![]() Looking very Android, Fire OS 5Īlong with revamped hardware, Amazon also took the time to revamp the software. Thankfully, both tablets include a Micro SD card slot for up to 128GB of additional storage. The Fire HD 10 starts at $230 and comes with 16GB, or you can shell out another $30 for 32GB. Unfortunately, the $150 Fire HD 8 only comes with 8GB of internal storage, which is pretty paltry in this day and age, though you can double that storage for an extra $20. The same could be said about games, where playing titles like DuckTales and Injustice: Gods Among Us didn’t give me any headaches, though exiting those games by tapping the Home button sometimes led to the Home screen itself refreshing. I had to wait a few seconds here and there, but nothing too egregious. When focusing on one task, however, the Fire HD runs just fine. It also takes roughly three to four seconds to open the camera app, slightly longer than I expected. They don’t exactly scream high-end, and the lack of cutting edge hardware definitely shows in the lag when multitasking, and when I hit the Home button to leave an app. ![]() Surprisingly smooth, sometimes inconsistent, performanceĪmazon opted to equip the latest Fire HD tablets with a 1.5GHz, quad-core, MediaTek processor, and 1GB of RAM. It gets the job done for video calls and nothing more. The 720p front camera also produced grainy results. The hair on my dog, for example, fails to appear properly defined, and capturing an HDR image can take up to seven seconds. Unfortunately, the rear camera isn’t particularly great at snapping sharp pictures, with edges appearing rather fuzzy in images. Mediocre camerasĪs is standard with most tablets, the Fire HD doesn’t have a great set of cameras. There’s a 5-megapixel camera on the rear, and a 720p front-facing camera. Even so, that’s somewhat offset by how bright the display can get, and it certainly gets the job done when it comes to Web browsing, playing games, and reading. It’s an issue that’s exacerbated by the operating system’s insistence on thin fonts. Otherwise, things can look rather pixelated, particularly on the Fire HD 10. Where the fantastic animation of The Legend of Korra shone through, Guardians of the Galaxy looked decidedly more noisy. ![]() ![]() As far as quality is concerned, the display is okay - nothing more, nothing less. Staying true to their names, the Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 feature 8-inch and 10-inch screens, though both are 1,280 x 800 pixel resolution panels. If only I could be as enthused with the display as I was with the speakers. I had no trouble listening to Batman laying down some justice in Batman: The Animated Series from a different room.Īs far as quality is concerned, the display is okay - nothing more, nothing less. I was also happy with how loud these speakers could go without any sound clipping, which is quite the feat given how loud these speakers are in general. My music preferences don’t stray too far from metal and hardcore, but I was happy with how clearly cymbals crashed and guitars riffed in As I Lay Dying’s The Powerless Rise and August Burns Red’s Rescue and Restore. When it comes to those Dolby Atmos speakers, they crank out more sound than I originally anticipated. My ears were satisfied, but my eyes weren’t If you’re picking up either tablet, we’d recommend staying away from black, mainly because the rear panel is a fingerprint magnet that seems to attract materials from the corners of our galaxy. Whereas the Fire HD 10 is only offered in white and black (ours was the latter), the Fire HD 8 is available in black, blue, tangerine, and the striking magenta that we received. The main area in which the Fire HD 8 differentiates itself from its bigger sibling is in the colors available for purchase. The glossy rear panel might prompt the fear that these tablets will constantly fall out of your hands, but the seamless transition to a matte plastic that surrounds the front, helps with drop prevention. While the Fire HD 8 provides just enough surface area that you can hold it in one hand and still keep your mind at ease, the Fire HD 10 is a tablet that demands to be held with two hands. Starting at $150 and $230, respectively, the new Fire HD duo certainly fit the bill for affordability, but did Amazon cut too many corners to get there? A splash of color, a dash of monochromeĪmazon is known for building solid, albeit unexciting, hardware, and the Fire HD is no exception. Much like the relatively diminutive Fire HD 6 and Fire HD 7 of last year, Amazon’s new pair of tablets are designed to push its ecosystem to the millions who shop on its online marketplace. Known for its affordability, Amazon’s Fire HD line of tablets got quite the refresh in 2015 with the Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 tablets.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |