I find that around 75% of the time I want to use a computer, I reach for the Kindle Fire instead of choosing to sit in front of a desktop or use my laptop computer. A lot of this is due to the form factor of the tablet, rather than the specific implementation of the Fire. Sitting back on the easy chair or the couch with the Fire is way more relaxing and comfortable than sitting hunched over the laptop. The fact that I reach for the Fire when I could reach for the laptop is a pretty good endorsement for the Fire.
The screen still looks wonderful, of course. I do find the Fire to be a bit heavy at times, so it takes some maneuvering to get comfortable with it when reading or watching a movie in bed.
The battery life is pretty good, which is should be since the battery comprises a large percentage of the Fire's width and weight. I've yet to time it, but I imagine you can get around 6-8 hours of 'heavy' usage, watching movies or browsing websites. You might be able to get even more if just reading books at a reasonable screen brightness level.
The downside to the big battery is that it takes a long time to charge it. I'm getting charge times from a nearly dead state to full charge of 4-5 hours. Fortunately, with the long run time, I only need to charge it every couple of days. One other charging issue I have is that the micro-USB connector that the Fire charges through happens to be the same size as my cell phone charger. We have 3 or 4 micro-USB wall chargers around our house. Some of them will charge the Fire and some won't - I've managed to mix my Fire charger up with my cell phone chargers and I'm not sure which is which anymore. Not a big deal, but it can be a PITA sometimes.
Still missing the physical volume controls. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine was telling me a funny story about the Fire's volume control. He thought the volume control was turned down and started watching some "adult entertainment". The volume was actually at max, and when the screaming sound started coming out of the Fire, he freaked out. He tried to cover up the speakers, then was feverishly trying to adjust the volume but he had already woke his wife up with the noise. BUSTED! He told me he even contemplated smashing the thing against the wall to turn it off.
That friend is also a good testimonial case for the fire. He is a total techno-phobe - doesn't even have an email account or know how to use a computer at all. His wife gave him the Fire for Christmas, and he loves the thing. He carries it in with him everyday to work, and uses it on every single one of his breaks. He uses it for movies, music and Words with Friends. The custom Fire interface is so simple to use, he learned how to use it very quickly. He loves the thing, and I was very surprised how someone so non-technical took to a device like the Fire so quickly and completely.
I had posted before about not being able to scroll on some sites, especially Google sites. This phenomenon seems to occur less and less now. I have found a work-around. When the Kindle won't scroll on a web page, I use multi-touch to resize the screen slightly and then the scrolling will work. Still some bugs to work out with the browser, but it seems to be working better and faster than when I first got the Fire.
The other thing I find that I really miss are Google apps. I want apps for Gmail and Youtube on the Kindle Fire. My Android phone versions of those two apps is so much better and easier to use than the mobile sites I have to access on the Kindle Fire. I wish Google and Amazon could put aside their differences and give us some friggin' Google apps.
I had high expectations for the Kindle Fire, and overall the Kindle Fire has either met or exceeded those expectations. I love my Fire, and everyone I know that has one loves theirs too.
