Very good for the money, but be careful and follow the simple instructions. In particular the wooden dowels must be :

a) carefully knocked-in as far as they can go
b) can easily snap if the item is handled incorrectly during construction - keep it all on the floor until completed

Luckily I salvaged what was a bad job on my part, and now the bookcase is solid and hanging in my son's bedroom - very pleased with the quality.

Will probably order another one.

How Tech Reviewers must be eating their words - they do talk a lot of nonsense and get paid for it don't they ? I recall Steve Jobs launching the original iPad and the Tech Reviewers writing that they couldn't see the point of the Tablet - the NetBook was the future ..... cough, splutter.

So first, one has to acknowledge Apple and SJ who launched the tablet revolution - we are now seeing the immitators come to market, but out of necessity for business survival.

Ok. To begin with, I read a few reviews of the Kindle Fire and .... woah, talk about a product splitting opinion! Then, I trialled the product in Waterstones booksellers (ironically they've got into bed with Amazon, and I do hope Waterstones survives) who have a good display of Kindles and cases. Here I compared the Kindle Fire against the HD version, and on the installed movie clips of 'The Awakening', and 'Source Code', I could not tell the difference in picture quality - which was excellent. Build quality was solid, slightly heavy, but good. Screen quality great. User interface, 'carousel' thing, fine. Didn't feel it needed a case as it felt very tough.

Considered iPad mini, but a lot of money, and already an iPad2 in the household, and iPhone4, so wanted something different. Also with Kindle Keyboard eReader, this meant I could still have all my book purchases available to me on this new device. Thought about Nexus 7, but another £99 on top for that, and I wasn't bothered about having a 'pure Android 4.2 JellyBean experience', and I already like the Amazon ecosystem (I've no doubt Nexus is a great device, but simply ruled it out on price). Ruled-out Playbook and B&N for similar reasons. Other cheap unheard of tablet brands available, but would be concerned about after-sales support with such items.

So took the plunge and purchased the basic Kindle Fire from JL when it was on special offer for £99, with a 2 year guarantee, though I really wanted the HD version - however, I wanted to make that £60 saving.

On arrival - I liked the minimal packaging. No manual not a problem as plenty of information online.
On start-up - no problems, came with 70% charge. Wifi connection was a breeze, and I don't have the best signal strength I can get in my house. My old Kindle Keyboard charger works as a mains charger, or any of the iPhone chargers around the house will do the job with the supplied USB cable. Device seems fast and responsive. Set-up parental controls no problem - ok, controls a bit crude, but I'd rather have on/off for the internet as I don't think web filtering is safe enough.

* Apps - quality is more important than quantity, I don't need over 750,000 apps to choose from. Already downloaded a few very good free apps. BBC iPlayer works fine. If Amazon control the quality of the Apps so that the App store does not fill-up with rubbish, I'd be the first to say 'way to go'.

* Books - galore, many at very low prices - just avoid the obvious dross. Yeah I do worry about what will happen to physical books and book shops, but today I picked-up a Booker winner paperback, and it really felt like a brick. Jury still out for me personally on this - we don't want to see bookshops closing down, like Borders in London and Oxford - used to love going there ....

* Movies - downloaded MP4 files from my MacBook Pro using the supplied cable, and a utility called Android File Transfer - very speedy transfer. The actual playback on the device wasn't great, the picture grainy and pixellated, but that's the MP4 file, not the Kindle hardware, I'm pretty sure. LoveFilm Instant I've yet to subscribe to, and it does look limited in its catalog, but I'll be a lot happier when I can download and store new movies rather than just stream them - I haven't tried streaming yet as I want to get maximum strength Wifi going in my house first.

**** Hey Amazon ! - when will we be able to download film rentals or purchases, like our American 'cousins' can, so we can watch without needing WiFi?

* Amazon Support - had some questions, and customer support were great.

* Special Offers - I just ignore them if they don't interest me - one swipe and they are gone.

* Sideloading/rooting to get non Amazon apps - I've read about this but frankly I have all I need and can't be bothered to mess around with that. The Amazon App store is only going to go from strength-to-strength I think, and it will be interesting to observe the battle between Apple, Amazon and Google. Amazon would seem to be caught in the middle of those two, but can't see them backing-down now with these devices. Perhaps Amazon will have to come-up with a great new OS to beat IOS and the Android (4.0?) OS it currently uses for its Kindles, to gain a competitive advantage in the future ?

* Cloud - works great so I can interchange apps/books etc between cloud/device to alleviate the issues of a minimal 8GB of storage.

Conclusion
---------
Yes it's an unashamed media consumption device from Amazon. But it's still a quality piece of kit and great value for money for £129, let alone £99 if that offer resurfaces. Just need to sort out the ability to download and store films from LoveFilm or wherever as streaming is not always great or convenient.

Update 15th Jan
==========
Still very impressed - added more Apps, including Netflix (though the quality of the Netflix film library leaves a lot to be desired) and CatchupTV. The WiFi streaming is pretty flawless, and the video quality very sharp. All round, the KF is solid. It will be interesting to see how Amazon builds on this.

Still would like to see ability to download and store movies on the device.

So much more than a fine contemporary forensic crime mystery, I found myself avidly reading other sources about the remote islands of the Outer Hebrides, parallel to reading this book. I had always wondered about these islands, jutting out of Scotland, while browsing the school Atlas years ago, but they remained an unknown. Now I know where Rockall, of shipping forecast fame is, and St.Kilda...Though not mentioned in this book, these islands (Rockall is just a big rock actually) are at the very extremities of the British Isles, to the west of Lewis - I got an enhanced feel of the romantic remoteness of this part of the world to accompany the story.

Immersed in the reading-around just as much as the 'whodunnit' element, it's testament to the author's ability, that he draws you right into the landscape of the story. You'll visit many locations on your virtual voyage, like Luskentyre - a beautiful name for a beautiful beach. Now, I don't think Peter May intended to write a tourists' guide on the side, but just get me out of the London hell-hole to this unspoilt desolation; I'll take all the battering hard weather, the driving wind and rain, and the occasional breakthroughs of sunshine.

The story is gripping and one doesn't want to put the book down, as it moves gradually but purposefully to its denouement. It has tragedy at its heart, doubtless reflecting the reality of the harsh times researched by the author, of the lives of children in orphanages, their graduation to 'homers', and the role of the church in 'caring' for orphans.

The book was 20p on Kindle, a silly price belying the quality of the book and possibly putting people off, but I can't recall that I have ever had so much value and enrichment out of 20p before.

Paradise Lost presents a unbiased account of the tragic events leading to the vengeful destruction of a civilization, over 3000 years in the making, yet reduced to rubble in just a few days, the life of its vibrant multicultural community brutally snuffed-out or scattered to the winds.

Giles Milton skilfully transports us back in time, to bring to life the lives of the rich and powerful, seemingly untouchable Levantines (the merchants who built modern Smyrna), its thriving population, and the growing menace that threatens to engulf them. How politics, nationalism, and the self-interest of neighbouring European nations contributed to the disaster, and then shamefully stood by while a city burned and hundreds of thousands of its civilians tried to flee from barbarism is grippingly recounted.

An absorbing, albeit disturbing read for its powerful resonance to our times.

This is a great book, because as soon as Laura leaves the dull orphanage to her uncle's house in Cornwall, she finds herself encountered with so many mysteries, makes new friends and has an adventure like she has always wished for! I couldn't stop reading it until the last word! Also beautiful description of Cornwall and the beach.
It has loveable characters and a gripping plot, this is a must read!!!

Currently working through the simple but delicious recipes. The book is worth it alone for the Spanish Chicken Bake recipe (the secret is to discard the fatty chicken skin, adding beautiful Chorizo as a key ingredient and for flavour enhancement instead), and my favourite so far, the Salad Nicoise Wrap : simple, very very tasty, and nutritious - just take a look at the ingredients in this. Could eat these wraps all day. Perfect for school packed-lunches too if you are worried your children might not be getting a good balanced lunch at school.

I was worried that 'diet' in the title might equate with 'lack of taste' and 'no flavour' - but fear not. However I can't swear that I will lose weight unless I stop doubling-up on the delicious portions .....

Must rush to get the ingredients for the Roast Chicken with Rosemary and Thyme for Sunday lunch.

Thanks guys for a practical no-nonsense recipe book for everyday use.

One hundred and thirty three years later, this book provides an important perspective to anyone connected with the tragic paradise of the island that is Cyprus. Four hundred years of oppressive and destructive Ottoman rule up to 1879 dealt a massive blow to the inhabitants of the island (Greek or Turkish Cypriot). The roots of the poverty and lack of education that the diaspora carried with them when they left the island for the UK and other destinations becomes understandable when one reads this account.

The island was (and still is in many parts) physically undoubtedly a beautiful place. But even in 1879, the author describes in detail the ruination, through centuries of maladministration, of a once lush and deeply forested island, bulging at the seams with natural resources.

A popular quote highlighted by Kindle readers :
"O Turk! insatiable in destruction, who breaks down, but never restores, what a picture of desolation was here! Three centuries had passed away since by treachery the place was won, and from that hour the neglected harbour had silted up and ceased to be; the stones of palaces rested where they fell; the filth of ages sweltered among these blood-sodden ruins; and the proverb seemed fulfilled, "The grass never grows on the foot-print of the Turk".
Obviously this quote is from 1879 and refers to the Ottoman's empire, but unfortunately history has a way of repeating itself as the people of Cyprus since 1974 know only - painfully - too well.

If the author's account was as strong in its description of the human relationships he formed with the natives, as it is on geographic and geological detail, it would have been a far more gripping read. As it is we barely get to know much of the human story but one can draw a good impression from the narrative.

An important and recommended read to anybody who has an interest in the history and wanting an understanding of the island and its descendants today.

At first hesitant, I eventually took the plunge for the WiFi version, as £[] is not a huge amount of money (the equivalent of about two tanks full of petrol, a family day out, or a month's supply of cigarettes if you are a smoker), and have found the Kindle to be a lovely product in use, which I suspect Apple would be proud of, had they designed a dedicated ebook reader. Amazon in its wisdom has designed the product with clear parameters that it should be used primarily for reading written matter, and for the enhancement of the reading experience. I have found everything to work exactly as stated in their marketing literature, and work extremely well at that. As I had hoped, the sheer convenience of the device and pleasurable use, with its enhancing features for reading, has motivated me to fight more for personal reading time.

Great pros :
- Screen/E Ink technology is easy on the eye - no eye-strain after reading at length (can adjust size of font and line spacing) - seems like you are reading paper, not an electronic screen
- Instant dictionary look-up (very handy)
- Highlight and save favourite pieces of text
- Make personal notes against passages in books
- Fast downloads
- Ability to resume reading on another device, like iPhone with the Kindle app - great if you don't want to carry your Kindle around everywhere, but fancy a spot of reading on your iPhone
- Lots of low-cost (and free) books
- Long battery (disable WiFi when not needed to extend)
- Experimental features (web-browsing, email) - could come in handy
- Solidly built
- Good size for reading and carrying
- Reasonable price

Cons :
- Kindle ebook library has many notable omissions, and issues of quality - I hope more publishers will sign-up, and quality control is applied when creating digital versions

Some minor niggles :
- Doesn't have the tactile feel of a paperback
- Menu system/navigation controls at first feel clunky and archaic after using touch screen technology on a smartphone, but you soon adapt and it is fine
- Not touch screen - next release of Kindle?
- No colour - ditto above ?
- Needs book light for bedtime reading when lights-out - separate purchase required

To conclude, I was a little cynical reading all the 5 star reviews and thought this would just be a valueless and gimmicky product being pushed hard by Amazon, but I am happy to add my own 5 star review based on my experience outlined above. This product will only get better and I reckon Amazon will take the ebook market in the same way Apple has dominated music with the iPod. If you've been considering this for some time, the only way to find-out is to give it a go, but in a word, I would say it is 'lovely'.

Plus points:

- price
- convenience : when you're fed-up with the radio or your cd's in the car, listen to podcasts on your iPhone instead

Minus points:

- connector not tight enough on iPhone and can dislodge
- variable sound quality

Sorry, but this just isn't a great film. I can think of many other Sci-Fi films that made a far greater impact : Aliens, Bladerunner, 2001, District-9. This was a bit 'Disney'ish'. Where it deserves credit is for the groundbreaking special effects, but that is no substitute for a very basic and unoriginal story line, which is a shame as perhaps an opportunity was lost to make a fantastic film worthy of multiple awards.