I agree wholeheartedly. I didn't use a Fire for longer than 10 minutes, but my impression was exactly like yours, gratuitously animated and laggy.
Inconsistency is not just limited to the UI elements on the Fire - for example, Fire doesn't have the pull-down "drawer menu" UI element (from the top) like all other Android devices. Of course, the nature of Android is such that it allows manufacturers to customize, but at this point it is diluting the brand.
Regarding your Ubuntu point: right on. It has come a long way in the last 5 years, but things just seem hacked together. Linux is a great server OS, but it is just not a good, balanced, productive desktop OS. Users need consistency, but it seems like developers focus on making flashy animations (i.e. rotating desktop cube, exciting stuff) instead of putting emphasis on use-cases, workflows, etc (boring stuff).
Inconsistency is not just limited to the UI elements on the Fire - for example, Fire doesn't have the pull-down "drawer menu" UI element (from the top) like all other Android devices. Of course, the nature of Android is such that it allows manufacturers to customize, but at this point it is diluting the brand.
Regarding your Ubuntu point: right on. It has come a long way in the last 5 years, but things just seem hacked together. Linux is a great server OS, but it is just not a good, balanced, productive desktop OS. Users need consistency, but it seems like developers focus on making flashy animations (i.e. rotating desktop cube, exciting stuff) instead of putting emphasis on use-cases, workflows, etc (boring stuff).