In summary, for $79.99 you are getting a great deal on a medium-sized tablet computer - especially if you compare it to the pricing of an HD10 and the $500 or more you can spend on a Wi-Fi base version of competitor products. If you are a first-time tablet buyer, looking for a replacement tablet, or where price vs. value is a key consideration, as a heavy user of Fires for several years now I would highly recommend this one.
Initial setup of this year's model was relatively straight forward once I hooked it up to WiFi. Plan on spending a couple of minutes for a software upgrade to download and install – I set it down once the download started, made a cup of coffee and, upon my return the update was completed.
For me, the neatest new feature (new to me at least) was the immediate integration of the Alexa app – just hold down the home screen icon and ask Alexa whatever you’d like. It works just like my Echo and Echo Dots at home with answering questions, adjusting the thermostat, playing music, etc. As I am starting to automate my home more and more this is really convenient vs. having to purchase an Echo or Echo Dot for each room of the house where I would like the functionality.
Screen Display / Video Playback:
If video is your thing, this version of the Fire is very good: I’ve been comparing various episodes of a TV show in my video library to the last two previous Fire models and I think the picture quality is better. That could be a function of it being a new device in addition to some of the newer technical display options – I don’t know which one it is, but it works well. I’m used to a larger screen, however, for watching videos on a tablet and this may take a bit of an adjustment for me.
Sound / Music Playback:
The two speakers are located on the side of the Fire in two not-noticeable areas (there are six “holes” on the side for each speaker). My usual test of this feature is cranking up Van Halen's “Panama” to maximum volume (I always want to see if it could really play the guitar licks and hear the bass), and I would alternate covering one speaker up over the other: you have true stereo sound with no degradation of the sound that makes you think you are about to blow the speaker. The speakers sound nice and you do get to hear the bass.
As mentioned above, the device has the Alexa functionality built-in, and it was also able to easily replay my stored music as well as music I can access via my Prime membership.
Reading Books:
Turning pages is easy - just tap the side of the screen to go to the next page or back a page, or you can swipe your finger across the screen to do the same. The fonts are easy on the eyes, and if you don’t like the lighting auto adjustment you can make the screen brighter or darker to suit your fancy.
If you are new to the tablet world, need (vs. want) a new one, or are looking to upgrade from the smaller size Fire I would say go ahead and get this one; if you're comparing a prior year's larger model to this version and it is operating fine, I'd say save your money and continue to get your money's worth out of the prior year's model. For me, rather than being my everyday “go to” tablet, I am going to have this one in our TV game room for general Internet surfing, Alexa inquiries / skills and home automation. For just $79.99, I consider this not only a good tablet but a viable Echo alternative.
Fast and responsive
Enjoy your entertainment with a fast 1.3 GHz quad-core processor. Fire HD 8 offers 50% more RAM than Fire 7 for faster performance.
No more worrying about storage space
With 2x more internal storage than Fire 7, Fire HD 8 comes standard with 16 GB. Expand your tablet’s storage by up to 256 GB using a microSD card, and keep photos, movies, and compatible games and apps with you. Plus enjoy free unlimited cloud storage for all your Amazon content and photos taken with your Fire tablet.
Capture life's moments
Fire HD 8 features a 2 MP rear-facing camera for taking photos or shooting 720p video. The front-facing VGA camera is perfect for Skype calls with friends and family.
Vibrant HD display
Fire HD 8 features a 1280 x 800 high-definition display with over a million pixels (189 ppi) and a bright, vivid picture. Enjoy movies and games in a crisp, clear HD resolution, with less glare and more brightness thanks to a stunning IPS (in-plane-switching) LCD display.
Power when you need it
Now with up to 12 hours of mixed-use battery life, Fire HD 8 gives you the flexibility to go where the day takes you.
Stands up to everyday life
Amazon engineers Fire tablets to hold up against everyday life. As measured in tumble tests, Fire HD 8 is more durable than the latest iPad and 2x more durable than iPad mini 4 (and costs a lot less too).
Adjust the backlight for nighttime reading with Blue Shade.
Read
Choose from millions of Kindle eBook and magazine titles that you won't be able to find anywhere else. Over 1 million titles are priced at $2.99 or less. Or read as much as you want with a Kindle Unlimited subscription for just $9.99 a month. Connect with the largest online community of book lovers on Goodreads.
Read comfortably at night with Blue Shade, an exclusive Fire OS feature that automatically adjusts and optimizes the backlight for a more comfortable nighttime reading experience.
Listen
With millions of songs from thousands of artists, the Amazon Digital Music Store brings all your favorite music to your fingertips. Music you buy on your Fire tablet is saved to Your Music Library for free, and you can play or download it anytime.
Unlock more music with Amazon Music Unlimited, just $7.99 per month for Prime members ($9.99 per month for non-Prime members).
Audible offers more than 180,000 titles in audiobooks, including best sellers, romances, thrillers, and much more.
Watch
Enjoy all your favorite movies and TV shows on Amazon Video, Netflix, HBO NOW, Sling TV, and more. Discover hundreds of thousands of TV episodes and movies, plus fling Amazon Video content to your TV using Second Screen. Enhance your video experience with features you only get from Amazon, including On Deck for watching videos anywhere, ASAP for fast video streaming, and X-Ray to go behind the scenes of your favorite movies and TV shows while you watch.
Watch downloaded videos anywhere with a Prime membership, Netflix plan, or Showtime subscription—on a plane, on vacation, in the car, or wherever you don't have a wireless connection.
Play
Fire tablets feature instant access to over 600,000 of the most popular free and best-selling games, social media, premium TV and movie provider apps, and so much more.
Choose from top titles including Candy Crush Saga, Township, Mobile Strike, and more.
Try Prime free for a month
If you haven't tried Amazon Prime in the past, we'll give you a 30-day free trial. Experience what millions of members already enjoy—unlimited streaming of thousands of hit movies and TV episodes, ad-free access to over two million songs, over a thousand Kindle books, and Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items. Learn more
Unlimited reading on any device
Prime Reading gives you unlimited access to over a thousand books, current magazines, comics, Kindle Singles, and more. With any device – including your phone, tablet, or Kindle – you can read however you want, whenever you want.
Stream thousands of movies and TV episodes with Prime Video
With Amazon Prime, members enjoy unlimited streaming of thousands of movies and TV episodes at no additional cost, including award-winning Amazon Original series like Jack Ryan and Sneaky Pete, and top HBO shows like True Blood, Girls, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
No Wi-Fi, no problem—Prime Video downloads
Exclusive to Prime members, download thousands of Prime Video movies and TV episodes. Watch downloaded videos anywhere—on a plane, on vacation, in the car, or wherever you don't have a wireless connection. Prime Video offers offline viewing at no additional cost.
Over 2 million songs free with Prime Music
Prime Music is a benefit of your Amazon Prime Membership, featuring a growing selection of over two million songs, always ad-free and on-demand. Unlock more music with Amazon Music Unlimited, just $7.99 per month for Prime members. Learn more about Unlimited
Add HBO, SHOWTIME and more to Prime
With Prime Video Channels, Prime members can also subscribe to over 100 premium and specialty channels like HBO and SHOWTIME to add and stream—no cable or satellite subscription necessary. Prime members can subscribe to any or all of these channels with a free trial.
Best Way to Consume Amazon Services
Excellent device if you're into the Amazon Echo System and are an Amazon Prime member. If you're one who consume Amazon services daily let it be Amazon music, Amazon video, kindle e-books, audible, Alexa etc this is a good all in one device. It's not the definite device for Amazon services as Alexa is better on the Echo, and e-books is easier to read on a kindle device; but this device is great if you want to consume all of Amazon's content outside your computer. If you're one who are already part of the Apple (iOS) and/or Android echo system then there are some cross over in terms of Apps (although very limited, more on this later), music and video, but the first party services do not pair with the tablet due to legal issues. Some third party apps works like Netflix, Pandora, and Hulu, along others. This tablet mainly centers around Amazon Prime, so if you are not a Prime users; you'll be missing out on a lot and will not take full advantage of this tablet. You can side load Android OS/Google Play Store to this device if you don't consume Amazon services, but note that due to the hardware specs some apps may not work properly on the tablet. Now going to go through some features of the device comparing it to the HD7 and other versions of the HD8: --Which to buy HD8 Vs HD7 Similar design choice looking at the exterior to the current fire 7 with differences being: - HD 8 has larger screen size, obviously. With the one inch difference videos look way more immersive especially with the higher resolution the tablet provides compared to the HD7 -Smaller horizontal bezels making reading easier in portrait mode, and watching moves are more enjoyable in horizontal orientation. This may be an issue when you hold the tablet in portrait mode. Best as a one handed device in the portrait orientation; when using two hands, at least one hand (mainly the palm) may cover part of the screen activating the touch sensors. -All buttons, mic, 3mm headphone jack and charging port in one convenient location (all on one side of the device). I like this because you don't have to orient yourself all the time. The only port separate from the rest is the expandable memory from SD card slot, which i assume will not be used often less you download tons of movies -Speakers are better than the current gen HD7 (2017), not not as good as the HD7 (2nd gen) 2012** model with dual speakers. If you're close to fans or in a loud environment; the sound may get muffle the speaker sound a bit, so in this situation it's best to switch to wired headphones or bluetooth. **Wished this device had the same speakers as the HD7 2012 model, guess some compromises have to be made to cut cost. A bit disappointed that the budget tablet line has mono sounding speakers instead of Dobly sounding speakers. Yes, Amazon does market this tablet as having Dobly surround sound, but it doesn't sound like it; they probably put the a low grade Dobly sound chip in for lower production cost -Cameras are not the best quality in the world. front facing camera is okay for video chat if you just want to recognize the person on the other line and don't care about having a full 4k resolution of them. Back facing camera...if you already have a current smart phone, you're not going to use this over that. Good to have for immediate use to capture something on the fly if you have your phone charging in the other room i guess. Honestly i think it's not needed, but it's probably there for kids who complain that their tablet doesn't have a camera (and don't know the difference between image quality) The OS is very streamline and simple to navigate with tabs and large icons. Provides easy way to navigate all of Amazon services like ebooks, video, photos, app/amazon store, prime music, etc If you own a previous Amazon device, everything can be sync automatically along with all purchases you've made through your amazon account App library not as diverse as the Google Play or iOS store. You can side load Google Play store, but not all apps are going to be compatible especially those the require GPS (while roaming) or have high hardware requirements. Also you sort of have to be tech savy or able to do research on how to load it in or know someone who does. There are some advantages of the Amazon app store as some full apps/games are free (without micotransactions) compared to the Google Play store which charges a few bucks or have you make purchases in-game with real life money. Battery life. Lasts a few hours more, mixed use compared to the HD7 Alexa. Supports Alexa and compatible smart phone devices. The tablet is not available to pick up your voice when you say her name like the Echo devices, as you have to hold on the home button and wait for a visual prompt to say a command. So which one should you buy 7 or 8? I say if you're going to watch video more than reading e-books, shopping, browsing the web, or check e-mail; i'd go with the 8 for a more immersive experience. If you want more battery life out of a single full charge i'd go with the 8. Overall i'd say if you can afford it, 8 is a better option especially for media consumption --Which version to buy: special offers vs no special offers I've own several amazon devices in the past and the discounts for special offers have drastically gone down as most major sales is now aimed towards Alexa voice purchasing via echo devices. You will get some deal here and there, but the deals are not as deep as voice Alexa deals. Most of the time you'll see advertisement for new upcoming movies, tv shows or books. When deals do show up it's close to MSRP and do not have exclusive discount deals you see in the past. Normally i just ignore the ads out of habit, but other times something catches my eye for a second (~99% of the time i dont' buy anything) or it'll just give me a reminder that the new season of Game of Thrones is coming up for example. The only reason i can see you purchasing special offers is if you want to give a generous tip to amazon and/or you have a problem impulse buying stuff (digging deep into your bank account), or if you have children who knows your amazon password and purchase anything they find inciting --Kid edition vs normal Same specs as the regular HD8 but with some software changes Basically a worry-free version 2 year warranty/protection plan Includes a rubberized case 1 year amazon free-time unlimited which includes parental controls: You can set how much time your kids can spend on a particular application such as reading, viewing videos, playing games etc. unlimited access to a catalogue of child-friendly apps, games, ebooks and videos not present on the regular HD8. Basically the same as the HD8 (aside from the bumper case), but some content unlocked via software Great budget tablet for kids,but if they're really into youtube, there's an app for this device on the Amazon app store, but it's not as intuitive as the one on iOS or Andriod. Had it cash on me sometimes or have issues negativing and saving scroll history. Also there's no picture-in-picture if you want to watch a video while browsing. Either Google doesn't want to do ongoing software/security updates for it or Amazon do not the exact same app on iOS/Andriod it on their store because they want you to use the Amazon Prime Video. It may be the former since Amazon let in Netflix and Hulu, and seeing the small install base compared to iOS/andriod updates may come in slow. --Which memory version to buy? -So there's a micro sd expansion; best to buy the 16gb as oppose to the 32 in my opinion as it's cheaper to buy a micro sd card and insert it into the device. Only reason i see someone purchasing the 32 over the 16 is if 1. 16gb is sold out and you can't wait to buy one 2. 32gb is on clearance and 16gb is not due to supply issue 3. Used vs New pricing 4. Have a coupon or credit to purchase the 32gb and a micro sd card isn't applicable with the promotion 5. buying as gift to friend and family and want to show you're generous by spending extra money for them 6. cheaper in a bundle Overall, best budget tablet for the price if you are a Amazon Prime member despite some negatives (namely the speakers and camera). Most mainstream tablets can range upwards to 5 or 6x more. Yes, they can do more and have better hardware specs, but if you just want a tablet that can do the basics and get the most out of your Prime subscription this is the tablet to get.
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