Kindle Fire HD seems pretty good, why not buy it?
Why Kindle Fire HD is a passable tablet
We will not go over again comparing it with Google’s Nexus 7, and despite of some issues recently reported by frustrated users, the Kindle Fire HD (the 7 inch version, that is) just can’t compare with Nexus 7’s specs. You just need to look at the pictures of these two to realize that the Kindle Fire HD is way more bulkier than the Nexus 7. You don’t even need to keep it in your hands to realize that it has a “boxier” look than even the original Kindle Fire. And the weight doesn’t help either, having 13.9 ounces (394 grams) as opposed to Nexus 7’s 12 ounces (340 grams). We will continue to compare it with the Nexus 7, because frankly, currently it’s the best option available on the market at that size. An interesting review of the Kindle Fire HD on ArsTechnica highlights the fact that apps don’t open as fast as they do on other Android or iOS devices, and cause to that seems to be the “forked” version of Android, which currently is Ice Cream Sandwich only.
The silk browser isn’t as fast as you’d think
The same review on ArsTechnica refers to the Silk Browser as being one of the apps that takes the longest to open and once the browser has started, it delivers a satisfying, but not impresive speed. The application is also a little “jumpy” when trying to read some websites and page scrolling and zooming can be “choppy”. An user on TheVerge forums doesn’t have better words on the Silk browser, either: Another interesting article comes from somebody on SeekingAlpha who delivers some interesting graphs and also expresses its insatisfaction with the Silk browser, saying that “web-browsing was all but slow and laggy”. A more detailed piece on AnandTech shows that the improved browser consumess less bandwidth but actually delivers a slower performance. Here’s how Anand ends his analysis:
More trouble
The same Casey Johnston from ArsTechnica informs that SoundCloud doesn’t work on the KindleFire HD and that actually, when you try to open a downloaded MP3 file, it seems that Kindle’s forked Android hasn’t “heard” of it. And back to the Nexus 7 for a bit. Nexus 7 loads uncached pages 2 or 3 times faster than the Kindle Fire HD. Bezos has praised the Kindle Fire HD’s browsing functions, especially thanks to the dual antennas and the Silk browser, but it seems all that can beat the plain simple browser in Nexus 7. A very, very impressive feature that would make many victims among the customers that are information-hungry and want to know everything. But, apparently, it won’t work for quite a lot of books and you’ll be left with the “X-Ray concepts are not yet available for this book” message. Let’s just say this feature is just like Siri for the iPhone – it’s awesome, it’s great but it’s just still in Beta. So don’t get easily fooled by this one, neither.
The hardware is just ok
A couple of insightful benchmarks prove further that the Kindle Fire HD is good, but it’s a passable tablet. The SunSpider proved what human touch has guessed before – the browser is slower than the one on Nexus 7. Inside we can find a 1GB of RAM and a dual-core 1.2GHz OMAP-4460 processor, not really mind-blowing specs. Bezos made a courageous statement saying that the device will last up to 11 hours, no matter what you do, but you won’t find too many reviews confirming that. Here’s what Casey’s conclusion about the Kindle Fire HD is:
It comes with poor data plans
For $49.99 per year, you’d be getting 250 MB per month and 20 GB of cloud storage. While that sounds good, it clearly overlooks some important points, highlighted by Bill Snyder and other folks. Here’s what The Street has on this: AnandTech further investigates:
Don’t be deceived by the low price
And please, don’t forget that you have to pay to have those ads removed. While it might not be a huge amount, it’s still an error in my opinion. At the official launch, Bezos announced the slates will be advertising-supported but then, after seeing how frustrated customers became, they quickly changed the plan, saying they will disable ads for $15. It’s not much, but still, it bothers you to pay for something that you naturally feel you should have right from the start.
