Kindle Gallery

Monday, December 8, 2014

Fire HD 7, 7" HD Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB - Includes Special Offers, Black

CUSTOMER REVIEW

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Length:: 9:50 Mins

I purchased the original Kindle Fire in 2011 and the second generation Kindle Fire in 2012. I gave my original one to my grandson and he is still using it for apps and reading. I liked both of them and I have to tell you that they have held up very well. One is over 3 years old and the other is 2 years old and I have not had any issues with them. Since I have not upgraded in 2 years I thought I would get a new one with a larger memory and a faster CPU and a higher resolution display. There are many improvements beyond even those features.

I have to tell you that overall I am impressed with this new one. I didn't feel the need to purchase a Kindle Fire every year and when I purchased the next one I wanted it to be a definite upgrade step to what I had. I stayed with the 7 inch size as I like to portability and weight for long term reading. I alternate between the Kindle Paperwhite for reading in the daytime and at night sometimes and I use the Kindle Fire for reading in the evening and at night plus browsing the internet and getting email. This new Kindle Fire HD 2014 version is very fast and easy to use. Setting it up for the internet and downloading my apps and books was a breeze. I like the fact that the larger memory allows me to carry more apps and books. The higher resolution of the screen is helpful in reading books as the text is clearer and easier on my eyes than the older Kindle Fires we own. The screen is better for playing apps and watching videos and movies and it is worth the upgrade from the older Kindle Fires.

I like that this version has both a front and rear facing camera. I use the camera a lot on all of my tablets and I own many Apple iPads, Apple iPhone and Android tablets. The camera is just handy for that spontaneous photo or video and I take a lot of them.

I also like the fact that the stereo sound output has been improved as I listen to a lot of books. I use the text to speech feature a lot and I also use the Audible book feature a lot. When Amazon sells the Audible version of the book at a good price when I buy the Kindle version of the book I usually get both. I like to use Bluetooth to stream the Audio book to my car's stereo system and listen to the book while I drive, especially on a long trip. My wife and I enjoy listening to books together. This HD tablet pairs with my car and I can now use it instead of using my iPad or using my iPhone. This feature keeps track of where I am in the book regardless of whether I am reading the book or listening to it with Audible. The better speakers and louder volume is also nice when watching movies.

The unit works well handling my emails and it makes it nice that I can switch from browsing, to emails to reading or playing an app on the same tablet. I also have Amazon Prime so I can watch TV shows or movies. This is a good tablet with a lot of flexibility. I am still not a fan of the push ads but I am so used to them now I just ignore them.

I won't discuss all of the specifications but I did include a table comparing the Original Kindle Fire to the first Kindle HD 2013and now the Kindle HD 2014. For me it was a quantum leap to go from a Kindle Fire First or Second Generation and I am glad I made the jump. This tablet is a good buy for the money as the specs are very good. The table below shows the differences between the different versions and you can see the progress that has been made in just a few years. I am buying this new kindle with confidence as my last two Kindle Fires have performed very well and I expect the same out of this one.

One word of caution is that if you are buying this for a child then make sure to pay attention to the parental controls. Turn off the ability to make In App Purchases (IAPs) and I also turn off 1 touch buying. It is so easy for a child to make in app purchases and some of them can be as much as $99.99 on one item. Children are used to playing games with fake money and they cannot tell the difference and you will be surprised when you get the massive credit card bill. A few minutes of proper set up of the tablet for use by a child can save you a lot of headaches in the future.

There are a couple of features that I do wish were in this product that I miss. I own and have tested many tablets and I love the ability of Android tablets to accept a Micro SD card memory addition. I even have some tablets that I use 128 GIG SD cards in and this is a great feature. A very good Micro SD card only cost $100 and if Amazon would add this feature this very good tablet would be a GREAT tablet. The second feature is the ability to easily use apps from the Google Play Store. Most of the office and game apps are on the Amazon play store and I really do like the Amazon Play store the best. There are though some powerful tools on the Google Play Store that will not work on the Kindle Fire Operating system and that is a shame. This limits the customer from being able to use the best available software available. This Kindle Fire HD 2014 is a wonderful top notch product but it would be a superior product if these features were included.

If you are upgrading from a first or second generation Kindle Fire then this is a great move. For someone that has the 2013 Kindle Fire HD this is a smaller leap in technology so you may have to really want one of the new features to upgrade. I like my new unit and I am glad that I got it. I am also glad that it came with the AC wall charger in the box. I rated it at 5 stars and recommend it based on the results I have seen so far. If you have any questions please send me a comment and I will try to answer you.

Feature:------------Original Kindle Fire----Kindle Fire HD 2013-----Kindle Fire HD 2014
CPU------------------Dual core---------------Dual core a5 1.5 GHz---Quad Core with dual
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1.5 GHZ and dual 1.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------GHz cores
RAM--------------------------------------------------------------------------1 GB RAM
Internal Memory---8 GB----------------------8 or 16 GB------------------8 or 16 GB
Available Memory-5 GB-----------------------5 GB or 12.2GB------------5 GB or 12.2GB
Display--------------7 Inch--------------------7 Inch-----------------------7 Inch
DPI-------------------169 DPI 1024/600-----216 DPI 1280/800----------216 DPI 1280/800
Cameras------------None----------------------None------------------------Front & rear facing
Camera pixels-----N/A------------------------N/A--------------------------VGA quality front
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 Mega Pixel Rear
Battery Life--------8 hours--------------------up to 10 hours--------------8 hours
Charging time----4 hours---------------------under 6 hours---------------under 6 hours
AC wall charger--yes included-------------Yes Included-------------------Yes included
Speakers-----------dual stereo speakers---dual stereo speakers--------dual stereo speakers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------virtual surround sound
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------emulated 5.1 sound field
Display screen--------------------------------------------------------------Gorilla glass
Case colors----------Black------------------------Black--------------------5 colors available
Microphone---------None------------------------None--------------------Built-in
Operating system--------------------------------Fire OS 3.0------------Fire OS 4
WIFI--------------------Yes------------------------Yes------------------------Yes
Sensors----------------Accelerometer, gyroscope in all versions
Size---------------------7.5"x4.7"x0.45"----------7.5"x5"x0.45"--------------7.5"x5"x0.4"
Weight-----------------14.6 ounces---------------12.2 ounces----------------11.9 ounces
Ports--------------------Micro USB Charging----Micro USB Charging-------Micro USB Charging
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------or use adapter HDTV or VGA
Volume Switches-----No--------------------------Yes------------------------Yes
Bluetooth--------------No---------------------------Yes----------------------Yes plus BT microphone compatible
Audio output---------all versions with 3.5 mm stereo jack

What's new!
* Links your account to your family so you can share apps, books, audio books and games and Prime instant video content.
* Each user can have their own profile page with email, Facebook and twitter accounts. With Profiles, create unique profiles for up to 2 adults and 4 children so family members can share a tablet.
* Bluetooth microphone support
* 2x the speed and over 3x the graphics performance of previous generation Fire HD for quicker apps and smooth videos
* Front and rear cameras--Take photos or capture videos in 1080p HD with a rear-facing camera or Skype with a front-facing camera. Plus, free unlimited storage in Cloud Drive for photos taken with Fire devices
* Dual stereo speakers which is 1.5x louder than other tablets under $150. Emulation of 5.1 multichannel sound fields for better sounding stereo.
* Mirror your screen to your TV or VGA monitor using the Micro USB port
* Get $5 free gaming coins
* Audio books from Audible which is something that I have been enjoying listening to even in my car by streaming wirelessly to my car's stereo system
* Free Amazon cloud storage

++++++++++++++++
Update: 10-4-2014

In continuing my testing I have streamed prime TV and movies without any issues. The quality of the video and sound was excellent. The video began playing almost instantly so that feature worked fine. The audio output volume and quality was better than any of the other smart devices that I own. I installed OOKLA SpeedTest and tested my WIFI speeds to the Internet. I got download speeds of 23.09 Mbps and an upload speed of 1.97 Mbps. These are very good since I only pay for 18 Mbps and 2 Mbps.

Buffalo Clear Screen Protector Kit for Kindle Fire HDX 7" (will only fit Kindle Fire HDX 7"), 2 pack

Product Description

Color Name: Clear

This Buffalo screen protector is designed to protect your Kindle Fire HD screen from scratches, fingerprints, dust. It is made by thin and soft silicon material that allows for easy application with a minimum of air bubbles and quick and scratch free removal. The special matte coating produces bright and vivid colors for all your movies and pictures.

CUSTOMER REVIEW

First off, I have had many screen protectors for many different devices.iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini, Blackberry, and original Kindle Fire.I have never tried Buffalo, but I have tried Zagg, ArmorSuit, Marware and i-Blason. Zagg is by far the best, but it is usually around 30 dollars per device. Armor suit and Marware I would not recommend in general. I would HIGHLY recommend this Buffalo protector for two reasons. Easy install, just pull the tabs from underneath while applying pressure with a credit card and I only had one small bubble. The claim for anti-fingerprint is GOOD! It will not prevent them 100%, but I haven't noticed barely any fingerprints since I put it on. I use to wipe it down twice a day with cloth, now once every two days. So if you want two shields for 7.50 a piece or anti-fingerprint, then this is for you. Whether to have a backup in case you mess up, or have two new kindles(my reason). Both protectors went on both kindles with about the same quality. Check out the i-Blason if you only need/want one, as it can save you 5 bucks. However, I still recommend this product!!

Kindle Fire HDX 7", HDX Display, Wi-Fi and 4G LTE, 16 GB - Includes Special Offers (Previous Generation - 3rd)

CUSTOMER REVIEW

Update on Dec 23 2013 - Please scroll to the very end of this review for 2 month use update. [...]

For those who are looking at getting the best tablet out there at the moment, this is the one you should be looking at.

My profile: Heavy tablet users for personal and business purposes. I work on my tablet around 4-5 hours a day (Email / Documents / Spreadsheet / PDF ) and use it 1-2 hours for personal use such as watching movies or reading books/magazine. Tablet is my go-to device for all internet related search I do.

I have the following and/or used the following before:

1) iPad 1
2) iPad 2
3) iPad 4
4) iPad Mini
5) Kindle Fire
6) Kindle Fire HD
7) Kindle Fire HD 8.9
8) Asus Transformer with Keyboard
9) Nexus 7 First Gen
10) iPad Air 16gb Wifi

As you can see, I been through many devices and hope this review with my experience helps users decide if this is the right device for them. This will be an ongoing review for this device throughout this next year. For comparison sake, I will use last year's Kindle and iPad mini as they are the closest size to this HDX 7"

Speed (9/10):

This is leaps and bounds faster than last year Kindle HD. Last year Kindle struggles to go through any HD video content I put in. This year's HDX able to play seamlessly all the HD 1080p contents I added. It is incredible how much the 2.2Ghz quad processor improved vs last year's model Dual 1.2Ghz.

Screen (9/10):
This is the biggest improvement over last year's model. The screen is in true HD 1080p (1920x1080). This means any HD content I throw at it will view in its intended resolution. The screen is crystal clear (much better than iPad mini) and the viewing angle is incredible. I have this Kindle hanged in the middle of the car and at any seat it is view very clearly. Last year's model was not as clear as this. This is excellent for my minivan with my kids watching all the HD movies. The brightness of the screen is also much brighter than last year's model

Sound(8/10):
The sound system in this Kindle Fire HDX is using Dolby Digital Plus with virtual 5.1 surround sound. That gives this device a much better surround sound then previous generation's.

Build (8/10):
This HDX is more "angular" than last year's device. It's slightly rougher to hold in the corners than last year's model due to sharper edges though I doubt any users will hold their tablet by their corners. The device is noticeable lighter (395g for Kindle Fire HD vs 303g for Kindle Fire HDX). This mean you can hold this for longer time without fatigue.

The power and volume button placement on this Kindle Fire HDX is interesting. It is behind the device which allows it to hide away from front view. However, this can cause user to accidentally hit the on/off button or the volume button when not being careful. Aesthetically it is great but it is definitely not a practical solution when you are trying to use this on the go.

It does look sturdy enough to survive minor drop but I highly recommend getting a case for it. Those sharp corners seems more prone to dents than round corners for last year's model.

Battery (6/10):
This is probably the biggest drawback for this device. The battery life is not as good as last year's model. This is quite logical as last year's HD has a 4400mAh battery while running 720p while this HDX runs Full HD 1080p but runs only on a 4500mAh battery (only 100mAh more than last year). The 1080p screen pulls a lot of power vs last year's model when the screen is on, especially when running HD videos. I'm able to achieve 5 hours of heavy use compare to 7 hours for last year's Kindle Fire HD at medium brightness with Wi-fi on all the time. I tend to bring around an external battery pack but prefer something that is integrated (like a battery case)

Software & software compatibility (8/10):
The amount of app is still lacking compare to App store or Play store but has been steadily increasing which is a great sign. Games and software boot time has increased noticeably and compatibility is not an issue

Silk browser has definitely improved compare to last year's tablet with multiple tabs actually now usable on the HDX. For last year's version, it is practically unusable after 2 tabs due to the lack of hardware resource on the tablet (especially when the website is not optimized for mobile use). The HDX has no problem going through any webpages I throw at it.

Hopefully more apps will be optimized to use quad core soon. I'm guessing some of these apps are only optimized for last year's dual core.

I haven't got the opportunity to use Mayday yet but will review about it once I get more update on this.

Complimentary Accessories (3/10):
For all smart devices, one of the most important time is the number of accessories available. At launch, it is understandable the lack of accessories but productivity focus accessories such as integrated case/keyboard are missing at launch. This is rather disappointing as it can be a powerful productivity device with the right accessories attached. Also the lack of case selection is quite astonishing for a flagship product on Amazon. Hope there will be more cases such as battery case (due to above battery problem) or rugged case come out soon.

Price (9/10):
I got the special offer model at 16Gb (lowest end model) and it is enough for me to use. The special offer ads are not intrusive like last year's model and sometimes does reveal some items I want. Compare to the ipad mini, this is practically a steal. For those with the Nexus 7, it is quite comparable in price.

Conclusion in one sentence: Amazon's iPad mini killer (8.5/10)

For people who are justifying if this is a good upgrade, I say YES to that. The speed and screen difference alone is worth the upgrade. The whole user experience just improve drastically with the HDX.

It use to be, for Kindle Fire HD, you will trade low price for slow performance, stutter and lag. It honestly makes you think twice if the price is really worth all that poor experience.

For HDX, this is no longer the case. You get both great price, great screen and great performance that surpasses iPad mini. To me, the HDX is seriously Amazon's iPad killer. It really marks how well Amazon has done to make themselves a worthy competitor in the tablet market. I hope some software upgrade or battery pack can make this the ultimate road warrior!

****************************Dec 23th 2013 - 2 months update *********************************
So I have been using between this HDX 7" and the 8.9" HDX. I also been using an iPad Air 16Gb Wifi and here are some updates, particular on the negative points mentioned previously.

App Store - not so refined still. Downloading and Installing problem occurs
The app store after 2 month is still a bit lacking. There are some freebie deals during cyber monday which I jumped (who doesn't like free stuff?)but still nothing that either the Apple App store or Google Play don't have. Amazon App store really needs some exclusive apps to become a "must get" device.

Now comes the bad part - I tried to download Magic 2014 game (big fan of Magic the Gathering since teen) from the Amazon App Store and the HDX 7" downloads this rather slowly. In fact, I noticed that when it reaches 50% it drops back down to 30% and redownloads the package again! Since I'm not in a rush I really have no issue with this re-download problem. However, this can be problem to some people who have limited bandwidth per month and won't appreciate redownloading the same thing again 2 times (or more but I didn't catch that).

Once it reaches 100%, the app store attempts to install the software. It goes into "Installing..." state for a while (at least couple hours). Knowing that there's something weird going on, I rebooted the HDX 7". Once I rebooted it, the software shows it was never downloaded!

Perhaps there's some application specific problem with this game but this really shows a rather poor experience on the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX. I would expect a brand new top of the line Kindle Fire HDX would have ironed out simple bugs such as this but clearly, the Amazon App Store have 2 things it needs to work on:

1) If this is an application specific error, Amazon needs to proactively test this release on all their devices before allowing it on the Amazon App Store. It's quite obvious if any Amazon App store guys have even tried to install this Magic 2014 game that it just won't install. Literally half the reviews on the review complain about this

2) For these buggy release, Amazon should proactively pull this application from the store - the experience that lead to all the hours of download and wasted bandwidth got the user nothing in the end. I can imagine some users with capped bandwidth or using their cell data to download will be furious if they know an app less than 1Gb rack them couple Gb of download.

App Store is a big part of Amazon's Kindle Fire ecosystem and poor experience such as this really deters client in continued use, especially when all Kindle Fire are locked down to Amazon software ecosystem. When you cannot even use the Amazon software ecosystem, any excellent hardware that this machine has becomes inaccessible and worse of all, a waste of user time to figure out.

Now most people may say this criticism is related to the game(in this case, Magic 2014). I believe this is not the case. The responsibility of Downloading and Installing of the Magic 2014 application belongs to the Amazon App Store (after all, it is Amazon App Store people who authorized this to be released in their store). I start to find all other game download and installation questionable and my own usage time in App store browsing and purchasing drops drastically.

From the above download experience, I did attempt to find some help from Amazon. Here is where the more problem arises.

Mayday - speaking to rep reading off outdated troubleshooting guides

After noticing my Magic 2014 download is gone, I attempted to contact Amazon through the Mayday button. It's really my first time using this function so I don't really have any prior experience in using it.

My Mayday call was picked up by Hayley (if I recall). You can see a big Amazon logo in the background beside the customer service rep and she looks pretty friendly. I explained my situation with the App store problem to Hayley but it seems she wasn't able to help; therefore I got transfer to a "Tech Advisor". This Tech Advisor can't be shown in the video camera and asks for my credentials. She also made me explain the problem again which I explained to Hayley (I would have thought someone will note down my problem as I need to use couple mins to explain again). She then pulls something that you expect from an Indian Call Center by asking me to disconnect my internet modem. I find this rather funny as I mentioned this is a software specific problem with the installation and has nothing to do with my modem or Internet connection. I also mentioned that I am running a server at home and pulling the modem disconnects it from the Internet which breaks other services I am running unintentionally. She seems to be stuck so she forward me to another representative (which if I heard correctly, it is the app store support rep).

Once I got connected to the 3rd rep, they ask me to check my tablet date and time (which is correct). This rep later ask me to press on options that are not the screen. I suspected this rep was reading off an old Fire OS troubleshooting guide as I recently updated the Fire OS system and that some options and buttons are changed. Given the large amount of time spent and there's no resolution, I went to my iPad air and downloaded the game successfully in couple mins while still have Amazon on the Mayday call. I informed the 3rd tech support of this and thank them for their time although there was no resolution in the end.

I very much prefer having the game on my Kindle HDX as the 7" is perfect to bring outside for quick game or two, but the amount of time spent on troubleshooting and resource wasted on this is honestly not worth my time. I ended up having to play this game on the iPad Air larger screen but also paid for in app purchase because the game itself is very good.

It's a good lesson to learn that the whole software user experience needs to be more streamline and fluid on the Kindle. Amazon has done successfully in the physical good purchasing section of the kindle fire (in fact I spent thousands of dollars more on Amazon.com using the kindle fire than on PC and very satisfy with the results) and that if it can bring the same experience to the software app store just like the physical store, Amazon will have a winner here. I use my machine extensively for magazine reading / internet browsing but when it comes to app download, I currently have my doubts if it will be another bandwidth hog and a waste of time.

Display - blue hue appears but not very apparent
Some people ask if the blue hue appears on the edge. I can notice this if I'm reading off a totally white page (like a ebook or magazine). However it is not very noticeable and that your eyes will ignore it eventually. After all, words or graphic don't appear on the edges of the screen.

Battery life - Still needs work on

After the OS update, there seems to be a slight improvement with the battery life. However, still not enough for me to really go through the day without bringing an external battery charger pack along. At the moment, I am still looking for a 2 in 1 case + battery solution but it is not available. I hope this can be my daily driver but without the battery life, it may just be a brick by the afternoon.

Purchasing on Amazon.com - becomes addictive (Could be good or bad for some people!)
I realized my spending on Amazon went up considerable compare to last year thanks to this Kindle Fire HDX. I will be browsing it online and have these items saved on screen, constantly reminding me to get it. Amazon really done a good job at this and really met, if not, exceed their goal in getting users buying from kindle fire. With last year fire, the browsing experience on Amazon.com was not nearly as fluid as this year's HDX. This makes it hard to keep my attention and urge to buy. For people who wants a good purchasing experience, this Kindle Fire HDX will surely provide that. For ones who need to save money, you may want to get your finger off the buy button!

My overall rating stays the same as Amazon keeps knocking off prices for these machines making it still the best bang for the buck.

Apr 28 Update - Family Use
----------------------------------------------

Got my kids an extra Kindle Fire HDX 7" for them to play with. My HDX 7" is still running well with all my Instant Video and newsstand subscription inside.

Since my kids don't treat their new toys with much care, I went and got them and myself a zerolemon EVA Case on Amazon. The case is useful for prevent dents and major falls on your Kindle. Even with my Kindle, the top pantel where the speakers are started to peel off a bit (amazon used glue to assemble the speaker grille top panel). Case works great for hiding some of the blemishes of the kindle fire hdx 7"

Overall still satisfied with my machine and frankly been the best bang for the buck tablet i ever have.

As mentioned, I will update this review periodically. Next time I will focus on physical wear and tear of the machine after couple more months and again on battery life (as all electronics have a diminishing battery duration throughout its course of use). [...] Thanks for reading!

Kindle Fire HDX 7", HDX Display, Wi-Fi and 4G LTE, 64 GB - Includes Special Offers (Previous Generation - 3rd)

CUSTOMER REVIEW

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Anti-Glare Screen Protector Kit (3-Pack) for Kindle Fire HD 7, (2014 model: 4th Generation)

CUSTOMER REVIEW

Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?)

I was hoping I'd like these screen protectors, but that's not how it ended up happening. I'd most likely give this a lower rating, but I don't think that'd be fair. First of all, there are no instructions, but I've used this type of system before so didn't have a problem with that area (it has three little tabs labeled 1, 2, & 3, so you know what order to pull on them). The cloth that comes with it works pretty well, but the little cardboard-y thing to get out air bubbles is useless (they usually are), so I went with a debit card instead. It's all be pretty good if I lived in a vacuum-sealed room with no cats or dust, but I had the darnedest time trying to get this on, which involved much frustration, tears, cursing, and general agony. Well I finally succeeded in getting it on with minimal dust (it wasn't perfect, but I could live with for now) but now I had a super smeared screen protector. So I cleaned that up. But. It. Kept. Getting. Smeared. I mean smeared so much it made all the smears I got beforehand without a protector on it look decent. Plus, I guess I just do not care for the matte finish. I'd rather have the shinier look and deal with glare. I don't really use it outside in the sun anyway. So anywho, if you want anti-shine, this will probably do. Seriously though, someone has got to invent a screen protector that's easy to get on. I think in the future I'll pay to get it professionally done. It's just not worth the irritation for something so minor. I'll recover, but it might take a while. ;P

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Amazon Kindle 9W PowerFast Adapter for Accelerated Charging

CUSTOMER REVIEW

Sure, Amazon should have included one of these with the new Kindle Fires. I initially held off buying this as the pricing was $19.99, but relented when the price was $9.99 which puts it in line with non-Amazon branded charging adapters at a comparable power rating.

As a standalone charger, this one does pretty good and I like the versatility to charge other items with the USB female plug vs. something hardwired that allows me to charge other USB-type devices in addition to something that uses a micro USB port. I have used this charging plug to charge A Fire HD, original Fire, new Fire, Motorola RAZR phone, and <gasp> even an iPad2 with no problems.

Charging time is faster for a Kindle Fire vs. my regular e-Ink Kindle charger, but since I haven't - and rarely - fully drain one of my Fires I cannot comment on the "faster" aspect for charging a Fire: I just know it works, but it does seem to charge my phone mentioned above faster than the plug that came from Motorola. I like the sleek black look of the charger vs. white, and the plug sockets can fold in when not in use.

10/25/12 UPDATE:

THe review I wrote with a 4 out of 5 star was when the pricing was $9.99; Amazon has changed the price to $19.99. There are cheaper models out there here on Amazon for around ten bucks that will do the same job, so you may want to give this one a pass.

Fire TV Stick

CUSTOMER REVIEW