![]() We’ll have a full report on this functionality (and how it compares to similar technologies) next week. Right now it’s only available on Samsung TV and the PlayStation 3. You tell your tablet, the tablet tells Amazon, Amazon tells your TV. So you can pick up where you left off, or switch from one to the other, but there’s no direct connection. It’s a synchronization of streams from Amazon to your TV and the tablet. This isn’t, however, streaming from the tablet to the TV. Want to select a specific scene or actor monologue? Select it on the Fire and it shows up on the TV. You can even control what you’re watching from the tablet. One of the new features with the HDX is Amazon Second Screen, which allows the HDX to display additional info for any program you’re watching on Amazon Instant Video. Does this matter to you? It doesn’t to me, but again, if you’re looking for a single do-all device, that’s not the Fire. However, because the Fire is its own ecosystem, there isn’t the widespread app availability that you’d get on an iPad, and even a “regular” Android tablet (the Fire runs on bespoke version of Android). If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can stream movies/shows for free. One might have something the other doesn’t, but both are good (actual content licenses are always changing). There are also channel-specific apps, like ABC, A&E, Discovery, PBS, and so on.Īmazon’s movie and TV selection is roughly the same as iTunes. On the entertainment side, most of the apps I can think of are here: Netflix, Hulu Plus, HBO Go and of course, Amazon Instant. ![]() It’s also got a soft rubberized texture that’s great to touch. It’s thin, with a cool angular design on the back that’s an attractive contrast to Apple’s curves. I wasn’t a fan of the Kindle HD (the previous Fire). It’s beautiful to look at, but we’ll talk about that later. Even though it’s only 7-inches diagonal, the HDX’s screen has a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution. Most hardware specs for tablets are meaningless (who cares what a “Snapdragon” is?), but the two important specs are the hard drive space (16, 32, or 64 GB) and the screen. It has a web browser (of course) and a 1.2 megapixel camera for Skype, but no camera on the back for pics/movies of other people (well, I suppose you could turn it around to face them). However, the Fire can get you pretty close, and is a great option for those times you don’t want or need a laptop.įor instance, the Fire plays movies/TV shows, music, books, and has apps like Facebook, Twitter, and others. ![]() This isn’t a knock, it’s a different type of product (and a lot cheaper). If you’re looking to replace your laptop with a tablet, the Fire doesn’t quite offer that level of functionality. Let’s get this part out of the way first: it’s not an iPad. Now on its 3rd generation, the Fire has grown and advanced to be a serious iPad (or in this case, iPad Mini) competitor. I say this with love, as I actually bought the original Fire at launch, and loved it. It was more of a media enjoyment device than a true laptop-replacing tablet, like the iPad. When it first came out, the Fire was sort of tablet- lite. How is it to use, how is it for content, and in typical HD Guru fashion… how’s the screen?Īnswers to these questions, plus full TV-style color and contrast measurements, after the jump. Amazon’s smallest tablet can be had for as low as $229, significantly undercutting Apple’s ubiquitous device by over $100.
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