DS/DIL have Amazon Prime and love it. They buy diapers and many other things that way--free shipping and comes very fast. Saves them tons of time out shopping. They were able to share it with other family members, including me. I would not pay for it--not worth it to me at all--but if they want to share, that's great.

I was just reading about the Kindle Fire. It sounds great! And it costs so much less than an iPad. I know several people who are very happy with Amazon Prime. I personally wouldn't get it for the free shipping, because Amazon offers free shipping on most orders over $25.

As for streaming TV shows and movies, Netflix (which I have) would cost you $7.99 per month.

Thanks! And ... is the Kindle Fire only available from Amazon.com? Not in stores?

I'm curious about this too. Can someone tell me then, if you have the Kindle (whether Kindle Fire or otherwise) and you have Amazon Prime, are the TV shows, movies, etc. that were mentioned above things that you can download for free?

Does having Amazon Prime replace having to pay for downloads?

Also, alisande, you mentioned that it costs so much less than an iPad. Are you saying that Kindle Fire performs all of the same functions as an iPad? Does it allow general Internet access? Does it run programs? Is all of that included if you have the Amazon Prime membership?

I'm a total iPad/Kindle dummy who is very interested but hasn't taken the plunge and hasn't even done extended research yet.

Just FYI, you don't have to pay for Amazon Prime if you're only going to download from time to time. You can buy/rent movies one by one from Amazon, the same as you can from iTunes, without a monthly fee.

I know from experience that I don't get my money's worth with a monthly program, so that's what I do.

joanne, what is the average cost to buy/rent one by one?

Jel, my only information comes from this description on Amazon. They're calling it a tablet. Scroll down to "What People Are Saying".....the quotes seem to compare it to the iPad.

Suzieque, why would you want to get it anywhere but Amazon? Stores charge tax. :-)

Not where I live, Alisande! No tax in NH, where I would be buying it. And I'd rather buy it from someplace where I can go if I have questions/problems.

So, if you have the Kindle and don't have Amazon Prime, you have to have a service like Netflix with a subscription? I'd really like to know the average price of watching a TV show or movie without an annual or monthly subscription like Amazon Prime or Netflix.

Each movie or show is about $2-5, the same as iTunes. I rent, then hook up my laptop to my television with an HDMI cable and watch on TV.

Thank you!

Ok, I've pre-ordered the Kindle Fire and will decide later whether to continue the Amazon Prime.

I have heard that the battery life on the Kindle Fire is very short, like one day. You may want to consider that.

Here is the link re: Amazon lending library

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000739811

I saw that the battery life is about 8 hours maximum, but in the comparisons it looks like the Nook and iPad are about the same. I guess I'll just have to plug it in every night.

Nice info about the lending library, Mammie. Thanks!

My son shared his Amazon Prime membership with me, so I get free shipping, but when I try to borrow a book from the Lending Library, it won't work. Maybe the Lending Library is just for primary Prime members not the ones who it was shared to. If that makes any sense....

Regarding the Lending Library, if you do get a Kindle, check out the website for your local library. Mine just started lending Kindle books, which are free to anyone with a library card.

"My son shared his Amazon Prime membership with me, so I get free shipping, but when I try to borrow a book from the Lending Library, it won't work. Maybe the Lending Library is just for primary Prime members not the ones who it was shared to. If that makes any sense...."

You can only download books to Kindles or other "apparatus" (like a pc or BlackBerry or iPhone, etc.) if that equipment is registered to the account of the person with the Prime membership.

I went for years with absolutely no interest in a Kindle. The Fire caught my attention, and now that I've ordered it I can't wait to get it! Sure hope they hit their availability date of Nov. 15.