Review: Kindle solid, but missing features

Amazon.com's new Kindle Fire hit store shelves Tuesday as perhaps the most anticipated tablet computer since the original iPad.

That's because the device promises everything previous iPad rivals lacked: an approachable interface; easy access to movies, music and books; a known brand name shared with a line of super-popular e-book readers, and a low, low price. Even before getting their hands on it, tech pundits, including yours truly, were already calling it the iPad's first real competition.

I'm not backing off that assessment, but in my short time with Kindle Fire, I've found it somewhat disappointing.

It's not that it doesn't do what it sets out to do. The Fire runs a heavily customized version of the Android operating system that is generally easier to use than other versions of the software. It has direct connections to Amazon's robust digital media offerings. And its $200 price is $300 lower than the least expensive iPad, as well as many of the top Android tablets on the market. But the Fire lacks features big and small, and left me wanting more.

Its screen is considerably smaller than the iPad's -- 7 inches in diagonal compared with the 9.7-inch screen of the Apple device.

The home screen looks like a virtual book shelf. The latest items you've interacted with -- apps, movies, magazines -- are arranged on the top shelf on a virtual carousel.

There are text links to groups of related items -- such as a books area, which holds your collection of e-books; and a music area, where you can find your digital songs and albums. Within most of these areas are links to Amazon's stores, so you can buy new songs directly from the music area and download new apps from within the app collection.

You have a lot of content to choose from. Amazon clearly is positioning the Fire as a means of accessing the company's vast stores of digital books, movies and music.

But the device's ease of use and low price are offset by what it lacks. The first thing you'll notice is that it doesn't have any buttons other than one to turn it on and off. That can make it difficult to adjust the volume or even to get back to its home screen.

That's a minor annoyance compared with other missing items, which limit what you can do with the Fire. For example, the Fire doesn't have any cameras, so you can't use it to take pictures or do video chats. It doesn't have an antenna that would allow it to connect to the cellphone data networks, so if you're not near a Wi-Fi hot spot, you won't be able to stream video or surf the Web.

The Fire works best when you use its native applications and content areas. It doesn't work so well when you go outside of them.