ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. They’re otherwise identical to their non-Plus versions but are only available in a Slate colour.ĭolby Atmos, dual-stereo speakers, built-in microphoneġ80.68 x 117.59 x 9.67 mm ( 7.11” x 4.63” x 0.38”)Ģ47mm x 166mm x 9.2 mm (9.73” x 6.53” x 0.36”)Ģ59.1 x 163.7 x 7.5 mm (10.2” x 6.44” x 0.ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. Note: the Plus versions of the Fire HD 8 and HD 10 have wireless charging and extra RAM. Here’s a summary of the key specs of the latest versions showing how they compare. It comes with a bumper case, year’s subscription to Kids+ and a two-year warranty. But note that the standard model also has Show Mode, so you only need something to prop it up, and maybe to plug it in to the mains to get the same effect.Īs with all three Amazon tablets, there’s a Kids Edition of the Fire HD 8. This is useful for video calls, music videos and watching Amazon Prime videos. The Plus model costs $20/£20 extra and has wireless charging and works with the optional wireless charging dock to turn the tablet into a sort of Echo Show. The HD 8 has Alexa built-in and the assistant will respond even when the tablet is in standby with the screen off, a bit like one of Amazon’s Echo speakers. It still isn’t particularly responsive and, of course, everything about the interface and available apps and services is the same. There’s also more RAM (even more in the Plus model), more storage and you can expand that by up to 1TB using a microSD card. It has a higher resolution of 1280×800, but we wish the screen had been upgraded for this new model – it’s not even full HD.Ĭameras are the same on both tablets, but processing power is a little better which means it’s not quite a sluggish. Its screen may be only one inch larger than the Fire 7, but it makes quite the difference. The Fire HD 8 is now on its 12th generation. The cameras are poor, but that is a trait of all Amazon Fire tablets, sadly. Even the $59/£59 version comes with the Amazon Kids app that offers great parental controls and there are dozens of free games available in the Appstore that kids will love. Remember that you don’t necessarily have to buy the Fire 7 Kids Edition. The Fire 7 has hands-free Alexa like its more expensive siblings, which is nice, and this new model has a USB-C charging port that’s much easier to use than the annoying old microUSB. The screen has good colours and good-enough viewing angles, but the low resolution of 1024×600 means it’s not as sharp as the HD 8. Basically, it’s the best option for kids because they are unlikely to complain about it… unless you’re buying it to replace a broken iPad, which won’t go down well. Obviously, you shouldn’t expect a lightning-fast tablet for this price and you’ll have to put up with waiting a little longer for apps to load than you’d expect. The reason you may want to steer clear is because saying that it isn’t hugely powerful is an understatement. It’s great value, despite the price increase for this new model as it has better battery life (10 hours) and a more convenient USB-C charging port. The Fire 7 is the smallest in the range with, as you’d guess, a 7in screen.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |