Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

First off, I would like to say this tablet is a great deal for just $139.99. I tried finding a tablet for under $100 that would just work properly, and to let you know, it's impossible. Secondly, I want to tell you how I decided to buy this tablet. I first bought the 9 inch Dragon touch tablet for 78$ but to be blunt it sucked. It was so slow that the web browser would always freeze, even if I did a simple Google search. I did not want to take a chance with it anymore and returned it after 2 days of using it; then I decided to give the kindle fire HD a chance. Exterior: The exterior is well built. No loose pieces, and the plastic is very firm. My previous cheap tablet had plastic that felt it was going to snap if you held it too hard. Of course the iPad mini has a glass screen and aluminum body, but it also starts at $329. There are 2 ports: a micro usb and a headphone jack to plug in your headphones. The nice thing is that the micro usb is universal and finding a plug is cheap and easy to find. Although, amazon does include a very nice and not cheaply made cable/ wall charger along with your kindle. The previous kindle did not include them and they are worth $20. The buttons for the volume and power are a nice touch. I would not be surprised if new generation tablets will include these style buttons. Only down side is there is no port for an SD card so you can store more memory. It would be a nice feature but if you really need all that storage, go buy a computer. Display: One word, amazing. Maybe I am pushing it, but the screen is so clear. I own an iPhone 5 and my eyes prefer my kindle. I love reading on this machine and for the price, amazon did a good job with this one. Internal/processor: I never owned the older versions of the kindle, so I won't be able to compare to them. I can say that this kindle is not slow. My previous tablet took a couple of seconds to respond to my touch but there is no delay on this kindle. As far as apps go, I downloaded that deer hunting game to test out if the kindle can handle it. The answer is yes, and didn't even struggle :). WiFi: Surfing the web is awesome on this device. I watched a tv series(arrested development, which I do recommend) and the video playback was great. It was very smooth and even when I went outside the video was fine. I added the outside part because my 2010 MacBook pro starts to get a jittery WiFi connection when I bring it outside my house. But the overall speed is in between my iPhone 5 and MacBook pro, where it should be. Battery: Yeah... I noticed the older version of the kindle was 11 hours and this one is 10 hours. But if you're on the kindle for 10 hours straight, time to GET A JOB! (Read update 10/23/13 lower in the review for true battery life) Camera: I wish there was a camera and Mic in this kindle so I could Skype with my family. Keeping the price and size in mind you can't really blame amazon. Well, at least the NSA can't see me or hear what I'm doing. If you want those features then you can always buy the better version of the kindle. (Kindle HDX) Sound: I don't know what the previous kindle sounded like, but this kindle has great speakers. I was in my room watching my show and my roommates(my parents..) told me to turn it down. I could understand everything that was said in the show and that's all that matters. If you bought this tablet to listen to quality music, I don't know what to tell you. Setup: I've seen lots of people saying that the setup is a pain in the you know what. I was waiting to see what they were talking about but I had no issue. When I received my tablet, I turned on the screen and connected to my WiFi. I had no problems and then an amazon load screen came up and I said, here we goooo... The load screen only lasted 2 minutes and it was completed. I didn't have another one, nor did I have an issue setting up my kindle. My email, WiFi, amazon account, and other set ups went very smoothly without any issues. I am not doubting that other people had problems with their tablets, no electronic device is perfect. Either amazon saw that there was a problem and fixed it, I got lucky with my tablet, or maybe so many people were trying to register their new kindle and amazon servers could not handle it. Wouldn't have been the first time a new product had its servers go down(obamacare, ios 7, COD servers, etc.) Bluetooth: Haven't tried it yet, sorry! But apparently no one has any issues with it. 10/21/13 I have tested it out by hooking it up to my car and it works. I don't own a Bluetooth mouse or keyboard but you should not have a problem pairing them with the kindle. SO, if you want a general summary, this is a fantastic tablet for the price. This tablet is probably the cheapest tablet that you can buy with it being dependable. There are a lot of cheaper tablets out there, but are only good if you want bald spots. Keep the price in mind when buying this tablet, this is why amazon offers a lot better kindles that cost more. This kindle is for someone that is on a budget, wants a device to surf the web,reading books, looking at photos, watching movies, playing games, and obviously "facebooking." If you want something more "show off-ie" then this isn't the kindle tablet for you. Also, keep in mind Amazon is an extraordinary company. They are fair priced for almost everything they sell on their website, especially their books. I cannot thank them enough for saving me hundreds of dollars on books I need for college. For not being an electronics company like Apple, Samsung Sony etc, they can definitely give those companies a run for their money with their tablets. So thank you amazon for making a very affordable, dependable tablet! I will update this if I see something out of the ordinary or if something goes wrong that shouldn't have. P.S. If there spelling mistakes, sorry. I used my new kindle to type this all out. I figured it would be good practice. UPDATE 10/21/13 First, I want to mention is that I am having sound glitches. When I'm watching a video the sound just shuts off and I have to press the rewind button 1 to 3 times. In doing so, the video loads itself again and the sound magically comes back on. I know it's a software issue because sometimes when I load my apps there is no sound even when it is turned on. I shut off the app (sometimes a couple of times) and the sound comes back. If anyone knows how to fix the issue or has the same problem, let me know. Thank you. Another problem I have is trying to connect the micro usb cable in. I think it's a problem because the way the sides of the kindle are angled. Usually I plug in all my electronics at night, with no lights on. But with the kindle, I have to leave the light on so I can find the port to plug in the charger. There is no flash player in the kindle, but that's no surprise since android and iPads don't either. There might be manual ways on installing it but I wouldn't know. When you use you're kindle while charging it, it gets pretty warm. Not really a problem just something that was noticeable. Now, time for some good news! The display is great outside, I can watch all my shows when the sun is out. This is a huge plus for me. The true battery life. I tested it out by watching 4 episodes of a show that lasted about 22 minutes. Each show drained my battery 5%, keep in mind my display brightness was set around 75%. Doing the math, the battery life will last you roughly 7.5 hours when watching videos. When I web surf, read books, play a game here and there I would have enough battery life to last me a little less than 2 days. I think the battery life would be a lot better if there was a light sensor on the kindle, but there isn't. So if you want to save battery you need to manually change the brightness yourself because the kindle is not able to. Two suggestions so far. 1. Amazon, I wish your kindle cases were cheaper. Two of your cases cost as much as the kindle itself! They do look nice and pretty cool but not for that price. Sorry, but I went with the 20$ marware case and it does the job. 2. Instead of offering $2 amazon music credit incentives when you buy certain products. A $2 amazon coins incentive would be incredible. Almost everything in the app store costs money and amazon coins would be very useful for a lot of your loyal customers. 11/26/13 My previous issue that I had with my kindle (sound disappearing) has been resolved. I am not sure what it was but I think it had something to do with the recent update. Some people are angry and giving horrible reviews because this isn't like the previous generation Kindle Fire HD. READ THE PRODUCT DESCRIPTION BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING. This kindle fire HD is marketed as the improved, previous Kindle Fire, while the kindle fire HDX is the new and improved, previous kindle fire HD. I do not want to bash anybody, but I do not think that this Kindle should have such bad reviews because of others' stupid mistakes. So, if you are not on a budget and want an even greater tablet; the Kindle Fire HDX is what you should look into. The other cool thing about the recent update is, if you bought a kindle with special offers, the lock screen now has a notification bar. Before it just showed the special offers on the screen. Now on the lock screen, at the top of the screen, it shows the time, battery life and other notification like new emails. Before you had to unlock the screen to see any of this. Nice touch Amazon! Also, HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!