NBCNEWS.com is full of pod people so their "love" is more restrained.
They *loathe* the ads. (Which, considering what funds *their* website, is amusing.)
http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/ga...evolved-993484
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The reading experience on the new Kindle Fire HD is far better than on the original. The pixels are tighter, making for a near-"Retina" display, where you can't see the dots. If you, like me, read on a tablet at night (ideally with white text on a black background), you will appreciate the HD's ability to turn the dimmer way down low, so that your eyes feel less strain in the dark. And the screen's contrast is higher while glare is reduced. You're not going to love it in the bright light of a summer day, but in most situations, words are easier to enjoy.
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Looking at all of the Fire HD's software, though, I don't get a sense of the design language, like I do on Microsoft's Windows 8 and Windows Phone products. Nor can I tell exactly how ambitious Amazon is about breeding first-party software, like Apple does. Yes, there's email and calendar, but when I went to jot down some notes, I couldn't find a way to do it. Even the included (but third-party) OfficeSuite app proved no use, despite its name.
Maybe a 7-inch tablet isn't really for doing stuff, it's just for consuming media. An honest notion. But what happens when the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD comes out? More physically resembling an iPad, it will have a harder time justifying its lack of activity.
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But what if — and I'm just spitballing here — what if Apple puts out an 8-inch iPad for $249? Then you'd get basically the same content — and a whole lot more — on a slightly larger screen, for $50 more. (And you'd be able to try it out in an Apple store before you bought it.)
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iPad mini at $249? Maybe.
I'm thinking $349, myself.
We'll see if Apple is up for some price-based competition in hardware soon enough.