How is the kindle fire 7 as a reading tablet?

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by NickyWithNook

I have Dropbox on my fire. If you google "put Dropbox on Kindle Fire" you should find directions to do that. I also have the Nook app and Scribd on it.

Last time I checked you can install Dropbox directly from Amazon Appstore for at least some Fire tablets (my HD6 for example). For some reason, I had to side-load it for my Fire Phone.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by Tarana

As mentioned by another poster, the disadvantage of the Fire over other tablets is that you are locked down to Amazon unless you sideload. I can read Kindle, Barnes&Noble, Kobo on my Nook HD+ (as I could on any other tablet). I can only download from Amazon's cloud on the Fire. Not too annoying for me since I have Calibre and can load it, but I cannot benefit from cloud libraries with this restriction.

With some trouble you can install the same free apps as on any other tablet.

Also you can use the browser on any Kindle to navigate to Gutenberg.org and click to download. Do you count this as 'sideloading' ?

[ensyed]

Thank you everyone. My sister loves it for reading. Now I wish I had bought on Black Friday to give as gifts. Wonder if amazon will run the sale again.

[rdfry]

There are many things you can do with this tablet. You can just use it as is, you can put the play store on it, you can root it, you can install a different Os on it and use it as a real Android tablet. For me Fire Os isn't useable, so I just flashed CM 12.1 on it and now I have a cheap tablet I can use on construction sites instead of my $400 Tab Pro

[Sydney's Mom]

I really like it. I found getting the light on the PW just right-no eye strain, but low enough for sleep-kind of difficult. So I switched to the blue shade. Aside from issues with getting the books onto the fire, I have no issues with reading at night.

[KimberlyFDR]

Does anyone have experience with reading comics on the Fire 7?

My Kindle Fire 7HD is pretty much dead (battery drains fast, very low uptime when unplugged, freezes frequently, etc.) so I've been debating whether I need to get a new tablet or just rely on my phone / Chromebook for activities. However, it would be nice to have a dedicated tablet to read my comic subscriptions on if possible and since Amazon once again has the Fire 7 on sale I was debating it.

I know the display would be lower than my 7HD and there has been talk of lower rendering for Kindle reading, but how about comics? Is the Fire 7 serviceable for that purpose?

[Sydney's Mom]

I will try to put some comics on it and see. What app do you use to read comics?

[KimberlyFDR]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

I will try to put some comics on it and see. What app do you use to read comics?

I buy comics from both Amazon directly and Comixology (which replicates Amazon purchases now).

Thank you for checking!

[Sydney's Mom]

Problem-if you put it on the SD card, you have to use ES to find it. Once you open it, it may or may not show in Recent.

I put walking Dead on it. It worked fine-you can do panel by panel just like the Fire. And it showed in Recent. The other magazines, which I bought, went onto the SD card, and I could fine them, but even after I open them, they don't show up in Recent. I have to remember which one I was reading, and go back to ES to find it. I actually like it for magazines, though. Because of the SD card-I have a lot. If I get them from my library, I can just download them into Zinio.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by KimberlyFDR

I buy comics from both Amazon directly and Comixology (which replicates Amazon purchases now).

Thank you for checking!

I've never purchased anything from Comixology, but since they linked libraries, I prefer to use their apps for reading the 'graphic novel' content I've purchased from Amazon (and the Comixology web browser reader works very well as well on devices for which there is no app (laptops etc). But:

Is everything that's available at Comixology also available to purchase at Amazon?

I assume purchases made at Comixology do not show up in your Kindle library (maybe that feature will arrive some day). But I am just wondering if there is content I'm missing out on because I am not shopping at Comixology.

[KimberlyFDR]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

I put walking Dead on it. It worked fine-you can do panel by panel just like the Fire. And it showed in Recent.

Thanks for checking! Glad to hear it holds up for comic viewing

[KimberlyFDR]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Is everything that's available at Comixology also available to purchase at Amazon? I assume purchases made at Comixology do not show up in your Kindle library (maybe that feature will arrive some day). But I am just wondering if there is content I'm missing out on because I am not shopping at Comixology.

There are Comixology exclusives that aren't replicated on Amazon.

For my comics, I usually check Comixology first to see what the price is and then compare to Amazon. So far, they tend to either be equal or Amazon is lower (especially with collected editions). However, there may be times when Comixology has exclusive editions or they're offering their free issues that might not be price-matched on Amazon.

[pjmpjm]

Originally Posted by Ricky D'Angelo

Thanks for that. I now prefer to use blue shade with a sepia background to read at night rather than the night mode setting. Adjusting the brightness to 50% also helps to give a nice effect.

Exactly what I decided on with my HD 10. Very restful when I'm reading in bed & want to go to sleep soon.

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

Problem-if you put it on the SD card, you have to use ES to find it. Once you open it, it may or may not show in Recent.

I put walking Dead on it. It worked fine-you can do panel by panel just like the Fire. And it showed in Recent. The other magazines, which I bought, went onto the SD card, and I could fine them, but even after I open them, they don't show up in Recent. I have to remember which one I was reading, and go back to ES to find it. I actually like it for magazines, though. Because of the SD card-I have a lot. If I get them from my library, I can just download them into Zinio.

Does the version of Zinio on the Fire save the magazine files to the external SD card? The version from the Play Store stores them to the internal SD card even if you install the app to the SD card.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

Does the version of Zinio on the Fire save the magazine files to the external SD card? The version from the Play Store stores them to the internal SD card even if you install the app to the SD card.

It stores the magazines on the internal storage of the Fire, unfortunately.