First reactions to the Kindle Fire

Updated on Saturday, November 19, 2011 at 11:50 PM by Logan Molen

I’ve been playing with the Kindle Fire tablet since it hit stores Tuesday and am generally impressed with a powerful tablet that acts bigger than its $199 price. 

Before we dive into the details, let’s get this out of the way quickly: the Kindle Fire is much more than an e-reader but it is not an “iPad killer.” But it’s a very good hand-held computer with lots of upside. 

Reading content is at the core of the Kindle brand, but the Fire does so much more. Because of it brings good bang for the buck for mainstream America, expect the Fire to be a big hit this holiday season, giving Amazon a strong foundation in its ongoing battle with Apple, Barnes & Noble, Netflix and who knows else in the battle for consumers’ time and money. 

Some quick observations after a few hours of playtime with the Fire: 

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My appearance on 'Californian Radio'

You can find a podcast of the show in iTunesI appeared on "Californian Radio" on Tuesday to talk about the changing newspaper business and some of the things The Bakersfield Californian is doing to serve its customers in new ways.

Regular Tuesday host Robert Price, The Californian's Opinion section editor, was short on ideas so decided to pull me into the studio for an hourlong talk on a wide variety of topics, including smartphones, tablet computers, our e-edition, people who wear pajamas in public, chain e-mails, and more. (You can listen to the complete episode in iTunes). 

Let me know what you think. 

Update on Monday, November 14, 2011 at 10:07 PM by Logan Molen

Sent out this tweet today:

@lmolen

Follow-up on CalRadio show on tech trends: Facial-recognition concerns (http://t.co/Jenq5HxD) + supersecret Google X (http://t.co/BrgDib3I)

Technology is both jaw-dropping and disconcerting, as both these stories suggest. I'll take the wild west any day of the week but more than ever it's critical to understand the ripple effects of our rapidly changing world. 

Putting the spotlight on The Californian's e-edition

The Bakersfield Californian has kicked off a substantial months-long multimedia campaign to market the iPad and laptop/desktop versions of our e-edition, which is a digital replica of the printed newspaper. 

One of four billboard designs promoting The Bakersfield Californian's iPad app features popular regional destination Morro Rock as a backdrop. The campaign features print and online display ads, TV commercials (watch them above and below), digital billboards and bus wraps. The messages promote the idea of escaping with The Californian -- anywhere, anytime. I won't spill the beans on all the creative until it's all ready for prime time, but I will say there's a neat trick we'll be doing with the digital billboard. And the bus wraps will turn heads. 

I've written previously about our highly rated iPad app and how it's a perfect match for The Californian's tabloid format. We're finding that our e-edition subscribers are extremely loyal in reading daily and spending a sizable amount of time with each edition. 

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