The range of Amazon’s tablet has a new king, the Kindle Fire HDX. We tested and reviewed for you the 7-inch version: what are the benefits of the ecosystem Amazon?
It is no secret that the tablet industry is a battleground for companies: launched by Apple and its iPad, these devices ranging from 7 to 12 inches offer great flexibility to users, allowing you to replace the canons computer for many basic functions more or less, from email to gaming. Among the contender we also Amazon , the U.S. giant that for years no longer concerned only sell and ship physical products, but it is now also a distributor of music, movies, books, apps and cloud services. So not only incredible drones for prompt shipments, but also tablet for every pocket – and rumors speak for months a smartphone signed by Jeff Bezos.
We then tested one of three tablet range consists of Kindle Fire HD 7 “, the cheaper and more basic hardware specifications, and Kindle Fire HDX 7 “and 8.9″, the top of the range hardware characteristics of all respect that differ only in screen size and resolution of the same. The model that we’ve got to try is the HDX Fire 7 “ in configuration 16GB of storage, with specials on the lockscreen (which will deepen further aspect). Let’s see how it behaves Fire HDX in our review and video review.
Data Sheet
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 2.2 GHz frequency 800 |
| RAM | 2 GB |
| Storage | 16, 32 or 64GB non-expandable |
| Battery | 4550 mAh |
| Front camera | HD 720p |
| Display | 7-inch IPS LCD with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 at 323 ppi |
| Connectivity | BlueTooth 4.0, WiFi 802.11 a / b / g / n, Miracast, microUSB 2.0 |
| Software | Fire OS 3.0 “Mojito” based on Android 4.2.2 |
| Size and Weight | 186 x 128 x 9 mm, 303 grams |
Design and build quality to the top
The design and the build quality of this tablet are its strengths . Considering the relatively low price, the Fire HDX is a device well-built, comfortable to hold in hand, produced from non-noble but well executed. Also the particular design of the object, especially on the back: it is not just flat, but the edges are cut and include buttons for volume and power on off. That’s right, the buttons are behind, a position in which it takes a few minutes to get used to but then it becomes a logical choice: just remember that you turn with your left hand and with his right adjusts the sound output, with the three keys plastic pleasant to crush. A plastic soft-touch lets you use the device without ever losing his grip, and the famous logo with a smile Amazon is dug into the material and is pleasant to see and not invasive. At the top of the back we find the cracks by the speakers made from a strip of glossy black plastic that probably also welcomes the Wi-Fi antennas: both components, speaker and wireless chips were two surprises, ensuring excellent performance in any situation.
subtle and oblique sides of the tablet Wheeled only accommodate doors, left and right for the microUSB jack for headphones, while above are two microphones for audio input. The only downside of the design concerns precisely the location of the microUSB port : not being the right side of the device, inserting the cable inside the dock does not flow parallel to the tablet, but comes in at a 45 ° angle the device itself. On a table, so the effect that he is not just beautiful to the eye.
front, the well balanced frames embrace a 7-inch screen with excellent workmanship, and also host a simple HD front-facing camera for video calls. The total weight of the tablet is 303 grams, certainly not the lightest on the market, but they are unable to give a feeling of considerable strength without crunches whatsoever.
A fabulous display 
screen is the heart of a tablet, and the unit 7 inch This Fire HDX does not disappoint at all, in fact, some have called it the benchmark best screen for tablets, surpassing even the iPad Mini with Retina display and Nexus 7. Resolution 1920 x 1200 pixels (more than Full HD), 323 pixels per inch (so really dense), near-perfect color reproduction (Amazon claims to have achieved 100% Space sRGB), very high brightness (but fortunately drops to a very low level, especially for evening use), all accompanied by an anti-reflection coating for outdoor use.
The screen of this device is nice to see, with pixels invisible to the naked eye, and color fidelity. Play games, watch movies and images, or simply surfing the Web: experiences that all benefit from this unit well balanced and quality. The front glass is not made by the famous Gorilla Glass, but it is durable and does not show micro scratches after weeks of use, while the sensor for touchscreen never misses a beat, supporting up to 10 simultaneous touches.
note one aspect of HDX Fire range: there’s also a version 8.9 “with the incredible resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels , but the same hardware as the younger brother (he has only the camera Rear more). It is a model to consider is the most suitable for the productivity boost and definitely see a movie on a larger screen has its advantages. It should be remembered, however, that such termination fee more about the system, so games may not offer the same performance, not to mention that for some users, however, may be less convenient to carry around with him.
Hardware and Software: something to remember
not only a great product from the point of view of construction, but also for the performance offers. The heart of this tablet is a breeze Snapdragon 800 2.2 GHz frequency, one of the best processors that the market currently offers. The CPU is accompanied by 2GB of RAM, which allow a great fluidity in the use and multitasking with several browser tabs open, even if the operating system behaves in a rather aggressive quickly closing the app that we put on stand -by. Fantastic performance with practically all the games in the store, including the beautiful but heavy Real Racing 3, which is a joy to see the display as well as Full HD.
Just
OS Kindle Fire HDX is one of the weaknesses of this product: we speak of an exclusive distribution agreement with Amazon products, namely the Fire OS – in this case, the version called 3.0 Mojito . In fact, the OS is based on Android 4.2.2 , but the company has completely redesigned the Google system personalizing it to capacity and introducing new paradigms of operation exclusive to this product.
We talk about Android, with all its pros and cons, but in a dress that is not his: via the launcher we all know, via the services and Google app , via now gained familiarity with the OS of the green robot. All this is replaced with a non-intuitive interface carousel and generally unwieldy, with no alternative to the services provided originally with Android.
“Let’s talk about Android, with all its pros and cons, but in a dress that is not his.” They were all redesigned interface components, starting from the notification bar (which always show the name of the owner of the Kindle only displays an uncomfortable number that represents the notifications not seen) and the navigation buttons that vary depending on the screen, sometimes showing the hated Android menu key. There is also a button dedicated to research that usually starts in the universal device, even if some app is used for internal research, causing confusion. Convenient (if you know it exists) is the interface for multitasking: it is a simple bar of icons that can be opened by a swipe from the navigation bar to the center of the screen. The portion of the system is to be smart because divides the books as if they were independent app, allowing you to switch from one to another in a second. Comfortable, true, but almost invisible users.
continuous change from the App Store programs created with the graphics libraries of the Android app system designed by Amazon is another element of confusion; continuous changes in the paradigms of operation of a tablet that you use straniscono . What is missing in IU Fire OS is then cohesion between the various elements , and also a greater degree of customization (the carousel tries to be helpful, but he failed in order). Good though the split between those elements available in the cloud and in the device, run the tutorial that Amazon has spread to the device in an attempt to explain the process as simple as adding media files to your device or set favorite settings. Discrete options for productivity: the most common formats of files open (exploits OfficeSuite, which must be bought the Pro version you can edit the document), the e-mail client offers the combined mail and calendar syncs online. Missing is an app for maps (great lack these days), or a simple calculator app for reminders and to-do. The browser, called Silk , it works very well, but be careful to disable “Accelerate page loading” from the settings the same: it is designed for slower models of tablet, going to compress web pages via the Amazon servers, but the soul that this Snapdragon 800 Fire HDX does not really need these aids.
Finally, we must specify two aspects. The first: buying the tablet will be able to choose between the version with special offers or not. This means having ugly ads on the lockscreen that you can not send away, if not paying 15 € of difference. Better to shell out this amount certainly not low and get it over.
The second concerns the Google app: you can not install, even by sideload (which, however, is granted by the operating system).
Battery: right first time
The battery gives satisfaction : the device safely covers the charge necessary to deal with a whole day, but about the powerful processor consumes relatively little. To help in this endeavor you put the screen size, accompanied by a brightness sensor that operates and maintains the correct level of light from the display in the situations of everyday use.
Amazon claims a battery life of up to 11 hours , which can be recharged in less than 4 hours with the adapter included in the package, called the Kindle PowerFast. It is important to use what: this tablet is very sensitive to other chargers, which could significantly lengthen the charging time. Great idea by Amazon is to optimize the battery for reading : holding open an ebook device will turn off the system modules is not considered necessary, extending the battery life to 17 hours – in fact, a little ‘less.
Amazon Ecosystem: the weak point
If we were in the U.S., maybe this Kindle Fire HDX we would have seen with different eyes. Overseas, the services offered by Amazon are myriad than those of Italy: on-demand movies and TV series, books shared and often given as gifts, music at lower prices. As you know, in Italy it’s Kindle ebook store for the MP3 Store and accompanied by Cloud Player, software that works like Google Play Music. As a result, there are alternatives to the services that other companies offer, but they are incomplete.
As written, completely missing a service for renting and purchasing movies and TV series. For a tablet that prides itself on a screen with very high resolution and Dolby audio speakers, perfect for this type of content, it is unacceptable to have nothing to take advantage of these opportunities. Not only that: the Amazon App Store does not offer attractive alternatives. The app Rai TV is present, but does not work probably being a very old version, and the same goes for Infinity by Mediaset, which once opened invites you to download the update from Google Play Store – which of course is not present on this device! Missing Sky Go, and of course, you can not access to services Xbox video, films, or those of the Play Store on iTunes. With a Kindle Fire was completely cut off by a myriad of services that, on a daily basis, we use on our Android tablet or iOS.
What causes the problem? After all, the Kindle Fire HDX mounts a customized version of Android, but all apps are compatible with this OS can run safely. The biggest problem is perhaps laziness: developers upload their apps on the Amazon App Store, but then if they forget . This is the case of thousands of programs and games are the older versions with bugs that stop working when something changes at the server level that keeps them. Then there are the alternatives, whether they are provided by Amazon or less: a Nexus 7, say, mounts apps like YouTube, Google Maps, Keep and other things that are completely absent on this device. To access the most used maps of the world or to the well-known video sharing service is necessary to rely on third-party clients, often dysfunctional and advertising, directly or fee. A pity .
Into the attempt to spread the platform, Amazon offers an app every day for a fee. Most of them are games, so for those who want a tablet for home and then not keep up to buy many applications, this could be a strength of the product from Amazon.
Nothing to say, however, for books: the Kindle store is the most comprehensive of Italy , the prices and the deals we know, and the screen of the Fire does justice to the HDX reading a good book – even if we can not expect an experience at the level of the Kindle Paperwhite. Of course, in the U.S. there is the possibility of lending books among users, Amazon offers a kind of library from which to take the books temporarily and free of charge, and every month we give away the ebook if you subscribe to the service Prime: none of this is present from us. In addition, completely missing magazines and newspapers , for which it is necessary to rely on external services and apps found in the App Store.
Great range of music from the Amazon store is well stocked, and the prices are good on average. Amazon surprises here with the function AutoRip : the physical cd we buy it will automatically be added to our library of cloud music at no additional cost. This means that you can buy a disc and start listening to him since the time of the order, without waiting to receive it. The other surprise is that the offer is not retroactive: all CDs purchased from Amazon in recent years have been added to the online library, without user effort and no cost. As a result, you may have already accumulated hundreds of MP3s to listen to without you’re not even noticed. On Kindle Fire HDX then you will find the opportunity to buy more music and listen to that already in your possession, through the Cloud Player service, which is fortunately also available on other platforms and via web browser, in order to benefit of their songs as and when you want.
The advantages of Amazon ecosystem, however, end up here in all this it should be noted that the various services listed are already present on other platforms , and they work in the same way – they are only weakly integrated with the operating system. An Android user can easily access programs and games from Amazon (including those given away each day) by installing the App Store, for books, just download the Kindle app, while the music we think Cloud Player. Even iOS and Windows Phone users can easily download some of these services, and the same can be accessed from any PC.
Departmentmedia: full marks
Removed
problems due to lack of facilities for access to video on demand, Kindle Fire HDX is a true marvel for the use of multimedia content . The most surprising aspect, in addition to the great screen very dense with pixels and colors perfect, is sound: the two speakers pompano music and soundtracks to the bigger, better tablet far more noble (we looking at you,
Kindle Fire HDX: our conclusions
For those who thought this tablet? Obviously, for those who live Amazon Services and for those who rely on its cloud network for each service, the purchase of physical goods to music and books. From the hardware point of view, HDX Kindle Fire 7 “surprises: is solid, well built , pleasant to use, well-balanced and why not, also good to see. But those who rely on the services offered by other companies (one in all, Google) will remain almost completely cut off by using this product. Hand does not have all the apps, but do not provide alternatives for the services most used in the world is beginning to be acceptable these days.
app that there are (and they work) are a sight on Fire HDX. See a movie on the move, pulling out of the tablet with his custody Origami, is a real pleasure because the screen is fantastic, the sound is one of the best ever tested (dwarfing even some notebooks) and the battery does not disappoint. Reading a book is also a very good experience, and the same goes for listening to music from the Amazon cloud. But then you start
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