I'm writing this having owned an iPad, iPad mini, Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite, Galaxy Note 8.0. I work for a software company and use tech constantly, so I hopefully write this from an informed perspective.
I waited to buy a Kindle Fire until a model was released that was 'HD' at the lowest point of entry, and that's what we have here. This is a device that is closely tied into the Amazon way of doing things and therefore requires that books, apps, music etc are all purchased from them. The price of this device is amazingly low given the build quality and connectivity offered. Buy a similarly priced 'normal' Android tablet and your experience will not be as smooth.
Look & Feel
The tablet isn't as light or as thin as an iPad mini, but it feels sturdy and is easy to grip without being too heavy. It makes for comfortable reading on my daily commute, but I imagine would get a bit heavy if holding it to watch a whole film. The device is solid - it doesn't bend, creak or flex at all. All the joins are good and buttons feel reliable.
The display is excellent. The bezel (black strip around the screen) is quite wide, but it does serve as a barrier to stop fingers obscuring text on a book page, which I found really irritating on the iPad. Books are easy to read and turning the screen brightness down from the top setting means I've so far not felt any eye strain. Video also looks great; punchy and rich.
A surprisingly great feature is the sound quality. This really is a nice bonus and compared to other tablets of the same size, speaker quality and audio reproduction is top notch. Not at all tinny; loud and bassy. Really very good indeed.
No camera. I've never taken pictures with my tablet cameras as they are invariably rubbish, only coming in useful for the occasional Skype call. This price point means no camera and a slower processor. Take the not very big jump up to the entry level HDX and those features are present. I don't think Amazon should apologise for creating a consumption-only device.
Software
This device is designed expressly to allow the consumption of media. I.E books, video, games, magazines. Amazon try hard to keep all of that content coming to you from their stores and in-app purchases are deeply integrated. It mirrors the ease of the experience on other Kindle devices I've used and actually works really well. My parents who are reasonably IT literate but struggle to cope with updating their PC etc find this kind of experience really simple to use and uncluttered with too many options.
'Free time' is a great feature that I thought would be rubbish! Basically it means you can set the device to completely ignore notifications whilst doing things like reading. On an iPad, notifications about emails, messages etc are distracting - so this is a nice feature to have.
Books read well and there are sufficient options for most tastes without too many unnecessary settings. The Lovefilm software is great, although to my mind the selection of titles is limited. If the option to download content from Lovefilm is made available (as it has just been in the US with their video partner) I will very, very likely subscribe beyond the length of the 30 day free trial.
There is a limited selection of apps available from the appstore, but nothing I've looked for so far hasn't been available. I want this device to read with and watch videos; apps are not the main purpose.. If you're really keen on a massive app selection, get an iPad!
Summary
This is a great product available at a low price. The low cost of entry is tempered by a lack of some hardware features such as a camera, but it works well and is simple. If you are looking for a low cost, high quality tablet that works well and supports the reading of books and watching of videos, this is a great choice.
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With Screens
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Smart Speakers
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Alexa on the Go
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Fire TV
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With Fire TV built-in
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Accessories
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Tablets
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For ages 6-12
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For ages 3-7
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Do more with Plus
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Tablet Bundles
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Kindle E-Reader
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Kindle Kids E-Reader
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Essential Bundles
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Cameras
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Doorbells
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Alarms
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More security devices
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Appliances
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Connectivity
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Accessories
Customer reviews
Having had a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 and an iPad 3 I thought I had no requirement for a Kindle Fire. I was wrong. The Tab 2 was awful and went to be repaired just after a month old and didn't come back the same. I have loved the iPad but it can be a bit weighty not being the Air edition. Publishing magazines, I wanted to check out how it delivered my content and to be fair it way exceeded any expectations I had.The ad supported version actually is totally unintrusive and you don't really even think about it as an issue. Amazon's take on Android is refreshingly different and intuitive- not as easy to navigate as iOS but still a joy compared to some of the old Android ones. The sound is gorgeous from such a small device and the reading experience is superlative. Exactly what you would expect from the brand.If you are getting splinters on yer ass sitting on the fence about buying one then just do it. Cheap, really easy to navigate and a decent pick of Android apps to play with.
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