Well, hot off the digital press and literally out of the box comes a handy manual for the Amazon Kindle Fire. Kindle Fire: Out of the Box provides a comprehensive look at a variety of the features of the Android-enabled Amazon tablet. The volume is short and concise, but thoroughly addresses the Fire’s features. It is copiously illustrated and provides a great overview of what makes the Fire special. This is a useful manual for those who possible feel intimidated by the rather unique Kindle Fire interface. As Sawyer states, Amazon made a decision to ‘turn Android on its head’ and focus on content delivery and then put a custom interface on top of Android that allows for access to the Android platform and a variety of Amazon-ok’d apps through a simplified user interface.
Does the Fire need a manual? Probably for most people no, and this is why Amazon took the decision to include in the package (in the Apple manner) a tiny getting started pamphlet. There is additional material provided as an ebook on the device itself. This manual picks up where the Amazon ebook takes off looks at the configuration and setup of the Fire, Books and Newsstand, Videos and Music and finally Apps and web services. The general tone of the narrative is peppy and sardonic, but clear and as I mentioned terse, but makes copious use of screenshots and graphics. There are callouts providing handy tips clearly identifiable and to the point. The volume ends rather suddenly though and I was surpassed that there was no conclusion or discussion of future steps or directions which would have been a great addition.
The book is clean, clear and a useful overview of how to make the best use of a new Kindle Fire. Most users may not require the extra detail provided by this manual, but for those wanting to make sure that they are exploiting all the exciting new possibilities of the Kindle Fire, this is a useful resource.
