I rarely write a new gadget “un-boxing” experience but feel compelled to share my experiense starting to use the Kindle Fire. Full disclouse I am a big Amazon fan-boy. I have been using Amazon Prime since it was first offered, been pioneering on the Amazon Web Services cloud for over 4 years, and the UPS person probably delivers an Amazon box to my house one to two times a week. Amazon Kindle Fire  is the intersection of Amazon Store, Amazon Prime, and Amazon Cloud.

This morning I have just returned from a visit to our UK office in Bracknell, and while travelling I tried to use my iPad 2 extensively, so the rapid shift to Kindle Fire will be a great compare and contrast time.

The Un-Packaging

Kindle Fire is shipped in Amazon’s new, unique, environmentally friendly packaging system. Most of Amazon’s small electronics are now shipped in a plain-looking cardboard box that acts as both the shipping vehicle and the packaging. It’s hard to explain until you see it yourself. Pull a tab to open the package and no there is finger-cutting plastic or hassles of extra cardboard to cut through. Contrast to Apple that prides itself on elegant packaging, which I can also appreciate. But let’s face it… the package is seen once and usually never again unless the device is sold. Apple feels they can justify the elegant packaging as part of their branding, but I’m sure the cost of Apple devices are higher because the packaging is more expensive. While Apple famously reminds you upon opening their goodies “Designed in California, Made in China,” Amazon could easily claim ”Designed in the Cloud, Made in China.”

Read more…