HD Reading comparison: Fire HD 7" and Paperwhite

[sirmaru]

I've been using the Kindle Fire HD 7" 32 Gb and Paperwhite to read the same eBooks the last couple of days. They each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

In bright light conditions the Paperwhite wins out totally. There is no glare while the Fire HD has lots of glare and mirror images. The brightness on the HD can be turned up to eliminate glare from the page but the side borders still reflect images and the light source.

Paperwhite at level 22 light of 24 in bright light has absolutely no glare.

I read reviews of screen glare protectors on the Amazon site and there are bad reviews (one star) on all with many defects: pixellation, leaving glue residue, bubbles, dust collection, etc. Thus, I'm using the Fire HD without a glare protector. The Fire 1st Gen did have one good brand glare shield but the manufacturer of that brand warned on the site it had a pixelation effect when used on the HD. That turned me off.

A notable difference in the reading apps is that the Fire HD shows page numbers and the Paperwhite does not. However, time left for chapter and book is shown on the Paperwhite but not on the Fire HD.

Collections are available on the Paperwhite but not on the Fire HD.

The big advantage of the Fire HD is the running of android apps like the GSam Battery Monitor and the Tecarta and Logos Bibles. The AcroBible was the best on the Fire 1st Gen but does not run at all on the Fire HD. Other apps I use on the Fire HD were the AccuWeather and Weather Channel apps. The first shows measurments of rain and snow and the second shows probability of rain and snow.

The Fire HD also runs my Netflix movies, my songs (great speakers) and can run free Amazon movies (Prime required). However, the Fire HD standard cover does not provide a stand like the Fire 1st Gen Marware cover did. Thus, the following stand is really a necessity:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o00_s00_i00

I have Parental Controls on both enabled just to prevent accidental eBook purchases. On the Fire 1st Gen doing so blocked internet access. On the Fire HD it can block the purchases and leave internet access enabled.

The Fire HD even without Special Offers shows recommended eBooks at the bottom of the screen in portrait mode. They can be turned off in the Settings and then turned on again if one needs a new eBook.

For just reading eBooks, the Paperwhite is way ahead of the Fire HD.

The Fire HD 7" 32 Gb started out 26.68 Gb for 26.96 Gb space available. After installing all my "stuff," 24.43 Gb was left.

2.25 Gb was used: Books = 57.30 Mb; Audiobooks = 15.30 Mb; Music = 1.28 Gb; Video = 120.00 Kb; Photos = 47.75 Mb; Docs = 12.12 Mb; Apps & Games = 350.14 Mb; Others = 743.65 Mb plus other system supplemental use.

So far I really have no uses for all that extra memory. However, I can see its use in the future for apps not yet developed. It doesn't hurt to have exta capacity as new innovations come to market since no additions can be made to memory after purchase.

Comparative weights of the Kindles WITH standard covers:

Kindle Fire HD 7" 32 Gb = 1 pound, 2.9 ounces
Kindle Paperwhite = 11.9 ounces
Kindle Fire 1st Gen = 1 pound, 4.2 ounces
Kindle Kbd WiFi 3rd Gen = 13.6 ounces

With WiFi time enabled all the time on the Fire HD 32 Gb and Paperwhite one can switch between them fast without pressing any sync keys. The GSam Battery Monitor indicated decisively that WiFi uses very little power compared to screen power requirments. I use the Paperwhite near a window with bright light and the Fire HD at night in my computer room at a desk which does not reflect glare due to its placement.

One big plus for the Fire HD 32 Gb is the ability to run Amazon Prime Videos (free) and they run great - much better than videos ran on the Fire 1st Gen. Sound is superb and HD rendition is great. The Paperwhite cannot do that. Plus, the videos are saved to the Carousel and bookmarked to be watched in segments.

[Doc109]

Sirmaru: would you be so kind as to mention which anti-glare shield you liked for the 1st gen Fire? I am considering trying such a product since I am not sold on upgrading to the HD quite yet.

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by Doc109

Sirmaru: would you be so kind as to mention which anti-glare shield you liked for the 1st gen Fire? I am considering trying such a product since I am not sold on upgrading to the HD quite yet.

This is the REPLACEMENT for the one I got for the Kindle Fire 1st Gen:

http://www.amazon.com/GreatShield-An...or+kindle+fire

The original is no longer available.

This is the manufacturer's warning for the same product for the Kindle Fire HD 7":

"PLEASE NOTE: Matte material protectors do produce a slight pixellation of the screen, as this is the natural effect created by the Matte (anti-glare) frosted texture. It is simply an unavoidable 'Law of Physics'. You will see this pixellation on all anti-glare screen protectors from all brands (many of which are noticeably more extreme than ours)."

Thus, I am not buying that for my HD unit. I am using it without a protector.

I use this product to clean my screens, monitors and TV's:

http://www.amazon.com/PixelClean-Wet...rds=pixelclean

[Doc109]

Thanks. In my quick side by side comparison of the 1st gen Fire and the HD at Best Buy, I did notice that the HD fared better in reducing glare from indirect lighting. Would love to replicate that on my old Fire via an anti-glare shield but perhaps the tradeoff in terms of screen quality is not a good one.

Originally Posted by Doc109

Thanks. In my quick side by side comparison of the 1st gen Fire and the HD at Best Buy, I did notice that the HD fared better in reducing glare from indirect lighting. Would love to replicate that on my old Fire via an anti-glare shield but perhaps the tradeoff in terms of screen quality is not a good one.

Anit-glare shields seem to be hit and miss. I had a great one I got for a NookColor. I've tried a few each for the original Fire and iPad but all degraded the screen too much. If they only cost pennies, then trying several would be easy to do, but at $10-20 it is a big gamble.

Been using my Fire HD for a few days now. At home I really don't see much difference in glare from what I remember the original fire having, and about the same as my iPad3. I would say the anti-glare claim by Amazon is just more marketing BS. As long as there is no bright overhead light source to reflect off the screen, then it does okay. A well lit area behind you though can cause your reflection to dominate the screen! Yuk, but that occurs with any glossy, glass screen. You just have to adjust the angle and lighting to get the reflections under control. In a dimly lit room it rocks!

[WillysJeepMan]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

...
The Fire HD also runs my Netflix movies, my songs (great speakers) and can run free Amazon movies (Prime required). However, the Fire HD standard cover does not provide a stand like the Fire 1st Gen Marware cover did. Thus, the following stand is really a necessity:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o00_s00_i00

The KFHD smart cover is designed to have the cover fold back on itself to form a stand... the "kindle" rubberized grip prevents it from sliding in landscape mode. I've used it on a variety of surfaces, at varying angles and it works fine. A separate stand is only necessary if you want the KFHD to stand in portrait mode.

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by WillysJeepMan

The KFHD smart cover is designed to have the cover fold back on itself to form a stand... the "kindle" rubberized grip prevents it from sliding in landscape mode. I've used it on a variety of surfaces, at varying angles and it works fine. A separate stand is only necessary if you want the KFHD to stand in portrait mode.

The cover only holds the KFHD7-32 in landscape mode if kept at an exact balancing angle. If one wants to change the viewing angle, one must use the stand I described above.

By the way, I finished my first full charge cycle of the Kindle Fire HD 7" 32 Gb unit and it got 5 hours and 39 minutes to the 19% level while the Paperwhite got 10 hours and 29 minutes to the point where the battery meter almost registered empty.

Taking the KFHD7-32 down to 15% or even 10% could get me another 30 minutes to an hour, possibly. The KF1G got an average of 5 hours and 20 minutes down to the 15% charge level.

I tracked the KFHD7-32 and KF1G using GSam Battery Monitor and the Paperwhite tracking individual reading session times in an Excel spreadsheet.

The KFHD7-32 had an inaccurate battery meter at first and needed a couple of cycles to totally empty to develop its accuracy.

After loading in all the items I want for the KFHD7-32 I got the following storage statistics in the Device section of the Settings:

Storage left: 22.97 of 29.96 Gb space available.

1. Books and Newsstand: 57.84 Mb
2. Audiobooks: 15.30 Mb
3. Music: 2.19 Gb
4. Video: 44.06 Mb
5. Photos: 56.20 Mb
6. Docs: 12.12 Mb
7. Personal Videos: 0.00 B
8. Apps & Games: 407.99 Mb
9. Others: 1.17 Gb

I still have room for lots of new "stuff" as it is developed over the next year.

[Andy_T]

I recently received my Kindle PW after a really long wait (Friend from the US brought it over to Europe) ... and sent it back.

For reading in bright conditions, my Kindle Keyboard does the better job - the Paperwhite looked "washed out" when using the light, and very similar when not using the light.

For nighttime reading, my old (1st generation) Kindle Fire was much brighter, much sharper and I like the user interface more (being used to it, that is). I know that there are people who consider the "darkest" setting on the Kindle Fire still too bright - for those, the PW might make sense. When I had them side-by-side, the light level was comparable when the PW was at a "middle" setting and the Fire at its lowest setting. Similarly, the "brightest" setting on the PW was corresponding to a "middle" setting on the Fire. The darkest setting of the PW ("suggested for reading in dark rooms") was way too dark for nighttime reading without a lamp, IMO. I had a hard time to make out the text.

So, given my very special case - having both the Kindle Keyboard AND the Kindle Fire - yes, the Paperwhite might have worked as replacement, but it would have been a compromise, and it would not have been as good as either of the other two at their respective specialties. But I wanted the *best*, and an actual improvement over the other two (which I understood the PW to be, from the advertisements on the amazon page). So back it went.

Best regards,
Andy

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by Andy_T

So, given my very special case - having both the Kindle Keyboard AND the Kindle Fire - yes, the Paperwhite might have worked as replacement, but it would have been a compromise, and it would not have been as good as either of the other two at their respective specialties. But I wanted the *best*, and an actual improvement over the other two (which I understood the PW to be, from the advertisements on the amazon page). So back it went.

Best regards,
Andy

The KFG1 and the KFHD7-32 both have lots of glare if angled wrong with bright overhead lights. Glare protectors tend to pixellate and distort the view and still do not block all glare.

The KK is good if one has good external lighting.

The PW supplies its own light and has absolutely no glare. Thus, IMHO, it is the best eReader to date if one only wants to read eBooks.

Of course, the KFG1 and the KFHD7-32 have far more uses than just being an eReader.

[Andy_T]

I tend to have both at my person.

When there is good light that would result in glare, I use the KK, otherwise the KF.

At this time of the year, the KF gets more use.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by Andy_T

So, given my very special case - having both the Kindle Keyboard AND the Kindle Fire - yes, the Paperwhite might have worked as replacement, but it would have been a compromise, and it would not have been as good as either of the other two at their respective specialties. But I wanted the *best*, and an actual improvement over the other two (which I understood the PW to be, from the advertisements on the amazon page). So back it went.

Many people DO state that the PW is the best Kindle they have had so far. Maybe you had one that wasn't as good as some. As for myself, I got my PW to have in addition to my Kindle Keyboard and Kindle Fire, not as a replacement. I prefer it to the Keyboard, though I do use both on a daily basis. (They are on different accounts). The PW is awesome for use at night in the car or anywhere....I'd much rather take that out of the house than the Fire. I'd much rather read novels on the PW than on the Fire. I do have plenty of novels on the Fire but mainly just look at the pretty covers. I use my Fire for news, weather, web browsing, stuff like that. Very handy. I have a pretty good PW, not perfect in the dark, but absolutely acceptable, to me.