HD Kindle Fire HD2 - First Impressions

[Blossom]

I bought one on Cyber Monday for $119. The first thing I noticed is it has a nice wide bezel on it perfect for little hands to hold and not turn pages. The display is warmer than the HDX 7's blue tint. Software wise everything looks just like a HDX just no Mayday button!

Yay!! I found Mayday to be something I wouldn't ever use. The two times I did when I was trying out the HDX the people were clueless and I had to help them.

It has Goodreads integration and all the extra Text to Speech voices can be downloaded. It has X-Ray Music and Movies. The buttons are the same too. Other than form factor, weight and hardware there isn't any difference from the HDX.

The text rendering between the HD2 and the HDX 7 is almost the same. I was shocked!

The sound on the HD is much better than the HDX 7. It's louder no need for a case to amplify the sound. I listened to it play music all day and had to turn volume down several times. On the HDX I had it near max to hear anything when it was out its case and this was on all 3 that I owned.

I saved the best for last No blue border! It uses normal LEDs. There is some light bleed on one side that's barely noticeable when on a black background but on lighter backgrounds not noticeable at all. My first Kindle Fire has a similar edge to it. The N7.2 I own has no light bleed whatsoever.

I bought the Poetic Slimline case ($5) for it but it fits my Official Kindle zip Sleeve despite reviews saying it doesn't You just have to lightly tug the zipper away from the top corner and it zips right up. I like having options.

All in all I am very happy with my Kindle Fire HD2 I really like it much better than the HDX 7s I owned.

[mcrow]

My wife went with the HD2 on black friday and i got the HDX, we will let you know how we think they compare.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by mcrow

My wife went with the HD2 on black friday and i got the HDX, we will let you know how we think they compare.

I went through 3 HDXs if you have been following my other thread my main problem was the blue border on the HDX 7 which drove me nuts. I couldn't never put up with it after buying a Nexus 7. I on a whim bought the KFHD2 and I am so glad I did. I am a Kindle girl and I wanted a Kindle Fire as my husband has my old one and would not give it back.

The KFHD2 is the successor to the Last's years Kindle Fire not last year's HD model. The form factor is very different between the two. No Camera, Microphone or HDMI port but I never use those.

[spellbanisher]

How does it compare to your Nexus?

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by spellbanisher

How does it compare to your Nexus?

There really is no comparison. The Nexus 7.2 is a tablet with all the bells and whistles a Android tablet should have.

Now I said that let me compare a few things.

The Kindle app on the N7.2 I really like but it has a brightness bug that Amazon refuses to acknowledge so you must use Screen Dim to read your books. It has only one font which is Georgia. Not a problem because I embed my fonts. The margin isn't as wide as the KFs but the line spacing works correctly on the app unlike the Kindle Fire 2013 which spaces the lines way too much! Personal Documents work better on the app as well.

The Amazon music app works fine but it does not sort by genre. This is my biggest peeve because the iOS version does. The KFs do sort by genre and has a nicer interface all together.

Audible is nicer on the Kindle Fire and it has Immersion Reading which non Kindle Fires do not so you can read and listen as the same time.

The text rending on the N7.2 is superior to any tablet I have played with over the holidays.

There is no Google Play on the Kindle Fire so you have to sideload and here's the pain more and more developers are putting Google License checks on their apps which means it wont work on the Kindle Fire.

I have not tested the sound on the Nexus 7.2 yet I don't why I just been using it to read.

The Kindle Fire has a gaming circle and uses Game coins for in app purchases so that means game bought at Amazon app store for the Kindle Fire wont work on other tablets.

The Nexus 7.2 is fast, is light, slim and just plain gorgeous. If you had to go with only one the Nexus 7 wins. However if you want a media consumption device and own a ton of Amazon content like I do the Kindle Fire is the better choice. I got the best of both worlds so I am ecstatic!

I can't compare battery life yet as I only had the KFHD2 for one day. It's charging right now because it did a firmware update then had to download all my contents which is extensive. I think my Archive is nearing 7000 now then there is the music which I have 500 Albums on the cloud that I either bought or uploaded. I use it for 6 hours to play music and it was on 20% when I put it on the charger. It was on 65% when I first turned it on. Not bad at all!

[mcrow]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I went through 3 HDXs if you have been following my other thread my main problem was the blue border on the HDX 7 which drove me nuts. I couldn't never put up with it after buying a Nexus 7. I on a whim bought the KFHD2 and I am so glad I did. I am a Kindle girl and I wanted a Kindle Fire as my husband has my old one and would not give it back.

The KFHD2 is the successor to the Last's years Kindle Fire not last year's HD model. The form factor is very different between the two. No Camera, Microphone or HDMI port but I never use those.

I'm pretty sure the blue haze on the edge won't bother me but I can see where it would bother some people.

My wife has no use for the camera, microphone or HDMI port either which is why she went with the HD2.

[tomsem]

I was prepared to sit out this year on new Kindles, but left open the (as I felt) strong possibility that there would be another deep discount offer on the new Fire HD. So Amazon came through with that, and I ordered one Sunday (I won't be home to open the box until Friday). Thanks for the encouraging report, Blossom! Sounds even better than I was expecting in terms of the screen and sound.

I really did not like the blue bleed I saw on the HDX at BB, I doubt I'd have any use for Mayday, and lack of MiMo and the low power reading mode seems no great tragedy, so for me the HD seems to be a better value.

While it replaces the Fire 2G in the 'lineup' it does offer significant pluses over last year's Fire HD, if you can overlook lack of mic/cam/HDMI (as I can: I don't expect this to be as versatile as something like the Nexus 7 or iPad, which cost a lot more): Android 4.2.2 instead of 4.0.2, Mojito features, narrower, lighter, faster, better button placement, not to mention lower price points. Though I'd stay away from the 8GB model, which seems insanely limited for storage.

I'll want to explore this: http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20.../#.Up7YY2RDurk and of course get Dropbox and Mantano on there at least. Beyond that I don't expect to side-load that many apps.

[booklover6]

Blossom, thanks for the report. I find it shocking that the top of the line HDX has so many problems, and is bested by the "budget" HD. We are happy with last year's HD. Those will be the last Fires we get, most likely.

My son just tried out the HDMI cord to TV last night (the package was still sealed) and loved it. I might have to get a second cord for the other one. That turns out to be a really nice feature.

PS I wish there was a Nexus 7.2 First Impressions thread. I have no where to do my raving!

[tubemonkey]

I bought two more 1st gen Fire HD's because they had cams and only cost $100 each. The only drawback is Amazon's refusal to upgrade the OS. I for one refuse to play their game of having to buy a new device just to get the latest feature set. I'll wait until they go on clearance.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Blossom, thanks for the report. I find it shocking that the top of the line HDX has so many problems, and is bested by the "budget" HD. We are happy with last year's HD. Those will be the last Fires we get, most likely.

My son just tried out the HDMI cord to TV last night (the package was still sealed) and loved it. I might have to get a second cord for the other one. That turns out to be a really nice feature.

PS I wish there was a Nexus 7.2 First Impressions thread. I have no where to do my raving!

Start one in the Android Forum. It's where any Nexus 7 threads go.
the 8.9 model of the HDX is great. I hear it's breathtaking. I don't why Amazon choose to do blue LEDs on the 7" I would have gladly paid more to get rid of the ugly blue border.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I was prepared to sit out this year on new Kindles, but left open the (as I felt) strong possibility that there would be another deep discount offer on the new Fire HD. So Amazon came through with that, and I ordered one Sunday (I won't be home to open the box until Friday). Thanks for the encouraging report, Blossom! Sounds even better than I was expecting in terms of the screen and sound.

I really did not like the blue bleed I saw on the HDX at BB, I doubt I'd have any use for Mayday, and lack of MiMo and the low power reading mode seems no great tragedy, so for me the HD seems to be a better value.

While it replaces the Fire 2G in the 'lineup' it does offer significant pluses over last year's Fire HD, if you can overlook lack of mic/cam/HDMI (as I can: I don't expect this to be as versatile as something like the Nexus 7 or iPad, which cost a lot more): Android 4.2.2 instead of 4.0.2, Mojito features, narrower, lighter, faster, better button placement, not to mention lower price points. Though I'd stay away from the 8GB model, which seems insanely limited for storage.

I'll want to explore this: http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20.../#.Up7YY2RDurk and of course get Dropbox and Mantano on there at least. Beyond that I don't expect to side-load that many apps.

The Nexus 7 is awesome! The display is amazing. I really like the KFHD2 I just notice one thing last night it gets warm at times on the left side. You don't have to watch a video or game just general browsing or use on certain apps and it feels like a hand warmer.

It's a great tablet for Amazon consumption.

Originally Posted by Blossom

Start one in the Android Forum. It's where any Nexus 7 threads go.
the 8.9 model of the HDX is great. I hear it's breathtaking. I don't why Amazon choose to do blue LEDs on the 7" I would have gladly paid more to get rid of the ugly blue border.

People in this area of the forum seem to be a lot more open minded and polite than the fanboys in the Android forums. Just an observation. I really like my Nexus 7.2 as far as Android tablets go. It is wide open compared to the Fires which are little more than advertisements for Amazon.

BTW, do you know of a good video player that will play ripped DVDs? I ripped a few DVDs of Christmas movies last year and played them on my Fire HD. I copied a couple of them to my Nexus 7.2 but the native video player wouldn't play them. I installed Wondershare and it played the menu screen of the DVD files so I thought it would play the movies. I should have checked before leaving on holiday travels. Turns out it wouldn't play the movies either. I never have problems with my iPad, but Android can be a PITA with native apps not really working right.

ETA: The files I ripped are *.VOB, *.IFO, and *.BUP.

[sirmaru]

Blossom,

Glad you like your new Fire HD2 and Nexus. It appears all of us here are spending more money on all these devices than we could ever dream of spending on eBooks.

I can see why Amazon may be thinking of only a 6 month schedule for new generation eReaders rather than the old 12 month schedule.

@jswinden: Why spend time ripping DVD's when Netflix already has most of them ripped and can play on Kindles, iPads, TV's and PC's? All the movies and documentaries I watch are from Netflix. Plus, they have software to know exactly what we want to watch next without us wasting time looking for something. They even email me now the title of my next choice knowing exactly what I like. Brand new releases are now available in TWO MONTHS.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by jswinden

People in this area of the forum seem to be a lot more open minded and polite than the fanboys in the Android forums. Just an observation. I really like my Nexus 7.2 as far as Android tablets go. It is wide open compared to the Fires which are little more than advertisements for Amazon.

BTW, do you know of a good video player that will play ripped DVDs? I ripped a few DVDs of Christmas movies last year and played them on my Fire HD. I copied a couple of them to my Nexus 7.2 but the native video player wouldn't play them. I installed Wondershare and it played the menu screen of the DVD files so I thought it would play the movies. I should have checked before leaving on holiday travels. Turns out it wouldn't play the movies either. I never have problems with my iPad, but Android can be a PITA with native apps not really working right.

ETA: The files I ripped are *.VOB, *.IFO, and *.BUP.

Try MoboPlayer

I notice we got alot of techy people in Android area. I think the Nexus devices should have their own forum.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by sirmaru

Blossom,

Glad you like your new Fire HD2 and Nexus. It appears all of us here are spending more money on all these devices than we could ever dream of spending on eBooks.

I can see why Amazon may be thinking of only a 6 month schedule for new generation eReaders rather than the old 12 month schedule.

@jswinden: Why spend time ripping DVD's when Netflix already has most of them ripped and can play on Kindles, iPads, TV's and PC's? All the movies and documentaries I watch are from Netflix. Plus, they have software to know exactly what we want to watch next without us wasting time looking for something. They even email me now the title of my next choice knowing exactly what I like. Brand new releases are now available in TWO MONTHS.

I have spent over $5000 on ebooks or maybe more I have no idea anymore. If I combine my devices I maybe get close to $3000.

NetFlix doesn't have alot of quality Christmas Programming.