A great upgrade for me from an older Kindle Fire!
I purchased the original Kindle
Fire in 2011 and the second generation Kindle Fire in 2012. I gave my
original one to my grandson and he is still using it for apps and
reading. I liked both of them and I have to tell you that they have
held up very well. One is over 3 years old and the other is 2 years old
and I have not had any issues with them. Since I have not upgraded in 2
years I thought I would get a new one with a larger memory and a faster
CPU and a higher resolution display. There are many improvements beyond
even those features.
I have to tell you that overall I am impressed with this new one. I didn't feel the need to purchase a Kindle Fire every year and when I purchased the next one I wanted it to be a definite upgrade step to what I had. I stayed with the 7 inch size as I like to portability and weight for long term reading. I alternate between the Kindle Paperwhite for reading in the daytime and at night sometimes and I use the Kindle Fire for reading in the evening and at night plus browsing the internet and getting email. This new Kindle Fire HD 2014 version is very fast and easy to use. Setting it up for the internet and downloading my apps and books was a breeze. I like the fact that the larger memory allows me to carry more apps and books. The higher resolution of the screen is helpful in reading books as the text is clearer and easier on my eyes than the older Kindle Fires we own. The screen is better for playing apps and watching videos and movies and it is worth the upgrade from the older Kindle Fires.
I like that this version has both a front and rear facing camera. I use the camera a lot on all of my tablets and I own many Apple iPads, Apple iPhone and Android tablets. The camera is just handy for that spontaneous photo or video and I take a lot of them.
I also like the fact that the stereo sound output has been improved as I listen to a lot of books. I use the text to speech feature a lot and I also use the Audible book feature a lot. When Amazon sells the Audible version of the book at a good price when I buy the Kindle version of the book I usually get both. I like to use Bluetooth to stream the Audio book to my car's stereo system and listen to the book while I drive, especially on a long trip. My wife and I enjoy listening to books together. This HD tablet pairs with my car and I can now use it instead of using my iPad or using my iPhone. This feature keeps track of where I am in the book regardless of whether I am reading the book or listening to it with Audible. The better speakers and louder volume is also nice when watching movies.
The unit works well handling my emails and it makes it nice that I can switch from browsing, to emails to reading or playing an app on the same tablet. I also have Amazon Prime so I can watch TV shows or movies. This is a good tablet with a lot of flexibility. I am still not a fan of the push ads but I am so used to them now I just ignore them.
I won't discuss all of the specifications but I did include a table comparing the Original Kindle Fire to the first Kindle HD 2013and now the Kindle HD 2014. For me it was a quantum leap to go from a Kindle Fire First or Second Generation and I am glad I made the jump. This tablet is a good buy for the money as the specs are very good. The table below shows the differences between the different versions and you can see the progress that has been made in just a few years. I am buying this new kindle with confidence as my last two Kindle Fires have performed very well and I expect the same out of this one.
One word of caution is that if you are buying this for a child then make sure to pay attention to the parental controls. Turn off the ability to make In App Purchases (IAPs) and I also turn off 1 touch buying. It is so easy for a child to make in app purchases and some of them can be as much as $99.99 on one item. Children are used to playing games with fake money and they cannot tell the difference and you will be surprised when you get the massive credit card bill. A few minutes of proper set up of the tablet for use by a child can save you a lot of headaches in the future.
There are a couple of features that I do wish were in this product that I miss. I own and have tested many tablets and I love the ability of Android tablets to accept a Micro SD card memory addition. I even have some tablets that I use 128 GIG SD cards in and this is a great feature. A very good Micro SD card only cost $100 and if Amazon would add this feature this very good tablet would be a GREAT tablet. The second feature is the ability to easily use apps from the Google Play Store. Most of the office and game apps are on the Amazon play store and I really do like the Amazon Play store the best. There are though some powerful tools on the Google Play Store that will not work on the Kindle Fire Operating system and that is a shame. This limits the customer from being able to use the best available software available. This Kindle Fire HD 2014 is a wonderful top notch product but it would be a superior product if these features were included.
If you are upgrading from a first or second generation Kindle Fire then this is a great move. For someone that has the 2013 Kindle Fire HD this is a smaller leap in technology so you may have to really want one of the new features to upgrade. I like my new unit and I am glad that I got it. I am also glad that it came with the AC wall charger in the box. I rated it at 5 stars and recommend it based on the results I have seen so far. If you have any questions please send me a comment and I will try to answer you.
Feature:------------Original Kindle Fire----Kindle Fire HD 2013-----Kindle Fire HD 2014
CPU------------------Dual core---------------Dual core a5 1.5 GHz---Quad Core with dual
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1.5 GHZ and dual 1.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------GHz cores
RAM--------------------------------------------------------------------------1 GB RAM
Internal Memory---8 GB----------------------8 or 16 GB------------------8 or 16 GB
Available Memory-5 GB-----------------------5 GB or 12.2GB------------5 GB or 12.2GB
Display--------------7 Inch--------------------7 Inch-----------------------7 Inch
DPI-------------------169 DPI 1024/600-----216 DPI 1280/800----------216 DPI 1280/800
Cameras------------None----------------------None------------------------Front & rear facing
Camera pixels-----N/A------------------------N/A--------------------------VGA quality front
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 Mega Pixel Rear
Battery Life--------8 hours--------------------up to 10 hours--------------8 hours
Charging time----4 hours---------------------under 6 hours---------------under 6 hours
AC wall charger--yes included-------------Yes Included-------------------Yes included
Speakers-----------dual stereo speakers---dual stereo speakers--------dual stereo speakers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------virtual surround sound
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------emulated 5.1 sound field
Display screen--------------------------------------------------------------Gorilla glass
Case colors----------Black------------------------Black--------------------5 colors available
Microphone---------None------------------------None--------------------Built-in
Operating system--------------------------------Fire OS 3.0------------Fire OS 4
WIFI--------------------Yes------------------------Yes------------------------Yes
Sensors----------------Accelerometer, gyroscope in all versions
Size---------------------7.5"x4.7"x0.45"----------7.5"x5"x0.45"--------------7.5"x5"x0.4"
Weight-----------------14.6 ounces---------------12.2 ounces----------------11.9 ounces
Ports--------------------Micro USB Charging----Micro USB Charging-------Micro USB Charging
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------or use adapter HDTV or VGA
Volume Switches-----No--------------------------Yes------------------------Yes
Bluetooth--------------No---------------------------Yes----------------------Yes plus BT microphone compatible
Audio output---------all versions with 3.5 mm stereo jack
What's new!
* Links your account to your family so you can share apps, books, audio books and games and Prime instant video content.
* Each user can have their own profile page with email, Facebook and twitter accounts. With Profiles, create unique profiles for up to 2 adults and 4 children so family members can share a tablet.
* Bluetooth microphone support
* 2x the speed and over 3x the graphics performance of previous generation Fire HD for quicker apps and smooth videos
* Front and rear cameras--Take photos or capture videos in 1080p HD with a rear-facing camera or Skype with a front-facing camera. Plus, free unlimited storage in Cloud Drive for photos taken with Fire devices
* Dual stereo speakers which is 1.5x louder than other tablets under $150. Emulation of 5.1 multichannel sound fields for better sounding stereo.
* Mirror your screen to your TV or VGA monitor using the Micro USB port
* Get $5 free gaming coins
* Audio books from Audible which is something that I have been enjoying listening to even in my car by streaming wirelessly to my car's stereo system
* Free Amazon cloud storage
++++++++++++++++
Update: 10-4-2014
In continuing my testing I have streamed prime TV and movies without any issues. The quality of the video and sound was excellent. The video began playing almost instantly so that feature worked fine. The audio output volume and quality was better than any of the other smart devices that I own. I installed OOKLA SpeedTest and tested my WIFI speeds to the Internet. I got download speeds of 23.09 Mbps and an upload speed of 1.97 Mbps. These are very good since I only pay for 18 Mbps and 2 Mbps.
I have to tell you that overall I am impressed with this new one. I didn't feel the need to purchase a Kindle Fire every year and when I purchased the next one I wanted it to be a definite upgrade step to what I had. I stayed with the 7 inch size as I like to portability and weight for long term reading. I alternate between the Kindle Paperwhite for reading in the daytime and at night sometimes and I use the Kindle Fire for reading in the evening and at night plus browsing the internet and getting email. This new Kindle Fire HD 2014 version is very fast and easy to use. Setting it up for the internet and downloading my apps and books was a breeze. I like the fact that the larger memory allows me to carry more apps and books. The higher resolution of the screen is helpful in reading books as the text is clearer and easier on my eyes than the older Kindle Fires we own. The screen is better for playing apps and watching videos and movies and it is worth the upgrade from the older Kindle Fires.
I like that this version has both a front and rear facing camera. I use the camera a lot on all of my tablets and I own many Apple iPads, Apple iPhone and Android tablets. The camera is just handy for that spontaneous photo or video and I take a lot of them.
I also like the fact that the stereo sound output has been improved as I listen to a lot of books. I use the text to speech feature a lot and I also use the Audible book feature a lot. When Amazon sells the Audible version of the book at a good price when I buy the Kindle version of the book I usually get both. I like to use Bluetooth to stream the Audio book to my car's stereo system and listen to the book while I drive, especially on a long trip. My wife and I enjoy listening to books together. This HD tablet pairs with my car and I can now use it instead of using my iPad or using my iPhone. This feature keeps track of where I am in the book regardless of whether I am reading the book or listening to it with Audible. The better speakers and louder volume is also nice when watching movies.
The unit works well handling my emails and it makes it nice that I can switch from browsing, to emails to reading or playing an app on the same tablet. I also have Amazon Prime so I can watch TV shows or movies. This is a good tablet with a lot of flexibility. I am still not a fan of the push ads but I am so used to them now I just ignore them.
I won't discuss all of the specifications but I did include a table comparing the Original Kindle Fire to the first Kindle HD 2013and now the Kindle HD 2014. For me it was a quantum leap to go from a Kindle Fire First or Second Generation and I am glad I made the jump. This tablet is a good buy for the money as the specs are very good. The table below shows the differences between the different versions and you can see the progress that has been made in just a few years. I am buying this new kindle with confidence as my last two Kindle Fires have performed very well and I expect the same out of this one.
One word of caution is that if you are buying this for a child then make sure to pay attention to the parental controls. Turn off the ability to make In App Purchases (IAPs) and I also turn off 1 touch buying. It is so easy for a child to make in app purchases and some of them can be as much as $99.99 on one item. Children are used to playing games with fake money and they cannot tell the difference and you will be surprised when you get the massive credit card bill. A few minutes of proper set up of the tablet for use by a child can save you a lot of headaches in the future.
There are a couple of features that I do wish were in this product that I miss. I own and have tested many tablets and I love the ability of Android tablets to accept a Micro SD card memory addition. I even have some tablets that I use 128 GIG SD cards in and this is a great feature. A very good Micro SD card only cost $100 and if Amazon would add this feature this very good tablet would be a GREAT tablet. The second feature is the ability to easily use apps from the Google Play Store. Most of the office and game apps are on the Amazon play store and I really do like the Amazon Play store the best. There are though some powerful tools on the Google Play Store that will not work on the Kindle Fire Operating system and that is a shame. This limits the customer from being able to use the best available software available. This Kindle Fire HD 2014 is a wonderful top notch product but it would be a superior product if these features were included.
If you are upgrading from a first or second generation Kindle Fire then this is a great move. For someone that has the 2013 Kindle Fire HD this is a smaller leap in technology so you may have to really want one of the new features to upgrade. I like my new unit and I am glad that I got it. I am also glad that it came with the AC wall charger in the box. I rated it at 5 stars and recommend it based on the results I have seen so far. If you have any questions please send me a comment and I will try to answer you.
Feature:------------Original Kindle Fire----Kindle Fire HD 2013-----Kindle Fire HD 2014
CPU------------------Dual core---------------Dual core a5 1.5 GHz---Quad Core with dual
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1.5 GHZ and dual 1.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------GHz cores
RAM--------------------------------------------------------------------------1 GB RAM
Internal Memory---8 GB----------------------8 or 16 GB------------------8 or 16 GB
Available Memory-5 GB-----------------------5 GB or 12.2GB------------5 GB or 12.2GB
Display--------------7 Inch--------------------7 Inch-----------------------7 Inch
DPI-------------------169 DPI 1024/600-----216 DPI 1280/800----------216 DPI 1280/800
Cameras------------None----------------------None------------------------Front & rear facing
Camera pixels-----N/A------------------------N/A--------------------------VGA quality front
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 Mega Pixel Rear
Battery Life--------8 hours--------------------up to 10 hours--------------8 hours
Charging time----4 hours---------------------under 6 hours---------------under 6 hours
AC wall charger--yes included-------------Yes Included-------------------Yes included
Speakers-----------dual stereo speakers---dual stereo speakers--------dual stereo speakers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------virtual surround sound
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------emulated 5.1 sound field
Display screen--------------------------------------------------------------Gorilla glass
Case colors----------Black------------------------Black--------------------5 colors available
Microphone---------None------------------------None--------------------Built-in
Operating system--------------------------------Fire OS 3.0------------Fire OS 4
WIFI--------------------Yes------------------------Yes------------------------Yes
Sensors----------------Accelerometer, gyroscope in all versions
Size---------------------7.5"x4.7"x0.45"----------7.5"x5"x0.45"--------------7.5"x5"x0.4"
Weight-----------------14.6 ounces---------------12.2 ounces----------------11.9 ounces
Ports--------------------Micro USB Charging----Micro USB Charging-------Micro USB Charging
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------or use adapter HDTV or VGA
Volume Switches-----No--------------------------Yes------------------------Yes
Bluetooth--------------No---------------------------Yes----------------------Yes plus BT microphone compatible
Audio output---------all versions with 3.5 mm stereo jack
What's new!
* Links your account to your family so you can share apps, books, audio books and games and Prime instant video content.
* Each user can have their own profile page with email, Facebook and twitter accounts. With Profiles, create unique profiles for up to 2 adults and 4 children so family members can share a tablet.
* Bluetooth microphone support
* 2x the speed and over 3x the graphics performance of previous generation Fire HD for quicker apps and smooth videos
* Front and rear cameras--Take photos or capture videos in 1080p HD with a rear-facing camera or Skype with a front-facing camera. Plus, free unlimited storage in Cloud Drive for photos taken with Fire devices
* Dual stereo speakers which is 1.5x louder than other tablets under $150. Emulation of 5.1 multichannel sound fields for better sounding stereo.
* Mirror your screen to your TV or VGA monitor using the Micro USB port
* Get $5 free gaming coins
* Audio books from Audible which is something that I have been enjoying listening to even in my car by streaming wirelessly to my car's stereo system
* Free Amazon cloud storage
++++++++++++++++
Update: 10-4-2014
In continuing my testing I have streamed prime TV and movies without any issues. The quality of the video and sound was excellent. The video began playing almost instantly so that feature worked fine. The audio output volume and quality was better than any of the other smart devices that I own. I installed OOKLA SpeedTest and tested my WIFI speeds to the Internet. I got download speeds of 23.09 Mbps and an upload speed of 1.97 Mbps. These are very good since I only pay for 18 Mbps and 2 Mbps.
Detailed review of the Fire HD 7 - A great entry-level tablet at a great price!
The
Fire HD 7 is a great entry-level Fire Tablet that includes a 7"
1200x800 216 ppi pixel density display. Pixel density wise, this is the
lowest off all the Fire Tablets but is still decent enough where you're
going to get a nice picture on the display. It's by no means an "iPad
killer" or "Galaxy Tab killer" and you really shouldn't purchase it for
that purpose. This particular model is really tailored to reading Kindle
books, streaming video, browsing the web, checking email, and so forth.
Bottom line, It's a great deal at $139. I'm going to compare the
features of the HD 7 with the features of the other Fire Tablets to help
you make an informed decision on which model to go with:
*** DISPLAY ***
The display is a 7" 1200x800 resolution display with a 216 ppi pixel density which is not great, but not horrible either. It is the lowest pixel density of all the Fire Tablets with the Fire HD 6 coming in at 252 ppi, the Fire HDX coming in at 323 ppi, and the Fire HDX 8.9 coming in at 339 ppi. The human eye really can't distinguish individual pixels beyond a density of about 300 ppi so you're not going to be getting a noticeably pixelated display by any means. All in all, this is a nice display.
*** PROCESSOR, GPU, AND ON-BOARD STORAGE ***
The Fire HD 7 comes with a respectable 1.5 GHz quad-core processor with enough power to run almost all of your content with ease, including smooth video playback. It comes with a mediocre 1 GB of RAM which really is not sufficient in my opinion but it is what it is. THis is not an iPad or Galaxy Tab killer by any means, but it gives you just enough power to use the essential Amazon services you need.
The HD 7 is substantially less powerful than the Snapdragon 2.2 GHz and 2.5 GHz quad-core processors that come with 2 GB or RAM and come with the higher end Fire Tablets, but at the same time, those tablets cost quite a bit more ($179 for the HDX and $379 for the HDX 8.9) so you're getting what you pay for.
Onboard storage is available in either 8GB (4.5GB actually available to use) or 16GB (11.6GB actually available to use.) There shouldn't even be an 8GB version in my opinion as 4.5GB of usable storage is pretty pathetic, even with cloud storage availability. I'd recommend the 16GB over the 8GB version in a heartbeat.
*** BATTERY LIFE ***
I say this in all my reviews, I swear, there should be a penalty for under-delivering on battery life claims. While Amazon claims the Fire HD 7's battery lasts about 8 hours with mixed usage, I experienced about 6 hours which included video streaming, web browsing, and downloading via WiFi.
*** WI-FI AND 3G SERVICE***
The Fire HD 7 comes with a single band, single antenna WiFi as opposed to the dual band, dual antenna MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) WiFi that you get with the HDX and HDX 8.9. MIMO technology lets you download and upload simultaneously while still allowing you to be productive on the tablet by multitasking, watching movies, etc. It is certainly a better WiFi and takes advantage of the 802.11a/c WiFi which is blazingly fast, but for the average consumer needs, the single band, single antenna WiFi is still sufficient for downloading content, browsing the internet, and streaming video content.
Neither the Fire HD 7 or Fire HD 6 come in a 3G version so you are limited to using WiFi. Honestly, I don't really see the point in needing 3G anyway as you can download content, browse the web, check email, etc. from any place with a WiFi hotspot which is basically every Starbucks, McDonalds, and countless other establishments, not to mention your home WiFi network.
*** CAMERA AND AUDIO ***
The HD 7 comes with a mediocre 2 megapixel rear-facing camera which is kind of pathetic in my opinion. Although you can record in 1080p, with only 2 megapixels, don't expect much in terms of picture quality. I got better pictures with a 4 year old smartphone than what the HD 7 produces. Even the HDX 8.9 has an average 8 megapixel rear-facing camera so you're not missing out on much there.
Audio is standard Dolby audio so nothing special but it's still decent in terms of sound quality. The Fire HDX 8.9 comes standard with Dolby Atmos sound technology which is simply amazing! You really have to hear it to appreciate it. If you simply need a standard audio experience, the Dolby Audio on the HD 7 is more than adequate and is by no means "crappy audio." A good pair of headphones makes all the difference in this department.
*** WEIGHT AND BUILD QUALITY ***
Weighing in at nearly 11.9 ounces, the HD 7 does have a nice heft to it that gives it a nice, durable feel. To give you a comparison of weight, the iPad mini which is basically the same size of the HD 7, weighs in at 11.7 ounces, virtually identical in weight to the HD 7
Build quality feels solid, as is the experience you'll get with the entire Fire Tablet lineup. None of them feel "cheap" by any means.
*** APP AVAILABILITY ***
Fire OS is a forked Android operating system, meaning it's a heavily modified Android OS so some standard Android apps will work on the Fire HD 7 but keep in mind, since Amazon is in such a fierce competition with Google and Apple in terms of their app stores and music sales, Fire OS will not allow you to install or run any of the core Google apps such as Google Drive, Calendar, Docs, Slides, and so forth... even YouTube, which is owned by Google is banned, as is the Starbucks and Foursquare apps. There are nearly 250,000 apps available on the Amazon App Store which is pretty impressive given how young the Fire OS is, so you're likely to find alternative apps to satisfy your needs in this tablet.
*** CONCLUSION ***
As is the case with any of Amazon's devices including the Fire Tablets, Fire Phone, Fire TV, and even the various Kindle models, the more of them you buy into, the more immersed into the Amazon ecosystem you become which can be good and bad. I can say, having Fire TV along with a Fire Tablet and a Fire Phone, combined with an Amazon Prime membership is going to give you a great experience as all of the devices work together to bring all of Amazon's services right to your fingertips (and television!) With a simple flick of your finger on the HD 7 or Fire Phone, you can send the video you're watching straight to your Fire TV to continue watching it.
You can also stream all of your free video and music content across the various devices, and with the free cloud storage for all your Amazon content, everything from your music, photos, videos, and documents are safely stored and available 24/7 in the Amazon Cloud.
All in all, this is a nice tablet but unless you're on a tight budget and need to stick to this price range, I'd really recommend jumping right up to the HDX 8.9 as it offers so much more and can legitimately replace an iPad or Galaxy Tab with ease, and for around the same price point. If your budget limits you to this device, you won't be disappointed with it, but it isn't going to compete with the iPad or the Galaxy Tab.
*** If you found this review at all helpful, please take a moment to let me know. You can also leave a comment or ask questions in the comments section below. I try my hardest to provide you with the most information I can to help you make an informed decision on whether or not to purchase a product. Thanks for taking the time to read my review! ***
*** DISPLAY ***
The display is a 7" 1200x800 resolution display with a 216 ppi pixel density which is not great, but not horrible either. It is the lowest pixel density of all the Fire Tablets with the Fire HD 6 coming in at 252 ppi, the Fire HDX coming in at 323 ppi, and the Fire HDX 8.9 coming in at 339 ppi. The human eye really can't distinguish individual pixels beyond a density of about 300 ppi so you're not going to be getting a noticeably pixelated display by any means. All in all, this is a nice display.
*** PROCESSOR, GPU, AND ON-BOARD STORAGE ***
The Fire HD 7 comes with a respectable 1.5 GHz quad-core processor with enough power to run almost all of your content with ease, including smooth video playback. It comes with a mediocre 1 GB of RAM which really is not sufficient in my opinion but it is what it is. THis is not an iPad or Galaxy Tab killer by any means, but it gives you just enough power to use the essential Amazon services you need.
The HD 7 is substantially less powerful than the Snapdragon 2.2 GHz and 2.5 GHz quad-core processors that come with 2 GB or RAM and come with the higher end Fire Tablets, but at the same time, those tablets cost quite a bit more ($179 for the HDX and $379 for the HDX 8.9) so you're getting what you pay for.
Onboard storage is available in either 8GB (4.5GB actually available to use) or 16GB (11.6GB actually available to use.) There shouldn't even be an 8GB version in my opinion as 4.5GB of usable storage is pretty pathetic, even with cloud storage availability. I'd recommend the 16GB over the 8GB version in a heartbeat.
*** BATTERY LIFE ***
I say this in all my reviews, I swear, there should be a penalty for under-delivering on battery life claims. While Amazon claims the Fire HD 7's battery lasts about 8 hours with mixed usage, I experienced about 6 hours which included video streaming, web browsing, and downloading via WiFi.
*** WI-FI AND 3G SERVICE***
The Fire HD 7 comes with a single band, single antenna WiFi as opposed to the dual band, dual antenna MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) WiFi that you get with the HDX and HDX 8.9. MIMO technology lets you download and upload simultaneously while still allowing you to be productive on the tablet by multitasking, watching movies, etc. It is certainly a better WiFi and takes advantage of the 802.11a/c WiFi which is blazingly fast, but for the average consumer needs, the single band, single antenna WiFi is still sufficient for downloading content, browsing the internet, and streaming video content.
Neither the Fire HD 7 or Fire HD 6 come in a 3G version so you are limited to using WiFi. Honestly, I don't really see the point in needing 3G anyway as you can download content, browse the web, check email, etc. from any place with a WiFi hotspot which is basically every Starbucks, McDonalds, and countless other establishments, not to mention your home WiFi network.
*** CAMERA AND AUDIO ***
The HD 7 comes with a mediocre 2 megapixel rear-facing camera which is kind of pathetic in my opinion. Although you can record in 1080p, with only 2 megapixels, don't expect much in terms of picture quality. I got better pictures with a 4 year old smartphone than what the HD 7 produces. Even the HDX 8.9 has an average 8 megapixel rear-facing camera so you're not missing out on much there.
Audio is standard Dolby audio so nothing special but it's still decent in terms of sound quality. The Fire HDX 8.9 comes standard with Dolby Atmos sound technology which is simply amazing! You really have to hear it to appreciate it. If you simply need a standard audio experience, the Dolby Audio on the HD 7 is more than adequate and is by no means "crappy audio." A good pair of headphones makes all the difference in this department.
*** WEIGHT AND BUILD QUALITY ***
Weighing in at nearly 11.9 ounces, the HD 7 does have a nice heft to it that gives it a nice, durable feel. To give you a comparison of weight, the iPad mini which is basically the same size of the HD 7, weighs in at 11.7 ounces, virtually identical in weight to the HD 7
Build quality feels solid, as is the experience you'll get with the entire Fire Tablet lineup. None of them feel "cheap" by any means.
*** APP AVAILABILITY ***
Fire OS is a forked Android operating system, meaning it's a heavily modified Android OS so some standard Android apps will work on the Fire HD 7 but keep in mind, since Amazon is in such a fierce competition with Google and Apple in terms of their app stores and music sales, Fire OS will not allow you to install or run any of the core Google apps such as Google Drive, Calendar, Docs, Slides, and so forth... even YouTube, which is owned by Google is banned, as is the Starbucks and Foursquare apps. There are nearly 250,000 apps available on the Amazon App Store which is pretty impressive given how young the Fire OS is, so you're likely to find alternative apps to satisfy your needs in this tablet.
*** CONCLUSION ***
As is the case with any of Amazon's devices including the Fire Tablets, Fire Phone, Fire TV, and even the various Kindle models, the more of them you buy into, the more immersed into the Amazon ecosystem you become which can be good and bad. I can say, having Fire TV along with a Fire Tablet and a Fire Phone, combined with an Amazon Prime membership is going to give you a great experience as all of the devices work together to bring all of Amazon's services right to your fingertips (and television!) With a simple flick of your finger on the HD 7 or Fire Phone, you can send the video you're watching straight to your Fire TV to continue watching it.
You can also stream all of your free video and music content across the various devices, and with the free cloud storage for all your Amazon content, everything from your music, photos, videos, and documents are safely stored and available 24/7 in the Amazon Cloud.
All in all, this is a nice tablet but unless you're on a tight budget and need to stick to this price range, I'd really recommend jumping right up to the HDX 8.9 as it offers so much more and can legitimately replace an iPad or Galaxy Tab with ease, and for around the same price point. If your budget limits you to this device, you won't be disappointed with it, but it isn't going to compete with the iPad or the Galaxy Tab.
*** If you found this review at all helpful, please take a moment to let me know. You can also leave a comment or ask questions in the comments section below. I try my hardest to provide you with the most information I can to help you make an informed decision on whether or not to purchase a product. Thanks for taking the time to read my review! ***
Great Value for $139
I'm
writing this review with the benefit of being an experienced Kindle
Fire user vs. someone brand new to the Kindle family. In summary, for
$139 you are getting a good deal on a tablet computer - especially if
you compare it to the $500 or more you can spend on a Wi-Fi version of
the iPad. Overall, if you consider the price and the functionality I
think this is a great tool / toy if you watch a lot of video or play a
lot of games on your device: the video quality is outstanding and you
can really tell a difference between this and last year's Fire. If you
are a first-time tablet buyer, where price vs. value is a key
consideration, or if you are looking for an affordable tablet for the
kids, I'd recommend this "regular" Fire HD vs. a more expensive version.
If you're comparing last year's HD model to this version and it is
operating fine, I'd say save your money and continue to get your money's
worth out of that one.
My review below compares a lot of the features of this version of the Fire to last year's Fire HD but also some of the features for a first-time user.
Consistent with my experience with setup of previous models of the Fire, setup took a while: despite being a brand new product, the Fire attempted to download and install several operating software updates. You just need to be patient while it downloads and installs.
Screen Display / Video Playback:
This version of the Fire has a great screen display and looking at the technical specs Amazon made some major changes in the display / resolution, and the picture appears more crisp: I compared the viewing experience watching an episode of The Lost Ship. The display on this Fire was one heck of a lot better in terms of sharpness than last year's model. That may be a combination of some better technology as well as a new vs. year-old screen.
Wi-Fi Connectivity:
After the final operating software update I mentioned above, it was fairly easy to connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi. My standard test for trying out new gadgets is to see how fast they run side-by-side with a known piece of equipment doing the same test at the best place of Wi-Fi in my house and the worst place where it drags. In this comparison, I had this version of the Fire sitting next to last year's version of the HD Fire, as well as last year's 8.9" HDX Fire, and my iPad Air (yes, the Kindle guy uses an iPad for work), all just using a Wi-Fi connection vs. cellular connectivity.
My "normal" website test is to hit the mobile websites of FoxNews, CNN, my personalized Yahoo page, Google, and the Houston Chronicle. The ones that were usually slow on the other devices were just as slow, and for the other sites I couldn't tell a difference in speed in comparison to this model. Downloading The Lost Ship mentioned above from the Amazon site, strangely, tool a lot longer than any of the other Fires in my comparison - about ten extra minutes.
Sound / Music Playback:
The two speakers are located in the back of the Fire in two not-noticeable ports: both of them are on the right (or maybe it's on the top, depending upon your screen orientation) side of the Kindle. My test of this feature was cranking up Van Halen's Panama to maximum volume (I always want to see if it could really play the guitar licks), and I would alternate covering one speaker up over the other: you have true stereo sound with no degradation of the sound that makes you think you are about to blow the speaker. The Dolby speakers sound nice but "cranking" is misleading as it's really not that loud: you do get to hear the bass if you install and use an Equalizer app and adjust until it sounds "just right" to you. Mixing the sound with an equalizer app, and using good headphones, it really the way I want to listen to music on the Fire as you not only have a better sound experience but you're also not disturbing others in the room. The X-ray feature is pretty neat as it displays the lyrics on the screen if you are so inclined; if you are not, it is as simple as the tap of an icon to make the lyric feature go away.
Email Setup:
Consistent with previous versions of the Fire, email setup was very easy for my main Gmail account, both with the software came with the Fire but my primary use of an existing app called Enhanced Email I purchased here in the Amazon app store. I did setup the email app that came with the program with no problem - it took about a minute to set it up. Amazon made more enhancements to their email product, so I have deleted the third-party app and am happy with Amazon's email client.
New Tabs and Screen Layout:
In addition to the normal tabs Amazon has continued to make tweaks with the look and feel to the overall display such as more things to scroll through to find what you are looking for in an easier manner. Consistent with my experiences with last year's model of the Fire HD, I purchased the one with special offers and I don't feel overwhelmed with ads. In fact, I don't even notice them.
Reading Books:
Turning pages is pretty darn easy - just tap the side of the screen to go to the next page or back a page, or you can swipe your finger across the screen to do the same. You do have the feature to see the book's description for books on your device like they have with the e-Ink Kindle which is a plus as I can't remember what each book in my digital to-be-read pile is about; getting to the book description, requires several taps on the screen to eventually get to where you want to be. If there is an easier way to do it, I can't find it.
Camera:
There is a camera on this model - one facing the back and one facing the front or toward the user / reader. Focusing and taking a picture is pretty easy, and Amazon will by default store your pictures in the Cloud. I'm not much of a picture taker with my tablet, so I can't really comment on the quality.
Charger:
Unlike previous models of the Fire, this one DOES include a charger! If you're scratching your head with that comment, in previous models you had to purchase a charger separately for $20 which always seemed kind of silly for Amazon to do.
If you've never owned a tablet before, or are looking to upgrade from an earlier model Fire, I would recommend this one if video and apps are your thing - but make sure you purchase the higher memory one vs. the minimum 8 GB if you can afford the extra dollars as you will see better performance. If you're comparing last year's HD model to this version and it is operating fine, or looking for a tablet for your younger children, I'd say save your money and continue to get your money's worth out of it.
Overall, at $139 for the 8 GB of memory model I think this is a good deal for someone who really uses the video / apps feature. Kids will love it as they can read books, play games, watch TV and movies, and a whole lot of other things. Adults should like it for the exact same reasons, but while I try to minimize the amount of work-related stuff I do at home with the business apps that are available here in the Amazon App store and other places around the Internet I can also work on Excel and Word-compatible files when I have to without having to fire up my work laptop or whatever the case may be.
My review below compares a lot of the features of this version of the Fire to last year's Fire HD but also some of the features for a first-time user.
Consistent with my experience with setup of previous models of the Fire, setup took a while: despite being a brand new product, the Fire attempted to download and install several operating software updates. You just need to be patient while it downloads and installs.
Screen Display / Video Playback:
This version of the Fire has a great screen display and looking at the technical specs Amazon made some major changes in the display / resolution, and the picture appears more crisp: I compared the viewing experience watching an episode of The Lost Ship. The display on this Fire was one heck of a lot better in terms of sharpness than last year's model. That may be a combination of some better technology as well as a new vs. year-old screen.
Wi-Fi Connectivity:
After the final operating software update I mentioned above, it was fairly easy to connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi. My standard test for trying out new gadgets is to see how fast they run side-by-side with a known piece of equipment doing the same test at the best place of Wi-Fi in my house and the worst place where it drags. In this comparison, I had this version of the Fire sitting next to last year's version of the HD Fire, as well as last year's 8.9" HDX Fire, and my iPad Air (yes, the Kindle guy uses an iPad for work), all just using a Wi-Fi connection vs. cellular connectivity.
My "normal" website test is to hit the mobile websites of FoxNews, CNN, my personalized Yahoo page, Google, and the Houston Chronicle. The ones that were usually slow on the other devices were just as slow, and for the other sites I couldn't tell a difference in speed in comparison to this model. Downloading The Lost Ship mentioned above from the Amazon site, strangely, tool a lot longer than any of the other Fires in my comparison - about ten extra minutes.
Sound / Music Playback:
The two speakers are located in the back of the Fire in two not-noticeable ports: both of them are on the right (or maybe it's on the top, depending upon your screen orientation) side of the Kindle. My test of this feature was cranking up Van Halen's Panama to maximum volume (I always want to see if it could really play the guitar licks), and I would alternate covering one speaker up over the other: you have true stereo sound with no degradation of the sound that makes you think you are about to blow the speaker. The Dolby speakers sound nice but "cranking" is misleading as it's really not that loud: you do get to hear the bass if you install and use an Equalizer app and adjust until it sounds "just right" to you. Mixing the sound with an equalizer app, and using good headphones, it really the way I want to listen to music on the Fire as you not only have a better sound experience but you're also not disturbing others in the room. The X-ray feature is pretty neat as it displays the lyrics on the screen if you are so inclined; if you are not, it is as simple as the tap of an icon to make the lyric feature go away.
Email Setup:
Consistent with previous versions of the Fire, email setup was very easy for my main Gmail account, both with the software came with the Fire but my primary use of an existing app called Enhanced Email I purchased here in the Amazon app store. I did setup the email app that came with the program with no problem - it took about a minute to set it up. Amazon made more enhancements to their email product, so I have deleted the third-party app and am happy with Amazon's email client.
New Tabs and Screen Layout:
In addition to the normal tabs Amazon has continued to make tweaks with the look and feel to the overall display such as more things to scroll through to find what you are looking for in an easier manner. Consistent with my experiences with last year's model of the Fire HD, I purchased the one with special offers and I don't feel overwhelmed with ads. In fact, I don't even notice them.
Reading Books:
Turning pages is pretty darn easy - just tap the side of the screen to go to the next page or back a page, or you can swipe your finger across the screen to do the same. You do have the feature to see the book's description for books on your device like they have with the e-Ink Kindle which is a plus as I can't remember what each book in my digital to-be-read pile is about; getting to the book description, requires several taps on the screen to eventually get to where you want to be. If there is an easier way to do it, I can't find it.
Camera:
There is a camera on this model - one facing the back and one facing the front or toward the user / reader. Focusing and taking a picture is pretty easy, and Amazon will by default store your pictures in the Cloud. I'm not much of a picture taker with my tablet, so I can't really comment on the quality.
Charger:
Unlike previous models of the Fire, this one DOES include a charger! If you're scratching your head with that comment, in previous models you had to purchase a charger separately for $20 which always seemed kind of silly for Amazon to do.
If you've never owned a tablet before, or are looking to upgrade from an earlier model Fire, I would recommend this one if video and apps are your thing - but make sure you purchase the higher memory one vs. the minimum 8 GB if you can afford the extra dollars as you will see better performance. If you're comparing last year's HD model to this version and it is operating fine, or looking for a tablet for your younger children, I'd say save your money and continue to get your money's worth out of it.
Overall, at $139 for the 8 GB of memory model I think this is a good deal for someone who really uses the video / apps feature. Kids will love it as they can read books, play games, watch TV and movies, and a whole lot of other things. Adults should like it for the exact same reasons, but while I try to minimize the amount of work-related stuff I do at home with the business apps that are available here in the Amazon App store and other places around the Internet I can also work on Excel and Word-compatible files when I have to without having to fire up my work laptop or whatever the case may be.
Even grandma has it figured out!
I
purchased this Kindle for my grandma, because I wanted a simple way to
video chat with her. Our old process was pretty complicated: First, she
had to turn her computer on, sign into Skype, call me to let me know
that she would like to Skype and that she was online, then answer my
incomming request. Since she is retired and has lots of time, this was
okay for her, but didn't work well for me, since I was often unavailable
when she wanted to Skype.
She now has a Kindle that she keeps in the living room, and I can send her a skype request directly to the device. This works great for me, because she's always online, which means we can video chat during my breaks at work. I recently moved to Utah, and broke grandma's heart, but she feels closer to me now that we can see eachother face to face.
In addition to how easy it was to get this setup (which I walked her through over the phone), she has fallen in love with the games she now has access to. If my 80 year old grandma can figure this out, then I think most people will find it pretty simple to use.
Pros:
-Easy to setup (even for an 80 year old)
-Functional layout and design
-Syncs with Amazon Account for and easy way to purcahse apps. I can purchase an app for my grandma from my computer, and it will show up right on her Kindle.
-Unlimited cloud storage for photos (my grandma is no longer afraid she is going to lose precious pictures of her kids)
-Bright screen and great for reading
Cons:
Limited storage space (16gb is great for most people, but will fill up fast if you take a lot of video)
***Update: I updated my review. I ordered this for my grandma who told me that there was no power adapter included. Turns out she left it in the box. So far so good.
She now has a Kindle that she keeps in the living room, and I can send her a skype request directly to the device. This works great for me, because she's always online, which means we can video chat during my breaks at work. I recently moved to Utah, and broke grandma's heart, but she feels closer to me now that we can see eachother face to face.
In addition to how easy it was to get this setup (which I walked her through over the phone), she has fallen in love with the games she now has access to. If my 80 year old grandma can figure this out, then I think most people will find it pretty simple to use.
Pros:
-Easy to setup (even for an 80 year old)
-Functional layout and design
-Syncs with Amazon Account for and easy way to purcahse apps. I can purchase an app for my grandma from my computer, and it will show up right on her Kindle.
-Unlimited cloud storage for photos (my grandma is no longer afraid she is going to lose precious pictures of her kids)
-Bright screen and great for reading
Cons:
Limited storage space (16gb is great for most people, but will fill up fast if you take a lot of video)
***Update: I updated my review. I ordered this for my grandma who told me that there was no power adapter included. Turns out she left it in the box. So far so good.
