I'll preface this by saying that I own an iPad, and was not expecting a 99 tablet to perform at anywhere near that level. I have followed the early reviews closely, and after seeing enough satisfied customers, I figured I'd give the Kindle Fire HD 6 a try. I chose the base 8 GB with special offers and my plan was to use it as a secondary e-reader and a secondary or even tertiary vehicle for internet access. What I've found is a powerful little tablet, so far completely free of the bugs and laggy speeds mentioned in the early reviews. In fact, performance has so exceeded expectations that I consider this perhaps the year's best purchase.First off the look is nice. It's sleek, (I ordered the black model) and though actually quite a bit heavier than I'd imagined, it's not heavy enough to be considered a negative. The display is fantastic, and its quality was the first big surprise. The touch screen performs incredibly well, and to this point, I have experienced immediate response. To the point where I have to say touch response so far is indistinguishable from my iPad. Based on early reviews, this was not the case, so I have been quite pleasantly surprised. The Fire is very user friendly and easy to intuit. For those who do not feel confident with navigation of a new device, there is an immediate onscreen tutorial (with an option to skip) to guide you.I first checked out the e-reader function. My books loaded immediately and easily from the cloud and I really like the functionality of the reader.Read more