I toyed with the idea of buying a new Kindle Fire HD for over a month and, of course, read all the reviews here and on other websites. Many of these reviews put me off and I nearly ordered a Google Nexus 7. I am so happy now that I didn’t. Somehow at one point I got a feeling that many of these negative reviews had been written by Apple groupies or by people who got so used to their iPads that all they want is just another iPad. And I decided to order a Kindle Fire HD. It arrived promptly, three days ago, already registered. I really can’t understand why some people write that it shows American time or prices in dollars. During a setup process (which was fast, easy and very intuitive) I was asked about my timezone and, of course, the device was registered in the UK. The device itself is very nicely built and it is a pleasure to hold it, actually it has a much more pleasant feel than an iPad. An Amazon Kindle Fire HD cover, which came with it, fits nicely, it’s comfortable to hold and has a pleasant feel. The screen is just FANTASTIC! Speakers are better than on any other tablet or even on a big desktop computer (I have an iMac). I never liked an iPad because of its size. It is just not convenient to carry it with you all the time, and to read it on public transport is about the same as to read a big art book. A 7 inch tablet is just perfect, you can carry it in your pocket. It was really easy to connect to WiFi and to sign on to my email accounts. I have two email accounts and both work really well on Kindle Fire HD. One of them is a Yahoo account, so first I used it through the Silk browser until I discovered a Yahoo Mail application at Amazon app store. But either with the browser or with this app it was fast and smooth for sending and receiving emails. And AOL account was very easy to synchronize, it took less than a minute to get all my emails and contacts. WiFi connection is better than on any of our home computers. After reading many reviews and online chats I was prepared to install Dolphin, Adobe Flash player, VLC player, etc. But there was no need. There was no need for Dolphin. So far the preinstalled Silk browser has been working fine, I don’t have any complaints. I installed ES File Explorer (Essential!), Battery HD (Essential!), BBC Media Player, BBC iPlayer, BBC News app, UK News Online app, USA News app (both are for reading UK and US newspapers), A8 Player and some other applications from Amazon store. I have been watching films on YouTube for three days now and not a single time I was told that I needed a Flash Player. iPad doesn’t have it as well. Watching programmes on BBC iPlayer is just great! Before downloading applications I went to device settings and allowed applications from sources other than Amazon, but so far I didn’t download a single application from another source. For me Amazon app store has more than enough and will probably have even more in future. Some puzzling moments though. One can download Lufthansa or American Airlines applications, but not British Airways! But I hope that Amazon will sort this out. I downloaded about 5 Gb of music and 22 films in MP4 from my laptop and I must say that picture quality on Kindle Fire HD is much better than on the laptop. It was very easy, just connected it to the laptop with the USB cable (provided) and copied to respective music and movies files on Kindle. Music sounds fantastic, not just rock but classical opera as well. Now I can listen to music and watch my favourite films while travelling. And when I play these films I am given three options of which player to use (including A8, which I downloaded). Films in MP4 play fine on all of them. So far I didn’t try to watch any films on LoveFilm and probably won’t as I don’t want to have a subscription. I don’t play computer games, so can’t be a judge here. Also I can’t comment on advertising as I paid 10 pounds extra when I ordered my Kindle for the pleasure of not having these adverts and now I am happy that I did that. It’s not such a big price for one’s privacy. And, of course, I downloaded a lot of books from Amazon. Reading on Kindle Fire HD is as pleasant as on all previous Kindles. My wife has a Kindle Keyboard 3G, which is absolutely fantastic, both of us are in love with it. I can only complain that the price of downloads now is almost the same as the price of getting a real book (which also became more expensive on Amazon). Initially they were much cheaper.
So, I really can’t understand what is this moaning all about. I am SO VERY HAPPY with my new Kindle Fire HD! It does much much more than I expected. I thought it would be an e-reader with internet and email capability, but it turned out to be a TABLET (and a very good one at that) with e-reader capability! Congratulations Amazon!!!! And THANK YOU! You invested time, money and, I believe, love into it and I hope that your customers will love it as much as I do. On the negative…
I hesitate to dip my toe in the turbulent waters of Kindle Fire HD customer reviews, but having owned the 32GB version for two weeks now my thoughts might be useful to some. I already own a Kindle 3G and a WiFi/3G Ipad, against which the Fire HD seems to be regularly compared against. The Kindle is primarily used to take books on holiday, and the Ipad is used at home (via WiFi) and on holiday (3G/WiFi in the UK, WiFi abroad) for e-mails and internet access. I bought the Fire HD primarily (I thought)as a colour Kindle ‘plus’ – the ‘plus’ being a second access point to e-mails and internet if my partner was using the Ipad. Out of the box, it is a lovely looking piece of kit. It is heavier than a Kindle, but not distressingly so. You can hold it in one hand to read comfortably. WiFi access was automatically set-up – all I had to do was enter a pass-key (on the side of my Sky router). I have Sky e-mail, and I had to enter manually a couple of pieces of info in setting this up, but I got these from the account info on the Ipad. The Wi-Fi signal is picked up strongly throughout the house by the Fire HD, better than the Ipad in some rooms.
As an e-reader, it is very pleasing. The screen display is excellent – clear, detailed and the touchscreen works really well. Indeed, I am finding myself using it at home to read books which I have never done with my ‘old’ Kindle 3G. I also downloaded photos from my partner’s Facebook to try this facility out – very easy to do and the photos look fantastic. What has really surprised me, however, is that I am now tending to use the Fire HD for my primary internet and e-mail access. Both functions are easy to use and very intuitive, and it is just easier to carry the Fire HD around than the Ipad. I have always worried about taking the Ipad abroad because of its size, even though the ability to use WiFi abroad has been invaluable. It looks like the Ipad can stay at home now, as I have an e-reader and internet access in one machine.
I have also used the useful comments from other reviewers and downloaded a number of third-party Android app sites and used these, as well as the Amazon App site, to load a few useful applications without any problems whatsoever, including Dolphin browser, YouTube etc etc. (And I write as someone who can just about turn on a computer).
In summation – and very much my opinion – I am delighted with my Fire HD. It is a much more portable size than an Ipad, offers the functionality I need and looks and sounds lovely. It has completely exceeded my expectations and is very much (for me) an Ipad ‘minus’ rather than a Kindle ‘plus’.
Hope this review is helpful to someone.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
I’ve had an iPad 2 tablet for a while and, though I love it, it isn’t the ideal tablet for me and this is mainly due to the fact that it is so large, bulky and heavy.
A 10 inch tablet is wonderful for watching movies and iPlayer stuff but I can’t fit it in my bag and it is cumbersome and heavy to hold in bed at night when I like to read books with the Kindle app dimmed down.
So, as soon as I saw that Amazon were bringing out a 7 inch screen device, I jumped at the chance to get one. I had minor quibbles when I saw the iPad Mini was coming out but when I saw the price which is almost what I paid for my 10 inch iPad 2 – seriously Apple? You’re having a laugh! It’s way too pricy for what it is combined with the fact that the specs are not nearly as good as the Kindle Fire HD.
PROS OF KINDLE FIRE HD:
1) It is small, portable and light enough to take out with me no matter where I go. Fits into my bag very nicely while still being a useful size for Internet, email, games, books and more.
2) Quick and easy access to all your Amazon content: all my music, Kindle books, games and apps, movies from LoveFilm and Amazon shopping all in one handy place. OK you can do this with most other tablets but not so seamlessly integrated.
MP3s you buy from Amazon are automatically stored in the cloud for you for free – and you can even upload some of your own MP3 music to the cloud for free. If you want to simply add MP3s onto the device itself, you can do that by connecting your Kindle Fire to your PC with the lead it came with and then adding them manually into the correct folder – someone else said this is called the music folder. I haven’t yet tried it because I haven’t needed to.
3) Beautiful backlit screen with adjustable brightness, what can I say. Really looks crisper than my iPad 2 device.
Tested this in bed last night. So much lighter and easier to hold than the 10 inch iPad for reading and because it is backlit (unlike my old Kindle Keyboard) I can carry on reading it when the lights are out. You might want to try the free GSam Screen Dimmer if you need to dim the screen even more – it worked great for me.
4) Awesome sound either out loud from the speakers or with using headphones in the headphone jack. Seriously, if you are really into music, this is the tablet to get because you won’t get a better sound experience even with a pricier tablet.
I tested this side by side with the same games and music on hubby’s Google Nexus tablet last night and the Kindle Fire was the clear winner with regards to a richer, sound experience.
5) Easy and intuitive to use. At least it is for me anyway. The carousel displays all your most recent items. If you want to add items from the carousel into a Favourites section, press and hold down on a carousel item and choose Add to Favourites. You can see all your favourite apps etc by clicking on the Star symbol which is bottom right – love that feature.
If you don’t want the last web page you looked at shown on the carousel then go to Settings | Applications | Silk – and uncheck Display most recent page in Carousel
I love the fact that Amazon recommends items that other people have bought under the items in your Carousel display. You might not like this, if so go to Settings | Applications | Amazon Home Recommendations and select hide so they do not display.
6) Appears to be very tough and well-built though I’ve popped it into a case as I do with most gadgets.
The wide bezel around the edge makes it easy to hold and grip the device without accidentally touching the screen and pressing something you don’t want to.
CONS OF KINDLE FIRE HD:
1) Less choice of apps. You get spoiled with the Apple app store because they have so many apps. However, I did find that I got bored looking for apps on my iPad after the novelty wore off and I just used the same core set all the time. Sometimes having too much choice is simply overwhelming.
Apparently it is possible to get the Google Play apps, perhaps do an internet search on that – I’m too busy working my way through the Amazon apps right now. Might try it at some point.
2) Physical volume buttons and the Off switch are a little hard to find especially in the dark. Amazon could definitely improve on that.
It is very easy to change the volume on-screen with the top menu that slides down even when you are on the Internet or reading.
3) I want to be able to buy and own (not rent) digital movies from Amazon like the Americans do – I believe that there are more complex laws in Europe but hope that eventually this will be possible. I certainly think Amazon are trying their hardest to deliver what they can to the UK market.
I found it very hard to connect my existing Lovefilm account with the device – Amazon should make that…
EXCELLENT!!!! SUPERB!!!!,
I toyed with the idea of buying a new Kindle Fire HD for over a month and, of course, read all the reviews here and on other websites. Many of these reviews put me off and I nearly ordered a Google Nexus 7. I am so happy now that I didn’t. Somehow at one point I got a feeling that many of these negative reviews had been written by Apple groupies or by people who got so used to their iPads that all they want is just another iPad. And I decided to order a Kindle Fire HD. It arrived promptly, three days ago, already registered. I really can’t understand why some people write that it shows American time or prices in dollars. During a setup process (which was fast, easy and very intuitive) I was asked about my timezone and, of course, the device was registered in the UK. The device itself is very nicely built and it is a pleasure to hold it, actually it has a much more pleasant feel than an iPad. An Amazon Kindle Fire HD cover, which came with it, fits nicely, it’s comfortable to hold and has a pleasant feel. The screen is just FANTASTIC! Speakers are better than on any other tablet or even on a big desktop computer (I have an iMac). I never liked an iPad because of its size. It is just not convenient to carry it with you all the time, and to read it on public transport is about the same as to read a big art book. A 7 inch tablet is just perfect, you can carry it in your pocket. It was really easy to connect to WiFi and to sign on to my email accounts. I have two email accounts and both work really well on Kindle Fire HD. One of them is a Yahoo account, so first I used it through the Silk browser until I discovered a Yahoo Mail application at Amazon app store. But either with the browser or with this app it was fast and smooth for sending and receiving emails. And AOL account was very easy to synchronize, it took less than a minute to get all my emails and contacts. WiFi connection is better than on any of our home computers.
After reading many reviews and online chats I was prepared to install Dolphin, Adobe Flash player, VLC player, etc. But there was no need. There was no need for Dolphin. So far the preinstalled Silk browser has been working fine, I don’t have any complaints.
I installed ES File Explorer (Essential!), Battery HD (Essential!), BBC Media Player, BBC iPlayer, BBC News app, UK News Online app, USA News app (both are for reading UK and US newspapers), A8 Player and some other applications from Amazon store. I have been watching films on YouTube for three days now and not a single time I was told that I needed a Flash Player. iPad doesn’t have it as well. Watching programmes on BBC iPlayer is just great! Before downloading applications I went to device settings and allowed applications from sources other than Amazon, but so far I didn’t download a single application from another source. For me Amazon app store has more than enough and will probably have even more in future. Some puzzling moments though. One can download Lufthansa or American Airlines applications, but not British Airways! But I hope that Amazon will sort this out.
I downloaded about 5 Gb of music and 22 films in MP4 from my laptop and I must say that picture quality on Kindle Fire HD is much better than on the laptop. It was very easy, just connected it to the laptop with the USB cable (provided) and copied to respective music and movies files on Kindle. Music sounds fantastic, not just rock but classical opera as well. Now I can listen to music and watch my favourite films while travelling. And when I play these films I am given three options of which player to use (including A8, which I downloaded). Films in MP4 play fine on all of them. So far I didn’t try to watch any films on LoveFilm and probably won’t as I don’t want to have a subscription. I don’t play computer games, so can’t be a judge here.
Also I can’t comment on advertising as I paid 10 pounds extra when I ordered my Kindle for the pleasure of not having these adverts and now I am happy that I did that. It’s not such a big price for one’s privacy.
And, of course, I downloaded a lot of books from Amazon. Reading on Kindle Fire HD is as pleasant as on all previous Kindles. My wife has a Kindle Keyboard 3G, which is absolutely fantastic, both of us are in love with it. I can only complain that the price of downloads now is almost the same as the price of getting a real book (which also became more expensive on Amazon). Initially they were much cheaper.
So, I really can’t understand what is this moaning all about. I am SO VERY HAPPY with my new Kindle Fire HD! It does much much more than I expected. I thought it would be an e-reader with internet and email capability, but it turned out to be a TABLET (and a very good one at that) with e-reader capability! Congratulations Amazon!!!! And THANK YOU! You invested time, money and, I believe, love into it and I hope that your customers will love it as much as I do.
On the negative…
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|Kindle Fire HD – what is it for?,
I hesitate to dip my toe in the turbulent waters of Kindle Fire HD customer reviews, but having owned the 32GB version for two weeks now my thoughts might be useful to some. I already own a Kindle 3G and a WiFi/3G Ipad, against which the Fire HD seems to be regularly compared against. The Kindle is primarily used to take books on holiday, and the Ipad is used at home (via WiFi) and on holiday (3G/WiFi in the UK, WiFi abroad) for e-mails and internet access. I bought the Fire HD primarily (I thought)as a colour Kindle ‘plus’ – the ‘plus’ being a second access point to e-mails and internet if my partner was using the Ipad. Out of the box, it is a lovely looking piece of kit. It is heavier than a Kindle, but not distressingly so. You can hold it in one hand to read comfortably. WiFi access was automatically set-up – all I had to do was enter a pass-key (on the side of my Sky router). I have Sky e-mail, and I had to enter manually a couple of pieces of info in setting this up, but I got these from the account info on the Ipad. The Wi-Fi signal is picked up strongly throughout the house by the Fire HD, better than the Ipad in some rooms.
As an e-reader, it is very pleasing. The screen display is excellent – clear, detailed and the touchscreen works really well. Indeed, I am finding myself using it at home to read books which I have never done with my ‘old’ Kindle 3G. I also downloaded photos from my partner’s Facebook to try this facility out – very easy to do and the photos look fantastic. What has really surprised me, however, is that I am now tending to use the Fire HD for my primary internet and e-mail access. Both functions are easy to use and very intuitive, and it is just easier to carry the Fire HD around than the Ipad. I have always worried about taking the Ipad abroad because of its size, even though the ability to use WiFi abroad has been invaluable. It looks like the Ipad can stay at home now, as I have an e-reader and internet access in one machine.
I have also used the useful comments from other reviewers and downloaded a number of third-party Android app sites and used these, as well as the Amazon App site, to load a few useful applications without any problems whatsoever, including Dolphin browser, YouTube etc etc. (And I write as someone who can just about turn on a computer).
In summation – and very much my opinion – I am delighted with my Fire HD. It is a much more portable size than an Ipad, offers the functionality I need and looks and sounds lovely. It has completely exceeded my expectations and is very much (for me) an Ipad ‘minus’ rather than a Kindle ‘plus’.
Hope this review is helpful to someone.
Was this review helpful to you?
|For Me – Better than my iPad!,
I’ve had an iPad 2 tablet for a while and, though I love it, it isn’t the ideal tablet for me and this is mainly due to the fact that it is so large, bulky and heavy.
A 10 inch tablet is wonderful for watching movies and iPlayer stuff but I can’t fit it in my bag and it is cumbersome and heavy to hold in bed at night when I like to read books with the Kindle app dimmed down.
So, as soon as I saw that Amazon were bringing out a 7 inch screen device, I jumped at the chance to get one. I had minor quibbles when I saw the iPad Mini was coming out but when I saw the price which is almost what I paid for my 10 inch iPad 2 – seriously Apple? You’re having a laugh! It’s way too pricy for what it is combined with the fact that the specs are not nearly as good as the Kindle Fire HD.
PROS OF KINDLE FIRE HD:
1) It is small, portable and light enough to take out with me no matter where I go. Fits into my bag very nicely while still being a useful size for Internet, email, games, books and more.
2) Quick and easy access to all your Amazon content: all my music, Kindle books, games and apps, movies from LoveFilm and Amazon shopping all in one handy place. OK you can do this with most other tablets but not so seamlessly integrated.
MP3s you buy from Amazon are automatically stored in the cloud for you for free – and you can even upload some of your own MP3 music to the cloud for free. If you want to simply add MP3s onto the device itself, you can do that by connecting your Kindle Fire to your PC with the lead it came with and then adding them manually into the correct folder – someone else said this is called the music folder. I haven’t yet tried it because I haven’t needed to.
3) Beautiful backlit screen with adjustable brightness, what can I say. Really looks crisper than my iPad 2 device.
Tested this in bed last night. So much lighter and easier to hold than the 10 inch iPad for reading and because it is backlit (unlike my old Kindle Keyboard) I can carry on reading it when the lights are out. You might want to try the free GSam Screen Dimmer if you need to dim the screen even more – it worked great for me.
4) Awesome sound either out loud from the speakers or with using headphones in the headphone jack. Seriously, if you are really into music, this is the tablet to get because you won’t get a better sound experience even with a pricier tablet.
I tested this side by side with the same games and music on hubby’s Google Nexus tablet last night and the Kindle Fire was the clear winner with regards to a richer, sound experience.
5) Easy and intuitive to use. At least it is for me anyway. The carousel displays all your most recent items. If you want to add items from the carousel into a Favourites section, press and hold down on a carousel item and choose Add to Favourites. You can see all your favourite apps etc by clicking on the Star symbol which is bottom right – love that feature.
If you don’t want the last web page you looked at shown on the carousel then go to Settings | Applications | Silk – and uncheck Display most recent page in Carousel
I love the fact that Amazon recommends items that other people have bought under the items in your Carousel display. You might not like this, if so go to Settings | Applications | Amazon Home Recommendations and select hide so they do not display.
6) Appears to be very tough and well-built though I’ve popped it into a case as I do with most gadgets.
The wide bezel around the edge makes it easy to hold and grip the device without accidentally touching the screen and pressing something you don’t want to.
CONS OF KINDLE FIRE HD:
1) Less choice of apps. You get spoiled with the Apple app store because they have so many apps. However, I did find that I got bored looking for apps on my iPad after the novelty wore off and I just used the same core set all the time. Sometimes having too much choice is simply overwhelming.
Apparently it is possible to get the Google Play apps, perhaps do an internet search on that – I’m too busy working my way through the Amazon apps right now. Might try it at some point.
2) Physical volume buttons and the Off switch are a little hard to find especially in the dark. Amazon could definitely improve on that.
It is very easy to change the volume on-screen with the top menu that slides down even when you are on the Internet or reading.
3) I want to be able to buy and own (not rent) digital movies from Amazon like the Americans do – I believe that there are more complex laws in Europe but hope that eventually this will be possible. I certainly think Amazon are trying their hardest to deliver what they can to the UK market.
I found it very hard to connect my existing Lovefilm account with the device – Amazon should make that…
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|