Amazon Releases New Fire HD 10 (2017) Tablet

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Here's an interesting feature. I wonder when they'll add it to other Fire Tabs?

Seems no reason why they wouldn’t.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I suspect that the always listening "Alexa Hands-Free" feature relies on hardware assist to avoid draining the battery.

The solution is to enable it only when it is plugged in. Same as iOS and Siri hands free mode.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by barryem

As for the 10" one, if the speaker is as improved as the screen I'll be interested. I watch a lot of Prime videos and my 8.9" Fire is getting old and has no micro SD slot. I'd like to replace that. But only if the speaker is very good. The speaker on my 7" Fire is pretty poor.

Barry

Have you thought of adding a bluetooth speaker? There are many to choose from. I spent $25 or so on the Anker Soundcore and it's nice. Not "room shaking bass" nice, but it's small, and travels well. And it's certainly a lot better than the speakers in the tablet

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by leebase

Have you thought of adding a bluetooth speaker? There are many to choose from. I spent $25 or so on the Anker Soundcore and it's nice. Not "room shaking bass" nice, but it's small, and travels well. And it's certainly a lot better than the speakers in the tablet

I too have basically given up on the built in speakers in mobile devices. I have a nice 40w Marshall home bluetooth speaker, an Anker bluetooth portable, and a set of Marshall bluetooth headphones.

Even the cheapest bluetooth portables are going to sound better than the built-in speakers on these mobile devices. Let's face it: tiny and feather-light is never going to provide "big sound." Especially when manufacturers purposely limit them to CYA volumes.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Let's face it: tiny and feather-light is never going to provide "big sound." Especially when manufacturers purposely limit them to CYA volumes.

For earbuds and headphones, it's CYA. For phones and tablets, it't to protect the speaker.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

For earbuds and headphones, it's CYA. For phones and tablets, it't to protect the speaker.

Still CYA. They don't have to worry about covering blown speakers under the warranty if there's no way for them to blow.

[booklover6]

It just occurred to me that the new Fire HD 10 is like a cheaper Echo Show, without a stand. Agree?

[Josieb1]

I have the Fire HD8 from 2016. That has a Quad Core 1.3, the new HD10 has a Quad Core 1.8. Plus the dpi jumps from 189 to 224. Does anyone have any idea if those two things will be a noticeable improvement? I'm very tempted for the larger screen but not sure if the jumps will be worth the price tag for a new fire, plus case and screen protector. Thanks

[barryem]

Originally Posted by leebase

Have you thought of adding a bluetooth speaker? There are many to choose from. I spent $25 or so on the Anker Soundcore and it's nice. Not "room shaking bass" nice, but it's small, and travels well. And it's certainly a lot better than the speakers in the tablet

I have a bluetooth speaker. With the 8.9" Fire I don't need it. I like that convenience.

Barry

[Dent-Fixer]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

You're still saddled with Fire OS/Fire launcher (which you can't replace since the advent of Alexa, as far as I know).

Of course I realize for some people Fire OS is a feature rather than a bug.

Uggh. I can't get past Fire OS. If you could somehow flash it with stock Android, I would be all over this. I am sure a lot of people feel this way For the price though, it is almost worth trying to live with.

[Andy_D]

Originally Posted by Dent-Fixer

Uggh. I can't get past Fire OS. If you could somehow flash it with stock Android, I would be all over this.

What is it about the Fire OS that's so terrible?

I never swipe left or right, so I never see or use any of the screens designed to keep you in the Amazon ecosystem. The only screen I ever see is the home screen and that one resembles the simple desktop of desktop OSes with icons for apps I installed arranged in the order that I want them. I group some of them in folders. I put all the Android apps in a folder that I never use. I use a file manager (Es File Explorer) to open videos and books etc. It's not perfect, but, imo, it's simple and servicable.

So my question is not rhetorical. Why is stock Android so much better?

P.S. I recently tested a development reported a couple of months ago in XDA developers that shows how Amazon apps -- all the crapware -- can be deleted without rooting via a simple ADB command. It works. So it shouldn't be necessary to even have a never-use folder on the desktop or have the system be slowed down by never used apps running in the background.

[Dent-Fixer]

Originally Posted by Andy_D

What is it about the Fire OS that's so terrible?

I never swipe left or right, so I never see or use any of the screens designed to keep you in the Amazon ecosystem. The only screen I ever see is the home screen and that one resembles the simple desktop of desktop OSes with icons for apps I installed arranged in the order that I want them. I group some of them in folders. I put all the Android apps in a folder that I never use. I use a file manager (Es File Explorer) to open videos and books etc. It's not perfect, but, imo, it's simple and servicable.

So my question is not rhetorical. Why is stock Android so much better?

P.S. I recently tested a development reported a couple of months ago in XDA developers that shows how Amazon apps -- all the crapware -- can be deleted without rooting via a simple ADB command. It works. So it shouldn't be necessary to even have a never-use folder on the desktop or have the system be slowed down by never used apps running in the background.

I am not sure I can really pinpoint one thing to be honest. Maybe it is that I am more comfortable with Android. Especially stock. I usually buy Amazon tablets for my kids and I just do not like the swiping between games, videos, books, etc. It seems like that should be a good layout but, for me, I just find it clunky. I think it has to do with the different sized icons every time you swipe left or right. There is no uniformity. I even replaced all my fire tvs with shield tvs because the interface felt clunky to me.

I am familiar with ADB commands from messing with the fire tvs so, maybe I will play around with some of the tablets I have.

[DiapDealer]

Whether on a PC, Tablet, or phone, the vast majority of my time is spent using a handful of programs/apps. I don't do a lot of customization, tweaking, or even personalizing on my devices. I simply use them. As such, I'm equally comfortable launching the programs I need on Linux, Windows, Mac, Android, FireOS, etc, ... . For me, it all boils down to clicking a shortcut on a desktop of some kind. I have my own preferences, sure. But I don't really have much in the way of aversions when it comes to using various program launching shells. Nothing I feel the need to get worked up over, I guess. I may notice the fork is bent, but it's not going to cause me the slightest grief using it to get the mashed potatoes in my mouth.

[Blossom]

Does anyone know the PPI yet?

Sent from my XT1528

[Atunah]

Originally Posted by Blossom

Does anyone know the PPI yet?

Sent from my XT1528

It says 224 ppi, on the bottom of the product page. The comparison chart.

I have stock android tablet, nexus, I have fire tablets, I have an android phone. I operate all of them about the same way. I never fiddle with anything, rooting and such are above my paygrade anyway. I use my Fire 8 more than I have used my Nexus. I put what I use on the home page and in folders just like on my android phone. Most stuff if its not in amazon app store, I can usually transfer with ES explorer from my phone over to the fire. Not everything of course, but then I am not a heavy app user on my fire. I use it mostly for playing games.