I purchased this from the US before the UK version came out and I’m glad I opted for the larger 8.9 inch version than the smaller 7 inch Fire HD as there is a marked increase in resolution and screen real estate (this is better than full 1080 HD). I also have an iPad 4 and this review is based on a comparison of the two tablets as I believe they are the top two (Samsung Tab would be number 3) in the market.
Size and build quality: I like that this is slightly smaller than the iPad and most importantly it weighs quite a bit less, helping you to hold it with one hand (not for too long though). Obviously the screen is the most important aspect and being made of glass you will always worry about it breaking on a fall (get a case!) but it looks well put together and nothing feels as if it is made from cheap plastic/other materials. Has a solid feel when you pick it up but definitely not as heavy and bulky as the iPad (Kindle feels thinner). Kindle wins on this one.
Display: Almost perfect colour reproduction, text clarity and video. You will not notice anything deficient in the display, it performs excellently with everything thrown at it. I like to read books at night in white font on a dark background and then switch to the browser with dark text and white background and have never had any issues when making the switch instantly. Likewise watching movies, even something like ‘The Dark Knight’ which has very dark scenes was perfectly well reproduced with no discernible difference from a TV (provided you use the HD version of a movie). As there is a built-in mini HDMI port you can connect the Kindle to a TV and share what is on the screen or play a video which is very handy. The ONLY slight negative is that the iPad retina display just has that added wow factor that means I always favour its display to others, because of the higher resolution and technology which reduces the layers to make the screen sharper. In all though there is not much to choose between the two for 99.999% of people and uses.
Audio: Definitely a winner here, the stereo speakers pack more punch than you think and is definitely the better performer when compared to the iPad. Obviously not as good as a state of the art hi-fi system but for a mobile device this is as good as it gets. Mid-range is good and audio comes across with great clarity, you won’t get distortion unless playing something crazy from YouTube. Kindle wins here.
Wifi/Browser: I got the wifi version (16gb) and can honestly say it holds a signal better than the iPad 1-3 but no difference with the iPad 4. The web browser is not as snappy and the system runs slightly slower than the iPad but you will only notice that if you are running them side by side, otherwise it’s pretty fast on all fronts. Obviously no flash, but the web browser does the business, maybe lags slightly behind Safari and Chrome but not noticeably.
Books: Because the screen is of high quality reading is a pleasure and the integration with the Amazon store is brilliant so you can find books and download very quickly. Text can be enlarged and fonts changed to suit your reading style, no reason why ebooks cannot be compared to normal books now in terms of how you read the text. Page turning animation makes it feel like you are reading a paper book and the fact that you can switch to another title so quickly means you are now truly in control of a library. Performs as well as the iPad in this regard.
Apps/games: Don’t respond as quick as the iPad nor are there as many choices, but should have everything you would use regularly. I can’t say the store experience is better than Apple either but it did feel that this will only improve with time. iOS is ahead here.
Bluetooth: Connected to headphones just fine and played music in stereo, can also be used to connect a keyboard which is a better option for productivity (see below). Worked with a bluetooth headset as well when making Skype calls.
Email/typing: Touchscreens are not well regarded for either use and this is the case here, not good for more than a few lines and you will get regular errors. The iPad is the better performer here as the keyboard is organised better (and better spaced) and less errors are made. Kindle behind here.
Battery life: The 10 hour claim is about right, obviously reading a book in plain text works the tablet less than say a video and you will get more use out of it that way. It doesn’t get as hot as the iPad so definitely an advantage here with roughly the same running time. Only a USB charger is supplied which is a definite negative as it takes well over 12 hours to charge fully from a USB port. The iPad has a wall charger so Kindle is behind here considering you need to pay £13 to get one.
Camera: front facing camera is not as good as on the iPad but does the job for Skype calls and any other apps that require video. Definitely…
I am very glad these are now available in the UK. I got one using xmas money from a British eBay seller that had bought some from America. I went the extra mile to get the 8.9″ version because of what I would use it for, it is definitely worth it if you are an avid video watcher as the bigger screen makes all the difference. I think it is a good size for a tablet it’s not too big and heavy yet also not too small that you want to bring it closer.
As for the tablet itself, it gets 4 stars. The screen is brilliant, the sound is also very impressive, they don’t understate that. There is a little distortion at full volume but taking it down 2 notches takes that away without it being much quieter, then if you put it on a flat surface like a table the volume will be louder and fuller again. Web browsing is perfectly fine apart from skipping vids streamed from the net, expect Silk to stop responding a few times if you keep trying.
Battery life is excellent, I have an external battery as I travel a lot but I haven’t had to use it so far. Reading is a joy on the Kindle Fire and I would definitely say it is the best tablet for this, amazon developed the eReader after all. Watching movies is really top quality on this, so too is listening to music.
As for using it, it’s dead simple. The offers are very easy to just ignore (buy the no offers one if you want). It doesn’t take much explaining and does everything you need it to. Some people whine that they have to press the screen a few more times to get somewhere, big deal it only takes a few seconds and of course the effort is exhausting. There aren’t many apps, amazon has the smallest app store so far. Everything you need is on there but I found the APK file to download Google apps on my laptop, transfer and then install using ES File Explorer. Takes a little research but really opens up what I think is the Kindle Fire’s biggest downpoint. Some people also whine that there is no front facing camera, I don’t use tablets to take photos so I don’t miss it. If you are adamant about a front facing camera then choose something else.
Final notes really. The mini HDMI port is a very welcome bonus. Be careful the free Cloud storage is for Amazon content ONLY and there’s no kind of SD slot to expand. 16GB should be enough for most people, heavier users should probably get the 32GB. I’ve found that mine can take a little while to wake up occasionally so don’t be surprised if that happens, and the Appstore is very slow. If you already have a plug that the USB will fit into don’t get the PowerFast charger as it charges fast enough already. PLEASE DON’T BUY ACCESSORIES OFF AMAZON. I got a perfect leather case, stylus and screen protector pack for £9 on eBay whereas the cheapest accessory here is nearly twice that. Sorry Amazon but you know it’s true.
Overall Amazon have done a very good job, certainly offering more value for money than pretty much everyone else. This tablet is not for everyone but I would definitely recommend it.
For me 8.5/10
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
On the main display page of the Kindle Fire the carousel of apps is nice and simple but it is also annoying as you are unable to filter it so it only shows your books or your games – it drops an icon on there for everything you open or play. You then have to spend time deleting the ones you don’t want to show on the main page. Plus the ‘delete from carousel’ button is right next to the ‘delete from device’ button and there’s no ‘are you sure’ question asked before you accidently delete it ( although you can recover apps from Amazon cloud ).
If you let you kids loose on it you may want to set up a password option on the Kindle itself otherwise anyone can freely use your Amazon account to puchase items !
At present the Kindle App store is pitiful – For the volume of android apps available Amazon presently have a very small percentage of them.
To be fair a Kindle is mainly for reading / being sold books and it does that well with many titles available. However the Kindle Fire was supposed to help Amazon get additional sales for products other than books. They’ve certainly got some way to build up their store for U.K. customers.
They’ve also got a bit of a cheek wanting extra money purely to stop them feeding additional adverts to you through their tablet.
Be aware that the battery does take quite a long while to charge.
The ipad may cost a lot more but you may end up thinking perhaps you should have spent the extra money even if apple products are overpriced.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Best tablet for the price,
I purchased this from the US before the UK version came out and I’m glad I opted for the larger 8.9 inch version than the smaller 7 inch Fire HD as there is a marked increase in resolution and screen real estate (this is better than full 1080 HD). I also have an iPad 4 and this review is based on a comparison of the two tablets as I believe they are the top two (Samsung Tab would be number 3) in the market.
Size and build quality: I like that this is slightly smaller than the iPad and most importantly it weighs quite a bit less, helping you to hold it with one hand (not for too long though). Obviously the screen is the most important aspect and being made of glass you will always worry about it breaking on a fall (get a case!) but it looks well put together and nothing feels as if it is made from cheap plastic/other materials. Has a solid feel when you pick it up but definitely not as heavy and bulky as the iPad (Kindle feels thinner). Kindle wins on this one.
Display: Almost perfect colour reproduction, text clarity and video. You will not notice anything deficient in the display, it performs excellently with everything thrown at it. I like to read books at night in white font on a dark background and then switch to the browser with dark text and white background and have never had any issues when making the switch instantly. Likewise watching movies, even something like ‘The Dark Knight’ which has very dark scenes was perfectly well reproduced with no discernible difference from a TV (provided you use the HD version of a movie). As there is a built-in mini HDMI port you can connect the Kindle to a TV and share what is on the screen or play a video which is very handy. The ONLY slight negative is that the iPad retina display just has that added wow factor that means I always favour its display to others, because of the higher resolution and technology which reduces the layers to make the screen sharper. In all though there is not much to choose between the two for 99.999% of people and uses.
Audio: Definitely a winner here, the stereo speakers pack more punch than you think and is definitely the better performer when compared to the iPad. Obviously not as good as a state of the art hi-fi system but for a mobile device this is as good as it gets. Mid-range is good and audio comes across with great clarity, you won’t get distortion unless playing something crazy from YouTube. Kindle wins here.
Wifi/Browser: I got the wifi version (16gb) and can honestly say it holds a signal better than the iPad 1-3 but no difference with the iPad 4. The web browser is not as snappy and the system runs slightly slower than the iPad but you will only notice that if you are running them side by side, otherwise it’s pretty fast on all fronts. Obviously no flash, but the web browser does the business, maybe lags slightly behind Safari and Chrome but not noticeably.
Books: Because the screen is of high quality reading is a pleasure and the integration with the Amazon store is brilliant so you can find books and download very quickly. Text can be enlarged and fonts changed to suit your reading style, no reason why ebooks cannot be compared to normal books now in terms of how you read the text. Page turning animation makes it feel like you are reading a paper book and the fact that you can switch to another title so quickly means you are now truly in control of a library. Performs as well as the iPad in this regard.
Apps/games: Don’t respond as quick as the iPad nor are there as many choices, but should have everything you would use regularly. I can’t say the store experience is better than Apple either but it did feel that this will only improve with time. iOS is ahead here.
Bluetooth: Connected to headphones just fine and played music in stereo, can also be used to connect a keyboard which is a better option for productivity (see below). Worked with a bluetooth headset as well when making Skype calls.
Email/typing: Touchscreens are not well regarded for either use and this is the case here, not good for more than a few lines and you will get regular errors. The iPad is the better performer here as the keyboard is organised better (and better spaced) and less errors are made. Kindle behind here.
Battery life: The 10 hour claim is about right, obviously reading a book in plain text works the tablet less than say a video and you will get more use out of it that way. It doesn’t get as hot as the iPad so definitely an advantage here with roughly the same running time. Only a USB charger is supplied which is a definite negative as it takes well over 12 hours to charge fully from a USB port. The iPad has a wall charger so Kindle is behind here considering you need to pay £13 to get one.
Camera: front facing camera is not as good as on the iPad but does the job for Skype calls and any other apps that require video. Definitely…
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|An EXCELLENT tablet, just minor bug bears that are easy to live with.,
I am very glad these are now available in the UK. I got one using xmas money from a British eBay seller that had bought some from America. I went the extra mile to get the 8.9″ version because of what I would use it for, it is definitely worth it if you are an avid video watcher as the bigger screen makes all the difference. I think it is a good size for a tablet it’s not too big and heavy yet also not too small that you want to bring it closer.
As for the tablet itself, it gets 4 stars. The screen is brilliant, the sound is also very impressive, they don’t understate that. There is a little distortion at full volume but taking it down 2 notches takes that away without it being much quieter, then if you put it on a flat surface like a table the volume will be louder and fuller again. Web browsing is perfectly fine apart from skipping vids streamed from the net, expect Silk to stop responding a few times if you keep trying.
Battery life is excellent, I have an external battery as I travel a lot but I haven’t had to use it so far. Reading is a joy on the Kindle Fire and I would definitely say it is the best tablet for this, amazon developed the eReader after all. Watching movies is really top quality on this, so too is listening to music.
As for using it, it’s dead simple. The offers are very easy to just ignore (buy the no offers one if you want). It doesn’t take much explaining and does everything you need it to. Some people whine that they have to press the screen a few more times to get somewhere, big deal it only takes a few seconds and of course the effort is exhausting. There aren’t many apps, amazon has the smallest app store so far. Everything you need is on there but I found the APK file to download Google apps on my laptop, transfer and then install using ES File Explorer. Takes a little research but really opens up what I think is the Kindle Fire’s biggest downpoint. Some people also whine that there is no front facing camera, I don’t use tablets to take photos so I don’t miss it. If you are adamant about a front facing camera then choose something else.
Final notes really. The mini HDMI port is a very welcome bonus. Be careful the free Cloud storage is for Amazon content ONLY and there’s no kind of SD slot to expand. 16GB should be enough for most people, heavier users should probably get the 32GB. I’ve found that mine can take a little while to wake up occasionally so don’t be surprised if that happens, and the Appstore is very slow. If you already have a plug that the USB will fit into don’t get the PowerFast charger as it charges fast enough already. PLEASE DON’T BUY ACCESSORIES OFF AMAZON. I got a perfect leather case, stylus and screen protector pack for £9 on eBay whereas the cheapest accessory here is nearly twice that. Sorry Amazon but you know it’s true.
Overall Amazon have done a very good job, certainly offering more value for money than pretty much everyone else. This tablet is not for everyone but I would definitely recommend it.
For me 8.5/10
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|Disappointing…,
On the main display page of the Kindle Fire the carousel of apps is nice and simple but it is also annoying as you are unable to filter it so it only shows your books or your games – it drops an icon on there for everything you open or play. You then have to spend time deleting the ones you don’t want to show on the main page. Plus the ‘delete from carousel’ button is right next to the ‘delete from device’ button and there’s no ‘are you sure’ question asked before you accidently delete it ( although you can recover apps from Amazon cloud ).
If you let you kids loose on it you may want to set up a password option on the Kindle itself otherwise anyone can freely use your Amazon account to puchase items !
At present the Kindle App store is pitiful – For the volume of android apps available Amazon presently have a very small percentage of them.
To be fair a Kindle is mainly for reading / being sold books and it does that well with many titles available. However the Kindle Fire was supposed to help Amazon get additional sales for products other than books. They’ve certainly got some way to build up their store for U.K. customers.
They’ve also got a bit of a cheek wanting extra money purely to stop them feeding additional adverts to you through their tablet.
Be aware that the battery does take quite a long while to charge.
The ipad may cost a lot more but you may end up thinking perhaps you should have spent the extra money even if apple products are overpriced.
Was this review helpful to you?
|