

Kindle Fire HD: Much Better Than Original Kindle Fire - nradov
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/kindle-fire-hd-usability.html

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JPKab
Original Kindle Fire owner here:

As a Kindle for reading books, it's great. Certain apps (limited due to it not
using Android market) are great. Browsing any webpage? Awful experience.
Youtube? Annoying, because you are stuck using the crappy browser instead of a
dedicated Youtube app. I would like it much better if Amazon didn't fight so
hard to keep Google anything off of it. After using my brother's Nexus tablet,
I wanted to cry going back to it.

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adatta02
For what its worth, you can side load APKs on an unlocked Kindle just like any
other Android device. Obviously that still doesn't get around not having
access to Google's own apps like Gmail though.

~~~
3825
I also have the original kindle fire onto which I have installed a custom ROM
of Android 4.1. I am quite happy with it although I do wish it had a
microphone.

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dbecker
These reviews are really helpful.

Many reviews in the popular press ignore the overall experience and focus on
minor technical differences (e.g. a tenth of an inch difference in thickness).
Reviews focusing on the overall experience are on order of magnitude more
useful than the "list of specifications" review.

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bane
Good review, but I thought the bit about the back button was strange:

 _There's also a Back button (and a Forward button, when applicable). The
entire platform's usability is much enhanced by the universal nature of this
Back button. Consider this typical scenario:

You're reading an email message that contains a link to an article on a
website. You click the link and read the article. You now want to return to
continue reading the email message. Now what? In most systems, you have to
close the web browser and find your own way back to the email program, hoping
that it still displays the message as you left it. With the universal Back
button, you simply click Back, just as you would when you tire of a web page.
Backtracking works across applications, as it certainly should, because that's
how users think._

This really only seems to be true if compared against iOS. But pretty much
everything else on the planet supports some way of getting back to where you
started, even if it involves launching another application then simply
switching tasks back to where you were (e.g. Windows or OS X).

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sp332
Isn't that what "find your own way back to the email program, hoping that it
still displays the message as you left it" means?

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bane
Sorry, I probably should have focused it more on this

"In most systems, you have to close the web browser and find your own way back
to the email program..."

which isn't really a true statement other than iOS.

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jwillgoesfast
"the $199 Kindle Fire HD 7-inch offers much better value than getting the $329
iPad Mini, unless you need an app that's only available on the latter."

this sentance made me want to rush out and buy one, but I'm curious on how it
compares to the also $199 Nexus 7...?

it seems like the nexus 7 is still a much better option.

~~~
joenathan
It's all about ecosystem, if you have an Amazon Prime account you get the best
experience with the Kindle Fire, if you want a more general use tablet with
direct updates from Google go for the Nexus 7.

~~~
j_s
Kindle FreeTime Unlimited for kids seems like a home run for Amazon that
Google won't be able to match. (Basically unlimited content for $3/month/kid +
$80/year for Amazon Prime which includes lots of other Kindle bonuses.)

[http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?&docId=1000863021](http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?&docId=1000863021)

My only reservation is the extra work required to get Google Apps
(specifically Google+ Hangouts) up and running.

~~~
pchristensen
The FreeTime program is what got a KF in the door of our all-Apple household.
As far as I'm concerned, this makes it THE toy for families.

~~~
justincormack
Is any of of this available outside the US?

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petercooper
I got a Fire HD last week. I'm usually forgiving of devices but I haven't been
impressed. The form factor is slightly nicer than the iPad Mini but in terms
of the user experience/usability it's not a patch on the iPad. The screen is
high res but surprisingly 'glary' in comparison (enough so I have to read
white on black or the text seems to shimmer).

Pretty stunning, however, is the sound (the best quality I've heard on such a
small device) and the picture quality for video. So as a general purpose
tablet for a light user, I'd recommend it. But if you have the money, the iPad
is better. And if you just want to read, the Kindle Paperwhite is miles
better.

The Fire really only wins if you want an all in one that's cheaper than an
iPad and you're not fussy about UX, but perhaps I underestimate the value of
it being a great video playing device as I don't tend to watch any video other
than YouTube (and YouTube is not very good on the Fire HD).

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onetwothreefour
Anything's better than the original Kindle Fire.

