Hasta La Gadget!

In early October, we brought you our thoughts on the seven-inch Kindle Fire HDX, of which John is a huge fan.

Today we bring you the seven-incher’s big brother, the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9.

In terms of Amazon’s evolution as a hardware (and specifically tablet) company, the Fire HDX 8.9 is a markedly improved device from previous generations. It’s thinner, lighter at just 13 ounces, and more powerful with a 2.2 GHz quad-core processor and improved software.

But how does it match up to the competition this holiday season?

John seems to think that this next-gen Kindle Fire has finally achieved “productivity status,” moving from a reader on steroids to a full-fledged computing device. I’m not as convinced, but I also haven’t been able to spend quite as much time with these Fire HDX tablets as him.

Would either of us save $100 and choose the HDX 8.9 over an iPad Air? Probably not, based almost entirely on the iPad’s ecosystem and App Store.

However, both of us feel that the smaller size tablets are a better idea for the average consumer.

Unless you require a larger screen for reading, or use the tablet almost exclusively to watch movies and TV, a smaller device like the seven-inch HDX or the iPad mini with Retina are more portable and comfortable options.

Today marks the debut of two features we’ve been waiting for since Amazon first announced its new Kindle Fire line lo so many weeks ago. Goodreads and Second Screen integration will be rolling out to Fire HD and HDX owners over-the-air in the next couple of weeks – or you can just go to Amazon’s site and download Fire OS 3.1 right now. Goodreads brings social book reading features to the tablet, so you can rate and review books and find out what your friends are reading. Also, good news for those who like showing off their virtual bookshelves – you can actually import all of the print and e-books you’ve bought from Amazon over the years. Second Screen, meanwhile, lets you “fling” shows from your Fire to Samsung TVs and sets with a PS3 attached (PS4 support is coming before year’s end).

Also new for OS 3.1 is added enterprise support, Cloud Collections for organizing content off-device and voice diction. You can download the above in the source link below.

Filed under: Tablets, Amazon

Comments

Source: Amazon

Like the 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX released last month, this new 8.9-inch HDX hitting the market today shows that Amazon is no longer interested in skimping on its mobile hardware.

We loved the Kindle Fire HDX. It’s faux-Android wrapped up in a budget body so beautiful you’ll learn to stop worrying and love the forked OS. Now its big brother, the HDX 8.9, is here with the same flavor of lovely in a stretched-out package.

Read more…

So, the Kindle Fire HDX from Amazon has begun to ship as we announced just a few days back. If you happened to have picked up one of these puppies for yourself then, have you noticed as to why the display on your brand new Kindle Fire HDX comes with a somewhat bluish tint around the edges? Is it a defect? Did you think to yourself, that after having spent good money on a new high end tablet, it ends up like a love story gone bad? Fret not, that bluish tint has been described to be normal.

Apparently, it was part of an effort to achieve the vaunted color accuracy for the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX that saw Amazon make use of blue LEDs in order to light the display. Hence, the result of including that bit of hardware would be why there is an azure hue that makes its way around the display’s sides, especially on books and web sites. Apart from that, Amazon also claims that such lighting technique is good for your device’s battery, since it is touted to increase battery life by up to 20 percent. Will this particular tinge of blue turn you off from making a positive purchase decision?

Kindle Fire HDX Blue Tint Is Normal original content from Ubergizmo.