Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

NOT impressed. This is my third Fire (My first two were the Fire, then the Fire HD 10. Both still work, though the original Fire charge connection is a bit wonky sometimes). That gives me some grounds for comparison. I have had the All New Fire for one day and I am VERY disappointed. I'm going to be giving it one more day then will probably be returning it. WHAT I LIKE: The SD port, just cause, though I honestly don't imagine I'll be using it. All Controls on the top edge so I don't have to fumble to figure out which end has the power switch and which the volume control. For the OS--I like the ease of moving between tabs (video, books, etc) and having what passes for a carousel focused only on that item (books, video, apps). That's handier than rolling through a busy carousel that lumps everything into one. The idea of masking the blue light that interrupts sleep. Since I read in bed a lot and like having a light weight ereading device rather than a heavy, bulky physical book, that's a great idea. Unfortunately, the masking color is an unpleasant grey-orange. Probably what's possible with the physics of the thing, but not an improvement for me as a reader. So, kudos for the idea and no points off for the results, but...meh. And...that's pretty much it. Otherwise, I'm SERIOUSLY UNDERWHELMED. Oh...I do like the yellow color. That was fun. But it sure as heck isn't essential for my use and enjoyment of the device. ETA: after more time comparing the new device with my old ones, I'd say--if you're in the market for a cheap tablet, this will do okay. If you want clarity, sharp visuals, and good sound....look elsewhere. This new Fire HD just can't compare with the old ones. At all. It's a good bargain for what you get, but...you get what you pay for. WHAT I DON'T LIKE: (Pretty much everything else, especially all the critical stuff.) Display is murky, dull, and not sharp. I don't know where the improvement is here. I sure can't see it. In fact, I can't see much of anything. I ran several Amazon video offerings side by side on the new 8 and my old 10. I honestly can't make out anything on the 8 it's so dark.....and that's with the setting at max brightness. The 10 wasn't set for max brightness and I could still see far more clearly and the images were much sharper. Terrible. Didn't matter whether it was an Amazon video, Netflix, or something from my collection. The "New Improved" 8 came in dead last. For reading, I saw the same degradation in clarity, even with the same settings and the same book. The fonts across the board looked okay at first glance, yet somehow were harder to focus on at the size I prefer (about mid range), so I assume there's some blurring there somewhere. The sepia background, which I prefer, was extremely dark instead of being a very light tan, I assume a function of the overall lack of brightness for the device. Made reading in low light much more difficult. Not particularly impressed with the "carousel" which is really just a display of the latest three items or so, then a link to "see more". Okay, and maybe after all this time I'm just used to the scrolling carousel, so...this is standard, I can live with it, but...another meh. More annoying is all the ads below the "carousel". I've always chosen devices with ads, but this is much more intrusive, and often the top displays (there's usually two or three boxes for the items being offered) are very large, drawing your eye when what you really want is whatever you're reading/watching/using at the moment. These ads take up half the screen and, so far as I can see, can't be resized. Home page....doesn't show any mix of my most recent from the books/video/apps tabs. In fact, what it shows is something I've never used....and nothing else. Sound. Another meh. I'm not a sound geek, but again, compared to the 10, this was less clear, less vibrant, and max volume wasn't as loud. Even my ancient Fire can do as well and it doesn't tout whatever sound system it is that Amazon seems to love about this new 8. Apps buttons as displayed on the Home page are so visually similar that it's hard to distinguish one from another, forcing you to read the title to find what you want. They're also larger and set closer together, which doesn't help. This isn't as important a deficiency as the lack of brightness or clarity or clear sound, but it's still a Not As Good item on the list of why I don't like this new device. This really isn't a criticism of the Fire, but I'll put it here as well as on the proper product page, because it applies: The new Amazon case isn't all that great, either. I got the yellow to go with the yellow Fire (it says something about the product when the only thing you REALLY like about it is the color). It's a nice texture on the outside, the plastic case that holds the Fire is tight and seems very secure, and the magnets/close for sleep work great. BUT.....the darned thing won't hold the Fire upright. Whether I try to prop up the Fire horizontally or vertically, on a smooth table or on my lap or on the arm of the sofa, the thing falls over all the time. And I do mean ALL THE TIME. Especially in the horizontal mode, which you'd think would be more stable because of the weight distribution. But, nope. I have yet to try to read or watch anything without the case collapsing on me. BOTTOM LINE: Unless the brightness, clarity, and sound issues are something Amazon can fix with an OS update in the next 24 hours or so, this thing is going back. I'm very disappointed. Edited 6/11 to add: Just for the heck of it, I ran video on my old Fire side by side with video on this new HD 8. I deliberately chose a very dark show--Amazon's "Vikings"--for comparison. No comparison at all. The old Fire, which must be 6 or 8 years old by now (I just checked, it was released November 2011 and I bought mine somewhere around then), seriously blows the new HD out of the water. I can see incredible detail on the old Fire that is nothing but blurry shadow on the new HD. Clearly, Amazon has opted to go for the bottom end of the market in order to reach more customers (nothing wrong with that--I'm much happier banging around an $80 device in my purse than I am the $400 one, and the old ones were sold significantly below manufacturing and development costs in Amazon's bid to get into the market). But since I use these devices a LOT, the quality of the image is very important for me. The new HD doesn't cut it. At all. So I'll pray that charger hangs in on my old Fire and that the 10 proves just as sturdy and durable. And when they die....well, I won't be looking for another Kindle. This new one is in the mail back to Amazon the first of next week.