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Fire HD 7" - First Impressions

36K views 139 replies 49 participants last post by  gregm 
#1 ·
Very nice styling. . .quite sleek.

The physical size is a bit wider and only very slightly taller than the original Fire.  While still a 7" diagonal screen, the proportions are slightly different.  Original Fire is 3 9/16 x 6 1/16.  HD is 3 12/16 x 5 15/16.  You'll notice it most obviously if you open the same book on both.

The screen definition is very nice.  I'm downloading a video just now to see how it looks.

Yes, I could stream, and I will later, but I wanted to get an idea of how much space things might take up.

There is a welcome letter from Jeff bezos and when you have that showing in the carousel, the suggestions below it include a User Guide.  Which appears to be interactive, rather than a 'document' or PDF file. . . .more like an app. It's also readily available when you select 'more' from the menu along the top -- it's under 'help and feedback'.

There are more categories now. . . .Ship, Games, Apps, Books, Music, Videos, Newstand, Audiobooks, Web, Photos, Docs, and Offers.  You can toggle between the book cover view and a list view which has a smaller thumbnail and the full title.  Oh. . .gee. . .that was on the original Fire too.  Guess I didn't use it much. 

There is text to speech. . . . .the same choices of font size and font style, but they're accessed slightly differently.  The 'sepia' is slightly darker. . .but nice. . . .

There's an auto brightness that there didn't used to be.. . . and there's FB integration now. . .so I'm thinking it'll be shareable when you get to the end of a book like you can do on an eInk Kindle.

You can change the speed, but it seems to be a female voice only. . . . have to see if I can find out how to change it to a male voice.

Watching the show now.  Video is great.  Sound is certainly superior.

More in a bit.
 
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#77 ·
I think the Fire HD is slightly lighter than the original Fire.  Didn't feel dramatically different as far as the weight goes.  It is thinner depth wise  and wider (less rectangular) than the original Fire.  Also, the HD's bezel is wider which makes it easier to hold without interfering with whatever is on the screen.

I think the volume is fantastic for a small tablet.  Much better than my iPad.  I get so frustrated with the iPad's volume.  Don't see myself having that issue with Fire HD.  Hope that helps.
 
#78 ·
CS said:
I posted two questions at the beginning of this thread. My first question was whether the new Fire was lighter than the old one, and it seems to be.

However, no one has really answered this yet...

- How is the sound on something like Netflix streaming or Amazon instant video? I found the original KF was never loud enough with those two apps (yet games and such were loud). The new speakers are supposed to be much better. Are they? I mean without headphones.

Thanks.


As I said, the sound seems fine.

I did watch a whole movie the other day. . .Fire propped up here on my desk. I could hear it just fine. In fact I turned the volume down from where it started.
 
#81 ·
larryb52 said:
i felt like i had to have something new so was going to buy this but 1st do I understand I have to opt of ads? and this does not have a charger?? thanks
Yes, you would have to opt out of adds after you recieve it. The cost is $15.

No, it doesn't have a charger, but it does have a USB cable and you could use your computer to charge it. Or you can probably use one of the current chargers or buy the new charger... If you buy the charger along with the Fire it's only $10.00. If you have an iPad, the charger for that works just fine.
 
#82 ·
Let's try this a different way: The 7" HD costs $199 with ads, $214 without.

A charger, which is a very nice compact design, costs a net of $6.99 if you need one ($9.99 if purchased with a Fire, plus a $3.00 MP3 store credit until the end of the year).

Therefore, a 7" HD costs a grand total of $220.99 if you don't want ads and you need a charger. Free shipping if you have Prime, and currently no sales tax collected in most states.

Still a great deal in my opinion, especially when compared to the original Fire, which shipped 10 months ago at $199 (although it did include an irritating integrated power cord/plug with a too short cord).
 
#83 ·
I love my Kindle Fire HD! I owned the original Fire, and I loved that too, but this blows it away.

It feels lighter, the screen is very nice.

I bought a micro-HDMI cable, hooked it up to my TV, and it looks awesome! I love browsing the web on my TV (was very close to buying a set top box with the web on it... sticking with the Fire HD for now)... i love playing racing games on my Fire hooked up to the TV. I was able to watch youtube and vimeo videos online on my TV via the Fire HD. And, of course, the Amazon Prime videos, in HD, look awesome on my TV.

The battery life is great on it as well!

And the ads don't bug me at all, and $15 to remove them isn't too bad.
 
#84 ·
eBooksHabit said:
I love my Kindle Fire HD! I owned the original Fire, and I loved that too, but this blows it away.

It feels lighter, the screen is very nice.

I bought a micro-HDMI cable, hooked it up to my TV, and it looks awesome! I love browsing the web on my TV (was very close to buying a set top box with the web on it... sticking with the Fire HD for now)... i love playing racing games on my Fire hooked up to the TV. I was able to watch youtube and vimeo videos online on my TV via the Fire HD. And, of course, the Amazon Prime videos, in HD, look awesome on my TV.

The battery life is great on it as well!

And the ads don't bug me at all, and $15 to remove them isn't too bad.
Thanks for confirming that you can stream Prime Videos to your TV, EBH!

Betsy
 
#85 ·
CS said:
I posted two questions at the beginning of this thread. My first question was whether the new Fire was lighter than the old one, and it seems to be.

However, no one has really answered this yet...

- How is the sound on something like Netflix streaming or Amazon instant video? I found the original KF was never loud enough with those two apps (yet games and such were loud). The new speakers are supposed to be much better. Are they? I mean without headphones.


Here's a sentence from my Amazon review: The HD weighs 13.9 oz. vs. 12 oz. for the Nexus 7 (the original Fire weighed 14.6 oz.).

About the sound: So far, from everything I've tried (apps, video, music), the maximum sound volume is much higher. I haven't had to use the maximum volume for anything so far. With the original Fire, I often had to user earbuds or use an auxiliary powered speaker.
 
#86 ·
JimC1946 said:
About the sound: So far, from everything I've tried (apps, video, music), the maximum sound volume is much higher. I haven't had to use the maximum volume for anything so far. With the original Fire, I often had to user earbuds or use an auxiliary powered speaker.
I agree 100% with this assessment.
 
#88 ·
I got to meet Ann's Fire HD7... Very nice! Picture is much better. It seems a bit lighter.

There are more tabs along the top:


Games now have a separate tab, though they are also included under "Apps." And there is a tab for "Photos." And a personal video app. So, I'm hoping accessing personal files like that will be easier using the new Fire?

Also, as for the ads, the lock screen ads were big magazine style ads. I never saw an ad on the home page the whole time I was playing with it. ??? Ann kept insisting there were two little lines of text at one point but they never showed up while we were playing with it.

Ann also showed me the envelope-style case that she had for the old Fire and how the new Fire fit in it. The new Fire is a bit wider, and so it doesn't quite fit perfectly. It would do in a pinch, but for long term, you want one that will fit better.

Afterwards, we looked for a HDMI to Micro HDMI adapter at Radio Shack, but that one didn't have one. They did have a cable for $29.99, which made the one I found on Amazon look pretty good!

Betsy
 
#92 ·
Here's another pic from my meetup with Ann. Old Fire on the left, new Fire on the right:



The official width of the Fire HD is 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.4
and the classic Fire width is 7.44 x 4.72 x 0.45

but interestingly, the size of the viewable screen is a bit different proportionally. The viewable screen on the old Fire is a bit taller and narrower than the new Fire, but the diagonal is the same.

As for appearance, showing the same article from the Washington Post with the same settings (except font size*), you can see the difference in the two screens. On the left, "sepia" on the old Fire is very light. On the right, the new Fire is a truer sepia color. The screen seemed brighter in general at the same brightness level.

*to get the fonts similar, Ann had to choose one size larger font on the new Fire. The original Fire was set at font size 3, I believe. And one can't change the line spacing on the new Fire the way one could on the old Fire.

Betsy
 
#93 ·
Betsy's right about the fonts. . .it came up here somewhere else as well.  Pretty sure it's because of the higher pixel density but size 3 is definitely smaller on the HD than it is on the original.  I actually think both of those were size 3 -- I'm just double checking on the HD and when I switch to 4 the words wrap a bit differently.  It might be more obvious with a different typeface, too -- that's Caecilia.

As to screen size, I measured them as 3 9/16" x 6 1/16" for the original and 3 12/16" by 5 15/16" on the HD.  So the HD screen is very slightly wider and very slightly shorter for the same length diagonal.
 
#94 ·
Just got mine today. I had ordered it and then canceled, and then ordered again. :D

I like it. You can really tell the difference between screens, and it's noticeably faster on the web than my first Fire. Everything just works smoother.

I got the 7 inch size because of the portability- it fits in some of my purses better. Now, I just need a cover. I have it in a sleeve I picked up for $12 yesterday. It's okay, but I prefer covers to cases..
 
#97 ·
Bloody Lindsey Smithe said:
Betsy's right about the fonts. . .it came up here somewhere else as well. Pretty sure it's because of the higher pixel density but size 3 is definitely smaller on the HD than it is on the original. I actually think both of those were size 3 -- I'm just double checking on the HD and when I switch to 4 the words wrap a bit differently. It might be more obvious with a different typeface, too -- that's Caecilia.
Come to think of it...I guess I did take that pic before you bumped the font up...

Betsy
 
#99 ·
Oh my word, it's here and SO WORTH IT!  I am loving the new Fire HD.  I know it's bigger, but it feels smaller to me...maybe because it isn't so boxy?  I have the fuschia Amazon case and it's nice. 

Question about opting out of ads:  will it take away the "Customers also bought" at the bottom of the Home screen?  (I already claimed one offer of $5 off in the video store....and downloaded a movie for an upcoming business trip....
 
#100 ·
wavesprite said:
Oh my word, it's here and SO WORTH IT! I am loving the new Fire HD. I know it's bigger, but it feels smaller to me...maybe because it isn't so boxy? I have the fuschia Amazon case and it's nice.

Question about opting out of ads: will it take away the "Customers also bought" at the bottom of the Home screen? (I already claimed one offer of $5 off in the video store....and downloaded a movie for an upcoming business trip....
Apparently, no, it won't take away the "also bought" row....

Betsy
 
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