Reading Experience on Kindle Fire

I'm eager for more feedback on the Kindle Fire w/ Logos reading experience. I have seen some comments on other threads, but I am hoping for more feedback now that it has been out nearly two weeks (what a long time!! Wink ) I am thinking of asking for a Kindle Fire for Christmas . . . I would love an iPad2, but that won't happen by a long shot.

Specifically, I'd like feedback on these areas, as well as any other input anyone can add that is helpful

backlit vs. e-ink. Yeah, I know the latter is easier on the eyes. But is the kindle fire experience different/harder than, say, a laptop? Or an iPad or iPod? I read on the computer all the time, and it doesn't bother me much. of course on my laptop I get to choose a gray background, which may make it easier on the eyes. I imagine Kindle Fire doesn't have that?
processor speed. I hear it is slower, with some lag. how bad is it, actually? I know this is more a subjective impression. I have gotten used to some of the L4 slowness, others can't get over it. But what is it like turning pages on the Fire? with the gen3 Kindle, there is some flicker between pages, but it really doesn't bother me, even though I'd like it seamless
Screen size. For reading Logos books, do you get the impression you feel more like you are reading a "book"? And, I assume you can have a split screen for bible/commentary? how does that feel on the Fire?
Battery life. I am sure the specs are out there. But what is the relative battery life when using Logos primarily?

Thanks for any input you can give!

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Comments

Jared Blair

I just got a Fire but the Logos App isn't compatible yet! Hopefully Logos realizes this and is working on getting their app into the Amazon store since technically the Kindle Fire is Amazon's version of an Android tablet and not the standard android form like a Xoom or Galaxy Tab.

With the Fire you can choose different background colors (white/paper/black) and you can adjust the line spacing and font size to make your books easier to read similar to Logos' features. I personally have not had any lag yet in books or apps, and it appears to be very fast. The main thing is utilizing Amazon's cloud so you don't clog your device with too much stuff.

The negatives are that you have to be connected to Wi-Fi to use most apps and there is no 3G capability on it, and it is a bit smaller than an Ipad, but still big enough to hold in one hand and read, which I like a lot. Battery life is great as long as you lower the brightness: it's basically the same as a smartphone which could be somewhere between 6-10 hours of use.

Hope that helps! At $199 it's definitely a great tablet to have, we just need Logos to get their app on the Amazon store before you should consider getting one for use with Logos

Jared Blair

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309031#Comment_309031

Actually I just saw where Logos updated to support the Kindle Fire! I will get back to this once I've used for a little while. thanks

Friedrich

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309036#Comment_309036

Actually I just saw where Logos updated to support the Kindle Fire! I will get back to this once I've used for a little while. thanks

Hey Jared--thanks for replying, and welcome to the forums. Yeah, I had seen on one of the threads that the app was now available. before that, you had to "sideload" it, and there were some compatibility issues, but people were still using Logos on it. I'd love to hear more of your experience, once you get to use it. Thanks again!

Sean Crotty

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309051#Comment_309051

I used my Kindle Fire with the latest version of the app (0.9.2) for the first time during Sunday service yesterday. I love it. I switched to white text on black background and held it in landscape orientation. It is my new church bible.

I would like to see support for gestures added and an easier way to flip between a few different verses (accessing history requires 3 taps). There is also by a bug that makes popups contain garbled text - but I'm sure that'll be fixed asap.

All in all, Logos on the KF is excellent!

Sean Crotty

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309114#Comment_309114

To your specific questions, Jared:

1. The display is similar quality to a laptop. There is not support for black text on gray background. But you can invert to white text on black background - although that doesn't really affect eyestrain.
2. The speed is slower than Logos on a laptop/desktop computer, but I think that is largely due to the need to retrieve data via wifi from the Logos servers. You can improve simple bible/book reading by downloading individual books to the KF's small (~6GB) internal storage. But tools like the Passage Guide still hit the server - making them slow but not unbearable to use.
3. The 7" KF is the perfect size for portable use. But I would not think of using Logos on it for serious study. I don't think you can even split the screen for bible/commentary. I would definitely opt for my laptop for study.
4. I haven't observed Logos to be an atypically large consumer of power on the KF. In church I turn off wifi to save power and just use Logos to access the books I've downloaded. My guess is that you would get 4-5 hours of constant Logos use (with wifi) - but I don't know for sure.

Bottom line: Logos on the Kindle Fire is perfect for light, mostly navigational use when on the go. But it is definitely not a replacement for a laptop/desktop when those are available.

Friedrich

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309124#Comment_309124

To your specific questions, Jared:

1. The display is similar quality to a laptop. There is not support for black text on gray background. But you can invert to white text on black background - although that doesn't really affect eyestrain.
2. The speed is slower than Logos on a laptop/desktop computer, but I think that is largely due to the need to retrieve data via wifi from the Logos servers. You can improve simple bible/book reading by downloading individual books to the KF's small (~6GB) interval storage. But tools like the Passage Guide still hit the server - making them slow but not unbearable to use.
3. The 7" KF is the perfect size for portable use. But I would not think of using Logos on it for serious study. I don't think you can even split the screen for bible/commentary. I would definitely opt for my laptop for study.
4. I haven't observed Logos to be an atypically large consumer of power on the KF. In church I turn off wifi to save power and just use Logos to access the books I've downloaded. My guess is that you would get 4-5 hours of constant Logos use (with wifi) - but I don't know for sure.

Bottom line: Logos on the Kindle Fire is perfect for light, mostly navigational use when on the go. But it is definitely not a replacement for a laptop/desktop when those are available.

thanks for your input, Sean. I definitely would not think of trying to replace my use of Logos on the laptop. But it is such a pain when it comes to reading. I have wondered about how a Nook Tablet might be better--faster, better expansion, etc. But, it may not be necessary if I am primarily using it as a reader for Logos.

Here's how my days go: ipad2 for 499?? Too expensive. Kindle Fire?! Great PRICE. Let's do it! . . . but, the Nook offers more for only $50 more . . . and for another 100 dollars or so, I could get a refurbished ipad (first gen), and really rock. Or, just another 100 dollars more, and I get what I really want, a refurbished ipad2! But that is about the same price as a new ipad2, with no questions about its reliability . . . let's get the ipad2! lol. It'll probably be the KF.

Philana Crouch

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309124#Comment_309124

To your specific questions, Jared:

1. The display is similar quality to a laptop. There is not support for black text on gray background. But you can invert to white text on black background - although that doesn't really affect eyestrain.

I am not using the Kindle, but the iPad. I find though that if I am reading at night (no lights on in the room) that black with white text is much easier on my eyes.

Enjoy reading Vyrso/Logos books on a tablet!

[:)][:)][:)]

Donald G. Fisher

Dan,

I totally can empathize with you about what to choose as a reader for my Logos Library. Ideal world is an iPad but how I hate the price. I already have an iPhone so I know how well Logos will do. I hate reading for large amounts of time on a small screen. Reading on my laptop isn't the best solution either. Kindle is an awesome price but will it be to limited when for just a "little bit more" you can get something more and for just a "little bit more" you can get even more? Do that a few times and you are at the price of an iPad. When I checked the local Craig's List the going price for iPads not much less than a new one. Reading journals and magazines on the phone just isn't cutting it any more. My wife would like to spring for an iPad for a Christmas/graduation gift. (M.A. from Liberty) Everytime I look at the iPad prices they remain the same. That is why I am following the Kindle forums to see all of the pros and cons. Good luck with your choice.

Blessings,

Don

Friedrich

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309359#Comment_309359

Good luck with your choice.

lol, and you, too, Don. Congrats on your pending graduation! If you can get an iPad, do it! Btw, you can get refurbished gen 1s from Apple (I think I did reference that) for 399. I'd rather do that than get a used one for only 10-20 bucks cheaper from some dude named Vinny through the Amazon service . . .

I will probably end up going with the Kindle, just because it is far, far cheaper. And then, maybe in 2-3 years, i might have the luxury of choosing a bigger/more powerful tablet/ipad. But the KF should get me into reading books frequently, and have more than enough space for the dozen or so books I want to read or reference at the moment. Although I am still thinking about the Nook tablet. I do like the expansion slot. The main reason for the KF or NTablet is Logos. I only wish all of my library were accessible through them, although that grows by the day, it seems.

Sir Maru

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309375#Comment_309375

I received my Kindle Fire 2 weeks ago and have tried Logos, Tecarta and YouVision Bibles on it. Admittedly, Logos is still in Beta testing. The other two as well are incomplete and are missing a lot of features.

Logos developers should take a look at Tecarta and YouVision and try to implement the best of all three for the Logos gold version.

For font sizes, YouVision has the largest selection. Plus, notes can be made on the internet and reflected on the Fire. However, their flexible fonts are not reflected in user notes on the Fire making them useless for me.

For maneuravalailbility the Tecarta is best allowing two resources to be displayed side by side in Landscape mode. They also have the ability to have the bibles automatically scroll during bible studies without having to touch the screen. They have one larger font than the standard which is not as large as the YouVision., However, Tecarta does not have a site where notes can be inputted on the internet.

Tecarta always displays the current book and chapter at the top of each page so one does not forget where one is located. They also have a section where all history is displayed for the user allowing one to rapidly go back to where one has read in the past.

Tecarta can have voice projected for an individual verse and for an entire chapter. YouVision can only do this for an entire chapter. Tecarta uses a bland voice while YouVision uses a dramatized voice. On the PC Logos allows for a bland voice to be used. The NowBible has a fully dramatized voice with many actors for their Bibles on their specialized units.

I use Logos primarily on my PC and would like to see the Android / Fire implemenation have dual displays in landscape mode, much larger, flexible fonts and the ability to reflect notes in LARGE fonts on the Fire indexed with the verses.

The Kindle Fire is good for reading in low light environments since it has it's own backlighting and can display in white print on a black background. The Kindle eInk display like in the 3rd Generation Kindle WiFi I own is best for bright environments. Logos does not have a Bible offering for them. They should develop one. I use the Osnova Direct Verse Jump Bibles there but they are not operative on the Kindle Fire. If Logos does develop an entry for the eInk readers, they should research the Osnova techniques used in their Bibles.

I have exported my voluminous notes from Logos on the PC to a Word document. Then I used Word to polish the display of them to outline format and emailed them separately to Amazon (different Amazon designated email addresses for the Fire and 3rd Generation eInk) which then formatted them perfectly for each device and sent them to my devices. Thus, I can use my personal notes now with all three Bible formats by flipping back and forth between them. The personal notes became instantly searchable after Amazon applied their formatting.

Friedrich

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/309579#Comment_309579

would like to see the Android / Fire implemenation have dual displays in landscape mode,

definitely would like this!

much larger, flexible fonts

haven't seen the range of offerings yet, but as my eyes get worse, I need big!

Thanks for your input, Sir Maru! you invested a fair amount of time in that post!