KINDLE FIRE ON VACATION

Victor Standish here.

Alice Wentworth, my ghoul friend, and I got this peach of a deal

at this Caribbean resort. It's because the place

has this little pest problem.

So there I was looking at SUPER 8 on Alice's Kindle Fire ...

Alice hissed, "What are you doing? Those Predators are almost on top of us!"

Sheltered by the over-turned terrace table, I pointed to the screen.

"Doesn't Elle Fanning look like you all gussied up as a zombie in this scene?"

Alice's fingers writhed like snakes. "Victor, you drive me crazy! Those predators are about to swarm over us."

"There were only three. Two now that that Arnold Schwarzenegger want-to-be took out one. And you really can't be swarmed by only two."

"Aaaargh!" (Which in her British accent sounded really cute.

But I digress. I wanted to tell you

THE ADVANTAGES OF THE KINDLE FIRE WHEN YOU ARE ON VACATION ...

The Kindle Fire worked beautifully on this vacation. Take the SILK BROWSER ...

I suggest you try using a Kindle Fire’s browser versus the iPad or a Honeycomb tablet on an aircraft using Gogo or in that Caribbean airport lounge

where all the C.I.A., NSA, and Black Ops types were competing for the same free connection.

If you have to Wi-Fi tether the Kindle Fire on a 3G or 4G connection from your cell phone, I also find Silk to be extremely responsive and as smooth as its namesake.

And that resort hotel Wi-Fi broadband connection that’s blazing fast during the fire fight when everyone’s at the pool and blazing away with their Uzi's?

Try it on an iPad when the Predators start rolling in and everyone wants to check out like yesterday with a frantic airlift. Kindle Fire doesn’t skip a beat.

2.) SIZE

It’s a much more comfortable device to use while lying in bed than a full-sized device

(particularly when you are sharing a sleeping… uh, surface area with Alice who growled what many parts of my anatomy I would lose if I happened to let a hand stray)

and I found it to be ideal for watching SUPER 8 while firing off a shot from one of Captain Sam's Colts at a pesky Predator behind the turned over table on that beautiful shaded patio.

With a larger device, in the same usage scenario, you’d need to use some sort of a case/stand combo, such as one of the newer generation OtterBox cases.

With a 7″ device like the Kindle Fire, you don’t.

3.) DURABILITY

It’s also worth stating that the Kindle Fire is durable enough

that you really don’t need a carrying case for it for added protection, I could pretty much toss it in Alice’s purse

(or my own “murse”) without fear of it getting damaged.

As I did when Alice and I scurried down the fire escape when both Predators decided we would look good mounted on their wall.

4.) GPS

About the only thing I would really like to see in the next-generation Kindle Fire is GPS with integrated mapping services.

Case in point being Urbanspoon, which is our go-to application for finding the Army's air lift point when we were on that vacation.

5.) THE REST OF THE VACATION ...

As Alice flowed beside me as we darted among the corpses of the government Black Ops killers, one Predator broke out of the shadows, slashing a gash across Alice fluttering left sleeve.

She wasn't hurt, just frightened mightily.

Me? They had tried to hurt Alice!

I hugged her and raised my head, screaming, "Drop deaaaaad!"

WHA-OOOOOMPH!

A corpse-green circle of energy burst in ever-increasing ripples of death out from around us. I saw the sputter of electricity as the two remaining Predators reeled lifeless on either side of the swimming pool.

Alice's neon eyes flared. "Y-You could have done that this whole time?!"

"Hey, I may be the son of the Angel of Death, but something like this takes a lot out of me. Besides up until a moment ago there were living humans that hadn't been killed yet."

Alice spoke much too softly, "May I have my Kindle Fire back, Victor? I want to see if it fits into a certain bodily orifice."

Alice and I spent the rest of the day running along the beach. But trust me. It was NOT romantic!
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