Amazon does with its tablet series Kindle Fire massive jumps. While the original device is noticed only by its low price, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 was able to score with a FullHD display. With the HDX 8.9 not only some shortcomings of the previous model are eliminated, but also reduces the weight, increases the power and the display again improved. The future zone has tested the tablet.
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 Photogallery (17)
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 Photogallery
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Design
The front of the HDX 8.9 is not very spectacular. The edges are not as thin as the iPad Air, a dark gray magnesium housing makes the frame and back. The housing is also provided with an anti-slip layer that feels pleasant.
The back is far from negligible. Towards the edges tapering the housing, whereby additional edges. So arises together with the dark gray matt color a “stealth” look. Style breaker here is the top-mounted plastic strip and its black gloss visually does not match the rest of the high-quality looking back.
The survey for the camera, which is located in this bar, was also designed edges.
handling
374 grams, the tablet easily enjoyable. Due to the thin margins on the back affects the HDX 8.9 also slimmer than it actually is and is both in high and landscape format well in the hand.
The standby button and volume buttons on the back are larger than its predecessor and easily palpable. They are positioned so that they are quickly found in landscape mode with the fingers without this trigger unintentionally.
Photo: Gregor Gruber
display
The 8.9 inch display has the resolution of 2560 x 1600 pixels. With 339 PPI it thus represents the iPad Air (9.7 inches, 264 PPI) in the shade. The sharpness is excellent. Fonts and menus of the First Party Apps look very good, the icons of most other apps are well extrapolated. Only icons in some older apps look a bit washed out. Not optimal view of comics that were purchased through the Kindle Bookstore. These would have to be made for the HDX 8.9 in better quality. Regular e-books benefit from the higher sharpness, the font looks very good.
The maximum brightness is sufficient for indoor use. The automatic brightness adjustment sometimes reacts too slowly and makes the display tends to be a somewhat too bright. In sunshine this is to find a shady spot: The brightness is not enough to compensate for the strongly reflective display, which is, moreover, a finger dauber magnet. In the test device of the future zone at the top of slight backlight bleeding visible (irregular strong backlight of the display), but does not really stand annoying in everyday use.
The colors are strong even at maximum brightness and are not oversaturated. The viewing of high-resolution photos is excellent. Videos should preferably be reproduced in full HD format on the HDX 8.9 to exhaust the display. Video in 720p look good too, but not as impressive as Full HD movies.
Is it with the eyes a little closer to the HDX 8.9 turn, is seen in bright pictures glittering points on the display. These are the points of intersection of the horizontal and vertical lines of the touch screen grid. For dark images, they are not visible in bright you could keep them for dirt on the display. When focusing on the content and not on the glittering points, they do not interfere further.
Photo: Gregor Gruber
Software
The HDX uses, as even the Kindle Fires before a heavily modified version of Android. Amazon has this for the first time given a name: Fire OS 3.0. The home screen consists of three elements. At the top is the toolbar with shortcuts, such as search, games, apps and web. This is followed by the Kindle Fire-typical carousel are displayed in the recently last used apps and e-books. In portrait mode are displayed under the central carousel icon up to five small icons. In an e-book is about the similar e-books that can be purchased at the Gallery app there are more photos, files or videos. After the carousel, the first range comes with installed apps (two rows in portrait mode). You scroll down the rest of the apps are displayed. This is an improvement to the Kindle Fire HD, in which the apps were displayed as a carousel on the home screen and you had to go for a grid representation only in the app menu.
Wipes you with your finger from the top of the screen downwards, then the notifications and shortcuts such as screen orientation, brightness and Wi-Fi connections will be displayed. This is not possible if apps are running in full screen. To access this control elements and the status bar, you tap on the small gray tab at the right margin. Now the status bar above, and a bar will appear to the right with on-screen buttons for Search, Menu, Back and Home. You can sweep from the right edge of the screen to the center of the screen, a row of icons of recently used apps will appear to switch to these.
In some apps, like the gallery, the video player or when watching e-books, the above Wischerei of clicking and not working. Here you tap once on the screen to bring up the control bars. The idea behind it is that the little gray tab does not protrude annoying to open the control panel in media content into the picture. Nevertheless, it is used to, that not all the apps, the operation is the same.
Photo: Gregor Gruber
Apps
Although the operating system Android is basically and also some apps are identical with their Android counterparts, the Play Store is still not available. E-books, music and apps are purchased through Amazon’s own stores. Movies can not be bought as before, as Amazon’s Lovefilm service is not available in Austria. Because the operating system but Android is can easily be placed on the HDX 8.9 via Micro USB cable videos, MP3s and photos by drag and drop. Amazon’s recommended transfer software must not be used. The video player of the HDX 8.9 not play all video files on the App Store but the VLC player is available free of charge.
The Amazon App Store has still not the scope of the Play stores, but the range is constantly growing. So now also common benchmarks to find and games from major vendors such as EA, Ubisoft and Square Enix. Official Google Apps, Instagram, Flickr, or alternative browsers, there are still not. For this is preinstalled to release only certain apps and e-books with Kindle FreeTime a child lock. It can create multiple profiles, as well as additional time limits (screen time, reading books, apps use) can be set.
“Mayday” feature did not make it to Austria and Germany. In the U.S., Kindle Fire HDX owners can use it to start a video chat with a support agent, the remote control of the device and content may mark on the display.
Photo: Gregor Gruber
power
Not only the display has been improved compared to the Kindle Fire HD, the power has been increased. With a Snapdragon 800 with 2.2 GHz and 2 GB RAM HDX 8.9 is well equipped for consuming apps and games. Apps load quickly, slow downs and stuttering it only happens rarely.
The benchmarks provide the following results:
3D Mark Ice Storm Unlimited: 12643
Quadrant Standard Edition: 18453
Up to twelve hours of battery life with active Wi-Fi connection are possible if the screen brightness is set manually to 50 percent. With automatic screen brightness are ten hours more realistic, since the HDX 8.9 tends to the display adjusts brighter than necessary.
a MicroSD slot does not exist. The HDX 8.9 can be purchased with 16, 32 and 64 GB internal memory. The operating system takes up about 4.6 GB – with 16 GB of memory the user are 11.3 GB. In the test period, there were two times to precipitate the active Wi-Fi connection in two different networks. Once it was enough to disable and re-enable Wi-Fi, in the second case had to be restarted the tablet. The errors were not reproducible.
Photo: Gregor Gruber
camera and sound
The HDX series the first of the Kindle Fire is a series that has a reverse camera. the camera app does not provide manual settings such as exposure compensation, white balance and effects, but an HDR and Sweep Panorama mode. Touch focus is possible, but this is not entirely reliable. Especially when bright subjects that range from the center of the screen left or right, is often not properly focused.
In good light, there are also good shots, in artificial light image noise and pale colors are quickly noticeable – at the excellent display of HDX 8.9 is hardly hidden image disturbance. Videos can be recorded in 1080p.
The stereo speakers are at the back, in the upper left and right corner, mounted. They are slightly slanted, so the sound is not blocked completely when the tablet is lying flat on the table. Although covers are used, so there is still some distance between speaker opening and the sleeve so that the sound can better unfold.
The maximum volume is sufficient. The sound quality does not shrink until at the highest level – but the sound is generally rather dull. The best sounds of the HDX 8.9 when held in hands. At the table or lying in the origami envelope of the sound is still muffled.
Photo: Gregor Gruber
Folding Cover
What’s for the iPad, the Smart Air Case, the Origami Case for HDX 8.9. This protects the whole device, the buttons on the back are still usable. Both the front cover and the entire tablet will be retained by the magnet in position. When closing the lid does not jump in precise position: really the whole tablet are protected target, you have to push it a few millimeters deal before the HDX is 8.9 thrown in the backpack or bag
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your name carries the envelope, because the flap can be folded to form a stand. This has only one position, but can be used in both portrait and landscape orientation. To photograph, one moves the tablet in portrait mode with a thumbs up – the camera app starts automatically. One should be careful to put the thumb at mid-height. If the MOVE from too far down on the tablet from the case could fall.
70 euros is the shell not a bargain when you consider that it only has one angle. In addition, the shell is unusually difficult: With 308 grams, it weighs almost as much as the HDX 8.9. Together the two of them weigh 682 grams. Air and iPad Smart Case together weigh 614 grams.
Conclusion
If the Google Play 8.9 would be available on the Kindle Fire HDX, the Amazon tablet would be a very good alternative to Apple’s iPad Air and one of the best Android tablets on the market. Even so, it is an excellent device, which is also still 100 euros cheaper (ad-supported circuits with the lockscreen) than the iPad Air. If you can live with the smaller app selection than IOS and Android, you will be happy with the HDX 8.9.
Specifications
Model:
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 display:
8.9 inch LCD, 2560 x 1600 pixels (339 PPI) Processor:
2.2 GHz Snapdragon processor 800 RAM:
2 GB
Memory:
16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB, no MicroSD slot Operating System:
Fire OS 3.0
Connections / Extras:
3.5 mm jack, Wi-Fi (a / b / g / n) and MIMO, Bluetooth, Micro USB, variant available with 4G module
Battery:
no manufacturer information Camera:
8 megapixel main camera, 720p front camera Videos:
recording in 1080p possible front camera 720p Dimensions:
231 mm x 158 mm x 7.8 mm, 374 grams (4G variant: 384 grams)
Price:
from 379 € (16 GB), without advertising Lockscreen 15 euros more expensive link:
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