![]() ![]() The new Kindle Fire HD feels like a tablet that’s especially aimed at consuming content – I hope you can see the distinction.Īll the different categories are split into three areas, covering stuff that’s stored in your Amazon cloud, stuff that’s stored on your device and stuff you might like to go and purchase from the store. The old Kindle Fire HD felt like a content consumption device that could also show your email or browse the web. Text links at the top take you through the different content categories, while below there’s a carousel of thumbnails for the most recently used or played apps, eBooks, media, web pages and documents.īelow that there’s a grid of apps, including all the core email, calendar, browser and contacts apps, which you can flick into centre-frame with a single swipe upwards. To my mind, it’s a big improvement on the old Fire OS, blending the content-centric approach of the old system with the more traditional app-centred approach you’d get on a regular Android tablet. The 2013 Fire HD comes running Fire OS 3.0, or “Mojito” as Amazon likes to call it. Even then, we can’t think of many other tablets on which you can watch a TV programme without headphones and still get sucked in. It’s only when you try music that the limitations become apparent a thin treble, a congested mid-range and a tight but limited bass. Personally, I’d take this screen over the Hudl’s every time.įew tablets deliver decent sound, and that’s doubly true of 7in models, yet the Fire HD does better than most, dishing out movie soundtracks with more power and a wider stereo spread than you might expect. Unless you’re used to a Retina display-equipped iPad or a similar Android tablet the Fire HD still looks HD. HD video and photos still look great, and text in digital newspapers, eBooks, web pages and magazines doesn’t look noticeably blocky. Subjectively, the Fire HD’s screen looks brighter than the Hudl’s and it has richer colours. ![]() That might not seem much when the new Nexus 7 hits 323 ppi and even the Hudl can muster 242 ppi, but then resolution isn’t the whole story. The Fire HD has the same 1280 x 800 resolution and 216 ppi pixel density as the old model, the 2012 Nexus 7 and the MeMO Pad HD7. The buttons don’t stick out but they’re easy to find by touch alone, which makes it really quick and easy to switch the tablet off or adjust the volume level. The power button now sits on the tapering left-hand edge behind the screen, with the volume rocker in the same place on the right. One thing we’re really keen on is the new position of the power and volume controls. What’s more, the Hudl ships with 16GB as standard. As the basic model only comes with 8GB of storage, this might be a problem if you’re a heavy media user. More seriously, there’s no way to expand the on-board memory, and the only connection is a microUSB slot. There’s no front-facing or rear-facing camera, for starters, though most tablet cameras are pretty much a waste of space, so this will only seriously affect you if you want a tablet for video chatting. The frame is relatively slim as well, but what you really ought to notice is what the Fire HD hasn’t got. With toughened glass at the front and soft-touch plastics at the rear, it feels extremely rugged and durable, and more than a match for the MeMO Pad or Hudl. It’s slimmer too, at just 10.6mm, and carries the same more angular styling as the new HDX models. At 345 grams it’s a little heavier than the more expensive Fire HDX and the 2013 Nexus 7, but 50 grams lighter than its predecessor, and easily light enough to wield single-handed. The new Fire HD carries on the good work. Along with the Nexus 7, the original Kindle Fire HD was one of the first slates to prove that an inexpensive tablet didn’t need to feel cheap.
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