Amazon Kindle Fire HD Pro Reviews

Should you choose the Kindle Fire HD or the Kindle Fire HD 8.9? There are three key factors: price, screen size and weight. The 7in Kindle Fire HD costs £159 for a 16GB device, and £199 for 32GB. Move up to 8.9in and the prices are £229 and £259. For that extra cash you get a bigger screen that has better resolution - so if watching HD movies is your thing it may be worth the outlay. But if you are a bookworm, the 7in device will offer a better, lighter reading experience. And save you some pennies.

OK, perhaps I could break down the Fire's defences with SDKs and sideloading tricks but why should I? My mum can't do this and I thought she symbolised the Fire's target market. On the other hand, if you're technically competent or very patient or are buying it for someone who is happy to use it for little more than consuming digital media exclusively from Amazon and Lovefilm in the comfort of his or her own home, the Kindle Fire HD is undeniably an attractive purchase. The display is beautiful and, once you've set everything up, the device is pretty simple to use. Nor should you ignore the fact that it is significantly cheaper than any of its competitors while offering double their storage capacity.

Even if you step up and pay the extra $15 to disable Offers on your Kindle Fire HD, you can never and will never shake the feeling that this is less a tablet and more of a tool for shopping -- a Trojan Horse that's let into your home thanks to its low price and then unleashes a legion of must-buy items to completely compromise any walls you've built around your budget. If you can get past that decidedly subsidized feeling, you do have a compelling package in your hands. The HD is fast, has a nice design, a beautiful screen, proper stereo speakers and, of course, oodles and oodles of premium content. For casual users looking for an inexpensive yet powerful tablet, the Kindle Fire HD should absolutely be at the top of your shopping list. But, for those looking to do more, and do more rapidly, the Nexus 7 is still the king of this diminutive hill.

If you're after a 7in tablet that's very easy to use, you don't need GPS and don't want to stretch your budget to £200, the Kindle Fire HD is a good buy. However, although Google's Nexus 7 has half the storage for the same price, it's more versatile and has a better range of apps and games and is faster, too.

A good value tablet with an excellent screen, HDMI output and LoveFilm support - but the Amazon interface is sluggish and inflexible

The Amazon tablet was made with only one thing in mind: To make you buy more Amazon products, both physical and digital. Amazon enthusiasts and especially Prime members may find a lot to like about the Kindle Fire HD as the downloadable content is easy to browse and use. The tablet functions even better than its predecessor as an outdoor eReader and internet browser due to the brighter display, reduced weight, and faster hardware. As an Amazon-only device, the Fire HD performs very well. This pure Amazon experience means that the same major criticisms about the original Fire still apply. The Amazon tablet continues to offer fewer games, less apps, less features, less customization and less power than the competition. The new 16:10 display is perhaps the most notable feature it has over a number of other similarly-sized tablets, especially in terms of brightness and outdoor usability. Is the Kindle Fire HD 7 better than the Nexus 7? The raw power, options, customization, and extreme flexibility of a skinless Android UI are – to our eyes – too hard to give up for an Amazon-centric device. The Kindle Fire simply feels too restricted and controlled when up against the open-ended nature of a Nexus or Android-based device. The build quality of the Fire HD is slightly better and the inclusion of HDMI-out is a nice extra, but the software just won’t cut it for the average user especially when iOS and Android have more variety and vastly larger app libraries. If you have even a slight disinterest in Amazon services, then the Kindle Fire HD 7 should be the last tablet on your list.

For casual tablet users or those already knee-deep in Amazon's digital media abyss, the Kindle Fire HD is a fantastic option, especially at that entry price. It offers a simple and uncomplicated experience through and through, and is built to support the digital media it aims to sell you, with an excellent screen (for a seven-incher) and surprisingly ample speakers. Considering the low, low starting price, even existing Kindle Fire owners might want to think about upgrading – yes, already. Still, despite some notable perks over the Nexus 7, it doesn't quite compare to the full package that Google and Asus offer for the same cash, which ultimately comes down to its use of Android 4.1: Jelly Bean and Google Play. Amazon's locked-down UI and limited app offerings make it a tough sell for power users and those who wish to exert some control over their devices. But for everyone else, the Kindle Fire HD is an impressive option, a big leap over the first Fire, and likely to be the stocking-sized tablet of choice this holiday season – well, unless Apple really does throw its hat into the tiny tablet ring with the iPad Mini.

There are two devices in this review. The first is something like an appliance — a window through which you casually view content, a way to listen to music, an e-reader for the train ride home. On that device, things like a big app selection or elaborate user experience take a back seat to content selection, price point, and simplicity. On that device, it's not about going toe-to-toe with the competition in every way (as Amazon seems to want to do), it's about offering a lot of fun stuff to consumers, and getting them to consume more. As that device, the Fire HD is a complete success. A marvel of bottom-line engineering and incredibly clever subsidies. It's a really, really good tablet for doing some very specific things.

We enjoyed our time with the seven-inch Kindle Fire HD, though "the best tablet at any price" is a stretch. The reading experience is great, and audio performance is second to none, but the Nexus 7 nonetheless serves as a formidable foe in the $199 category. More importantly, if rumors surrounding a mini iPad prove to be true, Apple may take a significant share of the budget-tablet market. The Kindle Fire HD is available directly from Amazon for $199 with 16GB of storage, or $249 with 32GB of storage. Both options include lock-screen ads unless users pay $15 to opt out.

A tablet custom-built for buying books and movies: for mainstream apps and web browsing, you may want to look elsewhere

Just like we mentioned above, the Kindle Fire HD is a mighty fine device. Amazon’s increased the speed and performance throughout, improved the display (obviously) and added even more awesome features. If you don’t mind the slightly subsidized feeling, or pay for the opt-out, you’ll surely be in for an enjoyable experience. In the end we can’t help but feel like this tablet is just as much for shopping and browsing Amazon.com than it is for searching the web and enjoying movies. In terms of Amazon’s complete ecosystem of games, apps, videos, movies, books, music and more this is the perfect tablet. Deep down however for those looking to do more with their tablet like what we see with the iPad and the Nexus 7 — the Kindle Fire still has a little ways to go. If Amazon will ever take it there is a different story.

Looking at the next year ahead, Amazon has something to be happy about since it now has an established consumer base in the tablet industry, which is especially intriguing knowing that they had none of the pie a year ago. With its new Kindle Fire HD tablet, it’s almost certain they’ll continue to reap the benefits of success seeing that it packs a considerable amount of value at $200. Throw in some personalized advertisements that somehow seem to tickle our impulsive actions to buy, it seems poised to grow Amazon’s already existing grasp in the general retail world. However, as a tablet that’s competing in the market, it’s a hard sell when we know that Google’s very own Nexus 7 has upped the ante in the super affordable tablet category., offering quad-core Tegra 3 processor and unpersonalized Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. With the experience, the average consumer isn’t going to nitpick it whatsoever – partly because the basics and essentials are all there to get them by. Therefore, if you live, sleep, and dream about Amazon’s extensive ecosystem, you should pounce on the chance to pick up the Kindle Fire HD. Otherwise, if you’re not too involved with it, there are other alternatives that prove to be more engrossing.

In all seriousness, we have to first applaud Amazon for bringing to market a worthy competitor to the budget level Android tablet market, which is a nice upgrade over the original Kindle Fire from last year. Even though it packs along some appreciable features that are absent on the Google Nexus 7, like its microHDMI port and double the storage capacity, it’s still not enough to offset the comprehensive features found with the full Jelly Bean experience of the Nexus 7. As we’ve detailed previously, diehard Amazon users will shout with joy over the Kindle Fire HD’s close ties to Amazon’s various services, but it simply pales in comparison to the overwhelmingly deep features and superb functionality found with the Nexus 7. In the end, if you’re looking to shell out $200 for a tablet in the near future, our bet is to invest it into the soundly more adept Google Nexus 7 – especially when you know it’ll continue to reap all the benefits of being one of the flagship devices for the platform.

For as wonderful as the Fire HD can seem, it's a very targeted kind of wonderful. You won't use this as the device to power you through a day full of events and email and documents. And of course, it's most likely either a day, or a few weeks, away from being punched in the face by the iPad Mini, or whatever the hell it ends up being called. That said, though, it's a very well-made tablet, with an outstanding ecosystem behind it and enough perks to make it very appealing for the price. If you're already hooked on the Amazon ecosystem, by all means upgrade. But if you're still shopping around, you should probably definitely wait at least a few weeks to see what the competition's got cooking.

The Kindle Fire HD is the Kindle Fire as it should have been. Though it has access to apps from the Android Market, this is really an Amazon tablet as opposed to an Android one. The question of whether it's better than the Nexus 7 is, well, the wrong question to ask. A better question is, "which is better for you?" The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD serve different purposes and the advantages of one do not diminishing the value of the other. They can coexist and still prosper. The Nexus 7's complete Google Play access, fully implemented Jelly Bean OS, NFC support, and comfortable feel make it the ultimate 7-inch Android tablet. Those looking for the complete Android experience will want to check there first. For Amazon Prime members, or simply those looking for the best and cheapest way to consume movies, TV shows, music, books, and magazines, the Kindle Fire HD is tops. It has the best 7-inch tablet screen. It refines what the original Fire started and improves on it in nearly every aspect while keeping that same great $200 price. Simply put, it's a media consuming powerhouse of the highest order.

The 7-inch Amazon Kindle Fire HD is a great way to consume your Amazon content on a small screen, but it's not the fastest or most flexible $200 tablet any more.