I had a Kindle Fire before the iPad Mini came out. It was nice for the price. I gave it to my dad when the Mini came out and he's been using it ever since.
Although, the software has changed since the first model, and I got my brother the HD version that followed. The thing is, they don't give you power adapters for these things anymore, so my brother never uses his because he doesn't have a computer to charge it on.
My dad also wasn't very happy with the new software when he played with it one day. It probably has to do with how much it looks like a storefront than just a plain-o tablet these days.
My dad doesn't actually use his now that his work gave him a MacBook Pro even. He's pretty excited that they're going to give him an iPad next.