As there appears to be mixed reviews of the 8.9′ Fires – ones with 4G access and those without – to clarify, this review is for the 8.9″ tablet with the 4G connectivity option.
In comparing this larger HD Fire to the “regular” HD Fire, this one wins hands down. Why? Despite what some people may say, size matters and the display of game apps and video is clearly superior. The added functionality of 4G access for just $50 for the year, which doesn’t include the $10 app gift card Amazon gives you for signing up, is one heck of a money saver compared to the same charges AT&T has for an iPad user. Granted, 250 MB is a lot less than 2GB, but with WiFi just about everywhere that isn’t a constraint for my uses. Just make sure you don’t have a lot of apps open and running in the background (which seem to hit the Internet a lot and chew up your data plan), or you may find this 250 MB limit will be chewed up pretty fast.
To get the iPad comparison out of the way, I put this tablet side-by-side to my iPad 2 I use for work. Downloads were slightly faster and the video screen resolution and the colors were more vibrant on the Fire vs. the iPad 2.
Screen Display / Video Playback:
With the larger HD screen, if playing video is important to you this is the version of the Fire to get as the screen display is fairly impressive with sharp and crisp colors. The display on this HD Fire was one heck of a lot better in terms of sharpness than last year’s model and even this year’s smaller HD model.
Amazon also added a cool feature on this one with the HDMI micro connection port. I have an HDMI micro plug and was able to hook this up to the big screen to watch an episode of the science fiction series Defying Gravity. It played back great smoothly with no problems.
Wi-Fi connectivity:
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 8.9″ version of the Fire sitting next to the “smaller” HD version of the Fire, my Motorola RAZR smartphone, my iPad 2 (yes, the Kindle guy uses an iPad for work), and the new 7″ Fire all just using a Wi-Fi connection vs. cellular connectivity..
My 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 and were still slow but faster than the other devices (Houston Chronicle and CNN), and for the other sites I couldn’t tell a difference in speed at the location closest to my router. When I went to the slowest / worst reception location of my house, the speed did have a noticeable difference in the other devices as this one was slightly faster but for a casual surfer it is not noticeable nor does it hang.
Email Setup:
Email setup was very easy with the included email app for my main Google account – it took about a minute to input my email address and password information and I was good to go: sending and receiving emails was a snap, and when I sent a test message with pictures they displayed crisply. I will tell you I primarily us an existing app called Enhanced Email that I received here on the Amazon app store for free vs. what came as standard with the Fire for daily use, and it was easy to use – actually better due to the larger screen size – with this version of the Fire. For those of you asking yourself why am I using the Enhanced Email program, the simple answer is like many of you I have more than one email account: you can quickly switch back and forth on the accounts with the tool. The lazy person in me appreciates that as I don’t like getting out of the lazy chair once I’m settled in!
Game Play:
I do play a lot of games, but they aren’t the heavy action / interactive games many of the kids play today. For my test, I tried out several rounds of Words with Friends and a Majong derivative. The display was crisp and the tablet was very responsive as it interacted over the WiFi network of my home to the game server.
Sound / Music Playback
Different than last year’s model and the $159 this year’s model, the two speakers are located in the back of the Kindle Fire in two not-noticeable ports. My test of this feature was cranking up Van Halen’s Panama to maximum volume (I wanted 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. However, the sound is not very crisp (the $159 Fire sounds better to me) as the sound is going away from you with the speakers being in the back. With a cover on the Fire to protect it, that can be a problem. It’s going to take a…
Let me start out by saying that I am new to the tablet world and have had no experience using any tablets prior to this purchase. That being said, I spent a great deal of time fishing around through reviews and specs of what seemed like countless tablets for months. The obvious cliche conclusion led to all fingers pointing at some variation of an iPad, yet for me, I do not see much sense in purchasing a tablet (regardless of brand) for around the same price as a cheap yet descent laptop that will have more potential.
Enter the Kindle Fire HD.
I will spare you the story on my process of how I ended up choosing a Fire HD and get right to what you all want to know: my thoughts and experience thus far with the product.
Picture: (10/10) I will start with this since obviously that was the first thing i noticed. In a word, incredible. Now its not “eye popping” or anything out of this world, but i can honestly say it exceeded my expectations and i was (and continue to be) impressed by this piece of hardware’s capabilities. I tested out just a few minutes of TV shows, trailers, videos, and films from Prime Instant Video, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Flixster, and Youtube (through the web browser since an app is currently unavailable) and everything looks as it should (and beautiful to boot)! Books come out crisp as well (both in text and picture) and the same goes for basic website visuals, apps, and games. Overall I am very impressed.
Sound: (10/10) This is probably where i was most impressed. I have seen some of the reviews on here that are 3 stars or less putting down the audio or claiming they don’t hear the big deal. Not to be a jerk or anything but i recommend those people check in at an ear clinic and have their hearing tested. I was literally amazed at how I was hearing sounds from various distances and angles. From up close it felt like i was hearing a high quality home theater system and not just for one flick but everything. From website audio to music, Netflix to Audiobooks, this tablet sounds great!
Book/Reading Features: (10/10) At first this was not my primary reason for purchasing a Fire HD, but after toying around with a few things, I am truly impressed at how well Amazon has integrated the ability to find, purchase, read, and even listen to literature. The lending library for Prime users is a nice added touch allowing you to borrow from a rather extensive list of books. Not to mention many timeless classics are available for free (such as Dracula, Gulliver’s Travels, Little Women, The Iliad, The Jungle Book and many more) and of those titles, many come with free audio! If you do not feel like spending the money on audio (or if your book has none available) the text-to-speech feature is surprisingly well done with minimal error. With all this being said, I can honestly say that I am excited to start reading again.
Web Browsing: (8/10) The only reason I do not give this a 10 is because web browsing (with what is given out of the box) lacks Flash support which limits the capabilities. However, with a bit of research I was able to find forum discussions on how Fire HD users were able to work around this by downloading an app called ES File Explorer and then a separate browser called Dolphin that gives you Flash capabilities, so this is an easy fix that even a monkey could figure out how to do as long as they are patient. Though don’t get me wrong, Silk is fast and beautiful and i use it for the majority of my web surfing, but occasionally Flash is needed. As I am sure you have read by now in other reviews, the fact that the Fire HD does not automatically come with Flash support is not Amazon’s fault yet rather Adobe for pulling he plug on their involvement with tablets. Again, as long as your network is put together well, browsing the web is very fast and up to par with dare I say some computers.
App Availability: (8/10) To me, this is the only area where the Fire HD lacks. I would rate lower here but I am trusting that over time and after updates, the lineup will have grown. Once more, with a bit of research you can find discussions on how to “sideload” apps from your computer and other devices, but that could be a bit too advanced for the average user. Though for what it is worth, the selection it does currently come with is top notch. Just to name a few, some important missing apps include: YouTube, Dropbox, and SiriusXM. Still, as far as I am concerned, this certainly is not a deal breaker and I am sure that as things progress access to these will become available.
Look/Feel: (10/10) The 8.9″ model that I own and am currently reviewing was a lot lighter than I expected and it is true what they say ( it is just right to fit in one hand). Out of the box/pre-case the Fire HD looks great and is very thin, sleek, and dare I say…sexy? The only minor gripe I would have (that I noticed other…
We originally bought this for our daughter to use so my wife can get her iPad back.
Let’s start with the comparison…
Size (and weight) matter – This larger version of the Kindle Fire is smaller, thinner, and a quarter pound lighter than the iPad 3. Of course that means the screen is a bit smaller too, less than 1″. However, the Kindle screen is breathtakingly clear and the weight difference, while it sounds small when you type it into a review or read it as you are now, is really noticeable after just a few minutes of holding the device with one hand while using it.
Price – Another tiny difference is that the Fire is a couple hundred dollars less than a similarly configured iPad.
About the Ads supported version – We never notice them. They are only on the lock screen.
Display – We like the Kindle display better than the iPad. There, I’ve said it and hope I won’t have to go into hiding. It is clear and bright without making everything look like a comic book and shows up well in sunlight without having to turn the display way up (which means the battery won’t drain quickly).
Usability – I’m liking the Kindle interface more and more, compared to the iPad or “Native” android tablets. The Kindle prominently displays apps used most recently and the ones I just installed in a side scrolling “Carousel”. Other apps are just a few taps away. That’s great for me and greater still for my young daughter (see FreeTime, below) since there’s no hunting for the things I’m likely to want the most. The iPhone and other Androids I’ve seen do it the other way around.
First use – First use was very straightforward. I liked that it knew my name without me having to tell it. First thing it did, after greeting me (by name) was ask for my WiFi password. After that it took a few minutes to download updates. When I clicked on the “Apps” menu it already had listed every Android app I bought from Amazon. Same goes for videos, music, and books. I realize iPad does something similar. However, having used both, I feel the Kindle is easier.
On the business side I can access my email accounts, including those in an Exchange server, with no problems. Attachments, including .PDF files, Word documents, and Excel spreadsheets can all be read with no problems.
Back to the fun stuff, YouTube, Netflix, and SmugMug videos stream flawlessly. Pandora provides music without a hitch. It connects to Bluetooth devices quickly and easily.
The Camera – The front facing camera, designed for video conferencing, provides a clear image while the screen provides a vivid image of the person at the other end. We ran some side-by-side tests with our iPad 3 and the Fire always performed better. There is no rear-facing camera for taking snapshots and I figure that’s what my iPhone is for.
FreeTime – We love it!!! This allows us to limit the app’s and sites accessible to our daughter. For us it’s as much to keep her from getting into confusing places that interrupt her activities and keeping her from things we don’t want her to see. This is so much nicer than handing her my iPad or Samsung tablet and dealing with the frequent frustrations from her stumbling into an application she doesn’t understand. OK, these are not so much child friendly as parent friendly but everybody wins in the end.
The Missing Charger – One difference that could be important to some is that the Kindle doesn’t come with a charger. It does include a cable that you can use with any USB charger or computer you may have on hand. However, if you don’t have one of those then you will want to order a charger along with this.
Remember at the start of this I said we originally bought the Fire so my wife can get her iPad back? After using the Fire my wife prefers it and leaves the iPad to our daughter. The only problem is I need to buy a second Kindle Fire because now I want one too.
FIRST THING TO BUY after you get your Kindle: Best 100 Kindle Fire HD Apps (Updated With Top Apps for the Kindle Fire HD!). It’s a bargain at $0.99 (Free to borrow if you’re a Prime member). You can zip through, read descriptions for the mostly free app’s, click on the ones that interest you, and have them installed right away.
A NICE CASE: A little while ago I got an Innovic Multi Functional Handmade Leather Zip Bag for iPad 2 and 3 16gb, 32gb, 64gb edition. Turns out even though it’s made for an iPad it fits the 8.9″ Fire HD pretty well. (I’ve added a video showing how well it works with this Kindle along with my review for that case) It may not be a perfect solution but given the limited options for cases right now, especially for the price (originally $11, it has as of this writing…
Authors bio is coming up shortly. 
Excellent Value and Great Gadget,
As there appears to be mixed reviews of the 8.9′ Fires – ones with 4G access and those without – to clarify, this review is for the 8.9″ tablet with the 4G connectivity option.
In comparing this larger HD Fire to the “regular” HD Fire, this one wins hands down. Why? Despite what some people may say, size matters and the display of game apps and video is clearly superior. The added functionality of 4G access for just $50 for the year, which doesn’t include the $10 app gift card Amazon gives you for signing up, is one heck of a money saver compared to the same charges AT&T has for an iPad user. Granted, 250 MB is a lot less than 2GB, but with WiFi just about everywhere that isn’t a constraint for my uses. Just make sure you don’t have a lot of apps open and running in the background (which seem to hit the Internet a lot and chew up your data plan), or you may find this 250 MB limit will be chewed up pretty fast.
To get the iPad comparison out of the way, I put this tablet side-by-side to my iPad 2 I use for work. Downloads were slightly faster and the video screen resolution and the colors were more vibrant on the Fire vs. the iPad 2.
Screen Display / Video Playback:
With the larger HD screen, if playing video is important to you this is the version of the Fire to get as the screen display is fairly impressive with sharp and crisp colors. The display on this HD Fire was one heck of a lot better in terms of sharpness than last year’s model and even this year’s smaller HD model.
Amazon also added a cool feature on this one with the HDMI micro connection port. I have an HDMI micro plug and was able to hook this up to the big screen to watch an episode of the science fiction series Defying Gravity. It played back great smoothly with no problems.
Wi-Fi connectivity:
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 8.9″ version of the Fire sitting next to the “smaller” HD version of the Fire, my Motorola RAZR smartphone, my iPad 2 (yes, the Kindle guy uses an iPad for work), and the new 7″ Fire all just using a Wi-Fi connection vs. cellular connectivity..
My 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 and were still slow but faster than the other devices (Houston Chronicle and CNN), and for the other sites I couldn’t tell a difference in speed at the location closest to my router. When I went to the slowest / worst reception location of my house, the speed did have a noticeable difference in the other devices as this one was slightly faster but for a casual surfer it is not noticeable nor does it hang.
Email Setup:
Email setup was very easy with the included email app for my main Google account – it took about a minute to input my email address and password information and I was good to go: sending and receiving emails was a snap, and when I sent a test message with pictures they displayed crisply. I will tell you I primarily us an existing app called Enhanced Email that I received here on the Amazon app store for free vs. what came as standard with the Fire for daily use, and it was easy to use – actually better due to the larger screen size – with this version of the Fire. For those of you asking yourself why am I using the Enhanced Email program, the simple answer is like many of you I have more than one email account: you can quickly switch back and forth on the accounts with the tool. The lazy person in me appreciates that as I don’t like getting out of the lazy chair once I’m settled in!
Game Play:
I do play a lot of games, but they aren’t the heavy action / interactive games many of the kids play today. For my test, I tried out several rounds of Words with Friends and a Majong derivative. The display was crisp and the tablet was very responsive as it interacted over the WiFi network of my home to the game server.
Sound / Music Playback
Different than last year’s model and the $159 this year’s model, the two speakers are located in the back of the Kindle Fire in two not-noticeable ports. My test of this feature was cranking up Van Halen’s Panama to maximum volume (I wanted 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. However, the sound is not very crisp (the $159 Fire sounds better to me) as the sound is going away from you with the speakers being in the back. With a cover on the Fire to protect it, that can be a problem. It’s going to take a…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?
|My Thoughts (Typed Using The Kindle Fire HD 8.9),
Let me start out by saying that I am new to the tablet world and have had no experience using any tablets prior to this purchase. That being said, I spent a great deal of time fishing around through reviews and specs of what seemed like countless tablets for months. The obvious cliche conclusion led to all fingers pointing at some variation of an iPad, yet for me, I do not see much sense in purchasing a tablet (regardless of brand) for around the same price as a cheap yet descent laptop that will have more potential.
Enter the Kindle Fire HD.
I will spare you the story on my process of how I ended up choosing a Fire HD and get right to what you all want to know: my thoughts and experience thus far with the product.
Picture: (10/10)
I will start with this since obviously that was the first thing i noticed. In a word, incredible. Now its not “eye popping” or anything out of this world, but i can honestly say it exceeded my expectations and i was (and continue to be) impressed by this piece of hardware’s capabilities. I tested out just a few minutes of TV shows, trailers, videos, and films from Prime Instant Video, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Flixster, and Youtube (through the web browser since an app is currently unavailable) and everything looks as it should (and beautiful to boot)! Books come out crisp as well (both in text and picture) and the same goes for basic website visuals, apps, and games. Overall I am very impressed.
Sound: (10/10)
This is probably where i was most impressed. I have seen some of the reviews on here that are 3 stars or less putting down the audio or claiming they don’t hear the big deal. Not to be a jerk or anything but i recommend those people check in at an ear clinic and have their hearing tested. I was literally amazed at how I was hearing sounds from various distances and angles. From up close it felt like i was hearing a high quality home theater system and not just for one flick but everything. From website audio to music, Netflix to Audiobooks, this tablet sounds great!
Book/Reading Features: (10/10)
At first this was not my primary reason for purchasing a Fire HD, but after toying around with a few things, I am truly impressed at how well Amazon has integrated the ability to find, purchase, read, and even listen to literature. The lending library for Prime users is a nice added touch allowing you to borrow from a rather extensive list of books. Not to mention many timeless classics are available for free (such as Dracula, Gulliver’s Travels, Little Women, The Iliad, The Jungle Book and many more) and of those titles, many come with free audio! If you do not feel like spending the money on audio (or if your book has none available) the text-to-speech feature is surprisingly well done with minimal error. With all this being said, I can honestly say that I am excited to start reading again.
Web Browsing: (8/10)
The only reason I do not give this a 10 is because web browsing (with what is given out of the box) lacks Flash support which limits the capabilities. However, with a bit of research I was able to find forum discussions on how Fire HD users were able to work around this by downloading an app called ES File Explorer and then a separate browser called Dolphin that gives you Flash capabilities, so this is an easy fix that even a monkey could figure out how to do as long as they are patient. Though don’t get me wrong, Silk is fast and beautiful and i use it for the majority of my web surfing, but occasionally Flash is needed. As I am sure you have read by now in other reviews, the fact that the Fire HD does not automatically come with Flash support is not Amazon’s fault yet rather Adobe for pulling he plug on their involvement with tablets. Again, as long as your network is put together well, browsing the web is very fast and up to par with dare I say some computers.
App Availability: (8/10)
To me, this is the only area where the Fire HD lacks. I would rate lower here but I am trusting that over time and after updates, the lineup will have grown. Once more, with a bit of research you can find discussions on how to “sideload” apps from your computer and other devices, but that could be a bit too advanced for the average user. Though for what it is worth, the selection it does currently come with is top notch. Just to name a few, some important missing apps include: YouTube, Dropbox, and SiriusXM. Still, as far as I am concerned, this certainly is not a deal breaker and I am sure that as things progress access to these will become available.
Look/Feel: (10/10)
The 8.9″ model that I own and am currently reviewing was a lot lighter than I expected and it is true what they say ( it is just right to fit in one hand). Out of the box/pre-case the Fire HD looks great and is very thin, sleek, and dare I say…sexy? The only minor gripe I would have (that I noticed other…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?
|We like it better than our iPad (please don’t hate me),
We originally bought this for our daughter to use so my wife can get her iPad back.
Let’s start with the comparison…
Size (and weight) matter – This larger version of the Kindle Fire is smaller, thinner, and a quarter pound lighter than the iPad 3. Of course that means the screen is a bit smaller too, less than 1″. However, the Kindle screen is breathtakingly clear and the weight difference, while it sounds small when you type it into a review or read it as you are now, is really noticeable after just a few minutes of holding the device with one hand while using it.
Price – Another tiny difference is that the Fire is a couple hundred dollars less than a similarly configured iPad.
About the Ads supported version – We never notice them. They are only on the lock screen.
Display – We like the Kindle display better than the iPad. There, I’ve said it and hope I won’t have to go into hiding. It is clear and bright without making everything look like a comic book and shows up well in sunlight without having to turn the display way up (which means the battery won’t drain quickly).
Usability – I’m liking the Kindle interface more and more, compared to the iPad or “Native” android tablets. The Kindle prominently displays apps used most recently and the ones I just installed in a side scrolling “Carousel”. Other apps are just a few taps away. That’s great for me and greater still for my young daughter (see FreeTime, below) since there’s no hunting for the things I’m likely to want the most. The iPhone and other Androids I’ve seen do it the other way around.
First use – First use was very straightforward. I liked that it knew my name without me having to tell it. First thing it did, after greeting me (by name) was ask for my WiFi password. After that it took a few minutes to download updates. When I clicked on the “Apps” menu it already had listed every Android app I bought from Amazon. Same goes for videos, music, and books. I realize iPad does something similar. However, having used both, I feel the Kindle is easier.
On the business side I can access my email accounts, including those in an Exchange server, with no problems. Attachments, including .PDF files, Word documents, and Excel spreadsheets can all be read with no problems.
Back to the fun stuff, YouTube, Netflix, and SmugMug videos stream flawlessly. Pandora provides music without a hitch. It connects to Bluetooth devices quickly and easily.
The Camera – The front facing camera, designed for video conferencing, provides a clear image while the screen provides a vivid image of the person at the other end. We ran some side-by-side tests with our iPad 3 and the Fire always performed better. There is no rear-facing camera for taking snapshots and I figure that’s what my iPhone is for.
FreeTime – We love it!!! This allows us to limit the app’s and sites accessible to our daughter. For us it’s as much to keep her from getting into confusing places that interrupt her activities and keeping her from things we don’t want her to see. This is so much nicer than handing her my iPad or Samsung tablet and dealing with the frequent frustrations from her stumbling into an application she doesn’t understand. OK, these are not so much child friendly as parent friendly but everybody wins in the end.
The Missing Charger – One difference that could be important to some is that the Kindle doesn’t come with a charger. It does include a cable that you can use with any USB charger or computer you may have on hand. However, if you don’t have one of those then you will want to order a charger along with this.
Remember at the start of this I said we originally bought the Fire so my wife can get her iPad back? After using the Fire my wife prefers it and leaves the iPad to our daughter. The only problem is I need to buy a second Kindle Fire because now I want one too.
FIRST THING TO BUY after you get your Kindle: Best 100 Kindle Fire HD Apps (Updated With Top Apps for the Kindle Fire HD!). It’s a bargain at $0.99 (Free to borrow if you’re a Prime member). You can zip through, read descriptions for the mostly free app’s, click on the ones that interest you, and have them installed right away.
A NICE CASE: A little while ago I got an Innovic Multi Functional Handmade Leather Zip Bag for iPad 2 and 3 16gb, 32gb, 64gb edition. Turns out even though it’s made for an iPad it fits the 8.9″ Fire HD pretty well. (I’ve added a video showing how well it works with this Kindle along with my review for that case) It may not be a perfect solution but given the limited options for cases right now, especially for the price (originally $11, it has as of this writing…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?
|