Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Please take the time to read my entire review and feel free to ask questions. I will do my best to respond to them as I can and update the review to reflect those answers and other things I discover along the way. First my background. I own many Amazon Kindles (b&w, Fire gen2, Fire gen3, Fire 6) as well as Apple Ipad (gen 4), an Apple Ipad Mini 3rd gen, Samsung Note 3 and have an Samsung S4 smartphone (along with a Apple 6) (had a LG G2 before that), notebooks, chromebooks, etc. It is safe to say I own at least 10 other tablets currently from various smaller brands. I have also used many other products including the Fire HDX line. I have a solid computer background as well but honestly I am more of a casual user when it comes to tablets like this one. Now to this model. With this new "Fire", which happens to have a 7 inch screen, Amazon is once again changing things up. While it has a larger screen than the Fire 6 tablet, it has slightly less cpu (brain) power under the hood and less of a nice screen (lower resolution and lower ppi (pixels per inch--something that tells you how much detail/sharpness you get per inch of screen space. Higher ppi numbers are better.) So why in the world consider a tablet that is slower with a less great screen? Because it is half the price! The new "Fire" $49.99 compared to Fire HD 6 $99.99: Pro: Larger screen size at 7 inches. Pro: Half the cost! Get two for the price of one Fire HD 6. Pro: Micro SD slot for expanding your on board storage space up to 136 gb (using the 8gb provided/built in as well as a 128 Micro SD card which is NOT included.)- Pro & Con: Quad 1.3/1.3/1.3/1.3 GHz processor vs. Quad 1.5/1.5/1.2/1.2 GHz (This means front/main tasks can be slightly slower but it is better balanced overall) Con: Heavier at 313 grams compared to 290 grams. Con: Shorter warranty--Only 90 days compared to 1 year on Fire HD 6 and other Fire tablets. Con: No gyroscope sensor Con: Less impressive screen 1024 x 600 (171 ppi) compared to Fire HD 6's 1280 x 800 (252 ppi) Con: Less bright screen at 300 nits compared to Fire HD 6's 380 nits. Con: Shorter battery life at 7 hours of usage compared to Fire HD 6's 8 hours. In the real world battery life will vary but the Fire will have less than the Fire HD 6. Con: Speaker isn't quite as good as the Fire HD 6 speaker. (Now I highly recommend using a separate bluetooth speaker or headphones for the best experience anyway so this isn't a huge minus to me.) Instructions on pairing/connecting bluetooth speakers is now located at the end of this review. Con: Sluggish performance on menus and some OS tasks. I expect this to be more due to the new OS than the hardware which means it will likely get resolved in future software updates. (You see the exact same issue on their more expensive 8 & 10 inch Fire Tablets so it isn't the hardware.) While that looks like a lot of cons, they are pretty minor points, while the pros are MAJOR points. The micoSD slot alone is a HUGE addition for most customers. The screen is pretty good--certainly not the top of the line but given the price, it is an amazing value. Comparing past Kindle Fires: 1st Generation 7 inch--1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi 2nd Generation 7 inch--1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi 3rd Generation 7 inch--1280 x 800 pixel resolution at 216 ppi (the first step up in resolution) 4th Generation 7 inch--1280 x 800 pixel resolution at 216 ppi 5th Generation 7 inch--1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 171 ppi (the first step DOWN in resolution and ppi, but dramatically cheaper as well) There are better screens on the dramatically more expensive Fire HDX models. Whereas ($99) Fire HD 6 has 1280 x 800 (252 ppi). Now while Amazon may love my giving this 7 inch "Fire" a 5 star rating (like I did the 6 inch $99 Fire at the time of release), they wouldn't like this next sentence. There is absolutely no reason to even consider the "old" $119 7 inch fire. In fact, this new 7 inch model really takes the wind out of the more expensive Fire Tablets. There isn't much that you will miss on those pricier models. I personally would recommend people get this as a starter model to see if you will actually use it and like the Fire OS. If you do, then maybe look at fancier models but dollar for dollar NOTHING in their line gives you as much as this $49 Fire does. So now that I have talked you out of the more expensive ($119) Fire 7 (and most of their other tablets), let us talk more about the 7 inch Fire. Performance/Apps--It is quick (but I am never happy enough, lol), responsive and like Apple products--it just works. Now one plus and minus with all Kindles/Fires are that you can not use apps from Google's app store. That means you have to wait for apps to be brought into Amazon's app store which seems to be slow at getting new releases and new updates. This is really an issue for Amazon and one that still needs to be fixed. The plus to this is that Amazon keeps some of the junky apps out of the system and once they make it to Amazon's app store, they are proven safe and generally work better than the "fresh" apps because bugs have been worked out. Another plus to this is that Amazon gives away a different paid app every day and just launched "Amazon Underground" which gives you over $10,000 in paid apps and in-app purchases for free. This helps reduce your purchases while giving you and your family more things to do with your Fire. Amazon's own apps are very well integrated into this and past Fires. They keep improving them and adding features without adding cost. If you have Prime, you get streaming TV and Movies, free ebooks and now Prime Music. If you have Prime, the added free content you get on the Fire (even to use offline) makes it a real standout against everything else. I use my Fire for reading emails, surfing the internet, watching videos (some of the time) and playing some games/apps like IMDB. My wife loves some of the apps and she uses it frequently to keep on top of things. I have found that it meets or exceeds what I have come to expect from these things in terms of performance and reliability, especially for the cost. Are there bugs or glitches? Yes but less than my smartphones and other tablets. Size--about the size of a 6" phone but taller is very nice--not too big but not too small. It is more portable feeling than past 7 inch tablets and it is easy to hold in one hand. It is heavier than the many other tablets and you notice the weight when holding it. I would love it to be thinner and lighter but that is asking a lot. Quality--Amazon has proven over time that they can make quality products and this is no exception. At under a fifty dollars there is pretty much nothing else that is this feature packed with this finish quality. I have experienced no quality issues and do not expect anything given Amazon's solid history. Heck at this price is nearly disposable! Battery Life--So far so good. I was able to stream video and surf the internet for well over 6.5 hours without any hiccups. From a device this compact with such a large screen that seems quite impressive. Sound--Decent but Apple products feature a cleaner sound to me. Volume is usable in most situations but not necessarily in noisy outside situations. After listening to Pop/Rock music for a few hours at full volume, I noticed clipping only on one song. As mentioned above, I highly recommend a bluetooth speaker or headphones for the best experience. If you are in the market for a little tablet and have prime, at this price there is no reason not to get one to play with. Even if you only use it check your email, the weather and read some news, it will be worth it. Heck, even if you have a larger Apple iPad, my guess is that this would still be a great addition to your household. And unlike Apple products and past Amazon products, it has an expandable storage microSD slot. I am sure I have forgotten something so please feel free to ask questions. This is my own opinion and while I don't know everything, I do my best to deliver honest reviews since reviews help me so much when I shop. UPDATE 1: Regarding Mayday--This answer might be incorrect soon but according to Amazon Mayday is only available on Kindle Fire HDX, Kindle Fire HDX 8.9", Fire HDX 8.9, and Fire Phone devices. What this Fire offers is Mayday screen sharing which would allow support to see what is on your screen but is not the full Mayday button support (along with the 15 second response time). Again, according to Amazon: Kindle Fire HD, Fire HD 6 and Fire HD 7 don't Mayday have compatible hardware, which is required to use Mayday so that means there isn't a "small" tablet that supports Mayday yet. So the cheapest and smallest with Mayday is still Fire HDX 8.9 at $350. In my opinion, they need to remove the Mayday name from the comparison chart since NONE of those models have full Mayday. Also in my opinion skip paying the additional $15 fee to get the Fire without Sponsored Lockscreens. You will only see these on the lock screen which means they are like billboards not like banner ads. Once the device is unlocked there are no more ads. To pair a bluetooth device instructions by request: Pull down on the top of the screen (once the device is unlocked and on). The third button over is bluetooth. Click on it. The bluetooth page will load. Click on the first line to turn on bluetooth. Click on "pair a device". It will scan for any devices waiting to be paired. Click on the device you want to pair and it will beep when pairing has happened. That is it in 5 clicks! Please read the comments linked below this to see questions and answers from other shoppers.