HD New 2014 Kindle Fires - discuss

[nynaevelan]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Here's a list of 'regressions' I've noticed so far:
- Collections. When viewing a collection, you cannot visually tell which items are on the device. You have to long-tap and see what options you get: if you don't see 'More' options, then it is not on the device.
- TOC panel does not (or almost never does) slide out with left-to-right swipe from left edge, as it does with my HD7(2013). Have to tap to bring up options, then tap the triple-bar (menu) icon. The slideout panel seems balky in other apps, though not to the point of total refusal to slide out (it has only worked one time so far).
- BlueTooth volume is too low (max volume is only just 'normal'), and it really should be a separate volume setting entirely (not the same level as used for the speaker).
- Double-tap never zooms an image. In the past KF8 images could be zoomed this way. Now everything has to be done the 'slow' way: long tap, then tap on zoom icon.
- Magazines. Double tap used to initiate Text mode. now you have to do that through a menu. And when in Text mode, tapping on the 'X' does not close text mode, you have to tap to bring up reading options and then tap the 'X' to return to page mode.
- I have yet to have it stop 'Learning reading speed' and give me 'time to end of chapter'
- the lines of Notes are vertically centered as you type them in (i.e. equal whitespace above and below). It feels like an odd design decision, compared with everything else I've ever used.

Are your apps always available when you turn it on? Mine always seem to disappear when it is idle and I have to wait for them to sync again, which takes anywhere from 10-15 minutes.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by mycurlylocks

I just ordered a HD 6, 16GB Citron from Best Buy.

The date on that one has moved up to Oct 24, on Amazon.

[Scarpad]

received my 16gb Black HD6, its a solid, well built little tablet, I was also impressed by the sound, music sounds pretty good and it has good volume, the screen has a little uneven lighting but its generally very good considering the price, I'm pretty happy with it,.

[booklover6]

Uh oh, my DH just discovered prime music! I wonder if he'll want to borrow my Fire 6, now.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Uh oh, my DH just discovered prime music! I wonder if he'll want to borrow my Fire 6, now.

Throw one in his stocking. HD 6's for the whole family

[ludovicus]

Originally Posted by tomsem

...
- TOC panel does not (or almost never does) slide out with left-to-right swipe from left edge, as it does with my HD7(2013). Have to tap to bring up options, then tap the triple-bar (menu) icon. The slideout panel seems balky in other apps, though not to the point of total refusal to slide out (it has only worked one time so far).

I've had the opposite problem with the TOC panel. It keeps showing up whenever I try to go back a page!

Originally Posted by tomsem

...
- Double-tap never zooms an image. In the past KF8 images could be zoomed this way. Now everything has to be done the 'slow' way: long tap, then tap on zoom icon.

I suppose zooming on pictures must depend on the book (or image resolution/size?). The book I'm currently reading has a couple of pictures in every chapter, and double-tapping the pictures always zooms them.

Originally Posted by tomsem

...
- I have yet to have it stop 'Learning reading speed' and give me 'time to end of chapter'

I'm also having the 'time to read' forever calculating. It worked for a bit at the beginning of the book, and not so much now.

===


Software glitches aside (which I'm hoping get addressed in an update soon) my only hardware nit-pick with the tablet is that the buttons are a bit loud, especially in a very quiet home at night with my wife sleeping next to me... . But that has been addressed with a Poetic Slimline case that just arrived, with it's auto sleep/wake function.

For me, the HD6 is definitely a great upgrade from the 1st gen Fire it replaced. I particularly love the smaller size. (Although I do miss the old Fire's charging-indicator LED.)

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by nynaevelan

Are your apps always available when you turn it on? Mine always seem to disappear when it is idle and I have to wait for them to sync again, which takes anywhere from 10-15 minutes.

The Home page sometimes takes a couple of seconds to refresh, but mostly it doesn't do that. The apps seem to be always there (once they showed up in the first place). I only keep a couple dozen apps on there.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by ludovicus

I suppose zooming on pictures must depend on the book (or image resolution/size?). The book I'm currently reading has a couple of pictures in every chapter, and double-tapping the pictures always zooms them.

I just figured it out: I had Screen Magnifier turned on (in Accessibility), which lets you zoom into any screen with triple tap. When I turn that off, double tap zooms images on both my Fire HD6 and Android phone. On my 2013 Fire HD7, double tap works even if Screen Magnifier is turned on. At least now I know what to report to Amazon. I'm going to leave Screen Magnifier on, and do without double-tap zoom. And maybe they can fix it at some point.

Turning off Screen Magnifier also 'fixed' the issue with toggling between page view and Text View in magazines. But again, it would be nice to have both things work.

I'm having more success with slideout panel. It seems I needed to move my finger more quickly. More like a 'flick'. Still doesn't work with the Kindle app on my phone, except very occasionally.

[tomsem]

Now, about the enhancements that I'm enjoying:
- 'About the Book' with its About the Author, Mentioned in this book
- the new X-Ray layout
- improved GoodReads integration
- Share with any app that registers for sharing (e.g. email, Evernote, Dropbox, OneNote), not just Goodreads/Facebook/Twitter.
- and yes, it was not so long ago that Fire users could not even get Dropbox or OneNote from the Appstore.

Hardware-wise, I appreciate finally having a Fire tablet with a microphone (voice search, voice memos, skype), and the micro-USB port supports OTG (on the go) cable/flash drive, SlimPort dongle for HDMI out. And finally, Amazon will be updating the OS from time to time.

[mycurlylocks]

Originally Posted by booklover6

The date on that one has moved up to Oct 24, on Amazon.

I double checked my Amazon account. They never did cancel my order. My replacement is still showing for late November. So apparently the replacements will be shipped after those who placed the first time orders.

I had placed an order with Best Buy... Amazon did not ship them any colors as expected. They are expecting colors in late November now. So they aren't treating business partners any better.

I figure if I have to wait, I'll just wait on Amazon. I cancelled the Best Buy order.

Tried calling Amazon again, they still won't budge on shipping me an ads-free HD 6. I'm not caving in now and paying the extra for ads-free... for me it's a matter of principle. Apparently their customer service is going down hill, the customer no longer has to be satisfied.

[nynaevelan]

Originally Posted by mycurlylocks

I double checked my Amazon account. They never did cancel my order. My replacement is still showing for late November. So apparently the replacements will be shipped after those who placed the first time orders.

I had placed an order with Best Buy... Amazon did not ship them any colors as expected. They are expecting colors in late November now. So they aren't treating business partners any better.

I figure if I have to wait, I'll just wait on Amazon. I cancelled the Best Buy order.

Tried calling Amazon again, they still won't budge on shipping me an ads-free HD 6. I'm not caving in now and paying the extra for ads-free... for me it's a matter of principle. Apparently their customer service is going down hill, the customer no longer has to be satisfied.

I don't think that is it, I think they just received more orders than they can keep up with. CS has been working with mine trying to get my collections problem fixed on their end. Hopefully they can do it so that I do not have to send mine in because I cannot be without mine for a month. But so far things are working much better. It is even faster and more responsive than befor. But more importantly my collections have stopped doing their disappearing acts, which was quite frustrating.

[tubemonkey]

I'm always amazed at how these large companies underestimate the demand for a new product

[nynaevelan]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I'm always amazed at how these large companies underestimate the demand for a new product

LOL, me too and at $99 WTH did they think was gonna happen? But either way, it is still bad practice not to have a reserve for situations such as curly is experiencing.

[conan50]

I have not seen a bad review of the Fire HD 6" tab yet in major newspapers and tech magazines. I'm not sure Amazon knew how popular these would be. Look back a few months and the speculation was that everyone wanted larger tablets, that small tabs were not selling as well. Who would have thought a few years ago that anyone wanted a 6" iPhone? Much less it having record sales.
Sometimes production simply can't handle demand. My guess is we are going to see that here, at least until well after Christmas. About 2 years ago I was looking for a small tab around Christmas and the pickings were few. I would not wait to get one of these much longer if I wanted one for Christmas.
Off Topic but interesting:
http://www.androidheadlines.com/2014...ity-score.html

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by nynaevelan

LOL, me too and at $99 WTH did they think was gonna happen? But either way, it is still bad practice not to have a reserve for situations such as curly is experiencing.

I bet other companies are cursing their lack of vision for not offering a 6" tablet. Especially Nook. I am loving my Fire 6, so glad I got that instead of the Voyage.