

Kindle Fire HD 7"
Kindle Fire HD features 8.9" IPS display with 1920x1200 resolution


Kindle Fire HD 8.9" showing "FreeTime"



The Kindle Fire HD LTE 4G will ship on November 20.

Kindle Paperwhite

Source: Amazon

Comments     Threshold


RE: Guess this confirms
By TakinYourPoints on 9/6/2012 5:15:45 PM , Rating: 0
I totally agree that the iPad 2 is made moot by the new Fire. The iPad 3 is where you get all the benefits of hardware and the software ecosystem, but if you don't want to spend the cash then there are now excellent options in the $200 range. As I said, the new Fire is great and it is going to bury everything else in its price range. Nexus 7 is going to get killed by this thing.

RE: Guess this confirms
By retrospooty on 9/6/2012 5:27:00 PM , Rating: 5

??? The 3 is just a 2 with higher res screen (and faster GPU to push the pixels). If the $400 ipad 2 is moot, how is the $500 higher res screen giving "the benefits of the ecosystem"

I think you have to try and pry off the Apple colored goggles and look at real performance and price. The "Apple is better because its Apple" argument just doesnt cut it.

RE: Guess this confirms
By TakinYourPoints on 9/6/2012 5:48:55 PM , Rating: 2
High-DPI displays are everything in a smartphone or tablet. It is a necessity for something you are holding only a foot away from your eyes.

Real performance is still there (the 2011 A5 was better than the Tegra 3 that is still common in Android tablets today) and applications are definitely there. The main differentiator is price. If you're not getting that amazing 2048x1536 display (and it is a HUGE reason for many people to buy it) and apps don't really matter, then it makes sense to me to drop down significantly to the new Fire. It slots in there perfectly.

I had a very hard time recommending the old Fire (despite the benefits of its vertical integration) because the hardware was trash. The new one fixes the hardware issues. Samsung/Asus/Acer tablets are pretty much hosed, there is no way they can keep up on price with comparable specs. I liked the Nexus 7 but I see no reason to recommend it now.

RE: Guess this confirms
By Reclaimer77 on 9/6/2012 5:50:33 PM , Rating: 2

Hyperbole ftw.

RE: Guess this confirms
By TakinYourPoints on 9/7/2012 5:07:28 AM , Rating: 2
Even by late 2011 standards the Kindle Fire hardware was slow, slow enough where there was significantly choppier UI/application chop and much slower browser performance compared to other tablets.

That said, it far and away the cheapest tablet out there, the first to nail $200.

Now the specs are much better, and it is partly possible because there are going to be ads displayed on the device. That combined with a willingness to make almost no money on the device allows for much better specs at a lower price than other OEMs in the same range.

I'm surprised that the Fire only being sold with ads isn't being discussed. That detail kind of flew under the radar. It makes great sense for Amazon. The Fire lock screen is basically a targeted billboard for Amazon that you carry around with you, pretty genius.

RE: Guess this confirms
By retrospooty on 9/6/2012 5:57:30 PM , Rating: 2
I agree, high res screens are awesome and I love Apple for ushering in the new Era of higher res... But at some poinmt, enough is enough. an 8.9 inch 1920x200 is reduclously high. I have the same res in my 24 inch LCD at home. In no way is the iPad's 9.7 inch 2048x1536 better. Both are insanely high.

RE: Guess this confirms
By EnzoFX on 9/7/2012 3:38:32 AM , Rating: 2
Your entire argument is silly. No one can deny the benefits of the Apple ecosystem, yet you and other people with spec-driven goggles do. Even though Apple's specs are still holding well. Furthermore, it isn't much to say that something NEW is potentially better than something OLD (even on the merit of just specs, which is again, silly). This is tech, this is competition. It isn't even out yet lol.

Trolls will troll with their ignorant Apple hatred though, they just don't get it. And no I'm not saying Apple stuff is the best, that's strictly subjective, I'm saying you gotta be pretty stupid, or choose to be ignorant to not see what it has going for it, what it's had going for it, and why even Apple is very aggressive in their Tablet entries.

RE: Guess this confirms
By retrospooty on 9/7/2012 10:03:29 AM , Rating: 3
"Your entire argument is silly. No one can deny the benefits of the Apple ecosystem"

It's more about what the Apple ecosystem gives you over the Android ecosystem and is it worth the extra $$$. No, not to me, not even close. If on a 10 scale the Apple app store/ecosystem is a 9, then Androids is a 6 or 7. It's not like a 10-0 split there.

Look at it this way. There isn't anything you can do with an iPad/ that you cant do with an Android tablet. Most AAA apps are on both platforms and there are comparable apps that do anything on both platforms. For the price of 1 iPad, you can get a Kindle fire 8.9 inch 1920x1200 and a 7 inch 1280x800 - both of which can accomplish the exact same goals as the iPad. Most people use tablets for internet, email, and whatever apps they need. If you consider that "ignorant apple hatred" then so be it. For what its worth, I do see what Apple has going for it, and what it's had going for it . My whole point here is that advantage is gone.

RE: Guess this confirms
By EnzoFX on 9/8/2012 1:37:22 AM , Rating: 2
No, you still don't get it. It is not equal on both sides just being able to say an app is on both platforms. If you think about, Apple has never really been the company where you can do something on their products and not on others. Their model has always been, HOW you do things.

In regards to an app being on both, there's still significantly more support on iOS ecosystem than there is on Android. Then just think about how buggy apps can be on Android, I feel for them though because they have to cater to so many different specs, nevertheless this is a big deal and is easily noticeable.

RE: Guess this confirms
By mcnabney on 9/7/2012 10:44:58 AM , Rating: 2
Actually, the iPad 3 display is probably too high of a res.

1920x1200 is probably the ideal resolution for ~10" tablets since the typical viewing distance is just outside of the pixel discernment range. Additional pixels beyond the ability to see them are wasted and only require a more powerful GPU and lower battery life.

RE: Guess this confirms
By jimbojimbo on 9/7/2012 12:44:09 PM , Rating: 2
Before the new iPad resolution meant nothing in a tablet, meaning iPad2 had the worst pixel density of any 10" tablet. After the new iPad comes out resolution is the most important thing in the world.
Nobody can see the flaw in this type of reasoning?

