pinkybrain

Torn between getting my daughter a laptop for Xmas or a kindle fire. We have other laptops in the house so she can always use that but I also thought about a kindle with a keyboard. Really, the only thing she needs is the internet for general browsing/email and microsoft office. I don't know if they have office for it but I thought I saw OpenOffice has it for androids. Any thoughts?

Little Darwin

There are a few different office apps for Android/Kindle Fire, but frankly, they are limited in their functionality, although not bad for an Android class device. As long as there is not a big need for advanced features such as macros or advanced formatting, a Fire could do ok.

If I were making the decision, I would try to make a logical guess about whether she would use it more as a true tablet or with the keyboard. If most usage would be with the keyboard, then I think going with a laptop makes more sense.

However, for a Christmas present, I think the answer to the question could be derived more from the answer to another question... What do her friends use more and/or which do they think is cooler? :-)

nickdalzell

I use it when I want mobility and less bulk. My laptop is fast to becoming obsolete with how tablets are getting such capability. I do wish the fire had a camera, microphone and external storage though

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KFKID

The main issue with using the Kindle Fire as a work machine is the screen size. I've never seen one used with a keyboard, but I suppose it's possible?
If you decide to go that route, I can recommend Kingsoft Office. It's free and remarkably capable.