I received the Kindle Fire in the mail on Wednesday and wanted to share my first impressions.

I’ve been excited about the Kindle Fire because it gives me a chance to take all the Amazon content I own with me wherever I go. Also, I’m a cheap/frugal dude – as much as I want an iPad, I haven’t been able to justify the cost. I have found that the iPhone serves most needs I’d use an iPad for… Except when it comes to accessing my media library (that is mostly stored with Amazon). When Jeff Bezos announced the Kindle Fire I couldn’t have been more excited.

So here are some first impressions about the new device:

- It’s heavier than I thought it would be. Not too heavy to hold in one hand, but I imagined it being a little lighter. Perhaps the weight is a good thing, as it doesn’t feel “cheap”

- I recommend a case. The screen size is 7 inches, so it’s not the biggest thing in the world, nor the smallest. But it has that “small enough to get away from you” feeling

- 1-click purchases is default setting, I turned this off. Not because I feel that will keep me from buying things, but because I don’t want to accidently buy something. I don’t mind the extra step of confirming purchases

- Home screen is neat, it has a “carousel” with all of your content on top (looks like iTunes library on iPhone/iPod Touch) and a “favorites” section below it. I just added the apps/stuff I use most frequently to the favorites shelf and essentially ignore the carousel

- Music section is solid. Press music on the top and it takes you right to your cloud. If you want to download an album/artist/song to the device (up to 8GB storage), just press and hold the image of what you want to transfer and click “download”

- You can queue up multiple downloads, as I’m downloading an album to the local storage, I also queued up a few apps to be downloaded as well

- App Store looks nice, but there isn’t a “free” section. I like that about iTunes where there is “top paid/top free”. Not here. The apps are all categorized by topic (games, news, utilities, etc)

- Their ‘Free app of the day’ does appear at the top of the app store

- The video section is excellent – the library looks very similar to the iOS Netflix store

- If you buy or rent a movie, you can store locally. Prime Instant Videos cannot be stored locally, only streamed

- Screen resolution is pretty darn good – I thought it would lack a bit in quality but I was wrong

- Swiping screen to screen isn’t as crisp as an iPad

- Sometimes you have to tap two or three times to get a button to work. Maybe I’m not pushing hard enough as I’m being gentle with it since it’s new, but it only happens sometimes, not always

- The browser/web surfing experience is good, not great. A little slower than I expected it would be. It might speed up as Silk learns to pre-render pages quicker, but I can’t complain

- Reading magazines isn’t the best user experience. You have to “double tab” to zoom. Pinching doesn’t work always work in this section. Magazines might not work on a screen this size. They’ll figure it out

- Books section is excellent like the video/music sections. I probably won’t read many books on this device, I’ll save that for the Kindle Keyboard which is easier on the eyes

- Couldn’t find the volume control in the Netflix app. Spent five minutes looking. (Note: to access volume in Amazon’s native video section just tap the screen) Volume control is difficult to find in most non-Amazon apps, so it keep the whole device on mute until I need the sound for music/movies

- No volume control on outside of hardware, either

- Flash works like a charm in the browser

So after my first 24 hours with the device, I have to admit, I like it! But it’s not for everyone. If you house your media content (music/movies/tv shows) and want a way to access those on the go. Get a Kindle Fire. You’ll love it. If I had to give the Kindle Fire a score based on Amazon’s rating system, I’d give it 4/5 stars.

If you’re interested in specific functionality and have a question about it, let me know in the comments and I’ll let you know!

The Detroit Red Wings social media guru, Shannon Paul, decided to organize Startup Weekend in Detroit with Shauna Nicholson. They need help getting funds for the event to allow attendees to have a memorable experience. This includes providing food, power strips and extension cords so everyone can stay connected. (You know how annoying it can be running out of battery power at these things!)

Quote from Ms. Paul on why she decided to put this together:

I just thought that Detroit could really use this more than most places. There is so much bad news coming out of this city — especially when it comes to job losses and the overall economy. I thought an event like this would help bring out some of the area’s talent and help jumpstart small business development in the city and the region.

What can you do to help? Well below, just click ChipIn to donate a few bucks to the cause (via PayPal). For your support, you will be hooked up with some link love! Help jump start the city back to it’s feet.

I chipped in, why don’t you?

Ever get a song stuck in your head? Well, this one has me today.

Good luck getting that first part out of your head.

I want Songsmith so I can be like the late, great Wesley Willis.

I am always looking for ways to save some pennies without sacrificing my quality of life. This is difficult to accomplish while also trying to adopt the latest and greatest technologies on the market. For movie or TV show buffs, there is a product available to satisfy both the ability to cut costs without compromising your inner geek.

The Netflix Player by Roku provides users (who have a Netflix Subscription) the ability to stream movies and shows directly to your television at absolutely no extra cost. All you pay is the one-time $99 retail price for box and you’re done. The collection available to stream is the content found in the ‘Watch Instantly’ portion of Netflix. However, this is one heck of a deal if you ever wanted to catch-up on shows such as The Office, 30 Rock, Dexter or Weeds. With over 12,000 movies and TV shows to choose from, the Netflix Player is a bargain at twice the price.

The player itself is very small, about the size of 4-5 CDs stacked on top of eachother. You can connect it to your TV through RCA jacks, component cables, or even HDMI. This leads to the assumption that, in the future, the Netflix Player will be capable of streaming content in high definition. I currently use the component cables, and the picture quality is wonderful. To connect online in order to stream the content, you have two options. You can either connect an Ethernet cable into the back of the box, or, if you use a router in your home, the Netflix Player can also connect wirelessly.

Setup is easy and should take the average user 3-5 minutes to complete. If you use a wireless connection, allow yourself a couple extra minutes to type in your passwords. Once complete, you will be asked to confirm your Netflix user info. After the simple setup, you will be sent to a screen where you can cycle through the movies or shows you have already added to your ‘Watch Instantly’ queue from your Netflix account. Once you find the movie or show you would like to watch, all you have to do is press Select on your Roku remote (provided, with batteries) and wait around 10-15 seconds for your feature to buffer.

There are a few drawbacks to the Roku Netflix Player. The most popular complaint is the scarce library of movies and TV shows to choose from. I personally do not find this to be a problem because I am a fan of classic and independent film. But Netflix is adding titles almost daily to their ‘Watch Instantly’ library, so eventually this should not be an issue. Also, sometimes the audio and the lips of the actors don’t match up, but I have found this to be a simple fix. Press the key on your remote that looks like a home, go to settings -> display, and change your display to the unchecked option. Once you go back to your program, this problem should be solved. The last biggest complaint about the player is that you are unable to turn it off. I can see why that could upset users, however, if you own a DVR, a Wii, a DVD player or even an alarm clock, those electronics are also always on. With that said, the Netflix Player does not get very hot, unlike your cable box which seems to feel like it will catch fire at any moment.

With my purchase and satisfaction of the Roku Netflix Player, I decided to cancel my cable subscription. I now save over $80 a month in bills, and feel as though I have not lost any entertainment value. There is plenty of content I have found that is enjoyable. If there is a new episode of a show I really want to watch but am unable to now that I rid myself of cable, I can always use Hulu. There are rumors that the Netflix Player may eventually have the ability to stream Hulu content. If that partnership ever happens, the product is a must have for any frugalite!

Overall, I rate the Roku Netflix Player an 8/10. I love the speed, convenience, price and friendly customer service. With slightly more content and (potential) added Hulu streaming, the player can easily become be a perfect 10.

My audio review can be heard on episode 5 of Bytecast Weekly.