I was looking at a Kindle Fire as well, in the end I went with a Samsung 7in tab. Kindle is great if you read a lot AND you use the south american river a lot- however I'd recommend to read the reviews as it runs a bastard version of Android that is more restricted than the open version. However if you're a bit tech savvy you can 'sideload' apps from another android device (phone), if you don't have one then you have to go the dodgy route of sourcing them online and transferring from PC to Fire.
However, if you just want something as a media tablet with a bit of browsing, it should do what you want.
Galaxy Tab 2 runs on the newest version of Android and is more open to customisation if that's your thing.
Also if you're/will use it outside the US I heard the Kindle is not quite as useful since a lot of content is not available. However a vee pee enn should sort you out. Have loaded one on my Tab and it works great to let me stream video form UK & US.