Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

CUSTOMER REVIEW



Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?)


I read this book in two days flat and I know that, had I had the time, I would have read it in one sitting. This is a book that grips you, draws you in and leaves you feeling a slightly better person for having read it.

The story is that of Louie Zamperini - a track and field star of the 1930's, who participated in the Berlin olympics, was part of the US air force in WWII, was shot down over the ocean, was adrift in the Pacific for over a month, was held as a POW by the Japanese forces and finally made it back to his life and has had the courage to live it to its fullest.

Hillenbrand is a marvellous author. I was never tempted to read Seabiscuit and this was my first introduction to her work. She is one of a few authors who can write a non fiction story in the most gripping and vivid way imaginable. Instead of being flowery or overly embellished her prose relies squarely on research and on witness accounts and yet manages to never be dull. The swiftly moving story takes the reader from Zamperini's early beginnings, his swift rise to track star, the Berlin olympics and then to the World War. This is where the story really blooms. Hillenbrand settles in for the long haul here and we get to see the air force and the B24 bombers through the words of the men who actually flew them. The sequences where Zamperini and his friend Phil are adrift at sea are vivid and strangely beautifully described. The horrors that await them at the Japanese prison camps are not glossed over but neither does Hillenbrand wallow in the gore and violence as some authors may be tempted to do. There is always a strong sense of the respect the author holds for the men whose story she is being allowed to tell.

History has perhaps focused its eye too exclusively on the war in Europe to the extent where the situation in the Pacific and the plight of POW's there has not recieved the attention and the respect it deserves. Hillenbrand's book and detailed research certainly makes a strong attempt to change that.

Solidly based on statistics and army reports from both sides of the war, Hillenbrands book paints a clear picture of the hellish conditions that the POW's endured and the utter madness of the war that was being waged in the Pacific. This is a hard story to read but one that is well worth it. The falling apart of Louie's life and his slow path to regaining his life and sense of purpose is a story that is truly inspiring. This book will find a permanent place of honor on my bookshelf.

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Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Leather Cover, Onyx Black (does not fit Kindle or Kindle Touch)

CUSTOMER REVIEW



This is a very nice and lightweight cover that goes above and beyond what previous versions of Amazon-branded e-Ink Kindle covers have done: it is super-compact, lightweight, and holds the Paperwhite about as snug and secure as you can imagine - they have made this cover so that the Kindle fits into a recessed pocket in the cover for a snug fit that you won't have any fear of falling out (like the Kindle 1), the hinge wearing out over time and your Kindle dangling or falling out (like the Kindle 3 / Kindle Keyboard), or some type of fabric wearing out from use (like the Kindle Fire and the Kindle DX).

What is really neat is there is a sensor in the Paperwhite and the cover that allow the Kindle to know when the cover is closed and automatically puts it into sleep mode to conserve battery power - upon opening the flap to read, the Paperwhite automatically wakes up. I'll bet some of you have tried cocking your head at an angle and put your eye up to it to see when the Kindle hits sleep mode and / or wakes up as you close and open the cover (I did!).

I have used this for a little over a week now and it has been able to withstand the rigors of back and forth in my briefcase, numerous sessions of starting and stopping reading, and, unfortunately dropping it on its side twice - and it protected the Kindle like a champ.

It feels good in your hands and compliments the reading experience with your new Paperwhite. The outer cover is a basic leather that feels good and you can get it in a variety of styles - I got the regular black as my other Kindle readers have different colors and I wanted to be able to recognize it quickly from across the room as "mine" vs. another family members' Kindle.

Please note this holder only fits the Kindle Paperwhite and does not fit any other e-Ink Kindle as the dimensions are different.

As I type this review, the price of this cover in black is $39.99 which is a pretty good deal when you compare it to the pricing of the covers for other models of Kindle. I would highly recommend this one in the color of your choosing - you want to protect your investment, and my two drops already in one week show this was a good protection of that investment.

November 8, 2013 Update: I've been using this for over a year now and it is still holding up, and protecting my Paperwhite despite numerous airports, back and forth in my man bag, and several drops onto concrete.

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Standing Protective Case for Fire HD 7 (4th Generation), Black

Product Description

Color Name: Black

Better Together with Fire HD 7

Slim, form-fitting cases designed by Amazon to perfectly fit your Fire HD 7 and provide full front and back protection. The case is easy to attach and remove, with an integrated magnetic closure to ensure your case stays shut while on the go.

This innovative case automatically puts your Fire tablet to sleep when it is closed and wakes it upon opening, saving battery life while making it easy to jump back into your apps, games, movies, and more.

Crafted from durable polyurethane with a matching microfiber interior, your case protects your Fire and keeps your screen clean.

Hands-Free Viewing

Whether you are browsing the web at home or, enjoying a movie on the plane, or working while on the go, our integrated case stands your Fire tablet in either landscape or portrait orientation so you can enjoy your content hands-free.

CUSTOMER REVIEW



This thing works as designed and my son loves the RED case. His second choice was orange but they did not have that color. It fits the new FIRE HD 7 perfectly and the folding flap to stand this thing up is ingenious. All ports and openings are readily available as is the front facing camera. He has not put this thing down except to stand it up and game game game.

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Kindle, 6" Glare-Free Touchscreen Display, Wi-Fi - Includes Special Offers

CUSTOMER REVIEW



I am writing this from the perspective of being a long-time experienced Kindle user vs. someone brand new. From an overall perspective, considering the pricing of the Kindle with Special Offers at $79 vs. higher amounts for the different flavors of Kindle available today, this one is a bargain. If you have wanted to get your kids a Kindle to encourage reading as well as sharing of books but hesitated because $119 to $400+ is a lot of money to risk with a child, maybe at $79 this is your price point.

From a size standpoint, the reading screen is the exact same size as the other e-Ink Kindles. It is slightly thicker - but slightly lighter - than the Kindle Paperwhite, but to me it's not really a noticeable difference when you're holding it in a protective cover.

Opening up the box, included with the Kindle is a micro-USB cord but no power adapter. That's really annoying. Interestingly, and it seems rather chicken of Amazon, a power adaptor has to be purchased separately for $15 if you purchase it at the same time as you purchase the Kindle (or $20 if you purchase it later), so if you already have a micro-USB charger handy I wouldn't order one of the chargers.

There are no page buttons - no buttons at all except for the power button - and turning the page is as easy as tapping the side of the screen with your thumb while you're reading, or swiping the screen with your finger.

Reading is easy on this one: in comparison to my Kindle Keyboard, the previous version of Kindle, and a Kindle DX the letters on the screen are much, much darker and easier to read: the display is crisp and dark. Looking at the display side-by-side in the same location of an eBook against the versions of Kindle mentioned above, the text on this Kindle is much darker and reads a lot better. Compared to a Paperwhite it is not as dark but those results are to be expected since the Paperwhite has 25%+ more pixels per inch, but at this price point that's not too big of a concern for me as each new version of the Kindle gets better and better with the fonts and screen display and this one is pretty darn good - you want to be able to read what you're supposed to, right?

If you like the text-to-speech feature of previous Kindle models or listened to music with your previous Kindle, please be aware there are no speakers nor is there a plug for headphones.

Web surfing speed with the wireless is about the same as with other versions of the e-Ink Kindles: slow as Christmas! My usual test of the connectivity on a Kindle was hitting the main pages of the mobile websites of Fox News, CNN, and Google. I pushed "go" or "enter" buttons / icons at the same time on each and did not see a visible difference in the load speeds start to finish: I was about 50 yards away from my wireless router at home with a couple of walls in the way for the wireless test, with similar results at my office after the Kindle arrived. I did try to check one of my Google email accounts but it crashed. I learned a couple of years ago to not try and surf the Internet with an e-Ink Kindle because it's so darn slow; besides, I use the Kindle to read a book and I can surf the Internet or check my email on my other devices

In comparison the previous version of Kindle this one is replacing, other than the crisper text / fonts from the improved screen display, as far as I can tell this new version of Kindle has the same technical specifications of the previous Kindle: about the same size, same internal memory. If you had a precious version of the Kindle this version is replacing, that means you can use the same cover as the previous version.

Battery life is supposed to last "...weeks on a single charge" but I doubt it: I charged it up 100% late yesterday afternoon and, 24 hours later, the battery meter is indicating about 50% left. This was with the Wi-Fi left on but the Kindle not being used overnight as I left it in the office in sleep mode. Time will tell if this is going to be a problem or not.

It did take a few minutes to get this model up and running as, in addition to the normal making sure it is registered and going through a mandatory tutorial on which areas of the screen to tap to perform various functions, there is a lot of Amazon marketing you have to weed through: do you want to sign up for Goodreads (an Amazon affiliate), would you like to sign up for Kindle Unlimited (for a monthly recurring revenue stream to Amazon), would you like to link your Facebook and Twitter accounts so your're friends / family / perfect strangers can be voyeuristic on what you are reading (absolutely not for me).

You can also sign up for parental controls with this version which I think is a great idea - sometimes you don't want your children to read what you are reading.

One annoying thing (to me, at least) is the automatic import of the various categories / collections you have linked to your Amazon account onto this version and links to the books in the Cloud that you can immediately download in the same category on the new Kindle. If you're replacing an older Kindle with this one that could be handy, but if you have other people on your account / family in households with more than one Kindle, that can be a pain in the neck because, for example, my wife and I generally have different tastes in books - I don't want her books cluttering up my Kindle's screen and she feels the same way about mine. IT's not a deal killer, but it does make you wade through a lot of stuff.

Despite some of my nits above, as a parent whose children can be hard on electronics I likethis version, and think with this $79 price point it will help to continue to explode the eBook revolution even faster as they get in more people's hands. If you have not purchased a Kindle before due to price, need a cheaper replacement than the other versions, or maybe a relative or a friend has hesitated to get one this one is in your price zone, I would recommend this one!

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Hope to Die (Alex Cross Book 22)

CUSTOMER REVIEW



This is the 22nd Alex Cross novel by James Patterson and I must say it is an absolute joy to read. The first part of the story forms a well-written rehash of the traumatic but gripping events from book one that transpired concerning the Cross Family as well as simultaneously revealing new information concerning the killer/s. The reader will find that every new drop adds tension and depth to the story. As is by now almost trademarked by Mr Patterson, every chapter ends with a clever hook which makes it virtually impossible to stop reading. But why would you anyway? Just about half of the world's population are Alex Cross fans and of course they want to find out what has happened to the fictional family the world have grown to love like no other.

So read on, and learn the truth. None of the book is pretty. The victims are horrifically maimed and abused and the serial killer is leading our hero a merry little psychological dance as he leads him toward madness, depravity and a search for vengeance. The world knows Alex Cross much better than the bad guy does so we know without turning a single page that the forces of good will overcome this particular personification of evil. But the "fun" is in the reading, just like every worthwhile book you pick up. And HOPE TO DIE is no different from that perspective. From an entertainment factor, however, it stands head and shoulders above most of its specific genre. And, dare I say it, head and shoulders with the best of the Alex Cross novels themselves.

This time around, there seems to be more depth to the characters, and a higher quality of the writing virtually ensures that the reader feels closer and sympathises greatly with Alex Cross himself, as well as the other incidental victims of the lunatic running amok the pages of books and the screens of kindles scattered around the world. Even minor characters in the book play a not insignificant role in identifying and catching the killer. And of course the book is so well written that you can't help finding yourself emotionally attached to them, as well.

Finally, and this is just a minor gripe, aimed a the publishers more so than Mr Patterson. After reading such an epic, gut wrenching and emotional story, it is nice to turn the page (or refresh your kindle screen) and be met with the words, "THE END". Or even just another blank page (screen). This time around, I was met immediately with the chance to read the next forthcoming big release. Now, don't get me wrong. I am sure the next book will be an awesome, amazing read, too, but out of respect for the reading experience that we just finished, I believe it would be good to leave some space for the events just passed to sink into the consciousness of the reader.

Anyway, back to the story itself. It is shocking, revolting, and violent but an amazingly satisfying and hugely emotional ride through what seems at the book's beginning, to be an eternal valley of darkness. But like all true believers in the powers of good, keep reading, keep the faith and you will find salvation in the light. Just like Alex Cross does (or does he?). And as I have come to believe, just like James Patterson.

Good work, Sir. I can't wait to read more of your books.

(*eyes his kindle with a huge surge of emotion*)

BFN Greggorio!

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The Escape (John Puller Book 3)

CUSTOMER REVIEW



Baldacci is one of my favorite authors, but with this book he may have moved into first place. While my favorite book of his is not a thriller (Wish You Well) this one comes close to first place.
The story will make you think. How small the world has become and what that means for all of us if there is ever a contagious bioterrorism attack is a clear theme. For the first time my thinking on Snowdens release of top secret material was put into question by this book. At what point does national security eliminate or reduce constitutional rights? How can you protect your country when the acts of one person could be catastrophic? Does the end justify the means?
Yes this book will make you think and while it may keep you up all night to finish reading it, it may also keep you up all night when you finish because if it doesn't scare you abit you must not be breathing.
At the book's heart it is a thriller and the best one I have read in years. The plot moves along quickly with unexpected twists and turns. The characters are so well developed that I can literally see and hear them in my mind.
The book is also a story about family, loyalty and the often unfortunate dysfunctional relationship between parent and child. The Father of the main characters has Alzheimer's disease. The horrific effects are clear both to the afflicted and to their loved ones.
I can't wait for the next Puller novel. The series just gets better with each book. Baldacci has created a character who is noble, loyal, intelligent and daring but who is most importantly incredibly likeable. Puller is the person one would aspire to emulate. He is not without flaws, but those flaws make him human.

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Fire TV Stick

CUSTOMER REVIEW



TL;DR version: Great specs, snappy performance, solid build, good price, and good features, but missing HBO Go. Well worth the money. For detailed info, including comparisons with the Kindle Fire TV, the Google Chromecast, and the Roku Stick, keep reading.

The Fire TV Stick plugs into an HDMI port on your television and it then provides you access to hundreds of streaming video channels, games, and apps. It includes a remote control or you can control it via an app on your Android phone or tablet. The app is not currently available on the iPad or iPhone but Amazon notes: "iOS coming soon." The hardware included in the box is the stick itself, a remote control, a 4-foot power cable, and an HDMI extender (for a scenario where plugging in the Fire TV Stick is difficult or impossible as your HDMI port is partially blocked). For power, you can either plug into the wall or you can plug into a USB port if your TV or receiver has one.

Setting up the Fire TV Stick is easy, as all you have to do is plug it in, set your TV to the HDMI port you just plugged it into, connect it to your wifi signal, and go. Optional accessories for the Fire TV Stick include a voice-operated remote control and a game controller.

The Fire TV Stick is small and light but it includes some pretty powerful hardware, more powerful than the competition (although see below for some notes on how much that should matter). The response is snappy and searching for content is easy. The Fire TV Stick is has a solid build and it looks and feels good. Like all such sticks, it's easy to move the Fire TV Stick from the living room to the bedroom or even take it on a trip with you (although you may well find that the hotel wifi blocks your favorite site or isn't fast enough to support error-free streaming).

You can mirror content from your phone or tablet to the Fire TV Stick and have it play on your television. Or, if you have a Kindle Fire tablet or phone, you can directly cast the content to the Fire TV Stick, then continue to use your tablet for other purposes. The voice search on the Android app is pretty cool (and much faster than the painful process of inputting one letter at a time using other means) but it's limited in scope (I can't use it to search for Netflix content, for example) so unless I'm specifically searching for Amazon content, I mostly don't use it.

This is the second entry by Amazon into the streaming TV market, behind the Amazon Fire TV.
Processor: Fire TV Stick=dual-core; Fire TV=quad-core
Memory: Fire TV Stick=1GB; Fire TV=2GB
Remote: The voice-operated remote is standard on the Fire TV and is an optional $30 accessory for the Fire TV Stick
Network: Fire TV Stick=wifi only; Fire TV=wifi or wired
Audio output: Both output audio via the HDMI connection but the Fire TV also includes an optical audio output port.
Gaming: There are some high-performance games that will only run on the Fire TV.
Cost: At $99, the Fire TV is $60 more than the Stick.

So which should you get? As is typically the case, it depends. For example, I'd never use the optical audio out on the Fire TV because I plug the HDMI connector directly into my receiver. And I love the idea of the voice-operated remote and if I were staying mostly in the Amazon digital space, it would be terrific. However, I can always buy that later and right now, honestly, I don't think enough apps support it to make it worth the added cost. If Netflix and a few other channels support it, that suddenly becomes much more compelling. If you love the thought of the high-performance games that Amazon has made available, then the Fire TV is your best choice (but if you're going to do that, you should probably purchase the game controller).

The one compelling feature for me on the Fire TV is the Ethernet port, as a wired connection will almost always be faster and more reliable than a wifi connection. For now, I'm not willing to spend the additional money to get that capability, so the Fire TV Stick it is.

The top competitors for the Fire TV Stick are the Google Chromecast and the Roku Streaming Stick. Note that I'm not including the Nexus Player, the Apple TV, or the Roku 3, since those are really competitors for the Fire TV, not the Fire TV Stick. There are quite a few reviews of the Fire TV that compare that product to the others.

Hardware:
Processor: Fire TV Stick=dual-core; Chromecast=single-core; Roku=single-core
Memory: Fire TV Stick=1GB; Chromecast=0.5GB; Roku=0.5GB
Storage: Fire TV Stick=8GB; Chromecast=2GB; Roku=0.25GB
Power: All three support power via micro-USB or via a standalone power adapter. Note that all three devices lack an on/off switch, so once plugged in, they're on. That said, the energy drain when they're not in operation should be pretty trivial.

As the newest of these devices, you would expect Amazon to win the hardware battle and you'd be right. Amazon has twice as much memory, a lot more storage, and a much faster processor. Scrolling through your options on the Fire TV Stick is likely to be quicker than either of the other choices. And you'll have far more room to store your own videos, photos, and music on the Fire TV Stick. And more room for Amazon to buffer the streaming content to get you a better experience.

Where this could matter is in startup time for the device and the apps. If, for example, you completely power down these various sticks each time you turn off your TV, then the Fire TV Stick starts looking much better, as its bootup time will be shorter. Similarly, some of the apps you will run could have their own startup time issues. An independent review of the Roku, for example, noted that the boot-up time is over 90 seconds and the YouTube startup time is over 30 seconds. The Fire TV Stick easily beats both of these numbers.

Display: All three support 1080p high-def video out.

Sound: The Fire TV Stick supports "Dolby Digital Plus certified surround sound" but I suspect where that really comes into play is with your own content rather than with the streaming content. So while the Fire TV Stick wins this round, I'm not convinced it really matters. All three are going to be limited by what the streaming content provider supports.

Networking: Note that all of these devices are wifi only; none support a network cable. Both the Fire TV Stick and the Roku have dual band/dual antenna wifi; the Chromecast has single band wifi. If your wifi signal is strong, you likely won't notice much difference. If your wifi signal is weaker or if you've got a lot of wifi signals in your area (e.g., you're in a condo or apartment), then the Roku or the Fire TV Stick will almost certainly yield better results, with fewer dropped frames, less noise, and less searching for a signal.

Controls: The Fire TV Stick and the Roku both include a standalone remote control, as well as standalone control apps for your phone or tablet. The Chromecast has no remote control so you have to control it via an app. The Fire TV Stick also has an optional voice-controlled remote, which sounds like an awesome feature until you realize that few of the available apps are plugged into Amazon's voice-controlled search, so if you search for a specific video, you may find that you only see Amazon's options for that video even if it's available for free on your Netflix account. I should add that the voice search option is also available on Amazon's Fire TV Remote App. At the time I write this, Amazon is claiming that voice search is supported on Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, Crackle, Vevo, and Showtime Anytime, which is a pretty small selection.

Games: Amazon wins this category easily, with over 200 games targeted to the Fire TV Stick. Neither Google nor Roku have anything close to this. The trouble with this is that I suspect very few of us will use a device like this to play the typical Android game; we're going to play them on our phones or on our tablets. And some of these games require a game controller, which is an added expense. I just don't see being able to play Grand Theft Auto without such a controller, for example. If you like the idea of using a device like this as you would a PS4 or X-Box, then Amazon is clearly your best choice.

Cost: All three of these devices are in the same ballpark, with the Chromecast at $35, the Fire TV Stick at $39, and the Roku at $50. At $50, the Roku is the most expensive but it also has by far the largest library of content. And both the Roku and the Fire TV Stick include a separate remote. Honestly, cost was not a decisive factor for me.

Content: Roku wins this one easily, with over 1800 apps and channels in the U.S., according to its website at the time I write this. The Chromecast is second and the Fire TV Stick is third. One notable omission for the Chromecast is that it does not support Amazon Instant Video, so if you're a Prime subscriber who regularly watches AIV, you'll need to pick either the Fire TV Stick or the Roku. Similarly, Google doesn't make its own Google Play TV, Movies, and Music available on any other platform, so if much of your content is on Google Play, your only option is the Chromecast. One notable omission for the Fire TV Stick is HBO Go. I'm sure there are others but none that I watch regularly. As I hear from others, I'll update this list.

I'd recommend taking the claim of available content on any of these platforms with a huge grain of salt, as most people are only interested in the top few dozen channels and apps. For example, Google includes such apps as "testing Dev Portal" and "vCast Button jQuery Plugin" in its count. If you need these apps, that's great, but most of us don't (my apologies to the authors of those apps - those just happened to be two that caught my eye in a cursory search). I'd recommend figuring out which apps and channels are important to you, then verifying whether they are available or not. Amazon Instant Video is critical for me, for example, so the Chromecast is not on my list.

Additional capabilities:
- Only the Fire TV Stick supports Bluetooth. This is used for the game controller and for other input types like a Bluetooth keyboard.

- All three devices allow you to mirror your smartphone or tablet screen on your television, so you can browse for content on your portable device, then mirror it to your TV. The only difficulty with this is that while you're mirroring your content, your phone or tablet is stuck playing that content.

- Amazon gets around this limitation if you're using the Kindle Fire tablet, as you can "cast" the content to your television and still continue to use your tablet for other purposes, e.g., to browse the web or to use Amazon's X-Ray feature.

- If you don't have a Kindle Fire tablet, you can still "cast" or "fling" (to use Amazon's terminology) content to your TV using the DIAL standard and your stock Android or iOS device. However, only a few streaming services support this (YouTube, Netflix, and Spotify, in particular, although Amazon says that their Netflix support is "coming soon"). Both Roku and Google support this, as well.

- And Google has an additional feature in that it allows you to cast directly from the Chrome browser on your desktop or laptop, so you might be able to see content on your Chromecast that doesn't yet have a matching app in the Chromecast ecosystem. The difficulty with that is that some early reviews have noted that it's a bit buggy and not always at the best resolution. This is something that is almost certain to get better in future iterations.

To put this into a simpler form:
= Mirror everything: All three
= Cast from Kindle Fire: Fire TV Stick
= Cast from browser (but only from a laptop or desktop and only using Google Chrome): Chromecast
= Streaming from your laptop or desktop (using an app like Plex): All three
= Cast a limited set of channels: All three

Ease of use: All of these devices are easy to use, in my opinion, with easy setup and easy standard use. Basically, all they do is allow you to browse through a set of apps or search for specific content, and then stream, so there's just nothing really complicated here. Some early reviewers of the Fire TV Stick have claimed that the interface is cluttered but I didn't have any problems.

So which should you pick? All three devices are capable and all three are inexpensive. These really are content-consumption devices, so the first thing you should do is look over the content list, looking for apps and channels that are important to you. In all three cases, if there is content that is a deal-breaker for you, as Amazon Instant Video is for me, then look for the devices that support that content. Roku clearly wins the battle for content but that only matters if you really need that content.

Pick the Fire TV Stick if:
- You're heavily invested in the Amazon ecosystem and/or if you use Prime Instant Video.
- You like the thought of playing games on your TV (but then you should add the optional game controller).
- You have a Kindle Fire tablet or phone and love the thought of casting content to your TV from that device.
- You want a remote control.
- You need the dual-band wifi.
- You want the top performance.

Pick the Roku if:
- You want the top selection, including Prime Instant Video, and want to remain digital ecosystem agnostic.
- You want a remote control.
- You need the dual-band wifi

Pick the Chromecast if:
- You're heavily invested in the Google Play ecosystem.
- You want to cast content from your Google Chrome browser to your TV.
- Price is your primary consideration.

When the Fire TV Stick was first offered, it was offered at half off for Prime subscribers. If you see that offer again, jump on it as at that price it's a steal. Even at $40, with everything you get, it's still a tremendous value, as this is not a cheap device, either in its construction or in its components. With the hardware and capabilities that Amazon has provided, this is a top performer and I have no hesitation recommending it.

I check back pretty regularly, so if you have a question, please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer it.

Update to answer one FAQ: To rename your device, go to the http://amzn.to/1Ap9BEh page and click the Your Devices tab. Pick the device and then edit the name.

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Fire HD 7, 7" HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB - Includes Special Offers, Black

CUSTOMER REVIEW








































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Length:: 9:50 Mins

I purchased the original Kindle Fire in 2011 and the second generation Kindle Fire in 2012. I gave my original one to my grandson and he is still using it for apps and reading. I liked both of them and I have to tell you that they have held up very well. One is over 3 years old and the other is 2 years old and I have not had any issues with them. Since I have not upgraded in 2 years I thought I would get a new one with a larger memory and a faster CPU and a higher resolution display. There are many improvements beyond even those features.

I have to tell you that overall I am impressed with this new one. I didn't feel the need to purchase a Kindle Fire every year and when I purchased the next one I wanted it to be a definite upgrade step to what I had. I stayed with the 7 inch size as I like to portability and weight for long term reading. I alternate between the Kindle Paperwhite for reading in the daytime and at night sometimes and I use the Kindle Fire for reading in the evening and at night plus browsing the internet and getting email. This new Kindle Fire HD 2014 version is very fast and easy to use. Setting it up for the internet and downloading my apps and books was a breeze. I like the fact that the larger memory allows me to carry more apps and books. The higher resolution of the screen is helpful in reading books as the text is clearer and easier on my eyes than the older Kindle Fires we own. The screen is better for playing apps and watching videos and movies and it is worth the upgrade from the older Kindle Fires.

I like that this version has both a front and rear facing camera. I use the camera a lot on all of my tablets and I own many Apple iPads, Apple iPhone and Android tablets. The camera is just handy for that spontaneous photo or video and I take a lot of them.

I also like the fact that the stereo sound output has been improved as I listen to a lot of books. I use the text to speech feature a lot and I also use the Audible book feature a lot. When Amazon sells the Audible version of the book at a good price when I buy the Kindle version of the book I usually get both. I like to use Bluetooth to stream the Audio book to my car's stereo system and listen to the book while I drive, especially on a long trip. My wife and I enjoy listening to books together. This HD tablet pairs with my car and I can now use it instead of using my iPad or using my iPhone. This feature keeps track of where I am in the book regardless of whether I am reading the book or listening to it with Audible. The better speakers and louder volume is also nice when watching movies.

The unit works well handling my emails and it makes it nice that I can switch from browsing, to emails to reading or playing an app on the same tablet. I also have Amazon Prime so I can watch TV shows or movies. This is a good tablet with a lot of flexibility. I am still not a fan of the push ads but I am so used to them now I just ignore them.

I won't discuss all of the specifications but I did include a table comparing the Original Kindle Fire to the first Kindle HD 2013and now the Kindle HD 2014. For me it was a quantum leap to go from a Kindle Fire First or Second Generation and I am glad I made the jump. This tablet is a good buy for the money as the specs are very good. The table below shows the differences between the different versions and you can see the progress that has been made in just a few years. I am buying this new kindle with confidence as my last two Kindle Fires have performed very well and I expect the same out of this one.

One word of caution is that if you are buying this for a child then make sure to pay attention to the parental controls. Turn off the ability to make In App Purchases (IAPs) and I also turn off 1 touch buying. It is so easy for a child to make in app purchases and some of them can be as much as $99.99 on one item. Children are used to playing games with fake money and they cannot tell the difference and you will be surprised when you get the massive credit card bill. A few minutes of proper set up of the tablet for use by a child can save you a lot of headaches in the future.

There are a couple of features that I do wish were in this product that I miss. I own and have tested many tablets and I love the ability of Android tablets to accept a Micro SD card memory addition. I even have some tablets that I use 128 GIG SD cards in and this is a great feature. A very good Micro SD card only cost $100 and if Amazon would add this feature this very good tablet would be a GREAT tablet. The second feature is the ability to easily use apps from the Google Play Store. Most of the office and game apps are on the Amazon play store and I really do like the Amazon Play store the best. There are though some powerful tools on the Google Play Store that will not work on the Kindle Fire Operating system and that is a shame. This limits the customer from being able to use the best available software available. This Kindle Fire HD 2014 is a wonderful top notch product but it would be a superior product if these features were included.

If you are upgrading from a first or second generation Kindle Fire then this is a great move. For someone that has the 2013 Kindle Fire HD this is a smaller leap in technology so you may have to really want one of the new features to upgrade. I like my new unit and I am glad that I got it. I am also glad that it came with the AC wall charger in the box. I rated it at 5 stars and recommend it based on the results I have seen so far. If you have any questions please send me a comment and I will try to answer you.

Feature:------------Original Kindle Fire----Kindle Fire HD 2013-----Kindle Fire HD 2014
CPU------------------Dual core---------------Dual core a5 1.5 GHz---Quad Core with dual
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1.5 GHZ and dual 1.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------GHz cores
RAM--------------------------------------------------------------------------1 GB RAM
Internal Memory---8 GB----------------------8 or 16 GB------------------8 or 16 GB
Available Memory-5 GB-----------------------5 GB or 12.2GB------------5 GB or 12.2GB
Display--------------7 Inch--------------------7 Inch-----------------------7 Inch
DPI-------------------169 DPI 1024/600-----216 DPI 1280/800----------216 DPI 1280/800
Cameras------------None----------------------None------------------------Front & rear facing
Camera pixels-----N/A------------------------N/A--------------------------VGA quality front
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 Mega Pixel Rear
Battery Life--------8 hours--------------------up to 10 hours--------------8 hours
Charging time----4 hours---------------------under 6 hours---------------under 6 hours
AC wall charger--yes included-------------Yes Included-------------------Yes included
Speakers-----------dual stereo speakers---dual stereo speakers--------dual stereo speakers
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------virtual surround sound
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------emulated 5.1 sound field
Display screen--------------------------------------------------------------Gorilla glass
Case colors----------Black------------------------Black--------------------5 colors available
Microphone---------None------------------------None--------------------Built-in
Operating system--------------------------------Fire OS 3.0------------Fire OS 4
WIFI--------------------Yes------------------------Yes------------------------Yes
Sensors----------------Accelerometer, gyroscope in all versions
Size---------------------7.5"x4.7"x0.45"----------7.5"x5"x0.45"--------------7.5"x5"x0.4"
Weight-----------------14.6 ounces---------------12.2 ounces----------------11.9 ounces
Ports--------------------Micro USB Charging----Micro USB Charging-------Micro USB Charging
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------or use adapter HDTV or VGA
Volume Switches-----No--------------------------Yes------------------------Yes
Bluetooth--------------No---------------------------Yes----------------------Yes plus BT microphone compatible
Audio output---------all versions with 3.5 mm stereo jack

What's new!
* Links your account to your family so you can share apps, books, audio books and games and Prime instant video content.
* Each user can have their own profile page with email, Facebook and twitter accounts. With Profiles, create unique profiles for up to 2 adults and 4 children so family members can share a tablet.
* Bluetooth microphone support
* 2x the speed and over 3x the graphics performance of previous generation Fire HD for quicker apps and smooth videos
* Front and rear cameras--Take photos or capture videos in 1080p HD with a rear-facing camera or Skype with a front-facing camera. Plus, free unlimited storage in Cloud Drive for photos taken with Fire devices
* Dual stereo speakers which is 1.5x louder than other tablets under $150. Emulation of 5.1 multichannel sound fields for better sounding stereo.
* Mirror your screen to your TV or VGA monitor using the Micro USB port
* Get $5 free gaming coins
* Audio books from Audible which is something that I have been enjoying listening to even in my car by streaming wirelessly to my car's stereo system
* Free Amazon cloud storage

++++++++++++++++
Update: 10-4-2014

In continuing my testing I have streamed prime TV and movies without any issues. The quality of the video and sound was excellent. The video began playing almost instantly so that feature worked fine. The audio output volume and quality was better than any of the other smart devices that I own. I installed OOKLA SpeedTest and tested my WIFI speeds to the Internet. I got download speeds of 23.09 Mbps and an upload speed of 1.97 Mbps. These are very good since I only pay for 18 Mbps and 2 Mbps.

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Gone Girl: A Novel

CUSTOMER REVIEW



Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?)


In the first few pages of Gillian Flynn's new novel Gone Girl, I was thinking, "This is it -- one of those rare novels that's unique and totally engrossing, cleverly plotted so that each new development has me astounded and eager to find out what happens next." Then the story continued as Midwestern husband Nick began to deal with his wife Amy's sudden disappearance and some gradually revealed details that might cast doubt on his own innocence in the matter. During that time, the book dropped down from the level of extraordinary to merely somewhat intriguing. However, once I reached Part Two of Gone Girl ("Boy Meets Girl"), it was like Ms Flynn kicked it up a notch, and the book became amazing again. Without giving any spoilers, Part Two unveils some major plot twists that cast Amy's status in an entirely new light. From that point on, the story moves along in powder keg fashion: the fuse has been lit, and it's only a question of how long 'til the explosion, and how much damage will be done when it happens. Flynn has a distinctive writing style that really involved me in what was going on with her two main characters. I had previously purchased but not yet read her Dark Places (after several recommendations). Now I will have to read it, and also get her first book, Sharp Objects. Only one warning, though: Gone Girl contains a fair amount of foul language. This was not a problem for me, but it might be for some readers.

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Captivated By You (Crossfire, Book 4)

CUSTOMER REVIEW



I loved this series but this book just felt like a filler. A lot of angst and emotion but not with anything new. There were some, 'FINALLY', moments but other than that it just plodded along. The majority of the story lines didn't have anything added to them. Overall this book wasn't worth the long wait. Hopefully book 5 is better.

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Kindle Fire HDX 8.9", HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 32 GB - Includes Special Offers (Previous Generation - 3rd)

CUSTOMER REVIEW



This review is for the the no-ad 64 GB wifi-only HDX 8.9. To Amazon's credit it arrived about 2 weeks earlier than originally claimed.

I have a Galaxy S3 Android smartphone so the HDX is for media / web surfing. Since I had already been using Amazon Prime and Cloud Music it was a no brainer for me to use the HDX to fill the role of media / web surfing on a tablet.

Be informed about the download limitations to this device. Amazon has been adding clarification to this which should help would-be purchasers make a more informed opinion. This wasn't as obvious as it should have been when I ordered mine so they're listening which is good.

Be aware that their most popular Prime content *may* not be available to download to your HDX. Caddyshack can be downloaded but not The Hunger Games. You can download certain videos but you won't know which ones until you buy an HDX and try it out. There is no banner (like the Prime banner on the movie icon) to show that it's content you can download to the HDX. You have to open the content to check. *** Edited 12/21: You can now see a list of Prime movies and shows that can be downloaded to the device. That's an improvement and more clearly shows the available downloadable Prime content. Nice job Amazon. ***

I was also under the assumption that you could download as many videos as you'd like with the limiting factor being the memory capacity of the HDX. Also NOT the case. So again, I bought the larger capacity HDX under this assumption. That was dumb on my part as it turns out because you're not limited by storage capacity. You're limited the NUMBER of downloads you can have on your device. Many people will opt up for the 64 GB device like I did only to find that 16 GB would likely do fine since it would be hard to download enough content to fill 64 GB. As another commenter pointed out if you downloaded long movies in full HD perhaps you'd really want the bigger device. Which brings me to the final point.

The final criticism is that once you start watching content you have to finish watching the content within 48 hours or you need to reconnect to the internet. Again, I was surprised to find out that the content I downloaded expired. Hopefully these criticisms lead to a more informed purchase decision on your part.

Here is the official word from Amazon which is indeed on their site and the purpose for my edit. I was unable to find this prior to my purchase and learned about it only after I acquired the device.

* Many (but not all as I note above) Prime Instant Video titles are also available for download on Kindle Fire HD 2nd Generation and Kindle Fire HDX devices. The detail page for each Prime Instant Video title indicates whether the title is available for download. You can download available titles to only two separate devices at one time. If you have already downloaded a title to two devices, you need to delete it from one of them before downloading it to another device.

* You can have a maximum of 25 total Prime Instant Video titles downloaded at a time across all devices associated with your Amazon.com account. While not all Prime Instant Video titles are available for download, the same videos may be available for rental or purchase from Amazon Instant Video, and rented or purchased titles can be downloaded to compatible devices.

* Viewing Period: If you have a Prime membership or Prime free trial, you can stream any video that is currently designated as a Prime Instant Video title on its detail page. You can watch Prime Instant Video titles that you've downloaded within a limited viewing period, which varies by title. A typical viewing period is either 48 hours after you start watching the title or 15 or 30 days after the download, whichever is earlier. We'll typically notify you when the viewing period for a title is close to expiring. After your Prime membership or Prime free trial expires or is cancelled, you cannot watch any Prime Instant Video titles unless you've also rented or purchased that title.

So my recommendations are this. Amazon is a great company, one that I have committed to in a big way with Cloud Music, Prime and now the HDX. They need to be more upfront about the download limitations and I'm very disappointed that I've had to discover these limitations on my own and feel it is important to convey that to others who may be considering this device over others based solely on the much touted video download feature.

Also the rear facing camera in my particular device only works properly 30% of the time. There is some weird RGB output happening. It's not even close to the Galaxy S3 quality or acquisition speed so just don't expect that the camera will replace your SLR and you won't be disappointed.

The rest of the device is great. All my Cloud music magically appeared and it is very easy to operate. I can get on a primitive version of Gmail but it works fine. Outlook Web Access for work is fine. Yahoo! email works fine. No Dropbox app yet and it won't work with Google Docs or Microsoft's online Excel / Word apps but that was known in advance and expected given the fact that Amazon isn't touting this as a work tool; it's for play.

Amazon really owes it to their faithful customers who purchase these devices to improve the download / Prime experience and this will be a home run. I'm looking forward to trying Mayday to help sort out the problems with the camera and inquire about the return policy as I felt very underinformed in advance on the downloaded video limitations. I hope these comments help you ask good questions and help Amazon improve their product and content experience.

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Fire HD 6, 6" HD Display, Wi-Fi, 8 GB - Includes Special Offers, Black

CUSTOMER REVIEW



If you read my Fire TV review you know that I am tough on Amazon when it comes to their own items. It needs to deliver quality for the price point to earn stars from me. Please take the time to read my entire review and feel free to ask questions. I will do my best to respond to them as I can and update the review to reflect those answers and other things I discover along the way.

First my background. I own many Amazon Kindles (b&w, Fire gen2, Fire gen3) as well as Apple Ipad (gen 4), Samsung Note 3 and have an LG G2 smartphone (had a Samsung S4 before that), notebooks, chromebooks, etc. I have also used many other products including the Fire HDX line. I have a solid computer background as well but honestly I am more of a casual user when it comes to tablets like this one.

Amazon has changed many things over the life of the Fire product line. Adding and removing features (like cameras--the first generation had one but the second generation removed them but not they are back).

They are all useful devices but each one has its own niche so to speak so make sure whatever you get has the features that are important to you.

Now to this model. This is like a big smartphone--which is a big difference from past kindles. It is more compact, lighter and yet still very usable. In fact for me, the shrinking of size increases the usefulness. I find that I use my smartphone way more than my tablets--even the smaller Fire HD and Samsung Note tablets so I am expecting this to replace more of that "on the couch" usage which is great since it so much less expensive than most smartphones. That means you can feel less bad about scratches that might occur or the accidental drops. (I am guilty of both.)

The screen is very good--certainly not the top of the line but nice even if you factor paying twice the retail for it. It is bright, sharp with the same resolution as past

Comparing past Kindle Fires:

1st Generation 7 inch--1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi
2nd Generation 7 inch--1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi
3rd Generation 7 inch--1280 x 800 resolution at 216 ppi (the first step up in resolution)
4th Generation 7 inch--1280 x 800 (216 ppi) (This is the twin to this model and was just released)

Whereas this 6 inch model has 1280 x 800 (252 ppi). That makes this display higher or the same resolution than any of the past Kindle Fires with the exception of the more expensive HDX. It makes it sharper with more detail per inch than any of the past Kindle Fires of this smaller size (again except for the HDX). Yet this is the cheapest Fire yet which is quite impressive.

Now while Amazon may love my giving this 6 inch fire a 5 star rating, they wouldn't like this next sentence. There is absolutely no reason to even consider the newly released 7 inch fire. $40 more gets you a less "sharp/detailed" screen, more weight, more bulk (look at the extra space on the sides next to the screen of the new 6 inch and the new 7 inch) and the only improvements is a second speaker and a larger screen.

In my opinion you should consider this 6 inch Fire or consider spending twice as much to step up to the Fire HDX with many improvements (Mayday button, higher resolution, faster processor, dual-band, dual antenna (MIMO) Wi-Fi, and longer battery life). The HDX has some issues with a blue halo around the screen so read reviews of that before jumping.

So now that I have talked you out of the Fire 7 and covered some of the reasons for considering the Fire 7 HDX, lets talk more about the Fire 6.

Performance/Apps--It is quick (but I am never happy enough, lol), responsive and like Apple products--it just works. Now one plus and minus with all Kindles/Fires are that you can not use any app from Google's app store. That means you have to wait for apps to be brought into Amazon's app store which seems to be slow at getting new releases and new updates. This is really an issue for Amazon and one that still needs to be fixed. The plus to this is that Amazon keeps some of the junky apps out of the system and once they make it to Amazon's app store, they are proven safe and generally work better than the "fresh" apps because bugs have been worked out.

Amazon's own apps are very well integrated into this and past Fires. They keep improving them and adding features without adding cost. If you have Prime, you get streaming TV and Movies, free ebooks and now Prime Music. If you have Prime, the added free content you get on the Fire makes it a real standout against everything else.

I use my Fire 6 for reading emails, surfing the internet, watching videos (some of the time) and playing some games/apps like IMDB. I have found that it meets or exceeds what I have come to expect from these things in terms of performance and reliability. Are there bugs or glitches? Yes but less than my LG smartphone has and less than my Samsung Tab has.

Size--about the size of the new "large" phones is very nice--not too big but not too small. It is more portable feeling than the 7 inch tablets and it is easy to hold. It is fun to be part of the "cool club" without dropping 5-6 times as much or signing a 2 year contract.

Quality--Amazon has proven overtime that they can make quality products and this is no exception. At under a hundred dollars there is pretty much nothing else that is this feature packed with this finish quality. I have experienced no quality issues and do not expect anything given Amazon's solid history.

Battery Life--So far so good. I was able to stream video and surf the internet for well over 7 hours without any hiccups. From a device this compact with such a large screen that seems quite impressive.

Sound--Decent but Apple products are cleaner sounding to me. Volume is usable in most situations but not necessarily in noisy outside situations.

I am sure I have forgotten something so please feel free to ask questions. This is my own opinion and while I don't know everything, I do my best to deliver honest reviews since reviews help me so much when I shop.

If you are in the market for a little tablet and have prime, you have to decide between this Fire 6 or the 7 inch HDX for twice the cost. This 6 inch adds the rear camera and most of the performance while being smaller, lighter at half the price.

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Amazon Kindle 9W PowerFast Adapter for Accelerated Charging

CUSTOMER REVIEW



Sure, Amazon should have included one of these with the new Kindle Fires. I initially held off buying this as the pricing was $19.99, but relented when the price was $9.99 which puts it in line with non-Amazon branded charging adapters at a comparable power rating.

As a standalone charger, this one does pretty good and I like the versatility to charge other items with the USB female plug vs. something hardwired that allows me to charge other USB-type devices in addition to something that uses a micro USB port. I have used this charging plug to charge A Fire HD, original Fire, new Fire, Motorola RAZR phone, and <gasp> even an iPad2 with no problems.

Charging time is faster for a Kindle Fire vs. my regular e-Ink Kindle charger, but since I haven't - and rarely - fully drain one of my Fires I cannot comment on the "faster" aspect for charging a Fire: I just know it works, but it does seem to charge my phone mentioned above faster than the plug that came from Motorola. I like the sleek black look of the charger vs. white, and the plug sockets can fold in when not in use.

10/25/12 UPDATE:

THe review I wrote with a 4 out of 5 star was when the pricing was $9.99; Amazon has changed the price to $19.99. There are cheaper models out there here on Amazon for around ten bucks that will do the same job, so you may want to give this one a pass.

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Kindle Fire HDX 7", HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB - Includes Special Offers (Previous Generation - 3rd)

CUSTOMER REVIEW



Update on Dec 23 2013 - Please scroll to the very end of this review for 2 month use update. [...]

For those who are looking at getting the best tablet out there at the moment, this is the one you should be looking at.

My profile: Heavy tablet users for personal and business purposes. I work on my tablet around 4-5 hours a day (Email / Documents / Spreadsheet / PDF ) and use it 1-2 hours for personal use such as watching movies or reading books/magazine. Tablet is my go-to device for all internet related search I do.

I have the following and/or used the following before:

1) iPad 1
2) iPad 2
3) iPad 4
4) iPad Mini
5) Kindle Fire
6) Kindle Fire HD
7) Kindle Fire HD 8.9
8) Asus Transformer with Keyboard
9) Nexus 7 First Gen
10) iPad Air 16gb Wifi

As you can see, I been through many devices and hope this review with my experience helps users decide if this is the right device for them. This will be an ongoing review for this device throughout this next year. For comparison sake, I will use last year's Kindle and iPad mini as they are the closest size to this HDX 7"

Speed (9/10):

This is leaps and bounds faster than last year Kindle HD. Last year Kindle struggles to go through any HD video content I put in. This year's HDX able to play seamlessly all the HD 1080p contents I added. It is incredible how much the 2.2Ghz quad processor improved vs last year's model Dual 1.2Ghz.

Screen (9/10):
This is the biggest improvement over last year's model. The screen is in true HD 1080p (1920x1080). This means any HD content I throw at it will view in its intended resolution. The screen is crystal clear (much better than iPad mini) and the viewing angle is incredible. I have this Kindle hanged in the middle of the car and at any seat it is view very clearly. Last year's model was not as clear as this. This is excellent for my minivan with my kids watching all the HD movies. The brightness of the screen is also much brighter than last year's model

Sound(8/10):
The sound system in this Kindle Fire HDX is using Dolby Digital Plus with virtual 5.1 surround sound. That gives this device a much better surround sound then previous generation's.

Build (8/10):
This HDX is more "angular" than last year's device. It's slightly rougher to hold in the corners than last year's model due to sharper edges though I doubt any users will hold their tablet by their corners. The device is noticeable lighter (395g for Kindle Fire HD vs 303g for Kindle Fire HDX). This mean you can hold this for longer time without fatigue.

The power and volume button placement on this Kindle Fire HDX is interesting. It is behind the device which allows it to hide away from front view. However, this can cause user to accidentally hit the on/off button or the volume button when not being careful. Aesthetically it is great but it is definitely not a practical solution when you are trying to use this on the go.

It does look sturdy enough to survive minor drop but I highly recommend getting a case for it. Those sharp corners seems more prone to dents than round corners for last year's model.

Battery (6/10):
This is probably the biggest drawback for this device. The battery life is not as good as last year's model. This is quite logical as last year's HD has a 4400mAh battery while running 720p while this HDX runs Full HD 1080p but runs only on a 4500mAh battery (only 100mAh more than last year). The 1080p screen pulls a lot of power vs last year's model when the screen is on, especially when running HD videos. I'm able to achieve 5 hours of heavy use compare to 7 hours for last year's Kindle Fire HD at medium brightness with Wi-fi on all the time. I tend to bring around an external battery pack but prefer something that is integrated (like a battery case)

Software & software compatibility (8/10):
The amount of app is still lacking compare to App store or Play store but has been steadily increasing which is a great sign. Games and software boot time has increased noticeably and compatibility is not an issue

Silk browser has definitely improved compare to last year's tablet with multiple tabs actually now usable on the HDX. For last year's version, it is practically unusable after 2 tabs due to the lack of hardware resource on the tablet (especially when the website is not optimized for mobile use). The HDX has no problem going through any webpages I throw at it.

Hopefully more apps will be optimized to use quad core soon. I'm guessing some of these apps are only optimized for last year's dual core.

I haven't got the opportunity to use Mayday yet but will review about it once I get more update on this.

Complimentary Accessories (3/10):
For all smart devices, one of the most important time is the number of accessories available. At launch, it is understandable the lack of accessories but productivity focus accessories such as integrated case/keyboard are missing at launch. This is rather disappointing as it can be a powerful productivity device with the right accessories attached. Also the lack of case selection is quite astonishing for a flagship product on Amazon. Hope there will be more cases such as battery case (due to above battery problem) or rugged case come out soon.

Price (9/10):
I got the special offer model at 16Gb (lowest end model) and it is enough for me to use. The special offer ads are not intrusive like last year's model and sometimes does reveal some items I want. Compare to the ipad mini, this is practically a steal. For those with the Nexus 7, it is quite comparable in price.

Conclusion in one sentence: Amazon's iPad mini killer (8.5/10)

For people who are justifying if this is a good upgrade, I say YES to that. The speed and screen difference alone is worth the upgrade. The whole user experience just improve drastically with the HDX.

It use to be, for Kindle Fire HD, you will trade low price for slow performance, stutter and lag. It honestly makes you think twice if the price is really worth all that poor experience.

For HDX, this is no longer the case. You get both great price, great screen and great performance that surpasses iPad mini. To me, the HDX is seriously Amazon's iPad killer. It really marks how well Amazon has done to make themselves a worthy competitor in the tablet market. I hope some software upgrade or battery pack can make this the ultimate road warrior!

****************************Dec 23th 2013 - 2 months update *********************************
So I have been using between this HDX 7" and the 8.9" HDX. I also been using an iPad Air 16Gb Wifi and here are some updates, particular on the negative points mentioned previously.

App Store - not so refined still. Downloading and Installing problem occurs
The app store after 2 month is still a bit lacking. There are some freebie deals during cyber monday which I jumped (who doesn't like free stuff?)but still nothing that either the Apple App store or Google Play don't have. Amazon App store really needs some exclusive apps to become a "must get" device.

Now comes the bad part - I tried to download Magic 2014 game (big fan of Magic the Gathering since teen) from the Amazon App Store and the HDX 7" downloads this rather slowly. In fact, I noticed that when it reaches 50% it drops back down to 30% and redownloads the package again! Since I'm not in a rush I really have no issue with this re-download problem. However, this can be problem to some people who have limited bandwidth per month and won't appreciate redownloading the same thing again 2 times (or more but I didn't catch that).

Once it reaches 100%, the app store attempts to install the software. It goes into "Installing..." state for a while (at least couple hours). Knowing that there's something weird going on, I rebooted the HDX 7". Once I rebooted it, the software shows it was never downloaded!

Perhaps there's some application specific problem with this game but this really shows a rather poor experience on the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX. I would expect a brand new top of the line Kindle Fire HDX would have ironed out simple bugs such as this but clearly, the Amazon App Store have 2 things it needs to work on:

1) If this is an application specific error, Amazon needs to proactively test this release on all their devices before allowing it on the Amazon App Store. It's quite obvious if any Amazon App store guys have even tried to install this Magic 2014 game that it just won't install. Literally half the reviews on the review complain about this

2) For these buggy release, Amazon should proactively pull this application from the store - the experience that lead to all the hours of download and wasted bandwidth got the user nothing in the end. I can imagine some users with capped bandwidth or using their cell data to download will be furious if they know an app less than 1Gb rack them couple Gb of download.

App Store is a big part of Amazon's Kindle Fire ecosystem and poor experience such as this really deters client in continued use, especially when all Kindle Fire are locked down to Amazon software ecosystem. When you cannot even use the Amazon software ecosystem, any excellent hardware that this machine has becomes inaccessible and worse of all, a waste of user time to figure out.

Now most people may say this criticism is related to the game(in this case, Magic 2014). I believe this is not the case. The responsibility of Downloading and Installing of the Magic 2014 application belongs to the Amazon App Store (after all, it is Amazon App Store people who authorized this to be released in their store). I start to find all other game download and installation questionable and my own usage time in App store browsing and purchasing drops drastically.

From the above download experience, I did attempt to find some help from Amazon. Here is where the more problem arises.

Mayday - speaking to rep reading off outdated troubleshooting guides

After noticing my Magic 2014 download is gone, I attempted to contact Amazon through the Mayday button. It's really my first time using this function so I don't really have any prior experience in using it.

My Mayday call was picked up by Hayley (if I recall). You can see a big Amazon logo in the background beside the customer service rep and she looks pretty friendly. I explained my situation with the App store problem to Hayley but it seems she wasn't able to help; therefore I got transfer to a "Tech Advisor". This Tech Advisor can't be shown in the video camera and asks for my credentials. She also made me explain the problem again which I explained to Hayley (I would have thought someone will note down my problem as I need to use couple mins to explain again). She then pulls something that you expect from an Indian Call Center by asking me to disconnect my internet modem. I find this rather funny as I mentioned this is a software specific problem with the installation and has nothing to do with my modem or Internet connection. I also mentioned that I am running a server at home and pulling the modem disconnects it from the Internet which breaks other services I am running unintentionally. She seems to be stuck so she forward me to another representative (which if I heard correctly, it is the app store support rep).

Once I got connected to the 3rd rep, they ask me to check my tablet date and time (which is correct). This rep later ask me to press on options that are not the screen. I suspected this rep was reading off an old Fire OS troubleshooting guide as I recently updated the Fire OS system and that some options and buttons are changed. Given the large amount of time spent and there's no resolution, I went to my iPad air and downloaded the game successfully in couple mins while still have Amazon on the Mayday call. I informed the 3rd tech support of this and thank them for their time although there was no resolution in the end.

I very much prefer having the game on my Kindle HDX as the 7" is perfect to bring outside for quick game or two, but the amount of time spent on troubleshooting and resource wasted on this is honestly not worth my time. I ended up having to play this game on the iPad Air larger screen but also paid for in app purchase because the game itself is very good.

It's a good lesson to learn that the whole software user experience needs to be more streamline and fluid on the Kindle. Amazon has done successfully in the physical good purchasing section of the kindle fire (in fact I spent thousands of dollars more on Amazon.com using the kindle fire than on PC and very satisfy with the results) and that if it can bring the same experience to the software app store just like the physical store, Amazon will have a winner here. I use my machine extensively for magazine reading / internet browsing but when it comes to app download, I currently have my doubts if it will be another bandwidth hog and a waste of time.

Display - blue hue appears but not very apparent
Some people ask if the blue hue appears on the edge. I can notice this if I'm reading off a totally white page (like a ebook or magazine). However it is not very noticeable and that your eyes will ignore it eventually. After all, words or graphic don't appear on the edges of the screen.

Battery life - Still needs work on

After the OS update, there seems to be a slight improvement with the battery life. However, still not enough for me to really go through the day without bringing an external battery charger pack along. At the moment, I am still looking for a 2 in 1 case + battery solution but it is not available. I hope this can be my daily driver but without the battery life, it may just be a brick by the afternoon.

Purchasing on Amazon.com - becomes addictive (Could be good or bad for some people!)
I realized my spending on Amazon went up considerable compare to last year thanks to this Kindle Fire HDX. I will be browsing it online and have these items saved on screen, constantly reminding me to get it. Amazon really done a good job at this and really met, if not, exceed their goal in getting users buying from kindle fire. With last year fire, the browsing experience on Amazon.com was not nearly as fluid as this year's HDX. This makes it hard to keep my attention and urge to buy. For people who wants a good purchasing experience, this Kindle Fire HDX will surely provide that. For ones who need to save money, you may want to get your finger off the buy button!

My overall rating stays the same as Amazon keeps knocking off prices for these machines making it still the best bang for the buck.

Apr 28 Update - Family Use
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Got my kids an extra Kindle Fire HDX 7" for them to play with. My HDX 7" is still running well with all my Instant Video and newsstand subscription inside.

Since my kids don't treat their new toys with much care, I went and got them and myself a zerolemon EVA Case on Amazon. The case is useful for prevent dents and major falls on your Kindle. Even with my Kindle, the top pantel where the speakers are started to peel off a bit (amazon used glue to assemble the speaker grille top panel). Case works great for hiding some of the blemishes of the kindle fire hdx 7"

Overall still satisfied with my machine and frankly been the best bang for the buck tablet i ever have.

As mentioned, I will update this review periodically. Next time I will focus on physical wear and tear of the machine after couple more months and again on battery life (as all electronics have a diminishing battery duration throughout its course of use). [...] Thanks for reading!

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Amazon Kindle 5W USB Power Adapter

CUSTOMER REVIEW



$19.99? Really, just save the money and buy an off-brand iphone usb plug and save yourself 15 dollars. There is no reason whatsoever that Amazon did not include one of these with the units. Save yourself money and use an alternative adapter. I love Amazon e-readers and own two of them, but I charge my new paperwhite with my Iphone adapter and the cable that came with my unit. Do not recommend.

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