Explore the Kindle Environment – An Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9” Review

Whether you’re in the search for some school notebooks, car equipment, or a new PC, chances are you’ll end up looking on Amazon.

With their growing empire, the A to Z Company has reached new heights with its success with Kindle and Fire branded products.

Over the years, Amazon has certainly become a well-known-name brand and their services offered are unlike on any other website. With products listing from A to Z and the success of quick and simple shipping, people tend to enjoy what they receive after their purchase on Amazon. It’s all about customer satisfaction, it seems.

Another success from Amazon, is their vast collection of internet books, or eBooks. The launch of eBooks has dramatically changed the way people read, as an entire library collection can be at your fingertips anywhere. Offered on many different mobile platforms, people can easily carry thousands of eBooks wherever they may go.

It all began with the launch of the original Amazon Kindle. With its black and white eInk display, it was different from what most people were used to, but it caught on. Easy to read outside, thin and light, long battery life, and a capacity to hold thousands of books, there are many reasons why the Kindle became so popular.

As the Kindle brand progresses, Amazon has now introduced some new technology that combines two popular Amazon brands. Bringing together the Kindle and Fire brand, Amazon has created a user friendly tablet, yet practical for book lovers everywhere.

As a user of one of the early Kindle devices (Product name: Kindle), I was pleased to see the new Fire edition of the Kindle. Dubbed Kindle Fire HDX, Amazon has released many new different styles and models to grow the market. Having a thin body, 8.9 inch display, and powerful hardware to match, the new Kindle Fire HDX is certainly a device worth looking into.

Welcome to my Amazon Kindle Fire HDX (8.9” Model) review. Throughout this review I will be covering the following topics: the unboxing and setup, design, operating system, hardware, and my final thoughts. I would like to thank Amazon for providing me with the Kindle Fire HDX for this review. Please note that throughout this review I will be labeling the “Kindle Fire HDX” as “Kindle” rather than the full name.

Unboxing + Setup

The unboxing of the Kindle reminded me of the Amazon Fire TV that I reviewed a few months ago. The outer sleeve of the box illustrates a quick peek of the Kindle and some popular applications that can be downloaded via the Amazon App Store. Flip to the back of the sleeve to find many new features of the Kindle along with more available applications.

Take off the outer sleeve to find the black and orange themed box containing your new Kindle device. Open up your box and you will find a helpful “getting to know your kindle” guide that clearly outlines different physical buttons, how to unlock the screen, and how to charge the device. Even being a tech guru, I was pleased to see this included.

Dive deeper into the box and you will find the Kindle Fire HDX in all its glory, along with an Amazon branded 1.8A USB wall port, and a USB charging cable.

Focusing on the USB cable for a moment and you will notice the long length and soft touch material of the cable. There’s no need to worry that a wall port may be too far away from a table and thanks to the soft touch material used the cable is tangle free.

After charging your Kindle to 100% battery, setup is a breeze. Because you purchased your new Kindle through Amazon.com, your Amazon account will already be connected and setup. The device will ask for a time zone, Wi-Fi connection, and some personalization data; afterwards you’re all set to go. The setup lacks the video guide that the Fire TV did, but there are some assistance tools like the Mayday button; more on that later.

To personalize your new Kindle even further, you will have to visit the Amazon App Store. Here you will find popular applications like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, iHeartRadio, HBO Go, and more.

Lastly, I would recommend checking for new firmware updates. Found in the settings menu, there is a high chance the Kindle is outdated and can receive a new operating system update. After about half an hour the device will download and install the new operating system without any issues.

Design

Similar to the Fire TV, Amazon clearly understands the idea behind great styles and designs. Being both elegant and stylish the Kindle will surely catch your attention.

Beginning with the front of the device, users will find a smooth 8.9” 2560×1600 touchscreen display along with a front facing 720p camera. There is a slight beveled edge around the display and some nice black borders that provides an easy grip for your hands without activating the display.

Flip the device around and you find what I like to call the “Lamborghini style” design. Being aggressive, yet subtle, along the Kindle’s top edge is a glossy black ribbon containing the dual Dolby Digital speakers and an 8 megapixel 1080p rear facing camera with LED flash. Below the glossy ribbon is a soft touch matte black finish that has a glossy Amazon logo and physical on/off and volume up/down buttons.

The rear buttons for power and volume take a little getting used to, but it is nice that they are out of the way. I do not prefer them over side buttons, but I do not dislike them on the back.

What I was pleased with were the Kindle’s physical shape and thickness of the body. Being more of a rectangular shape, the Kindle is good compromise for excellent playback of music and videos, and reading. The feather-like weight of 13.2 ounces allows for great comfort in your hands even when used for long periods of time. At a thickness of only 7.8 mm, never before have I seen such a thin tablet; this is mostly due to the rear device buttons not being inset.

Surprisingly, Amazon claims that this new Kindle is 34% lighter than last year’s model but I would argue that it doesn’t seem much different from the original black and white Kindle.

To finish, I would like to say that the design of the Kindle Fire HDX is unique and I believe that Amazon has scored a bull with this one. It’s stylish, light, and a joy to use no matter where you may be. Although the touchscreen and back of the unit are fingerprint magnets, they are easily cleaned with a microfiber towel.

Operating System

As we take a break from the physical components of the Kindle and move to the software side of things, we start to see more of the Kindle/Fire combination.

As the Amazon Fire OS is new and exciting, it will take some time to get used to. Amazon took its own approach on designing the Fire OS for the Kindle and its approach is well received. Whether in landscape or portrait mode, the device displays a carousel showing recently used applications. This carousel of apps let you quickly relaunch popular used apps like Facebook or Twitter.

With an upwards finger gesture from the bottom of the screen, the device will display all the installed applications along with a few other device tools. Keep in mind that the top row is always displayed while on the home page carousel.

It should be noted that the home screen also works when in in landscape mode. Rotate the device 90 degrees and you’ll find that instead of holding a tablet, you now have something that more resembles a book. Want to hold the device upside-down? Well go ahead as the home page will flip with you.

At the top of the screen is a menu bar that lists a search feature, shop, games, apps, books, music, etc. Each menu option launches its own custom store or built in application that is easy to navigate and use. Perform a downwards finger gesture from the top of the screen and you will find a notification bar that displays application information or firmware updates. You will also find quick settings for auto-rotation lock, wireless, brightness, Mayday, settings, etc.

I’ve mentioned the Mayday term twice now and what it does is quite useful. From the notification bar, tap the gear icon labeled Mayday. You will then see a screen indicating what you’re about to do. The Mayday feature of the Kindle is a 24/7 52 week operation powered by Amazon to help solve any Kindle issue. Connect to an Amazon representative, and they can see your screen at which they can help solve different issues or show you how to do certain things. You can see them, but they cannot see you. It certainly is a neat service offered for people who are not very technically minded.

As Fire OS is a newcomer to the mobile market, the Amazon App store is still growing. With the success of getting popular apps like Twitch TV, HBO Go, Facebook, Minecraft, and so forth, users should be able to find the general applications they use on a daily basis. However, the store does lack some key Google applications. YouTube, Maps, Hangouts, and more are missing from the store, apps that are helpful on a 4G LTE capability device. Amazon’s Silk web browser makes up for some of it as the built in flash player and website construction works quite well. In the end, I would like to see Amazon push harder in getting more app developers.

Books, movies, and music on the other hand are plentiful and are available for either a payment or free to Amazon Prime Members. Being a Kindle device I would certainly expect that there would be a large collection of books to read. Connect to the Amazon database and thousands of new and old book titles are available for purchase, rent, or free for Prime Members. There should be no worries finding something new and exciting to read.

Reading doesn’t stop there as there are also online magazines and the popular website, Goodreads, that are available on the Kindle. In addition, Amazon offers thousands of different movie and music titles. There are over 27 million movies, TV shows, songs, apps, games, books, audiobooks, and magazines so finding something you enjoy should not be an issue. What’s great is the dual Dolby Digital that offers a 5.1 multi-channel surround sound that fills the area with a loud and enjoyable sound.

In the end, I had to ask myself who this new Kindle is focused at. Is it the average book reader who reads on the go? A young child receiving their first tablet? Or people looking for a tablet for everyday use? Book readers should enjoy the Kindle Fire HDX, as there is a large selection of books; parents will enjoy the kid friendly user interface and parenting controls; and overall people will enjoy all of the functionality of the Kindle Fire HDX.

It’s hard to say who this is for. The Fire OS could still use some new updates with some bugs appearing every once in a while, and the Amazon App Store can certainly use new apps like YouTube. It is a great tablet for what Amazon has to offer and will certainly be liked by any user whether you’re a book reader, young child, or average user.

Hardware

So far, the Kindle Fire HDX is quite the device and stacks up to many of the competitors out there. So how does the hardware stack up to other tablets?

The beautiful 2560×1600 339PPI 100% sRGB display is certainly a great place to begin. Colors, videos, pictures, books, etc. are outstanding and vibrant; as Amazon puts it: “images that go beyond standard HD”. The 100% sRGB provides reduced glare when outside along with dynamic image contrast and better brightness controls. This is by far one of the best displays on a tablet that I have seen.

Powering the device is a Snapdragon 800 processor running at a base clock speed of 2.2 GHz, backed up by 2GB of RAM. Graphics are handled by an Adreno 330 chip that makes videos quick and snappy, whilst gaming applications run smoothly and quickly. Never did the device or operating system lag or stutter while in use.

Next, we have the device battery life. With moderate usage, I found that the Kindle could easily last two days of work without a recharge and it lasted days while in standby. If the battery does happen to reach zero, there’s no worry as with just a few hours of charging you’re back in action.

Finally, we have the device model of the HDX. Sent to me was a 16GB Wi-Fi 4G LTE device running on the AT&T network. It’s nice to see that Amazon offers a 4G LTE capable Kindle, but unfortunately users who opt for the 4G edition will be forced into a 16GB model as 32GB and 64GB models are only available on Wi-Fi.

My Final Thoughts

In conclusion, the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9” is an outstanding new device. Its functionality is great for users who are new to the tablet market. With all three subjects, design, operating system, and hardware being nearly perfect, Amazon took some serious thoughts on crafting the new Kindle. There are many different models of the Kindle Fire HDX so your purchase price may vary; expect to pay ~$300. A one year warranty will come as standard but in addition, all buyers who purchase from Amazon will receive Amazon Prime free for one year. In the end, I believe that the Kindle Fire HDX delivers outstanding value to any customer.

Buy it Now:

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