Amazon introduces 2013 FIRE tablets

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by booklover6

I'm debating on that, myself. Do I really need an Amazon tablet? They have the same resolution, storage, and ram. I might just go with the Nexus. I am getting rid of my Fire HD 7, either way.

I'd go with the Nexus 7.2 (see post 105).

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

And the Nexus 7.2 has Google Play, the latest version of Android, rear cam, compass, and GPS; all features lacking in the HDX 7. When Android updates to KitKat, Nexus will get it and the HDX won't.

While the HDX has a better CPU, the Nexus isn't suffering with it's CPU. The tradeoffs for that additional bump in performance aren't worth it. Between the two, the Nexus 7.2 is easily the better tablet and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending it over the HDX 7.

It really depends on what you plan to use the Device for. If you plan to read on it and watch stuff you don't need a camera, compass, GPS...etc. I have a phone for that.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I'd go with the Nexus 7.2 (see post 105).

That's if I get either one. I have a Nook HD that really fulfills all my tablet needs.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

And the Nexus 7.2 has Google Play, the latest version of Android, rear cam, compass, and GPS; all features lacking in the HDX 7. When Android updates to KitKat, Nexus will get it and the HDX won't.

While the HDX has a better CPU, the Nexus isn't suffering with it's CPU. The tradeoffs for that additional bump in performance aren't worth it. Between the two, the Nexus 7.2 is easily the better tablet and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending it over the HDX 7.

Both the Nexus 7.2 and Kindle Fire HDX don't have HDMI output and microSD card slot, correct?

I do use HDMI on my Acer tablet to stream Amazon Instant Videos to the TV, so that's an important feature for me. Fire HDX's "Second Screen" does sound intriguing:

Fling TV shows and movies from your tablet to your big-screen TV using Second Screen. This turns your TV into the primary screen, freeing up your Kindle Fire to provide playback controls, a customized display for X-Ray, or simply be a place to email, browse the web, and more while you watch a movie.

...but it'll only work with Samsung TVs and PlayStation.

This is interesting too:

You can also wirelessly mirror movies, TV shows and photos from your tablets to your big-screen TV with Miracast-enabled accessories or TVs.

...but I don't want to buy yet another gadget.

I'd love to buy a tablet that has better screen resolution than the two I have, but I don't want to spend a fortune to get all the features I prefer, so I guess I'll continue to enjoy what I have...for now. </whine>

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

The ability to download Prime video for later viewing sold me. I have side-loaded a lot of movies on my Fire for just that reason. But when I tried to watch one on a plane, the video wasn't load enough. I will be interested to see if this one has a louder setting. Or maybe I will mayday that issue in the airport.

If you want to hear something on your device on a plane you'll need to invest in some noise cancellation ear phones.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by Blossom

It really depends on what you plan to use the Device for. If you plan to read on it and watch stuff you don't need a camera, compass, GPS...etc. I have a phone for that.

And neither would you need the faster processor for those tasks.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I'm so monkey mad, I could even eat green bananas right now

I have a couple recipes for that. Unless you're mad enough to eat them raw.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Blossom

It really depends on what you plan to use the Device for. If you plan to read on it and watch stuff you don't need a camera, compass, GPS...etc. I have a phone for that.

Originally Posted by afv011

And neither would you need the faster processor for those tasks.

Looks like my feathered friend beat me to it

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

I have a couple recipes for that. Unless you're mad enough to eat them raw.

I'm raw mad

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by DreamWriter

Both the Nexus 7.2 and Kindle Fire HDX don't have HDMI output and microSD card slot, correct?

Correct; but the Nexus 7.2 does have a SlimPort. With the appropriate adapters, it allows you to output video to HDMI, DVI, VGA, and DisplayPort. I never output video from a mobile device, so I'm not too familiar with how it works.

[DreamWriter]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Correct; but the Nexus 7.2 does have a SlimPort. With the appropriate adapters, it allows you to output video to HDMI, DVI, VGA, and DisplayPort. I never output video from a mobile device, so I'm not too familiar with how it works.

Thanks, Monkey. I didn't know about the Nexus 7 SlimPort. It looks like the adapter is about $20-$30; that's not too bad.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by afv011

And neither would you need the faster processor for those tasks.

For some games coming on Android the processor will be awesome to use. All I can say is they look like something you would play on a Game console instead of the cheap games we have now.

I prefer the Kindle Fire over other tablets. Google Play would be nice but not necessary because I can sideload my apps and actually prefer to do it that way as it gives me more control.

[spellbanisher]

The issue of which tablets can do more is not as relevant to me as which tablet can i do the things that i want in the most comfortable way at the most reasonable price. What do i want?

Read Amazon books and the occasional google book. Ostensibly, this would be an advantage for the nexus, which allows me to read kindle books through the app. On my current kf hd i've already installed the apks that allow me to use play books, and i don't see why i wouldn't be able to do that with the hdx. With the kindle fire i get greater functionality with kindle books than with the kindle android app. With the fire i can also see the daily and monthly deals for books. Slight advantage fire.

Surf the web with a flash capable browser. Neither brand comes stocked with flash. The google play store has the advantage of coming with the dolphin browser, but i can sideload dolphin on the kindle fire. However, the dolphin browser can be buggy at times on my kindle fire, and presuming that it works more smoothly on the nexus(since it works more smoothly on my android phone) Slight advantage nexus.

Annotate pdfs and read word docs. I use ezpdf for both my fire and my android phone and presumably i'd use it for the nexus as well. I'd use officesuit on both devices and i presume it would work just as well on the nexus as it does on the fire. Draw.

Watch amazon instant videos, since i have prime and my video library is all amazon. Advantage fire.

Watch netflix and youtube videos. Draw.

Upload annotated pdfs to a cloud based storage. My preferred cloud service is dropbox, which is not available in the amazon app store. However, it can easily be added from the dropbox website. Draw.

I also like to use stumbleupon, evernote, and greader, which are available in both stores. Draw.

In terms of content, slight edge to amazon.

The next thing that would matter is form factor and ui. I prefer the form factor of the kindle fire hd to the nexus, but i'm not sure about the hdx. Ui is not so obviously in favor of nexus as one would think. I actually like the carousel, especially the recommendations as the bottom, which has resulted in the purchase of several books. The one flaw is the inability to organize my kindle books into collections, but i can't do that on the nexus either. The only widget i use is the music player on my phone, and i don't use my tablet for music. I couldn't care less about wall papers.

Everything else for all intents is purposes is about equal to me. Same screen. Same price. And nothing that i do would take advantage of the differences in processor speed.

The big difference is that i prefer the form factor of the kindle fire over the nexus and anything that i want to do on my tablet i can do on the fire, which is not true for the nexus.

There isn't much in the hdx that incentivizes me to upgrade now. The improved battery life, cloud collections, and lighter weight are all considerable advantages, but not so significant to spend $229 plus tax. When the battery life on my current kindle starts to get really bad i'll probably upgrade to whatever bargain option of the fire amazon will be selling.

[Mivo]

Long-term support is an aspect. Amazon seems to phase out their devices fast, cf. the one-year old previous model not even getting the new version of Amazon's proprietary OS. Right at release, the KFHDX's OS will be based on an Android version that came out in February. Android improvements may well translate to performance increases in some instances.

The extra processor speed of the KFHDX is definitely nice, but given the choice between that and frequent updates plus the knowledge that I'll be able to use the next major Android version, the latter is more appealing to me. Other non-Nexus Android devices have the same drawback.

It's a matter of preference, though. I generally enjoy the "bleeding edge" more than the "toaster approach". I feel that the Fire is a step up from an iOS device in terms of "freedom", but it's a bit of an half-arsed step nonetheless. You're still locked in and you still have less choice.

Overall, though, I think both the Nexus 7 (2013) and the new Fire are astonishing pieces of hardware, and it's amazing how far and fast tablets have come in just a handful of years.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by spellbanisher

The one flaw is the inability to organize my kindle books into collections, but i can't do that on the nexus either.

If you're a calibre user you should be able to organise your books into Collections very easily. To the best of my knowledge the Calibre Companion app, works very nicely on standard Android devices like the Nexus.