Good Monday morning folks, today on my Global TV Monday Morning News Tech Talk segment I showed the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9” tablet, $399 CDN starting with 16 GB memory.
It has many pro as well as some con features in the overcrowded tablet scene. Let’s see if it is for you.
From a hardware perspective the Fire HDX (It also comes in a 7” HDX display) was released in Canada late last year and should not be confused with the previous “HD” model. This series is much improved with 8.9″ HDX display (2560×1600) with a pexel density or 339 PP, sharper than any of the newer iPads. This means for its size, it has a top tier screen view for small type, picture detail and the all-important book reading experience that Kindle offers.
It’s one third lighter than the previous model weighing 374 grams and plenty of power with a 2.2GHz quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM and an Adreno 330 GPU for fast graphics. It now added an 8MP rear-facing camera with LED flash for smartphone quality photos and 1080p HD video. The much improved front-facing 720p HD camera for Skype video calls makes it the top contender for quality selfies. It has better than average battery life too.
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It browses the web, has built-in OfficeSuite, plus support for e-mail and calendar for Gmail, Outlook, and more. It does not take additional micro SD storage but Amazon offers unlimited cloud storage.
For all this hardware you get great value for the $399 CDN 16 GB version and the all-important sharp clear screen.
It’s not Android (no Google Maps or Google Voice) or iOS, but features its own new Fire 3.0 OS “Mojito” which is actually simpler for beginners with fewer choices but the right ones to keep you on top of your social, email and web life. The speakers are above grade and the workmanship quality is commendable as is the feel of its surface. I highly recommend the optional Origami leather or plain case for protection and vertical and horizontal standing.
If you are an Amazon fan with all its huge Kindle book, shopping and media offerings (all under the Amazon Store umbrella) you will be at home with the Fire HDX. The downsides are smaller number of software titles, about 130,000 (with a mix of Android converted titles compared to the almost million choices of competitors) and if you want a wider choice of niche and specialty apps, like running your digital camera from its screen, you will be disappointed.
And there is no streaming media like movies for Canadian Fire HD* owners, as there is in the U.S, primarily due to the issue of digital rights management and cost in Canada. Apple had the same issues when it launched iTunes, so Canadians have to rely on getting their own music and videos to the Fire HDX, for now.
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