Which Kindle Fire?

[Lazarus52980]

I am thinking of buying a Kindle Fire for a friend of mine as a gift. Any advice on which version is the best to get? Is one a lot better value than another?

 

[Red Storm]

We just got the 8.9". The 7" is just too small, the bezels look really huge because of how small the screen is.

However, the 8.9" HD is almost $300, I don't know if you want to spend that much on your friend.

 

[Lazarus52980]

We just got the 8.9". The 7" is just too small, the bezels look really huge because of how small the screen is.

However, the 8.9" HD is almost $300, I don't know if you want to spend that much on your friend.

Yeah... for that much, maybe I should get a surface RT?

 

[dainthomas]

We just got the 8.9". The 7" is just too small, the bezels look really huge because of how small the screen is.

However, the 8.9" HD is almost $300, I don't know if you want to spend that much on your friend.

Why not get the Nook HD+ for half the price, root it, and load the Kindle app? I did that and it works fantastic.

 

[Lazarus52980]

Why not get the Nook HD+ for half the price, root it, and load the Kindle app? I did that and it works fantastic.

I haven't done too much with portable devices for that sort of thing, but I don't imagine its too tough...

You DO get free Amazon prime with the Kindle though... that is worth something...

Decisions decisions...

 

[Wyndru]

See if you can find a factory recertified sale on the kindle to save some money? IIRC the package didn't say refurbished on it, and it looked new when I unpacked it, and it came with a 1 year warranty.

Last year I bought the original kindle 7" on a refurb sale for about $99 with a 1 year warranty. I installed jandycane on it and it's by far my favorite device for around the house.

I've used the new one, but I still like the original one better, the black bezel around the screen looks weird to me, and I don't use the camera so that is no loss to me. I don't really see much of a performance or screen quality difference in the HD version compared the original though, but the hardware is different, so I'm sure there is, I just don't notice it.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I have a Kindle Fire first generation 7" (not HD).

- It's great for playing music, Amazon Cloud Player is smooth as silk 30' away from my router
- It's a very good e-book reader, I've used it for several even though I also have an e-ink Kindle
- It works well for Netflix, except the screen is only 7" diagonal, which is small for video
- It's fine for Android gaming, at least for Bejeweled, Angry Birds, other casual ones
- It's way too small for reading ComixOlogy comics

If you know what your friend would use it for that would help -- books, music, games the 7" is fine. Video, PDFs, comics / manga - the 8.9" would be better (or maybe an iPad instead)

 

[corkyg]

... You DO get free Amazon prime with the Kindle though... that is worth something....

Prime is free for 30 days - then it is $75 a year. Still well worth it.

 

[Red Storm]

Why not get the Nook HD+ for half the price, root it, and load the Kindle app? I did that and it works fantastic.

I don't really feel like messing with rooting and/or flashing and whatnot. And the Fire was more for the family not me (I'd go Nexus myself), and they all liked it so that's what they got.

 

[Merithynos]

I have a first-gen Kindle Fire. Silk (the web browser) is a piece of shit for browsing anything image heavy (crashes loading lots of images). The Maxthon browser is a bit better, but the internet connection hangs on a regular basis just browsing, and you have to reboot the Kindle to get it back. My girlfriend has an Ipad 2, and the thing is rock-solid stable.

If I had to do it over again I would definitely spend more money and get an Ipad.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I've owned both the Kindle Fire HD 7 and 8.9.

I think they are both nice tablets and it's mostly a preference to the size you want. The 8.9 inch also has a slightly faster processor does provide a bit more performance.

I ended up staying with the 7 inch size because I read a lot of books on the Kindle and like the smaller lighter size for that.

And also love my iPad. Though if this person wants a tablet for reading, then it probably wouldn't be my first choice due to the size. So maybe an iPad mini (someone that isn't already acclimated to retina displays may not mind the 1024x768 resolution).

 

[Midwayman]

Depends on what you want to do with it. A 7" is a better bet for long form read like novels. I have a 8.9" and its fine, but I use the case stand rather than hold it most of the time. If you read websites, magazines, PDFs, etc a 8.9" is probably going to be better. It can display a full page letter/a4 sized PDF and still be readable. I like the larger screen for video too.

Nook is a better value now that it has the play store. I'd get a nook over a kindle if the whole prime instant video thing isn't super important. You can get play on kindle too, but you have to root to do it.

FWIW I remember there were several quad core 9"ish tablets released this spring that should be quite a bit faster if you're just looking for a general use tablet.

 

[Rottie]

Why not get the Nook HD+ for half the price, root it, and load the Kindle app? I did that and it works fantastic.

I agree…OP should buy this.

 

[Gooberlx2]

I don't really feel like messing with rooting and/or flashing and whatnot. And the Fire was more for the family not me (I'd go Nexus myself), and they all liked it so that's what they got.

You don't even have to root the Nook. Latest software opens up Google play and the kindle app installs fine. For $150, the Nook HD+ has to be the best value tablet right now.