Relationships are what life is all about, right? I was reminded of this recently when my best friend’s wedding anniversary rolled around. If you read my blog regularly, you’ve already met Julie (“Is a Smoothie Blender a Nice Gift ? “). She was reluctant to get on the healthy train, but she recently started making smoothies, and her whole family loves them now!
Julie and I have been close for years. We’re always there for each other, but I’m never sure what to get her as a gift.
When Julie’s old tablet broke, I decided to replace it before she bought another one. I looked around online for a good deal. As it turned out, Amazon was offering its Fire Tablet with a 7-inch screen for a bargain price, only $49. (Offer available on Amazon.com)
Julie relied on her tablet for everything from A to Z, so I knew this would be a great gift. (And I’ll admit it, I also knew that Julie could use it for playing workout videos, storing smoothie recipes, and tracking calories, now that she’s on the health quest with me.)
I thought it would be fun to surprise Julie and her husband, so I ordered the Fire and had it sent to their house for their anniversary. Julie sent me the sweetest email thanking me for the gift. I thought it might be helpful for other people to see how Julie is using her new tablet, so I asked her if I could share her kind words. Of course, she said yes. So here it is…
Julie’s Email
Dear Sarah,
Too often, we don’t thank people who do nice things for us. I’m turning over a new leaf, starting with you, today.
I was so upset when my last tablet bit the dust. Sure, it was old, but it got me through my day—every day. My tablet was my connection when I couldn’t be fully connected.
And then, like an angel, my BFF (you’re the best!) sent me a new one: an Amazon Fire Tablet with a 7-inch screen (available at Amazon.com).
I’ve been singing the praises of my Fire to friends around the water cooler. They’re skeptical, to say the least… They all think that you have to part with a lot of dough to buy a great tablet. Boy, are they wrong.
I know that you meant for the tablet to be a surprise, but honestly, no one ever surprises me other than you. You’ll get a kick out of this…
As you know, I order from Amazon all the time, so I wasn’t shocked to see a box on my porch. But I hadn’t ordered anything. The shipping address was correct, so I opened the box.
Inside was a Fire Tablet with a 7-inch screen, along with some accessories. I took it out and fired it up. (I know this is not the best practice for the battery, but I was excited!)
It has such a nice display. And it is a little smaller than my old tablet, so it’s easy on the wrists! The Fire is thin and light but very sturdy. I hate to admit it, but I have dropped it a couple of times in the kitchen and it has been just fine. I am even thinking about buying one for each of my nephews. Here’s why…
Did I tell you that we ditched the cable company? You need to cut the cable, too.
I can’t live without streaming, and my new Fire is built for media. As you know, I watch Comedy Central almost every day, and I can “fling” all of my shows from the Amazon Fire right onto my TV, no cable needed. The Fire, Netflix, and Hulu have my back. (Did I tell you that we ditched the cable company? You need to cut the cable, too.)
The storage capacity is great. Mine has 8 GB of internal storage, but I had an old microSD card from a camera I no longer use. With that, I’ve got 200 gigs of additional storage, not to mention the free Amazon cloud storage, where I have all of my new pictures and music.
And the Fire is great with my Amazon Prime membership because I already get so much free stuff—movies, music, and TV shows—along with free shipping. That really makes a difference because I use Prime all the time.
I was able to download a whole season of Veep (for free!) with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and watch it in the car when we went to Mom’s house last week. No Internet or Wi-Fi needed. (You really need to check out that show. If you think our presidential election this year has been crazy… Well, I’ll leave it at that.) I can’t wait to take my new Fire to the beach next year!
Downton Abbey is free on Prime, too. Needless to say, when I’ve been stuck awake in bed at night, I’m watching. I just plug in my ear buds, use the Blue Shade feature for reading in dark rooms, and kill time until the sun comes up.
I was a little worried that with its streaming capabilities, my Fire would go dead quickly, but it doesn’t. It says online that it lasts “up to 7 hours.” I use mine most of the day and just plug it in at night and have had no problems at all.
The kids love it, too. They can play lots of games on the Amazon Fire Tablet, including Angry Birds and Sonic Dash. And even better, I can set time limits on their gaming while still allowing them to read chapter books to build their vocab.
I’m super-excited about the fact that Alexa is coming to Fire Tablets. Do you remember the Alex Baldwin-Dan Marino Super Bowl commercial with Alexa? Hilarious!
With Alexa, we’ll be able to use the Fire Tablet to control that new Nest thermostat my husband put in last month. No more getting out of bed in the morning to a cold house. And if we decide to invest in more smart devices, we’ll be able to dim lights, turn on lamps, and all kinds of cool stuff.
Let’s get together soon so I can show you everything this great little Fire Tablet can do. And it’s so pretty… I love the tangerine.
You’ve always been such a great friend. Thank you for our new Fire Tablet (available at Amazon.com)! Dinner soon?
Friends Forever,
Julie
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