Win A Free Zombie Survival Kit, Last Day To Enter!

Just a quick reminder: today is the last day to enter to win a (kid safe) zombie survival kit and a signed copy of Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb (SZJMB). So if you haven't already, be sure to enter at I am a reader, not a writer.

Also, just a couple days ago, Death, books, & Tea, posted a great review of SZJMB. Here's a quote:

"The take on zombies was really good. They were funny, and the fact that something as simple as lemon juice kills them deader? Amazing. This book played to my sense of humour really well, especially the opening."

I also did a guest post with them last year on How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse. If your zombie survival planning isn't up to snuff, you might want to check it out.

Remember, if you are a blogger looking for a review copy, just email me at: mikejweare@gmail.com. I have ebook and a limited number of print copies available.

Kindle Fire - First Impressions

I've probably played with my Kindle Fire for 2 hours or so. By far my biggest complaint is lack of apps. For example, I couldn't find Google Sky Map in the App store. This is a killer app and I'll be tempted to return if I can't get it.

But that's not the only app that's lacking. I had terrible time finding free apps for my daughter, even just trial versions. Amazon needs to quickly beef-up their app store.


Here's what I've found so far:

Good:
-Screen is nice and bright.
-My eBooks automatically showed up.
-Easy to use.

-No lag so far (others have reported sluggish performance).

-Multitasking! On my iPod and iPhone when I exit Pandora, the music stops. On the Fire, I can read, surf, etc and still listen to music.

-Feels well constructed.

Bad
-Not many apps to chose from.
-Hard to configure. For example, I can't figure out how to require the password for app purchases (to keep my daughter from buying apps.)
-Lots of fingerprints on the glass.
-Music purchases over 90 days old can't be auto loaded.

-Unlike my K3 Kindle, I can't condense text (which means more page turns).

-No mic, camera or SD slot. You can't even run Amazon's own price-checking app.--No cable to connect to your PC, you have to purchase a micro-USB cable separately.

Neutral:
-Battery seemed to run down fast, but after a recharge, it seems better.
-Heavier than I thought. Might be too heavy to read in bed for long periods.

-Speakers aren't really loud. Couldn't listen in a car or in public.

I need some more time to play with it before I can decide if it's a keeper.

Update: I was able to load Google Sky Map, doing something called "sideloading," but it only works in manual mode (no digital compass). Oh well.

Update 2: Made some more observations in bold.