Thinking of getting a Kindle fire HD

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Gilbert_pwns

Gawd
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Nov 13, 2010
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My situation is that I'm in college and I do need something to bring with me so I can read documents online and go on websites. I'll also be buying books, mainly novels for English courses. That is why I'm thinking of getting a Kindle Fire HD. My main problem is that it doesn't run flash out of the box. I know that some work arounds exist, but I'm worried that those might "brick" it.

I don't want an iPad because of the price and other tablets seem pretty worthless because they don't have many apps or a robust marketplace.

Does anyone actually have a Kindle Fire HD? Any comments on it?
 
I don't have one of those but I bought a Nexus 7 and am very happy with that and it runs the Kindle app for Android so you still have that book market still available to you. just my two cents there...
 
If you're looking at a 7" device, the Nexus 7 is a far better value. As Rifkin said, you can use the Kindle Reader app, or several other reader apps, for books, PDF's, etc. It's also easier to find the apps you need.

If you do want to go with the Kindle Fire HD, you should be able to sideload Flash, if you really need it. I have the 8.9" version of the device and I love it, though I've only had it a short while. I haven't tried sideloading Flash yet, though I plan to later today. I'll let you know how it goes.

I found that a 7" tablet was perfect for reading, playing certain games and such, but reading a magazine, surfing most websites and videos were too small for my taste on my original Kindle Fire. That's why I picked up the 8.9 and it's great. Works for everything I need and the build quality of the device is top notch. You have to like Amazon's ecosystem though, to really get the most out of the device and it really helps if you are a Prime member.
 
I looked at the new KFHD a while back. My advice...get a standard tablet with real Google Play Store access. You'll have LOTS more applications/games to choose from, especially those with zero cost. Then download both the Amazon and Kindle apps. Done.
 
Keep in mind, Flash for Android has been discontinued by Adobe.

I can't get it from the Google market (Google Play?) anymore on my phone (some people can, has to do with geographic location I think.) There are probably a way to download and install it manually, but keep in mind, it is a piece of software that is no longer maintained and updated with bugs and security fixes, which could be a real problem.

IMHO, Flash for tablets & phones is pretty much dead, regardless of device (unless you get an x86 based Windows 8 tablet, not the ARM versions)
 
i got my wife a Galaxy Tab 2.0 7 (8GB) for xmas (so she hasn't used it yet) but blah blah blah it was $169.99 w/ carrying case bundle @ costco.

i played with the demo and it seemed well built and fast ..so hopefully the wife will like it.

i was also looking at the nexus 7 but it was quite a bit more than than that bundle deal on the Galaxy Tab so i got it instead.

oh and if you wanted a 10" one that was $279 i think with a case bundle at costco also.
 
I'm skeptical about those other tablets because they might have less support for them as time goes on. I plan on using this for about 3 years.
 
Can't go wrong with Samsung, then. Their support is pretty damn good.
 
Posting from my Nexus 7 now. I highly recommend it over the Kindle Fire. And btw, and installing flash is as easy as googling adobe flash apk for Android.
 
·PitBuLL·;1039441193 said:
Posting from my Nexus 7 now. I highly recommend it over the Kindle Fire. And btw, and installing flash is as easy as googling adobe flash apk for Android.
Click to expand...

As I mentioned earlier, you can install it, but not through the official store, because it is no longer maintained or supported by Adobe, which means no more security patches.

Considering how many serious security holes Adobe has to patch on a regular basis I wouldn't touch that thing with a 20ft pole.

Besides flash content is mostly crap anyway. Web designers who use it in a way such that their webpage doesn't function fully without flash don't deserve your visit anyway.

But that's me.
 
DejaWiz said:
I looked at the new KFHD a while back. My advice...get a standard tablet with real Google Play Store access. You'll have LOTS more applications/games to choose from, especially those with zero cost. Then download both the Amazon and Kindle apps. Done.
Click to expand...

Well stock wise you don't have google play store. After 20 mins of work my KFHD has it.

OP I'm 100% happy with my 7in KFHD. The only problem I have had with it was finding how to that dumbed a couple of the root steps down for me.
 
Update


Got the Kindle Fire HD. Seems like I can play YouTube videos out of the box. Probably won't play browser based games but that's not the reason I got it. Pretty happy with it even with the ads. I'd recommend it over an iPad if all you are using an iPad for is web browsing, simple word processing and the like.
 
Renswic said:
Well stock wise you don't have google play store. After 20 mins of work my KFHD has it.

OP I'm 100% happy with my 7in KFHD. The only problem I have had with it was finding how to that dumbed a couple of the root steps down for me.
Click to expand...

Doesn't putting Google Play on the KFHD require permanently modifying the root and thus voiding the warranty, though? I thought I read somewhere that this was the case...
 
Gilbert_pwns said:
Update


Got the Kindle Fire HD. Seems like I can play YouTube videos out of the box. Probably won't play browser based games but that's not the reason I got it. Pretty happy with it even with the ads. I'd recommend it over an iPad if all you are using an iPad for is web browsing, simple word processing and the like.
Click to expand...

glad to see you're happy with the kindle fire hd. I'm more interested in the nexus 7 personally but the fire is pretty nice too.
 
Flash is a dead end on mobile, even Adobe has abandoned it. It doesn't matter since the web has accommodated the lack of Flash on most mobile devices (even most Android devices) by making them mobile friendly. Every single video site has worked without Flash since only a few weeks after the release of the iPad.

Lack of Flash is a non-issue.

As for tablets, 7" get the Nexus 7, and for 10" get the iPad.

EDIT: Looks like you got the Fire anyway. :)
 
Kindle fire is a really nice one for playing youtube stuff and huge app supply. So it will be a good choice if you're looking to use it for those things.
 
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