One of the first questions when picking out a new tablet is, “What size should I get?” The new Kindle HDX doesn’t necessarily make this an easier choice, but you won’t go wrong with either tablet size you choose. Both tablets come with a best-in-class display and excellent access to any type of movie, music, or book you could ever want.
Just in time for the 2014 holiday season, Amazon has refreshed their entire line of tablets. There was such a jump in quality and specs on the tablet, they gave it a new name. The Kindle Fire HDX comes in a 7-inch and 8.9-inch form factor. The 7-inch comes in at $229 for the lowest model and the 8.9-inch will set you back $379. Prices go up for more memory and LTE data access. These prices are right in line with other tablets of this size and quality. A comparable tablet from Google, the Nexus 7, checks in at $229 as well.
Display and Hardware
This display is one of the best we have seen in a while. It is clear, with no visible pixelation. It is perfect to read books on and won’t strain the eyes. Looking at a magazine, it is hard to tell the difference between this and a real one. If you eyes are still good, you really don’t even need to zoom in, it is that clear. Movies are in Full 1080p HD and a joy to watch.
The tablet is surprisingly light and sturdy. You imagine Amazon might cut some corners while trying to his this very low price point, but they don’t. The table looks different than previous Amazon tablets in a good way. The buttons are more prevalent and easier to find. This was a problem with past ones. This was a tablet for the masses, but wasn’t designed as such. This one hits the mark.
Internals
The tablet run by a very powerful 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor. This is top of the line and helps the Kindle HDX to have no noticeable lag. The Adreno graphics processor helps games of any kind run just like you were playing on a console. There is a full 2GB of memory that ensures programs with load up quickly and multitasking will be a breeze.
Batteries are always an issue with Tablets. There is nothing worse than being on a long flight, watching movies, and quickly seeing the juice in your tablet run dry. This should not be a problem with the Kindle HDX. These tablets consistently get a full 12 hours while reading and just slightly less watching a movie. This is more than enough time for most international flights.
Operating System
Amazon is introducing a new upgrade to their OS, Kindle Fire OS, that is much needed. The old OS was getting clunky and outdated. Apps were hard to access and it just looked tired. This upgrade to version 3.0 is well-received. The base is still Android, but all of Amazon’s cloud and content services are conveniently embedded right into the OS. The Kindle Fire OS used to just have a carousel of recently used content including apps, music, books, and movies. However, this time around, things have been organized for much easier access. The app center looks more like the traditional one in stock Android, while still retaining a smaller version of the carousel.
A tablet for (nearly) everyone!
This is the perfect tablet for most people. Do you like to hack and root tablets for fun? Not for you. Do you insist on a stock Android experience? Once again, not for you. Do you never order from or use Amazon in any way? Not for you.
Considering this rules out about 1% of the population out there, you can see that this tablet will more than satisfy most anyone. Considering the superb screen, blazing fast processor, and abundant content available, this is a must buy. If you already own a Kindle tablet, this is worth the upgrade. It is that big of an improvement.