Fire HD8 Plus first look

tomsem · 07-27-2020, 01:38 PM

This is something like the 7th Fire tablet I’ve bought (I returned one for a refund), Price was about $70 after trade-in discount, which is less than I’ve paid for any previous one, and the specs are better than any previous one. So, ‘a good value’ on that score.

My previous Fire was HD8 (2017 7th gen). Its battery capacity was degraded, and drained quickly in sleep mode. I think this was the result of having it in the Dock accessory almost continuously for a couple of years. In any case, it was not in my regular ‘device rotation’, in part because of this issue.

The improvements the Fire HD8 Plus brings relative to the older Fire are: 3GB RAM, 2GHz quad core CPU, USB-C port and wireless charging and a newer version of FireOS/Android. The wireless capability is a convenience for me as I have several wireless charging pads around, and I prefer to use those rather than wires.

Display is still mediocre 1280x800 resolution, and it has the same, not very customizable Fire UI as my previous Fire. And still an inferior App Store (I would rather use Libby than Overdrive, but it isn’t there). So a pretty boring device. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as I don’t plan to do anything with it other than read Kindle books (the Fire is the only device where the Kindle app supports TTS, for example, apart from very old Kindles).

I do wish they would include the same set of dictionaries that come with Kindle, in particular Russian. The 3rd party dictionary I purchased from Kindle Store is useless. The Translate feature works, but it also creates a highlight which then needs to be removed (a complaint also applying to Kindle).

HLS · 09-03-2020, 06:50 PM

I got the new HD 8. Not the plus. Its noticeably better than past versions of the tablet. Build feels more solid. Faster too. Better built in wallpaper. feels more like a tablet should be. You can still download google play but you need to enable silk browser to download 3rd party content under settings.

Barbara1955 · 09-06-2020, 03:47 PM

Can you read & listen to the audible book at the Same time ...immersive Reading?

stumped · 09-07-2020, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

Can you read & listen to the audible book at the Same time ...immersive Reading?

In theory yes, on any tablet running kindle apps. Should not matter if it is Amazon hardware or not. I would check for you but I down own any matched ebook audiobook pairs

I do know that the kindle android app always shows a banner link for buying the audiobook, so I would be amazed if immersive reading is not available

stumped · 09-07-2020, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

Can you read & listen to the audible book at the Same time ...immersive Reading?

In theory yes, on any tablet running kindle apps. Should not matter if it is Amazon hardware or not. I would check for you but I down own any matched ebook audiobook pairs

I do know that the kindle android app always shows a banner link for buying the audiobook, so I would be amazed if immersive reading is not available

Also ,that tablet has a hands free docking option and Alexa. I guess Alexa can read out your audible books, but again I don't own any in my Amazon account to test with

tomsem · 09-07-2020, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

Can you read & listen to the audible book at the Same time ...immersive Reading?

Yes. ‘Immersion Reading’.

peaceridge · 11-06-2020, 09:40 AM

Can you set touch zones so that both touch on the left and on the right page forward?

stumped · 11-06-2020, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peaceridge

Can you set touch zones so that both touch on the left and on the right page forward?

Depends what reader and what format you use.
But with Amazon books in the kindle for android app, no. You cannot change the touch zones

peaceridge · 11-06-2020, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumped

Depends what reader and what format you use.
But with Amazon books in the kindle for android app, no. You cannot change the touch zones

Thanks. No perfect reader, just ones less irritating. I so wish I had kept up with the field so I could write my own ereader software!

leebase · 12-16-2020, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peaceridge

Thanks. No perfect reader, just ones less irritating. I so wish I had kept up with the field so I could write my own ereader software!

I use FBReader which has Android and iOS versions. Works great on the Kindle Fire Tablets, but you do have to install Google Play services and Google app store.

It has 3 tap zones on each side. I've set 5 of them to forward and one back

peaceridge · 12-17-2020, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leebase

I use FBReader which has Android and iOS versions. Works great on the Kindle Fire Tablets, but you do have to install Google Play services and Google app store.

It has 3 tap zones on each side. I've set 5 of them to forward and one back

Unlike the IOS version, the Android version does NOT have the tap zones, only 1 choice allowed to go forward. That's why it is no longer my ereader of choice.

6charlong · 11-04-2021, 09:40 PM

I'm late coming to this thread but I just noticed it.

You can use the volume up and volume down buttons to page through Kindle books on a 2020 HD8.

07-27-2020, 01:38 PM	#1
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,483 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	Fire HD8 Plus first look This is something like the 7th Fire tablet I’ve bought (I returned one for a refund), Price was about $70 after trade-in discount, which is less than I’ve paid for any previous one, and the specs are better than any previous one. So, ‘a good value’ on that score. My previous Fire was HD8 (2017 7th gen). Its battery capacity was degraded, and drained quickly in sleep mode. I think this was the result of having it in the Dock accessory almost continuously for a couple of years. In any case, it was not in my regular ‘device rotation’, in part because of this issue. The improvements the Fire HD8 Plus brings relative to the older Fire are: 3GB RAM, 2GHz quad core CPU, USB-C port and wireless charging and a newer version of FireOS/Android. The wireless capability is a convenience for me as I have several wireless charging pads around, and I prefer to use those rather than wires. Display is still mediocre 1280x800 resolution, and it has the same, not very customizable Fire UI as my previous Fire. And still an inferior App Store (I would rather use Libby than Overdrive, but it isn’t there). So a pretty boring device. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as I don’t plan to do anything with it other than read Kindle books (the Fire is the only device where the Kindle app supports TTS, for example, apart from very old Kindles). I do wish they would include the same set of dictionaries that come with Kindle, in particular Russian. The 3rd party dictionary I purchased from Kindle Store is useless. The Translate feature works, but it also creates a highlight which then needs to be removed (a complaint also applying to Kindle). Last edited by tomsem; 07-29-2020 at 04:00 PM.

11-04-2021, 09:40 PM	#12
6charlong friendly lurker Posts: 896 Karma: 2436026 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: US Device: Kindle, nook, Apple and Kobo	Try the paging buttons I'm late coming to this thread but I just noticed it. You can use the volume up and volume down buttons to page through Kindle books on a 2020 HD8.

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09-03-2020, 06:50 PM	#2
HLS Wizard Posts: 2,032 Karma: 15107670 Join Date: May 2017 Device: Sage, Scribe, Boox Note 2 Plus, iPad Pros and Samsungs S6,S7,S8	I got the new HD 8. Not the plus. Its noticeably better than past versions of the tablet. Build feels more solid. Faster too. Better built in wallpaper. feels more like a tablet should be. You can still download google play but you need to enable silk browser to download 3rd party content under settings.

09-06-2020, 03:47 PM	#3
Barbara1955 Non-Techy Posts: 4,454 Karma: 15499273 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: WV---USA Device: Samsung Cell Phone & Amazon Fires & Kobo eReaders	Can you read & listen to the audible book at the Same time ...immersive Reading?

11-06-2020, 09:40 AM	#7
peaceridge Guru Posts: 995 Karma: 4407864 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: North Carolina Device: Kobo Aura1, Nexus7.2, Galaxy Tab A 8.4, Ipad Air & Mini 6	Can you set touch zones so that both touch on the left and on the right page forward?