimated BOM cost of $185.60. And once manufacturing services are added, that number jumps to the previously mentioned total of $201.70. (IHS notes that this amount "does not include additional expenses such as software, licensing, royalties or other expenditures.")

So why is Amazon selling a product for less than it costs to make? Andrew Rassweiler, senior director of teardown services at IHS, has an explanation:

Amazon makes its money not on Kindle hardware, but on the paid content and other products it plans to sell the consumer through the Kindle. This is a similar business model to wireless companies such as AT&T or Verizon. They sell you a phone that costs them $400 to $600 or more to make for a price of only $200. However, they expect to more than make up for that loss with a two-year service contract.

Related stories:

• Nook Tablet review: Great hardware, stiff competition
• Kindle vs. Nook: $99 e-ink touch readers face off
• Kindle Fire review: Yes, it's that good

Want more tech news, silly puns or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.

Amazon is fixing to have a mid-priced smartphone to sell to the Kindle audience this time next year, according to a report by Citigroup analysts Mark Mahaney and Kevin Chang that cited "supply chain channel checks."

The word is that Amazon has booked Foxconn, makers of many an Apple product, to create the smartphone, though it might be manufactured by another Taiwan-based firm. The goal is apparently for Amazon to build a phone in the $150 to $170 range, which it would sell to carriers more or less at cost. Amazon would make money by selling services and content, like it does with Kindle e-readers, and will now be doing with the Kindle Fire.

It's not a crazy speculation to say that Amazon, which already has a thriving Android app store, would want to be more involved in the phone hardware, but of course, it's not something the company will talk about now. We'll have to see what happens next year, and how well suited Amazon is at that time to compete against Apple, Samsung and the rest, in the cutthroat world of smartphone sales.

(Although this story has made the rounds of the Internet, it appears that PaidContent was first, or at least among the first wave, with the scoop from Citigroup.)

More on Amazon from msnbc.com:

• Kindle Fire review: Yes, it's that good
• Demand for Kindle Fire threatens iPad domination
• Amazon's Kindle Fire apps show Apple-like strategy

Wilson Rothman / msnbc.com

Barnes & Noble has a problem. It's not software. It's not hardware. It's Amazon. 

The B&N Nook Tablet, successor to the underground hit Nook Color, is a terrific tablet, with a vibrant screen, a speedy CPU and a nice offering of books and other media. If you buy it, especially for reading, or streaming from your Netflix video or Pandora music accounts, you'll likely be quite happy. For $250, it's hard to find a nicer media-focused 7-inch Android tablet.

But there's a war on. 

Amazon didn't have a tablet when people were snapping up Nook Colors (or is that "Nooks Color"?). Now that it does, Amazon has priced its own 7-inch Kindle Fire deliberately low, at $199, and tied in a ton of no-extra-charge videos and books from the $80-per-year Amazon Prime. Amazon doesn't stop there: It also piles on new-release videos to buy or rent, a cloud-based music player that you can upload your own music to, an MP3 store and an Android app store that has already been powering phones for half a year. 

My point? Amazon is a multibillion-dollar powerhouse that is using a 7-inch tablet as a beachhead in an all-out media war against Google and Apple, and it has no intention of letting a brick-and-mortar retailer with no big media play stand in its way. Barnes & Noble can compete surprisingly well on books, magazines, children's interactive storybooks, comics and still more formerly printed media. But for video and music, it must cozy up to partners that are in no shape to fend off Amazon either, and that will likely prove to be Barnes & Noble's Achilles' heel.

OK, doom-and-gloom forecast aside, let's talk about what all of this means right now.

Hardware
There are a few reasons why the Nook Tablet is superior to the Kindle Fire. The screen is the same, and I didn't really notice a speed difference. But the battery life on the Nook Tablet is noticeably better than the Kindle Fire's. During an overnight test, both starting from fully charged, the Kindle flashed the 15 percent alert, while the Nook Tablet was still at 42 percent.

Wilson Rothman / msnbc.com

Nice volume buttons!

The Nook has physical buttons for volume control, and has a nice big home button you can actually press, unlike on the Kindle.  

The final big differentiator is internal storage, but that's not a clear-cut thing. While the Nook Tablet has 16GB of internal storage, versus the Kindle Fire's 8GB, users can only access 1GB of the Nook's storage to put your own content. And because the only way to get a non-streamed movie on there at the moment is to rip a DVD and copy it over yourself, that means there's really only room for one movie. If you want more storage, however, you can expand it — something the Kindle Fire won't allow. A 32GB microSD card will cost you less than $40.

Reading
Barnes & Noble has built a reading experience that surpasses the competition in several ways. Thanks to the Nook Color, the company now has an impressive library of kid's books. If you have kids, but you're indisposed, the books will read themselves aloud. And traveling or ultra-busy parents might enjoy the fact that they can even record their own voices. I have to say, while this is an initiative I applaud, the Nook Tablet's 7-inch screen is pretty small for children's content. Kids' books are giant for a reason, and the iPad's 10-inch screen is the bare minimum size for enjoying kid content. 

B&N also sells many "enhanced" e-books: cookbooks with over an hour of video, new releases with audio introductions, all-time bestsellers with never-before-seen photos and other documentation.

On top of that, the company is very busy making deals with magazine and comic publishers in order to claim the largest collections of both. 

When it comes to text, whether it's plain old type or something that's literally trying to jump off the page, B&N is doing great.

Amazon's biggest counterattack on the reading front comes in the form of the Kindle Owner's Lending Library, a service that lets you borrow a book per month for free, including some bestsellers. (B&N would be quick to reply that it, too, offers freebies — via email and in person, if you show up at its stores and hop on the Wi-Fi.)

Music & video
Things start to get weird when we get into the other forms of media. Since Barnes & Noble can't sell you movies or music directly, it relies heavily on partnerships. One chief partnership is Netflix, which comes out looking amazing on the Nook Tablet. B&N spends some time talking about the "HD entertainment" available for the Tablet — to be clear, the screen's resolution isn't physically "high definition" so I was a bit skeptical. But then I saw what the hullabaloo was about: Compared to the Kindle Fire, the playback of many Netflix shows on the Nook Tablet is waaaay better, because it's coming from an HD source. 

So even though the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet have essentially the same screens, the content getting streamed from Netflix (and, apparently, Hulu) is better quality. (This higher quality can also be seen on the iPad's Netflix app, by the way.)

If you're not using Netflix or Hulu, it's currently a challenge to watch movies on the Nook Tablet. B&N will be partnering with video rent-or-buy options in the future, but it doesn't have anything like that at launch. If you are savvy enough to buy a DVD and rip it on your computer, you can copy it to the Tablet's internal drive via USB, then find it by fishing through the not-so-great Gallery menu. 

For music, it's more straightforward. You just copy your own files over, and they show up in the music player. If you don't have any music of your own, you can sign up for a free service like Pandora or Grooveshark, or get a subscription with Napster, Rhapsody or Mog.

What Amazon does, by contrast, is give you a chance to upload tons of your own music to the cloud, and then stream it as you wish on your tablet. Maybe you'd find that extraneous, but that, plus a thriving MP3 store, represent a big music advantage. 

Apps & games
Although the Nook app store has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a packet of add-ons for the Nook Color, it will be hard for B&N to keep up with Amazon now that Amazon has its own device. The future will likely mean an awful lot of apps built to run on the Kindle Fire, and while that means they'll be well suited to run on the Nook Tablet as well, Amazon may try to buy off the best stuff as "exclusive." 

While that plays out, Barnes & Noble has a bigger issue, and that is that it's hard to search for apps on the Nook Tablet. Book titles keep popping up, and there's no apparent way to filter just the apps.

On the gaming front, the Kindle is already pulling ahead. Both have Rovio, maker of Angry Birds, but Amazon has Electronic Arts, PopCap, Gameloft and others lined up, too. Even though the Nook Tablet hardware is allegedly better for playing heavy-duty titles, there were none to try out, only casual games, the old bird-in-slingshot stuff that any phone can handle these days. (UPDATE: Barnes & Noble does have games from EA and Gameloft, but what I said remains true: B&N doesn't yet have graphics-intensive games from those publishers, like "Dead Space" and "Asphalt," which are available for the Kindle Fire.)

Web browsing and email
Don't make too big a deal about browsing and email on either of these devices. The 7-inch screen makes much of the the Web hard to look at, despite the completely adequate browsers found in both devices. And for email, both use off-the-shelf apps that are functional but light on frills. 

How it boils down
It's something of a tragedy, I feel. I spent much of my Kindle Fire review talking about how it threatens the iPad, and now, though the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet are fairly evenly matched, and in some ways I like the Nook Tablet better, I have spent much of its review telling you why it will also take a hit thanks to Amazon.  

But since these are first and foremost e-book devices, the best choice is still the one that aligns with your preferred shopping experience. If you spend a lot of time in Barnes & Noble, the Nook is right for you. If you are an Amazon Prime customer, then Kindle Fire is a no-brainer. 

And if you are undecided on these matters, write down your five favorite contemporary authors, and see how much of their material turns up in either store. You need to land wherever you find the most content that suits your own personal taste, otherwise the rest of the drama matters for naught.

More on the Nook and Kindle war:

• Kindle vs. Nook: $99 e-ink touch readers face off
• Tablet war 2011: Nook vs. Kindle vs. iPad
• Q&A: Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet vs. iPad
• Kindle Fire review: Yes, it's that good
• Kindle Fire success is Google Android failure

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.

John Brecher / msnbc.com

Before there was a Kindle Fire or a Nook Tablet, there were e-ink readers, humble slates that showed black words on a white (or nearly white) background, easy on the eyes, the way our ancestors intended. This week, the e-ink readers from Amazon and Barnes & Noble get the power of touch, and the even greater power of a $99 price tag. But which one's better? 

Spoiler alert! The B&N Nook Simple Touch and the Amazon Kindle Touch are basically the same. 

They have the same screen size, the same contrast, the same speed of page turns. Both can hold 1,000 books or more, though I would be impressed if you ever used more than 5 percent of the capacity. Why? Because both companies keep track of books you buy, and let you reload them in seconds anytime you like. The battery on the Nook Simple Touch lasts "over two months" while the battery on the Amazon Kindle Touch lasts "up to two months." In other words, it's the same!

And besides the fact that they're substantially cheaper in price, these e-ink devices have their benefits. They're as light as paperbacks, are easy to read outside or inside, and can be forgotten for days with no charging, and still be ready for your reading pleasure. Both let you borrow books from libraries and friends, both have social components so you can upload passages to Facebook, and both let you make notes that sync to the cloud, so you can check them later from any device.

The downside is that they need a light source — be it bedside lamp, Itty Bitty Book Light or flickering torch on the wall of your stony keep. There's no color e-ink option, or any way to watch video. Increasingly, cookbooks and kids' books have extra content intended for full-color LCD screens, and these books usually won't even open on e-ink readers.

Whichever e-reader you choose is likely to deliver the same amount of happiness, but there are subtleties, both in the way the devices behave, and in the way their companies manage content, that are worth you knowing before you plunk down your hard-earned Benjamin.

John Brecher / msnbc.com

No, this isn't poor white balance: Both "black and white" screens actually display charcoal text on an off-white background.

What you'll like about Amazon Kindle Touch:
Amazon's big push right now is for people to sign up for its $80-per-year Prime service. One of the perks is borrowing a book a month from its "Kindle Owners' Lending Library," which includes top-selling titles that you can read at no additional charge, but only if you own a Kindle. Users of the Kindle apps don't get a piece of this action.

While the Kindle Touch lists for $99, you can spend $50 more for a 3G version, which can sync your books anywhere in the world with no fees or contracts. Not only is that nice to have if you're traveling, it's also a key benefit for the older readers, who like the big font sizes of e-readers, but don't have homes equipped with Wi-Fi. 

The Kindle Touch supports a lot of mainstream file formats, including PDF, TXT, Word docs (both .doc and .docx) and even HTML pages. (It does not support the ePub format used by many other readers, however.)

Kindle X-Ray is a system that breaks down books to the "bones," key passages, plot shifts, historical references and character appearances, using cloud computing and a combination of community-powered encyclopedias Shelfari, for literature, and Wikipedia, for general subjects. I don't know yet if it's a reader's aid or the 21st century equivalent of Cliff's Notes, but either way, it seems compelling. 

Amazon still has an "Experimental" section that includes a Web browser, MP3 player and text-to-speech, where permitted, for reading books out loud.

What you won't like about it:
The way Amazon got its price down is by loading "special offers," that is, "advertisements," onto the sleep screen and home screen of the Kindle. If you want to buy the same device without these ads, you have to pay $30 extra. It's not that annoying to me, and these really are offers you can act on to save money, but many people justifiably bristle at it. 

A bit more offensive to me is the Kindle e-ink interface. The Kindle Fire tablet has a simple, smooth interface, so it's hard to get lost. By contrast, on the Kindle Touch, it's easy to get lost on its home page. You can organize your books into collections, but it's still a bit cluttered, and though the touch interaction works, the system was not redesigned to make your finger feel at home.

What you'll like about the B&N Nook Simple Touch:
On interface, Barnes & Noble wins. The home screen is more graphical, and the home button lets you jump from there library, shop, search and settings with a quick tap. Even the pages with a lot of text are a bit cleaner, and there are no ads. To top it off, the Nook Simple Touch has forward and back buttons on each side, and a slightly contoured back panel for better gripping, so it's easier to use one-handed. 

Obviously, Amazon is an online powerhouse while Barnes & Noble is more ubiquitous in the big-box malls, so B&N capitalizes on the in-store experience. If you don't have Wi-Fi, you can still pop down to the store to hop on Wi-Fi for free, and download books. (You can also get free Wi-Fi from AT&T hotspots, nationwide.) You can read books that you didn't pay for when you're in the store, so theoretically you could get a bunch of books for free, if you spend enough time in the B&N cafe. And speaking of free, B&N has in-store freebies for Nook owners, and regularly sends emails for free book offers, too.

If you happen to be someone who bought books from other services that support the Adobe Reader rights management software for the ePub file format, then you can use those books with the Nook Simple Touch. (And if you don't know what I'm talking about, this probably doesn't apply to you.) 

What you won't like about it:
You'll have to rely on Wi-Fi (whether at home, in the store or somewhere else), since there's no 3G option for the Nook Simple Touch.

Though the Nook Simple Touch does support the widely accepted ePub and PDF formats, it can't load Word or TXT documents you might want to see on it. 

There are no frills, such as the Web browser or text-to-speech, so travelers, early adopters and people with special needs may find the Nook lacking. 

The bigger picture
It's safe to say that, point by point, I favor the Nook Simple Touch, but the differences that I highlight are far outweighed by the similarities I discussed up top. And the biggest competitive tensions are still there: If you buy books from Barnes & Noble, you can't read them on a Kindle, and if you buy books from Amazon, you can't read them on a Nook. (Not, at least, without some serious hackery.)

And as for those other e-readers you may have heard about, from Sony, or Kobo, or some no-name brand, do yourself a favor and avoid them. There are major benefits in sticking with one of the key players, not least of all the apps that these companies have for iPhone, iPad and Android, that let you keep books synced across devices. And with pricing of Amazon and Barnes & Noble touch-sensitive e-ink devices down below $100, there is absolutely no monetary benefit you can gain by straying from the two leaders.

That's why my best advice to you is to pick a company and stick with it. Do you shop at Barnes & Noble a lot? If so, go with a Nook. Do you belong to Amazon Prime? If so, check out Kindle.

More hot Nook and Kindle action from msnbc.com:

• Tablet war 2011: Nook vs. Kindle vs. iPad
• Q&A: Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet vs. iPad
• Kindle Fire review: Yes, it's that good
• Kindle Fire success is Google Android failure

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.

Apple

While the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet are no match for an iPad, pound for pound, their lower pricing means they provide as much of the value, dollar for dollar. There is competitive and economic pressure on Apple to drop the price of the iPad by $100 or more. And far from being anathema for the profit-driven tech giant, a well-timed price cut is directly in line with Apple's iPod and iPhone strategies.

Business Insider cited a report by Bill Shope, an analyst at Goldman Sachs, forecasting "near-term demand challenges" for the iPad. iPad sales were good but not great this past quarter, and though they might see a bump in the holiday buying season, Shope says Apple needs to do three things: Continue to push the iCloud platform, add the addictive Siri voice assistant to the iPad and drop the tablet's pricing.

There's precedent for this, as Shope and anyone else who's watched Apple for the last 10 years can tell you. The iPods saw substantial price drops year over year, as features improved and hardware evolved. The iPhones, though they follow a different pricing model because of carrier subsidies, also came down fast from their initial, punitively high cost.

The iPad was safe at $499 as long as Android hardware rivals were charging even more for inferior hardware, and drew no real attraction from the masses. The conventional wisdom until now has been, "People don't want tablets, they want iPads." But Amazon and Barnes & Noble are a lot better than other Android hardware makers at explaining why people should own a tablet, and the fact that their wares are priced from $199 to $249 only adds to the pressure.

But bear in mind, Amazon and Barnes & Noble are selling 7-inch tablets, and there's a valid premium to be paid for double the screen size, which is what you get with an iPad. To add to the stress for Apple's accounting department, Amazon will eventually release a competing 10-inch tablet. Because the Kindle Fire is just $199, a 10-incher could possibly be as low as $299.

So when will the inevitable iPad price cut hit?

My guess is, of course, this spring, assuming that's when Apple chooses to launch iPad 3. My current pet theory — though I stress it's just a theory — is that Apple will release an iPad with a microscopic-pixel Retina display similar to the iPhone for $499, and then sell a basic 16GB-only version of the current iPad 2 for $399. Goldman's Shope says Apple could even strip their iPad 2 down to 8GB, keeping costs low enough to really crush competitors and "further accelerate Apple’s already impressive momentum in emerging regions such as China.

What would be cool as all get-out, albeit a little less logical, would be if the top of the line started at $399, and the budget model was $299, but I don't think that will happen this early. Whatever happens, it's highly unlikely that a price slashing will occur before Christmas. Apple just doesn't play that game.

More on the iPad and its competitors from msnbc.com:

• Amazon's success is Google's failure
• Kindle Fire review: Yes, it's really that good
• Q&A: Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet vs. iPad
• Amazon's Kindle Fire apps show Apple-like strategy
• Tablet war 2011: Nook vs. Kindle vs. iPad
• Barnes & Noble confirms Nook Tablet for $249

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.

Appcelerator / IDC

Before even hitting the market, Amazon's Kindle Fire has captured the hearts of tech enthusiasts and the minds of software developers in a way that no Android tablet before it could. We were pretty sure this was the case, but a newly minted study confirms it.

The latest installment in a quarterly survey of developers conducted by Appcelerator and IDC has just been released. It shows that the Kindle Fire has shoved aside all other Android tablets in North America as the Android device developers most want to create apps for, and it's gaining ground in Europe and Asia as well. The catch is, to develop for the Kindle Fire, apps need to be submitted to Amazon, not to Google, so if this trajectory continues, Google will lose control of its own mobile OS, at least as far as tablets are concerned.

Appcelerator / IDC

Of course, price is what everyone cares most about. It is always cited as the main way Android devices can compete against the industry-leading Apple ones. As such, the Kindle Fire's $199 price is still the Number One reason developers say it matters. But the Fire's secondary allures — Amazon's huge content library and its growing app store — are what will keep it out in front.

Bear in mind, Amazon and Barnes & Noble use Android as the basis for their media tablets, but they don't ask for Google's seal of approval. Because of this, they waive the right to install Google's mobile apps and Android Market portal on their devices. So far, this choice does not appear to hurt the dissidents. 

(It's worth noting that while the Kindle Fire is the clear winner of mindshare here, the Nook tablets do appear on the developer short list for North America, where B&N has the most reach; they are not as much of a draw outside of the U.S.)

What's a tablet for?
Amazon and Barnes & Noble understand what the Google-backed Android tablet makers seems unable to grasp, that content and services — what you do with the thing — needs to be part of the sell. A phone is a phone, you have to have one, so why not have one that does email and Web and all that? But a tablet? Who needs them? Like Apple, Amazon and Barnes & Noble actually have an answer to that question.

The fact that they're Android devices is almost buried in their stories. "They're keeping laser focused on the most important priority: appealing to their base,"  Appcelerator marketing VP Scott Schwarzhoff told me. "And their base could care less about Android." 

Amazon is likely to soon join Apple out in front, in part because owning the commerce system is increasingly key to accumulating power. "It's the commerce identity systems that are competing against each other," Schwarzhoff said. And when it comes to regularly handling online transactions for tens or hundreds of millions of customers, Apple and Amazon are well ahead of any other hardware competitors.

(It's also about trust, something Google — and Facebook — would also have a harder time with, but that isn't part of the survey, and is a discussion for another time.)

Developers do have concerns about the Kindle Fire. There's no camera or GPS or other high-end tablet perks, and Amazon's app store is a little trickier to deal with than Google's. But the biggest fear is that the Kindle Fire's success will destabilize the Android camp even more. This is a valid fear. My guess is that soon Amazon will have its own camp. And its tents will be way nicer.

Good news for Windows Phone
The Appcelerator survey backed up another bit of mobile industry conventional wisdom: Windows Phone is indeed pulling ahead of BlackBerry and the other lower tier operating systems. Thirty eight percent of developers said they were "very interested" in working on the platform. 

Appcelerator / IDC

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

As such, this is good news for Nokia, whose previous smartphone platforms were met with disdain by developers. Windows Phone on Nokia means more interest in apps for Nokia devices, says the survey. But Nokia helps Microsoft too. That partnership, as well as an improved Windows Phone experience and the coming of a mobile-friendly Windows 8, are cited as reasons for the heightened interest.

What developers are clearly NOT interested in is BlackBerry. Both the BlackBerry OS and the PlayBook platform saw dips, down to 21 percent and 13 percent, respectively. Even though Windows Phone has low single-digit market share, it manages to seem more of a safe bet than the massive but aging population of BlackBerry devices.

More on Kindle Fire, B&N Nook and iPad:

• Q&A: Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet vs. iPad
• Amazon's Kindle Fire apps show Apple-like strategy
• Tablet war 2011: Nook vs. Kindle vs. iPad
• Barnes & Noble confirms Nook Tablet for $249

More on Windows Phone:

• Nokia's first Windows Phones see light of day
• Windows Phone is improved, but is it enough?

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.

This won't be one of those long technical reviews. You're reading this to make sure that the Amazon Kindle Fire you already know you want is up to snuff, and well, it is. I've had it since Thursday — reading, watching video, listening to music, checking email, even playing some games — and I can say it's tight. Turn it on and you know what to do, like with an Apple product. So much like an Apple product that Apple should be scared.

It's a 7-inch tablet, which means that it's half as big as an iPad, and way closer in size to a paperback book. It could be a little easier to grip, but Amazon went minimalist here, rather than opting for some weird-looking ergonomics. Because of the size, reading is easier than on an iPad, though kids' entertainment and other engrossing interactive content isn't as fun. And because the Fire is widescreen, unlike the more 4x3 iPad, videos look almost as big as they do on Apple's much larger device. As far as screen quality goes, it's on par with the iPad. In other words, as an opening move, hardware-wise, Amazon's getting it right.

If you buy the Fire from Amazon's website, it comes with your login information already onboard, so you just confirm that you are you, and you're off. The top of the home screen has labeled categories: Newsstand, Books, Music, Video, Docs, Apps and Web. Any Kindle e-books you ever bought show up in the library archive, any music you bought or uploaded to Amazon's Cloud Player shows up in music, and any video in your locker is there, too. There's a gallery of apps that you may have purchased from Amazon's app store (excuse me, "Appstore"). And by design, each page of stuff you own is just a click away from a store where you can get a ton more.

John Brecher / msnbc.com

The Silk browser on the Kindle Fire is nearly as smooth as its namesake.

Amazon's Appstore is a huge asset. Because it is tied to Amazon's own purchasing system, it's easier for you to buy apps from a trusted source. And because Amazon went with quality over quantity, it lacks the feel of Google's Android Market, which can get so slimy that it could use a hosing down from time to time. Not every app you want is in the Amazon Appstore, but the company is already getting some of the best stuff out there — including apps from competitors like Netflix and Hulu — and developers who see the Kindle Fire will work just as hard to get their "A" material in front of Fire buyers.

The rest of the home screen is a combination of two well-known Apple design elements. Up top, there's a "cover flow" of all recent items, be they book, app, movie or Web page. Underneath is an iBooks-like shelving system, where you can pin and rearrange your favorite media items. Rip-off or not, the interface works well enough. The Fire is certainly more fluid than the Kindle e-reader, which succeeds in spite of its user interface.

John Brecher / msnbc.com

Amazon Prime lets you borrow a book a month at no extra cost, and some of the titles are bestsellers.

Speaking of fluid, the Fire's Silk browser is nice and quick, and only gets faster as it wises up to your browsing patterns. If you always hit the msnbc.com home page then jump to Tech/Sci, it will start caching Tech/Sci in anticipation of your click. And though it tends to trigger the mobile versions of websites, it has few problems with the full versions, including embedded video and other features. I did encounter a broken page once, apparently caused by an ad loading funny, but troubles have been minor to date.

It's easy to see that Amazon Prime will be a requirement for most Fire buyers, and not only because it's the best way to get Julia Child's original series "The French Chef" instantly on demand. Prime videos, movies and books could account for a huge chunk of your media diet, and represent the best value. It's a shame Amazon doesn't have a Spotify-like component for on-demand music, but I suspect that would eat too much into its MP3 sales.

The biggest downside to Prime video is that it's like Netflix, and only works when you're connected to the Internet. That means that, in an airplane or a car, you are likely in trouble. You can connect the Kindle Fire to your PC or Mac and easily copy over home videos and movies you rip from DVD (DVDs you own, hopefully). Still, the main way to take videos with you into a no-bandwidth zone is to rent or buy them, so you can download them to the Fire. Beware, because with a total of 8GB on board, you only have enough storage for 10 movies or 800 songs, but certainly not both. There's no step-up model, like there is with the iPad, and there's no SD card slot, like on the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet.

As you wander through the Kindle Fire interface, it's not easy to get lost, partly because the categories are so cut-and-dry, and partly because you can nearly always see a home button to take you back when things get muddy. But I say "nearly" because in some apps, you have to click a few times to even see the home button. This inconsistency made me miss the physical home button found on the iPad and many Android devices. While we're on the subject, I also missed volume up/down buttons, and wish that the on/off button wasn't located on the bottom, where it's so easily pressed on accident.

But these are design issues that don't really interfere with the overall potency of the product, especially since much of the potency comes from that $199 price tag. What does matter is battery life. Amazon says it's "up to 8 hours of continuous reading, or 7.5 hours of video playback, with wireless off." That's not as good as an iPad, which is rated for up to 10 hours of continuous use. I didn't run it into the ground in one sitting, but I managed to go several days of regular use between charges. Again, an iPad can go longer — mine lasts nearly a week between charges. Still, the Fire's battery life ought to be satisfactory for most people.

John Brecher / msnbc.com

So while we're on the subject of iPad, let's have the talk. No, the Kindle Fire is not anywhere close to being the precision machine that the iPad 2 is. There are no cameras and no microphone. The Fire's screen is half the size of the iPad's, and the Fire's battery life isn't as good, yet the Fire is still a hair thicker. The Fire interface, while seductively simple, lacks the nuances — the futuristic animations and fades — that keep Apple on top. 

But for Apple, this still spells trouble. The Kindle Fire can handle about 80 percent of what I want to do on an iPad, for 40 percent of the price. And much of what's missing won't be missing for long. Even if you can justify buying one iPad, you may look to the Fire as a second device in your high-tech home. And if you can't justify an iPad this holiday season, you might consider Amazon's alternative.

Later this week, we'll be looking at the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet, the closest thing to competition that the Kindle Fire will see in its class and price range. Though Barnes & Noble already has momentum from selling the Nook Color, it's hard to see how the book retailer could outsell Amazon in this space, especially since Amazon is a digital media powerhouse, and these tablets are about more than reading. We keep an open mind, though, not least of all because the Nook specs are impressive. But for the moment, and perhaps for the time being, Kindle Fire is well worth its amazingly low price.

More on the Kindle Fire and its competition:

• Hulu Plus coming to Kindle Fire after all
• Q&A: Kindle Fire vs. Nook Tablet vs. iPad
• Amazon's Kindle Fire apps show Apple-like strategy
• Tablet war 2011: Nook vs. Kindle vs. iPad
• Barnes & Noble confirms Nook Tablet for $249

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.

Amazon

Amazon revealed its app lineup for Kindle Fire Wednesday, and it's pretty exciting. Even though the tablet will be a vessel for Amazon's media, the company is promoting competitors such as Netflix, Rhapsody and Pandora, plus a slew of games, in a roster that shows how much Amazon is learning from Apple.

What's surprising at first glance is that many of the apps that will be available to Kindle Fire buyers sound like they would directly compete with Amazon's own offerings. Who would pay for Amazon Prime for streaming video if they already have a Netflix subscription? Why buy songs when you have Pandora? But that's what has made Apple so successful. With the exception of iBooks, which may one day be a success but currently is a bit stalled, Apple's own media sales aren't hurt by the fact that there's a ton of great media apps for iPad. In fact, choice between quality services just makes the platform all the more alluring. (The $199 price tag doesn't hurt either.)

Amazon is also playing Apple in the way it runs its Appstore for Android. Every app goes through a submission process before it can be released. The goal is to keep app quality high, even if it means keeping the quantity of apps down. Amazon is also interested in selling apps, rather than just giving away freebies. Most of Google's Android Market is free stuff, and that tends to make some game developers and content publishers skittish. Amazon is a very attractive alternative for them.

That's why the launch lineup for Kindle Fire apps includes the most popular games from Zynga, EA, Gameloft, PopCap and Rovio, as well as cookbooks and kid's storybooks.

The increased attention to money does have a downside: Some developers have expressed dismay at Amazon's financial agreements, particularly the Free App of the Day, which nets them zero dollars.

Because of this, Amazon is not just an Apple wannabe, but an anti-Google. When Google launched its Honeycomb tablet platform, it had 15 or so native apps, and they're still hard to come by. If anything Kindle Fire is an example of how Android has failed in the tablet space. Everybody wants to consume content, but Amazon, like Apple, knows you have to put it in front of users or they won't know how, or where, to get it. 

Amazon didn't put Kindle Fire on Android because it likes Android. Amazon did it because it was the most logical way to build a platform that can compete with the iPad — and leave those other Android tablets in the dust.

More on Kindle Fire from msnbc.com:

• Tablet war 2011: Nook vs. Kindle vs. iPad
• Amazon's Kindle Fire is a $199 Android tablet
• Amazon Prime adds PBS, prepping for Kindle Fire
• Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet vs. the iPad

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.

Barnes & Noble's new Nook Tablet may cost $50 more than Amazon's Kindle Fire, but B&N has no trouble explaining why that extra $50 is worth it. The brick-and-mortar bookseller will engage in mighty battle with Amazon and iPad-maker Apple this holiday season, with no other competitor even coming close. When you're shopping for your dream tablet, it's important to keep in mind the strengths and weaknesses of each platform.

Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble
Though this retailer was on the ropes a few years back, it is projecting Nook devices to be a $1.8-billion business this year. The company beat its online rival Amazon to launching both a 7-inch color tablet and a touchscreen e-ink reader, and now they're challenging Amazon again with major upgrades of both, and similar pricing.

Selling points: The Nook Tablet may cost $50 more than the Kindle Fire, but B&N says that additional RAM and in-device storage are worth it. Offering in-store support at locations all over the nation, and a potentially more aggressive library of books, magazines, comics and kid titles, mean that it's going to hold its own in the lit department. And leveraging partnerships with Netflix, Hulu and other streaming media providers means that people who subscribe to those services will be drawn to this device.

On top of that, the $99 Nook Simple Touch reader is priced to challenge the ad-supported $99 Kindle Touch reader — but comes unencumbered by ads.

Weak spots: B&N doesn't have its own multimedia offerings, so people may look to other devices for similar Netflix and Hulu experiences. The Nook Cloud service doesn't do what Apple and Amazon cloud services do, such as back up personal files, or store your personal music collection.

And while the Nook Tablet's $50 step up in price sure seems justified, there's a chance it will turn off deal-hungry shoppers. They could select the existing Nook Color, which now costs $199, but that's just confusing, and is apt to under-deliver on some experiences, even when its major update arrives in December.

Amazon

Amazon
We're pretty gung-ho about the Kindle Fire tablet, since the $199 price point and Amazon's ecosystem of books, movies and music are a compelling pitch. And let's not forget that Amazon is the dominant player in the e-book world, and the focal point of impulse buying during the holiday season.

Selling points: Not only does Amazon have a pretty devoted audience already, it is working hard to lock them in tight. Amazon Prime, for $80 per year, not only gives people "free" two-day shipping, but streaming TV and movies, a la Netflix. The company just announced that the membership would also include a lending library of recently released books, available "free." In other words, just buying the device and signing up for Prime is enough to guarantee you plenty of activities, and that's before you add in all of the free apps you can get at the Amazon Appstore for Android.

And without more on-board memory, I'm wondering how I'd use it to watch movies when I'm on an airplane — I sure as heck won't be paying for Wi-Fi so I can stream a trickle of video off of a satellite to a jet flying at 500 mph somewhere 32,000 feet above America.

Weak spots: Barnes & Noble derided the Kindle Fire for being underpowered, and the e-ink tablets for being cheap only because they show ads when you're not reading. Both of these could factor into people making holiday buying decisions, along with the fact that Amazon has no in-person support program, while both B&N and Apple do.

Apple

Apple
Almost anything you can do on a Kindle Fire or a Nook Tablet, you can do on an iPad, with a screen that's twice the square inches. Even if the iPad isn't a direct competitor, it's safe to say it will lure many bigger spenders away from the reader-focused tablets.

Selling points: Besides the Apple halo of design, quality and service, and the evolving iTunes/iCloud ecosystem, the iPad really is a more grown-up product. It's got cameras that developers are using in many ways beyond just video conferencing. It has apps that do real work, from word processing to video editing. And it has Netflix and Hulu Plus for video, not to mention B&N Nook and Amazon Kindle e-reader apps. They don't do everything, but they serve the majority of needs. And they're likely not going away.

Weak spots: Both B&N and Amazon are aware of Apple's threat, so having a Nook or Kindle app for iPad doesn't guarantee full service. Many of the Nook magazine and kids' book features are not available anywhere but on the Nook Tablet and Nook Color, and Amazon's Prime lending library is exclusive to Kindles, both the Fire and all of the e-ink versions. Apple has its own iBooks service, but the very existence of other options from major booksellers renders it all but moot.

Some people prefer the lighter weight and smaller 7-inch screens on the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire, in part because they're better for reading books and watching movies by yourself.

And let's face it, the iPad is $500 — baseline. Until it's $399, or even $299, it's not going to reach the greatest number of people who want it, even if its merits are abundantly clear.

More on the new Nook Tablet and its rivals:

• Barnes & Noble confirms Nook Tablet for $249
• Nook 'Tablet' will be $249 Kindle Fire rival, says alleged leak
• Nook Color sequel likely to be announced next Monday
• Nook Color gets apps, email, Flash and more
• E-ink showdown: New B&N Nook vs. Amazon Kindle

Catch up with Wilson on Twitter at @wjrothman, or on Google+. And join our conversation on Facebook.