Amazon Launches the Alexa Tablets

[Frogm4n]

Amazon has published their developer documentation that claims 180 ppi, so that could just be a rounding choice. It's a bit odd that they don't have a number for the Fire HD 8 models, just tvdpi or hdpi.

https://developer.amazon.com/docs/de...fications.html

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by haertig

I used an HD10 Fire tablet for a long time. It was fine for watching movies, doing Zoom calls, and reading email. But not much else. Even basic web surfing was a poor experience. You can run Alexa on a basic HD10 tablet too, if you want. I bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ tablet a little over a year ago. That's a low-end Samsung model. But it absolutely blows away the Fire HD10. Not even in the same ballpark. And the A9+ only cost $179 with 8Gb ram and 256Gb storage (256Gb was a rare find in this tablet back then, and the $179 was an excellent sale price that I just randomly stumbled into). Consider that an HD10 currently costs $155 with 4Gb ram, 32Gb storage, a much lesser CPU, and lower resolution screen.

I've been happily using a Fire Max 11 for the last few years but want to escape Amazon, and the new line of tablets is confirming that I should--they're just too expensive, and since I don't use Alexa now, Alexa+ isn't an inducement. Low-end Samsung is what I'm considering, especially if there's a great Black Friday price.

[mrmikey]

Low-end Samsung is what I'm considering, especially if there's a great Black Friday price.

That's what I went with, A Samsung A11+ CAN$270 from Costco. Saying that, they do have their own bloatware, not as intrusive as scamazons but it's still there. I was going to remove it but although it's doable, there's a few steps involved that I haven't done yet as it's not rearing it's ugly self.....yet.

[Frogm4n]

The Fire Max 11 *just* got added to LineageOS. If you're willing to install a 3rd party ROM you can actually escape Amazon vs what people think is happening by using Fire Toolbox. Prob. give it a while to settle and bug fix, but it's a near future option now.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Frogm4n

The Fire Max 11 *just* got added to LineageOS. If you're willing to install a 3rd party ROM you can actually escape Amazon vs what people think is happening by using Fire Toolbox. Prob. give it a while to settle and bug fix, but it's a near future option now.

Well beyond my limited comprehension and skill set! I bought my tablet in 2023, soon after it was released, and though it still works fine, I'm expecting I'll need to upgrade in the not too distant future. I'd rather have a pure Android tablet than deal with workarounds because of Amazon's limitations.

[haertig]

Looking at the pros and cons of Amazon's Fire tablets, they had one pro (price), and everything else was a con. Now they've gotten rid of the only pro they had. That's a weird marketing strategy IMHO. People will buy an under-performer if it costs a lot less than it's competition. And most would be happy with their purchase. But if it costs MORE than its competition ... who would be crazy enough to buy it?

[Desertway]

Originally Posted by haertig

Looking at the pros and cons of Amazon's Fire tablets, they had one pro (price), and everything else was a con. Now they've gotten rid of the only pro they had. That's a weird marketing strategy IMHO. People will buy an under-performer if it costs a lot less than it's competition. And most would be happy with their purchase. But if it costs MORE than its competition ... who would be crazy enough to buy it?

Agreed. I’ve had several Fire tablets because they were good enough for basic use at that price. I see no advantage to buying these new tablets. Unless, I guess, someone is highly invested in using Alexa Plus.