Tablet World.pdf

REVIEWS Amazon Kindle Fire HD
Amazon Kindle Fire HD
The Kindle Fire HD is the first Amazon tablet to hit the UK. With its 7in
screen, dual-core CPU and tempting price, it appears a bargain. But is it?
● PrIce £159 ● comPany amaZon ● WeBSITe amazon.co.uk
PROS
Great value; slick
interface; nice screen
COnS
Amazon Appstore
has fewer apps than
Google Play; no
offline movie viewing;
locked down
VERDICT
Available with the
same amount of
storage and at the
same price as the
Nexus 7, this tablet
is not only slower but
severely locked down
OVERALL SCORE
52 TABLETWORLD
It's been a long time coming, but Amazon’s tablet is finally available to buy in the
UK. The Fire HD has a 7in (1280x800) 10-point touchscreen, dual-band Wi-Fi
and a slightly faster processor than the standard Kindle Fire sold in the US.
The Kindle Fire HD runs a highly customised version of Android 4.0. In fact,
you wouldn’t even know it was running Android if it weren't for the occasional
in-app advert for Android apps on the Google Play store.
Amazon would prefer you to think of the Fire HD as a touchscreen e-reader
with extra capabilities, such as videos, music, games and apps. Amazon has done
a great job of making a slick system that is both easy to use and intuitive.
Interface
We like the Fire HD's lock screen, which displays a different wallpaper each time
you turn it on. However, unless you pay an extra £10 at purchase, you'll have to
put up with special offers on the lock screen.
The home screen has a menu for jumping to the various different types of
media, with a carousel of recently used apps, books, websites and everything else.
Below this you get a 'related items' carousel, which in essence shows contextual
adverts for the item showing in the main carousel. For example, if it's a game,
you'll see a list of games ‘Customers Also Bought’; if it's a website, you get a
‘Trending Now’ list; or shortcuts to creating a new email if the calendar, email
or contacts app is highlighted above.