Tell me about the Kindle Fire HD 7"

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
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My wife got a Kindle Fire HD 7" for Christmas.  We didn't ask for it, but had made vague talk about getting a tablet (which we didn't have), so it's a welcome gift.
 
It seems like a good tablet, although I'm not thrilled about the proprietary Amazon app store.
 
I am playing around with uploading my MP3s from iTunes on my old laptop to the Amazon Cloud Player.
 
Beyond that, I am unfamiliar with the features, Kindle apps, peripherals/accessories, etc. 
 
Anyone have any experiences, good or bad? 
 
Thanks.
 
 
 
 
 

j44thor

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Aug 1, 2006
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Kindle Fire or Kindle Fire HDX?  Fire is last years model HDX is this years model.
I have the HDX and absolutely love it, it is lightning fast, great resolution and handles my work email better than my work PC.
Also no-brainer to have an Amazon Prime account so you get free movies equivalent to Netflix streaming, some of which can be downloaded to be watched offline.
 
It doesn't have as many apps as Itunes or Android but still has more than enough for my needs.
 
Overall this is probably my favorite tech device of the last 5 years.
I actually sold back my iPad to Amazon for quite a bit more than I paid for the HDX.
 
If you have last years model I would strongly consider trading it in for the HDX.  Cost is minimal and the improvements are significant.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
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It's not an HDX, so it must be last year's.  It seems fast and has great resolution, though.
 
I had signed up for Prime to make this year's Xmas shopping easier, and I love the integration with Netflix.  I have no idea how deep the selection is, but just for shits and giggles I watched ten minutes of the first movie I pulled up last night, which was Eight Legged Freaks.  As entertaining as that was, I'm sure there's better on there.
 

LoweTek

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I have an original Kindle Fire. It's a little feature challenged but I use it almost every day, mostly for books and newspapers. The MLB-TV app is a must get. It works great and I use the Fire quite a bit to watch and listen to games.
 

MakMan44

stole corsi's dream
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Aug 22, 2009
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Sorry to rebump/take over the thread but I'm looking really hard into getting a Fire HDX.
 
To anyone that has it, how is it? Is the battery life decent? Seems like the apps I want the most, which are basically sports related, are in the amazon app store but am I missing out on much compared to an iPad? 
 

Pesky Pole

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I just ordered one and will get it in a few days.  I'm basically linking it to my wife's Prime account.  Even if you already share Prime for shipping, only the main account holder gets access to the Prime Videos on Demand.  We're going to register this on her account (she has a regular Fire HD) and see how that goes.  We're thinking it will work well as we'll be able to share books and the videos.  The rule seems to be up to six devices on one account and any two can stream videos concurrently.  I'll let you know what I think once I play with it.  As a note, the $30 promo ended last night but seems to come back every now and then.  
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
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Jul 19, 2005
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Unless you are heavily invested in Amazon Video there really is no reason to buy the HDX over a Nexus 7 or iPad Mini.
 
If app support is the tie breaker for you then the iPad mini>>Nexus 7>>>>>HDX
 

MakMan44

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Aug 22, 2009
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I am a prime member and it's really that plus the price difference that's been swinging me towards the HDX
 

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
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Jul 19, 2005
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The Nexus and the HDX are the same price.  The HDX can not access the Google Play store.  It therefore does not have access to the complete app catalog and can lag behind other devices to get new apps and app updates.  It also blocks access to the Google Apps (Gmail, Maps, etc.).  You can side load these with some mild hacking though.
 
The Nexus has access to everything accept Prime Video.  That  too can be enabled with some mild hacking.
 
Edit - the other advantage to the Nexus is that you will be the first to get OS updates.
 

MakMan44

stole corsi's dream
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Aug 22, 2009
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I haven't really looked into the Nexus, as I wasn't really considering it.
 
The apps I wanted are covered by the amazon app store and with prime benefits being pretty seamlessly integrated with the HDX that's what pushed me towards it. The lack of google apps is annoying, I'll admit and I'd have pretty much no clue how to hack either tablet to enable their respectively blocked apps. Regardless, unless there's something pretty special about the Nexus, I assumed it was pretty much a non starter for me. 
 

Pesky Pole

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The nice perks to the HDX are exactly what you say...Prime.  If you use Prime and want the videos and library sharing, the HDX makes sense.  The one new feature I really like is that you can download free Prime videos to the device for watching on planes.  If you are heavily in the Amazon ecosphere, it may make sense for you.  
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
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The 718
As I said in the OP, I have the Fire HD 7" (not HDX), and after using it for a few weeks now, the lack of ability to use regular old Android apps is definitely a gigantic pain in the ass.
 
The tablet itself is fine, great resolution, fast, works well.  The synthesis with Amazon Prime is great too.  But the lack of apps sucks.  I can't put a percentage on it, but the universe of Kindle apps is much, much smaller than that of Android apps, and it's common to find that App X doesn't exist for the Kindle.
 
It was a gift, so I'm not disappointed, and it's fine for most uses, but if I were just shopping for a tablet on its own merits, I would not buy a Kindle Fire for this reason alone.
 

MakMan44

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They dropped the price back to $199 and I ended up pulling the trigger. The Prime benefits are pretty awesome and it's what ended up swaying me. 
 

LondonSox

Robert the Deuce
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Jul 15, 2005
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Three app stores (4 if you count windows) is too many.
Amazon might be hurting themselves there, lock people into a good product and prime and that will also boost your normal amazon product sales etc too.
Trying to fight the app store battle seems foolish
 

OttoC

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Dec 2, 2003
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I got an HDX 7" because I got a very good price on it and I was already a Prime member. I ended up getting a Netgear Push2TV so I could mirror what I got on the HDX on my tv. Seems to work okay. I also can get Netflix and probably Hulu but I haven't checked out thos avenues. The lack of apps doesn't bother me as it will probably never leave the house except for airplane trips (download a movie).
 

Koufax

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I bought a KIndle Fire about a year ago simply as a book reader because it was a cheap novelty.  It gathered dust for about 6 months, then I started using it.  It was pretty darn handy.  The additional capabilities came as a pleasant surprise.  I have begun to hook it up to my TV to watch streaming movies.
 
Recently it began to charge poorly.  A little research uncovered the odd fact that Amazon doesn't repair them and that poorly charging (or non-charging) Kindles is a common problem.  Further research uncovered a Youtube video showing how to fix the problem.  All it takes is an hour, a soldering iron and lots of removing and replacing tiny screws.  On EBay, that same fellow offers to fix the devices himself for $40.  I sent mine in and it came back all fixed.  Money well spent, I think.  So if you have charging problems in a year or so, remember this post.  The charging port is not properly attached to the innards of the device and is prone to coming loose.  It is a fixable problem. 
 

darnedsox

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I have that same problem with charging my kindle Mr K. On a side note, our Samsung flat screen is having big problems firing up.
I found info on youtube-and have bought a small soldering tool to fix it-guess I'll try the kindle fix too-and tell my grandson nothing about not wiggling the cord so much when he disengages the charge cord.
 

Koufax

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If you decide to send it out, the guy on EBay is zranch123.  He has nearly 1,000 references, 100% positive.
 

darnedsox

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I overcame the inner little voice and took the TV apart last night and changed out two capacitors-bang-fixed. I'm now ready to take on the kindle fix. Then it's on to the "cut the cord" thread-while I'm still brave. Thanks for the link.