Kindle Fire HD - thoughts?

Mike-Mike · November 2012

Does anyone have the 7 inch Kindle Fire HD?

I am thinking about buying it for my son for Christmas...

yes I know I can get a Nexus 7, but it's for my 8 year old son, and I have Amazon Prime, I can just set him up with my account and let him use the free streaming and lending library.

He loves comic books, and I figured it would be pretty perfect for that....

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?

sidenote: if any of you know my son, don't tell him he's getting this

second sidenote: if any of you know my son I'm calling the cops, he's 8, he shoudln't be friends with strangers from a message board

demonfurbie · November 2012

its prob alright for a 8 yo but ya may wanna think about the nexus 7 , if i recall you can use the kindle app on droid to read comics and lend books

and i know you can stream Install Amazon Video On Demand On The Nook & Other Android Tablets

tpatt100 · November 2012

I got my wife one when it came out. The hardware is nicer than the Nexus 7 I had especially the speakers. I tried both and the Kindle Fire sounds much better. A common complaint is the buttons on the Fire for the on/off, it always takes me a second to find it even though I know where it is, its almost flush with the tablet.

The big advantage is the Fire is an actual "Kindle" device so you can borrow some books for free if you are a Prime member same with movies. Not sure how Amazon determines which ones are free or not and when.

Also the Amazon app store screens apps before approval so that is a better layer of protection. The Fire HD also has a child mode so you can let him access the more limited mode of the tablet. K the link below explains it better "Kindle Free Time" it allows you to set a child profile.

Hands On With Amazon Kindle FreeTime | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

steve13ad · November 2012

I grabbed my 5 year old a Lenovo IdeaTab S2109 and it's been great for him. I picked it over the others because of screen size (10in) and microSD.

Mike-Mike · November 2012

well, my wallet trumped the decision process....

Amazon.com has the 2012 of the non-HD Kindle Fire for $30 off today, making it $129.... couldn't pass it up... I wanted the Fire HD, especially after reading tpatt100's post....

but Kindle Fire, Amazon case, and charger added up like $173......

HD would have been $200, plus $44 case, and $10 or $20 charger.... so $254 or $264...

almost a $100 I can apply to other toys... he'll be crazy excited regardless....

I know I could have used a different charger, but he'll think it's cool to have his own that says Kindle or amazon, etc

J_86 · November 2012

He'll be happy with it. Only use grown nerds notice HD vs non-HD

If you have an Amazon Prime account, a Kindle is the way to go. That is why I kept mine, even though I also have a Nexus 7.

Claymoore · November 2012

You can always purchase content in HD. It will just be displayed as SD on the regular Kindle, but available in HD for the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 Amazon apps.

My wife and I both have the original Kindle Fires. I will probably upgrade them to HD versions next year - more storage, better speakers, and an external volume button - the only question for us is which form factor to get. My Kindle DX is over 3 years old and starting to show its age. I like the e-ink for reading and the battery life, but it looks like Amazon is discontinuing the DX model since they made no announcement about a new paperwhite version. I can read a novel on my Fire, but tech books are terrible on a screen that small. However, the 7" size is more portable and easier for my 2 year old to handle.

I will be getting a Samsung Series 7 Slate in a couple of weeks so that 11.6" tablet may become my tech book reader with a 7" Fire HD as a media device. Although the 8.9" HD does have a higher resolution display...

Mike-Mike · November 2012

after some sleep I feel solid about my decision

any current Kindle Fire owners have case recommendations?

Originally I just checked the box that was next to the deal, that was the C.E.O. leather one, so I cancelled that, and got an Otterbox....

I know Otterboxes are awesome, but.... device = $130 ...... case = $70

I could almost buy another Kindle for that price...

I kept my Otterbox order, but I also ordered a Marware polycarbonite case for like $14

I probably won't let my son take it out of the house anyhow, so the Otterbox may be overkill, and he generally is very careful with his current devices, Nintendo DSi and a Zune

So I will try the Marware case at first and see if seems sturdy enough, if it is I'll send back the otterbox, if not I'll just keep the otter and return the marware

DoubleNNs · November 2012

The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 was announced. Seems like a a version specifically geared for textbooks.

Think I might get it for use in my certification journey. Idk if those 2 extra inches are really worth an extra $100 dollars tho, but I DO know I feel like the regular kindle size isn't large enough for textbook study.

Or, if I can get an IT job fast enough, I might just drop my first paycheck on the Asus Transformer Prime as a Congratulations to myself lol. The only thing is, it might be a little overkill, considering I already have a Macbook Air..

SteveLord · November 2012

Claymoore wrote: »

You can always purchase content in HD. It will just be displayed as SD on the regular Kindle, but available in HD for the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360 Amazon apps.

My wife and I both have the original Kindle Fires. I will probably upgrade them to HD versions next year - more storage, better speakers, and an external volume button - the only question for us is which form factor to get. My Kindle DX is over 3 years old and starting to show its age. I like the e-ink for reading and the battery life, but it looks like Amazon is discontinuing the DX model since they made no announcement about a new paperwhite version. I can read a novel on my Fire, but tech books are terrible on a screen that small. However, the 7" size is more portable and easier for my 2 year old to handle.

I will be getting a Samsung Series 7 Slate in a couple of weeks so that 11.6" tablet may become my tech book reader with a 7" Fire HD as a media device. Although the 8.9" HD does have a higher resolution display...

The DX was unpopular because of its price and size compared to any tablet. It was a flop and Amazon knows it.

Kindle Fire HD - thoughts?

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