I'm writing this review with the benefit of being an experienced Kindle Fire user vs. someone brand new to the Kindle family. In summary, you are getting a great deal on a tablet computer - especially if you compare it to the $500 or more you can spend on a Wi-Fi version of iPad. Overall, if you consider the price and the functionality I think this is a great tool / toy if you watch a lot of video or play a lot of games on your device: the video quality is outstanding. If you are a first-time large-screen tablet buyer, where price vs. value is a key consideration in comparison to more expensive versions, I'd recommend it. If you're comparing last year's HDX model to this version and it is operating fine, I'd say save your money and continue to get your money's worth out of that one.
My review below compares a lot of the features of this version of the Fire HDX to last year's Fire HDX but also some of the features for a first-time user.
Consistent with my experience with setup of previous models of the Fire, setup took a while: despite being a brand new product, the Fire attempted to download and install several operating software updates. You just need to be patient while it downloads and installs.
Screen Display / Video Playback:
This version of the Fire has the best screen display of any previous model of Fire and looking at the technical specs Amazon made some major changes in the display / resolution, and the picture appears more crisp in a side-by-side comparison to last year’s HDX version and my iPad Air (yes, the Kindle guy uses an iPad for work): I compared the viewing experience watching an episode of The Lost Ship. The display on this Fire was one heck of a lot better in terms of sharpness than last year's model as well as the iPad, and is the #1 selling feature (to me) for this model. That may be a combination of some better technology as well as a new vs. year-old screen.
Wi-Fi Connectivity:
After the final operating software update I mentioned above, it was fairly easy to connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi. My standard test for trying out new gadgets is to see how fast they run side-by-side with a known piece of equipment doing the same test at the best place of Wi-Fi in my house and the worst place where it drags. In this comparison, I had this version of the HDX sitting next to the last two year’s versions of the HDX, this year’s 7” Fire tablet, and my iPad Air, all just using a Wi-Fi connection vs. cellular connectivity.
My "normal" website test is to hit the mobile websites of FoxNews, CNN, my personalized Yahoo page, Google, and the Houston Chronicle. The ones that were usually slow on the other devices were just as slow, and for the other sites I couldn't tell a difference in speed in comparison to this model.
Sound / Music Playback:
The two speakers are located in the back of the HDX in two not-noticeable ports: both of them are on the right (or maybe it's on the top, depending upon your screen orientation) side of the Kindle. My test of this feature was cranking up Van Halen's Panama to maximum volume (I always want to see if it could really play the guitar licks), and I would alternate covering one speaker up over the other: you have true stereo sound with no degradation of the sound that makes you think you are about to blow the speaker. The Dolby speakers sound really nice and you can really crank up the volume in comparison to previous versions of the Fire: you do get to hear the bass if you install and use an Equalizer app and adjust until it sounds "just right" to you. Mixing the sound with an equalizer app, and using good headphones, is really the way I want to listen to music on the Fire as you not only have a better sound experience but you're also not disturbing others in the room. The X-ray feature is pretty neat as it displays the lyrics on the screen if you are so inclined; if you are not, it is as simple as the tap of an icon to make the lyric feature go away.
Email Setup:
Consistent with previous versions of the Fire, email setup was very easy for my main Gmail account with the software came with the Fire. Amazon has some good enhancements to their email product, so I did not have to install the third-party email app I used on previous versions of the Fire and am happy with Amazon's email client.
New Tabs and Screen Layout:
In addition to the normal tabs Amazon has continued to make tweaks with the look and feel to the overall display such as more things to scroll through to find what you are looking for in an easier manner. Consistent with my experiences with previous versions of the Fire, I purchased the one with special offers and I don't feel overwhelmed with ads. In fact, I don't even notice them.
Reading Books:
Turning pages is pretty darn easy - just tap the side of the screen to go to the next page or back a page, or you can swipe your finger across the screen to do the same. You do have the feature to see the book's description for books on your device like they have with the e-Ink Kindle which is a plus as I can't remember what each book in my digital to-be-read pile is about. You can see previous categories and collections you may have setup on an e-Ink version of the Kindle for your books stored in the Cloud; while that is nice and has been a much-requested feature by Fire owners for years, either that feature is not available with books stored on your device or I’m just not smart enough to figure it out.
Camera:
There are cameras on this model - one facing the back and one facing the front or toward the user / reader. Focusing and taking a picture is pretty easy, and Amazon will by default store your pictures in the Cloud. I'm not much of a picture-taker with my tablet, so I can't really comment on the quality. The icon to turn the camera on is easy to tap as I did accidentally turn it on while carrying the HDX down the stairs last night and snapped a photo of my shoes so watch out for stray taps!
Charger:
Unlike previous models of the Fire, this one DOES include a charger! If you're scratching your head with that comment, in previous models you had to purchase a charger separately for $20 which always seemed kind of silly for Amazon to do.
Other Random Stuff:
One of the setup features in the menu is the ability to turn on a location-based service as well as a find-your-Fire feature in case you misplace it. I also like the location-based GPS feature turned on periodically so I can get a weather update on whatever city I may be traveling in for a particular day – but the paranoid side of me turns it off when I’m not specifically using it.
If you've never owned a larger tablet before, or are looking to upgrade from an earlier model Fire, I would recommend this one if video and apps are your thing - but make sure you purchase the higher memory one vs. the minimum 16 GB if you can afford the extra dollars as you will see better performance. If you're comparing last year's HDX model to this version and it is operating fine, I'd say save your money and continue to get your money's worth out of it. I purchased the one with 64 GB as I wanted the better performance as it is my traveling companion. Kids will love it as they can read books, play games, watch TV and movies, and a whole lot of other things. Adults should like it for the exact same reasons, but while I try to minimize the amount of work-related stuff I do at home with the business apps that are available here in the Amazon App store and other places around the Internet I can also work on Excel and Word-compatible files when I have to without having to fire up my work laptop or whatever the case may be.
Technical Details
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Display |
8.9” HDX touchscreen display, with 2560x1600 resolution at 339 ppi, 100% sRGB color accuracy, video playback up to 1080p, max brightness over 400 nits, Dynamic Image Contrast, reduced glare and advanced polarizing filter |
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Size |
9.1” x 6.2” x 0.3” (231 mm x 158 mm x 7.8 mm) |
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Weight |
Wi-Fi – 13.2 ounces (375 grams). 4G LTE + Wi-Fi – 13.7 ounces (389 grams) |
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CPU & RAM |
2.5 Ghz Quad-core Snapdragon 8084, with Adreno 420 GPU and 2 GB of RAM |
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Storage |
16 GB (9.9 GB available to user) or 32 GB (24.3 GB available to user) or 64 GB (52.9 GB available to user) of internal storage |
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Battery Life |
Up to 12 hours of reading, surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, and listening to music. Battery life will vary based on device settings, usage, and other factors such as web browsing and downloading content. Actual results may vary |
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Charge Time |
Fully charges in under 5 hours via the PowerFast charging accessory (included in the box), or slightly longer with other micro-USB power adapters that you may already have |
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Wi-Fi Connectivity |
Dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi (MIMO+HT80) for faster streaming and fewer dropped connections than standard Wi-Fi. Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.11ac standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks |
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4G Connectivity |
Support for ultra-fast 4G LTE wireless networks with HSPA+, HSDPA, and EDGE/GPRS fallback (4G version only) |
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Ports |
SlimPort enabled USB 2.0 (micro-B connector) port to connect to an HDTV or VGA monitor with an adapter or to a PC/Macintosh computer, or to charge your device with the included PowerFast charger |
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Audio |
3.5 mm stereo headphone jack and integrated stereo speakers with the latest Dolby Audio, including Dolby Atmos when listening to Dolby Atmos encoded content using headphones |
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Content Formats Supported |
Kindle (AZW), KF8, TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible Enhanced format (AAX), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, Dolby Digital (AC-3), Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3), non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, PCM/WAVE, OGG, WAV, M4V, MP4, AAC LC/LTP, HE-AACv1, HE-AACv2, MKV, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, HTML5, CSS3, 3GP, VP8 (WEBM) |
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Sensors |
Ambient light sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS (4G) |
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Camera Specs |
Front-facing 720p HD Camera. 8MP rear-facing camera with LED flash, Electronic Image Stabilization, and a wide-aperture 5P f/2.2 lens |
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Location Services |
Location-based services via Wi-Fi. 4G model also uses assisted-GPS |
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Additional Features |
External volume controls, built-in dual microphone, built-in Bluetooth to support a variety of different wireless accessories such as keyboards or controllers, with support for A2DP compatible stereo headphones, headsets, speakers, and LE accessories |
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Accessibility Features |
Screen Reader, Explore by Touch, and Screen Magnifier, enabling access to the vast majority of Fire tablet features. Screen Reader features IVONA's award-winning natural language text-to-speech voice. Also includes adjustable font sizes/color, and built-in Oxford dictionary. Learn more about these features |
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System Requirements |
Fire HDX 8.9 is ready to use right out of the box—no setup, no software to install, no computer required to download content |
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Warranty and Service |
1-year Limited Warranty and service included. Optional 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year Extended Warranty available for U.S. customers sold separately. Use of Fire tablet is subject to the terms found here |
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Included in the Box |
Fire HDX 8.9 tablet, USB 2.0 cable, 9W Amazon PowerFast charger, and Quick Start Guide |
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Generation |
4th generation - 2014 release |
Reviews with images
Kindle 8.9" HDX - versatile, powerful and great price-to-performance tablet!
The Amazon Kindle 8.9" HDX is a very nice tablet -superior display over my iPAD 2 and 7" kindle HD. I thoroughly enjoy watching video on the leading edge display. Also, I can make much more use of my Prime membership video access which allows you to download TV and movies (only some are available with this option) that i can enjoy on long flights. Battery holds up well and connectivity is very straightforward and easy to use. Functionality seems to be quite fast and fairly robust. There are some issues on occasion with an application (Amazon or Google apps) getting latched up but I have not seen a perfect OS that does not exhibit such behavior. Its easy enough to get out of it and restart the app. Overall, I'm very pleased with the quality, performance, fit and finish. I recommend a cover to protect your investment. I'm presently using one of the Kamor products. Its sufficient to protect the tablet in my valese when traveling. Additionally, I researched the tablet against others on the market and it was settled by the nice ecosystem integration of Amazon's music, video and lending library support that make it something I use alot. The available applications cover reading, editing documents, note taking and games quite well. An added plus if you are a videophile is the fact of being able to play multiple video formats - mpeg, flv, avi, etc. The Apple devices need more precise conversion if you want a home movie on your device to show your children playing in the yard, for example. Great product - thank you Amazon!
