How do you like your kindle?

Sento

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Nov 13, 2011
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Was going for nexus 7 but rather get something offline and they backordered to heck.

Thinking either kindle or nook.

Can it do everything regular android does like surf, mp3, video, forums, etc?

I don't read, just looking for a wifi capable multimedia device.

Thanks
 

GMJeff

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Jan 25, 2011
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I thought Amazon said that you could pay an extra $10 or something like that to eliminate the ads.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Android Central Forums
 

jpcamaro70

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Dec 26, 2012
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Newb here and Just got the Fire HD 8.9" for xmas.

Yes, I like it. Yes, it drives me nuts.
I thought apple was restrictive, but this puts a whole new spin on things.

So far, after a day, I've come to hate the home screen, the carousel is useless and takes up valuable real estate. I've read there are launchers available but they don't work properly, anyone have any new info on this?

I was tying to stay away from rooting, I have a jailbroken iphone and am pretty confortable with that, but i'm not sure about rooting this kindle.

And help making this device a little easier to work with would be really nice.
 

striker1064

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Dec 26, 2012
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I got a Fire HD 8.9" to replace my original Fire. The original one drove me nuts because it was slow, sluggish, and the screen was a bit too small to me. I wanted the Nexus 10, but I couldn't justify that much more money. I got the new Fire when Amazon had it for $50 off, though.

I like it quite a bit. The bigger screen is very nice. However, I'd have to say if you don't have Prime and/or you aren't heavily integrated into Amazon's ecosystem, it really isn't worth getting. Unless you don't mind rooting, of course. I agree that the carousel is annoying and quite useless. Seems like they're just trying to be different for the sake of being different.

For general web browsing, reading books, apps, movies, TVs, etc, it's pretty great though. I'm happy.
 

Larry Pager

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Aug 12, 2012
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To the OP:
If you want a full-fledged Android experience or are a heavy gamer, don't get the KFHD. You're going to be disappointed. It's too locked down. It's not Android.

That being said, I love my Fire HD 8.9" tablet. Much better than my Galaxy Tab 10.1.

It does exactly what I want it to do- watch videos, read books, listen to music, and surf the web. The software is a bit buggy and at times it can be annoying, but it's still way better than any Android tablet for me. My view is different- I have a galaxy S3. IMO, why would I want to drop $300 device that gives me THE EXACT SAME EXPERIENCE that my S3 offers. OK, the "pure" android tablet will have a bigger screen. And it's likely going to be wi-fi only. It got old after awhile. I got bored with my iPad when I had my iPhone and got bored with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with my S3. The Kindle is a different experience which doesn't make me feel like I'm paying for the same Android experience. The ads are not annoying to me- really, it's the lock screen ad that is glaringly obvious. There are ads underneath each item in the carousel that point out "customers who bought this also bought..." I've found some good books that way, so I don't have a problem with it.

I'd argue that you can still enjoy the Fire HD without Prime. But it depends.
- You can sideload YouTube and install Netflix for videos
- For magazines, you can download individual apps, i.e. GQ, Wired, etc.
- You can buy individual books from Kindle.
- In theory you can sideload zinio, nook, etc- not sure if these apps work.
 

Larry Pager

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You can access your gmail account with the default email app and you can also sync your calendar with Google Calendar. It's nowhere near as robust as gmail, but it's there.
I had already rooted my tab and had fooled around with CM roms.
 

anon(19759)

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I'm pretty disappointed with the 8.9 HD. It's constantly freezing and rebooting. Several factory resets have not fixed and Amazon tech support has no answers. The carousel is really annoying. Love the display though and the micro hdmi out. Just general performance has not been good compared side by side with my ipad 2. Flipboard is a perfect example. Flipping through pages on the kindle is slow and buggy where on the ipad it's smooth and instant. Unfortunately, it's going back to the store. I can't stand lag and freezing. This is not an Android vs iOS thing, as my phone is an SGS3, rooted and running CleanROM and I would never even consider iOS for a phone due it's lack of customization. Wife also has the sgs3. For a tablet though, I'm starting to become an ipad fan. I don't need to run custom launchers or root or any of that stuff. I just consume content on it, and the ipad does that really well. I really wanted to love the 8.9 Kindle Fire HD, as the size and display are exactly what I want in a tablet, but being able to use it without constant frustration is a deal breaker.