Fire HDX 8.9 Tablet, 8.9" HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 16 GB - Includes Special Offers

The new Fire HDX 8.9 is definitely one powerful tablet, packed with some pretty nice features. While it does have some small flaws here and there, it generally is an all around great buy. I'll go over some of what I've noticed using the tablet, what I've learned from others who are using it, as well as the specs and how I feel about them. Hopefully it'll give you more insight into the product and help you make an easier decision whether or not to buy it.

*** BUILD QUALITY ***

One of the first things I noticed was the outstanding build quality. The tablet weighs less than much of its competition, and provides a nice feel due to the materials used in making the case which gives you a nice grip so you don't drop the tablet as easily. Everything feels solid... it doesn't have that cheap feel that some of the Android based tablets have. Apple still holds the title for most durable case as it's aluminum but unless you plan on throwing this thing around, you don't need the aluminum... it weighs more and it's cold!

*** SNAPDRAGON PROCESSOR AND GPU ***

This new HDX 8.9" comes with the 2.5Ghz Snapdragon processor and a nice GPU so this is going to be one of your fastest tablets on the market at the moment, if not the fastest. Intel and NVIDIA are continuously working on CPU's for the tablet and Chromebook markets, bragging about their performance and how they blow away the competition. Acer, for example, is utilizing an NVIDIA Tegra K1 ARM based CPU running at 2.1GHz quad-core. That is insanely fast for something like a Chromebook which functionality wise, is pretty much the same thing as a tablet. Unfortunately for Acer, the Snapdragon CPU on the Fire HDX is more powerful (2.5 GHz vs. 2.1 GHz) and appears to be using less power. Acer (NVIDIA) has some catching up to do! The HDX definitely gets some bonus points in that department.

GPU wise, the HDX comes with an Adreno 420 graphics processor which delivers high frame rates and as Amazon claims, 70% faster graphics performance than the previous generation Fire HDX 8.9. Amazon equates the graphics experience to that which you'd find on a game console which is a pretty impressive claim and from what I've seen, it's legitimate! Graphic-intensive games and advanced apps are ultra-responsive, run smoothly and use less battery power. This power savings is due to the low power consuming processor, and the LTPS LCD screen which I'll discuss now:

*** GRAPHICS & SCREEN PERFORMANCE ***

The screen is simply amazing with a 2560 x 1600 resolution and 30% more pixels than Apple's Retina display, along with the most accurate color calibration, accuracy, contrast, and brightness of any other tablet on the market... it is hands down, the best screen you can get right now, which makes me wonder why Amazon cut corners on the camera? (More on that later.) I'm going to go into a lot more detail on the screen right here so you can skip this part if you're fine knowing the screen is amazing! :-) For the nerdy tech stuff about the screen, read on:

NERDY SCREEN INFO: The screen has low reflectance (if that's a word?) so it's still easy to use outdoors in sunlight, and indoors where you may have a lot of overhead lights that typically would cause glare. Reflectance was measured at roughly 5% which is currently the lowest of all tablets on the market. The brightness is very high, in fact, it's higher than any other tablet at the moment, and it has amazing high ambient light performance. Color accuracy wise, every HDX display is individually factory calibrated for color accuracy and intensity and they've been doing this now since last year I believe. They've done a nice job with that as I've tested the HDX against a specialized photo editing monitor I use and the colors were nearly identical. This has typically been unheard of in tablets but Amazon really raised the bar here. Image contrast is also accurate and the HDX is using a 4 million pixel density (339 ppi) display meaning even with 20/20 vision, the naked eye will not be able to distinguish individual pixels. This also means the HDX has 30% more pixels than Apple's Retina display--Personally I think this is a bit overboard because you'll never notice those 30% extra pixels but who cares, it's an amazing screen! The HDX uses an LTPS (Low Temperature Poly Silicone) type LCD screen which makes it very power efficient giving the tablet longer battery life and allowing it to dedicate more power to the processor and GPU, making the tablet run faster without quickly draining the battery. As a power-saving comparison, the HDX's screen is 30% more efficient than the IGZO display used in the iPad Air.

*** AUDIO ***

Go buy yourself some decent headphones to appreciate the Dolby Atmos sound system built into the Fire HDX! Atmos is a newer sound technology and although it is already being used in other devices, the HDX is the first tablet to implement it. The sound is great but you're only going to get the most out of it with a good pair of headphones! The rear facing speakers are loud enough and decent enough to hear, but they don't take full advantage of the Atmos sound so again, get a good pair of headphones. As Dolby, the designer of Atmos puts it: "The sound comes from all directions, including overhead, to create an immersive experience with astonishing clarity, richness, detail, and depth. Dolby Atmos is the first audio format based on audio objects rather than channels. In Dolby Atmos, any sound--the helicopter, a blaring car horn, a yelling child--can exist as an independent audio object, free of channel restrictions. It can be placed and moved anywhere, including anywhere overhead." That basically sums it up. Needless to say, BOSE has some catching up to do!

*** OPERATING SYSTEM ***

Like the iPad and the Galaxy Tab, the Fire HDX has a nicely thought out and implemented operating system to work within. It's based on Android, however, Amazon has removed any references to Android in the software to help distinguish itself as its own OS (more on this in the detailed section below.) Fire OS offers free, unlimited cloud storage for all of your books, photos, music, etc., and Android OS (Google) does this as well for its Galaxy Tabs, although they only offer 15 GB of free storage. Apple's iOS has something similar as well for its iPads. It's hard to say which operating system is better than the other as all three are very well thought out. As I mentioned earlier, however, you're going to find way more apps on the Google Play Store and the iTunes Store. Amazon is continuously adding apps too and the same developers who are making the apps for Google and Apple, are starting to make their apps compatible with Amazon.

NERDY OPERATING SYSTEM INFO: Again, skip this part if you don't need the super-specific details. In case you're new to the Fire OS operating system, it's basically a modified Android OS. Amazon doesn't like to say that anymore since they're trying to make Fire OS its own thing and distinguish themselves from other operating systems so they say it's "Android compatible." In reality, the Fire OS 4.5.1 update you get with this tablet is built using the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), which is Unix based and built on Android 4.4.3., API level 20. What a mouthful! It looks nothing like Android but since it's built on it, it behaves the same way and as Amazon says, it's "compatible" with Android. Even though the operating system is built on Android, Amazon has (not surprisingly) blocked Google Play from being a native app on the device. You can still side-load it and use it but to use Google Play Apps, you'll need to switch the "Apps from Unknown Sources" to ON in the Applications Settings Menu.

*** CAMERA ***

I was not impressed with the 8 MP camera at all which is unfortunate because Amazon did such an awesome job with the display! What happened Amazon?! Competitor's tablets, specifically the Galaxy Tab and the iPad have much better camera resolution and overall clarity. If you don't need the camera, no need to worry about this but if it's going to replace the camera on your phone, you better compare the pictures you're getting on your phone or hand-held camera to the ones you're getting on the Fire HDX first. This MUST be addressed by Amazon as it's the biggest pitfall with the product. A later release may address this since so many people have also complained about it.

*** AMAZON PRIME BENEFITS ***

Personally, I have Amazon Prime mainly because of the shipping, and the fact that I stream a lot of videos on my home television for free with the Prime Instant Video. I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail here as there is an entire section on Amazon's main menu dealing with the benefits of Amazon Prime but I will say, if you're paying for Prime Membership ($99/year or $49/year for students) you're going to benefit even more going with this tablet over the competition. From streaming thousands of free videos, millions of songs, buying videos to watch, borrowing books for free, and so much more, it really makes the Fire HDX stand out from the crowd as neither Google, nor Apple has anything similar that I'm aware of.

*** APP AVAILABILITY, SOFTWARE, AND MAYDAY SERVICE ***

If you're switching over to the Fire HDX from an iPad or Galaxy Tab, you'll definitely want to make sure everything you'll need is either already pre-installed, or, is available on the Amazon App Store. If not, you may want to reconsider purchasing. If it's not an app you must have now, it will likely be available in the future as app developers continue to make their apps cross-compatible with the various operating systems. Google Chrome App developers, for example, are currently working hard to get their apps to function correctly with the new NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor (the first Tegra based processor to be used in a Chromebook.) The same concept applies to the Fire HDX.

As is the case with previous versions of Amazon's Fire OS software, the Fire HDX's interface is easy to learn and use. If you've used other tablets such as the iPad or Galaxy Tab, you'll get the hang of it pretty easily. It does take a little getting used to if you're completely new to the world of tablets but even children and seniors can figure out how to use the Fire HDX quickly. Apps launch fast, browsing is seamless with no lag and there are plenty of apps to choose from. Certainly not as many as Google or Apple have to offer, but enough where you'll likely find something that will work for your purposes. New apps are constantly being developed.

The HDX does come with internet browsing, calendar and email support, specifically for Gmail and Outlook. Office docs can also be edited using on-board software.

The MayDay service is unique to Amazon and it's basically an instant customer service feature. This can come in handy especially when first using the device, but also down the road when you're having problems with potential software crashes, issues downloading books, movies, or music, and so forth. It's available 24/7, 365 days per year and allows the customer service rep to see exactly what you're seeing on your device so they can walk you through fixing your issue. They can even draw on your screen remotely to make it even easier! This feature isn't running constantly so you don't have some customer service rep watching everything you do... you have to manually turn it on and start the MayDay program to begin.

*** PRICE COMPARISON ***

$379 is a lot of money to drop so it's important to feel out the competition and make an informed decision. Looking only at the price and not comparing the features, pros, or cons, the base model HDX is $120 less expensive than a new iPad Air 2, just slightly less expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S-8, and $100 less expensive than the Samsung Galaxy Tab S-10.5. I've listed the price as both a Pro and a Con because while it is less expensive than some of the other tablets on the market, at $379, it's still out of the budget for many potential customers looking for a tablet for their kids for schooling purposes, games, etc., especially if you're buying more than one!

*** POWERING UP FOR THE FIRST TIME ***

Typical start-up process, similar to what you'd go through setting up a new smartphone, but you'll want to have your Amazon account information handy because like any other tablet, you'll have to go through a quick registration process and sync process to get your Fire HDX up and running. This really doesn't take much time but it is necessary in order to get your WiFi connected and your books, music, videos, and files synced.

*** PROS AND CONS ***

I've compiled a list of some of the pros and cons I've experienced in testing the product, as well as some of the common pros and cons I'm seeing other users reporting. One reviewer got upset because I shared his pros and cons in this review so I've removed his pros and cons and made a much more comprehensive list that is more professional and addresses many issues he left out that people were asking about. We'll start with the pro's:

*** PROS ***

1. **PROCESSOR**: The Snapdragon processor, which is becoming mainstream in many of these devices including Chromebooks and smartphones, is blazing fast. It's a 2.5 GHz quad-core CPU and the speed is fast enough for everything you'll need to do on this tablet. I'm pretty sure this CPU even blows away the new NVIDIA Tegra K1 CPU's Acer has been using in their devices, and bragging about being the fastest out there... they run at 2.1 GHz quad-core, slightly slower than the Snapdragon.
2. **DISPLAY**: The display is the best on the market with 30% more pixels than Apple's Retina display, 30% more efficient than the iPad Air's display (thanks to the LTPS LCD screen), and unmatched color accuracy, brightness, and contrast. NOTHING beats this display.
3. **GRAPHICS**: The new Adreno 420 graphics processor delivers game-console quality graphics. I have noticed some excessive battery drain under high GPU usage situations but nothing alarming when compared to similar devices.
4. **SOUND**: The Dolby Atmos audio system is phenomenal but you won't get the full experience without a decent pair of headphones. The speakers are acceptable, in fact, they're better than most laptops, but they don't take full advantage of the Atmos technology.
5. **OPERATING SYSTEM**: The Fire OS operating system is nice and stable. As discussed above, it is built on the Android OS, rebranded, and modified to be Fire OS. (As of 11/22/2014, I've seen enough reports of the HDX crashing for no particular reason, several times per day, that I feel it's worth warning you about. While I haven't experienced this myself, it's something to think about. Again, it's a brand new product and software patches should hopefully correct these issues.)
6. **CAMERA (PRO AND CON)**: The tablet has a front and rear camera, although this is more of a "con" because the cameras are horrible, as addressed earlier in the review but some people need them so they're a pro and con. One reviewer on here is saying the camera is acceptable in bright light... it's not.
7. **UNLIMITED CLOUD STORAGE**: Like most tablet and Chromebook manufacturers are doing nowadays, unlimited cloud storage is included for your books, photos, videos, and music. Google does this as well but only offers 15 GB. (Update: As of 11/22/14, I am getting multiple reports from people saying the storage is NOT unlimited but rather 5GB. I am waiting for a response from Amazon to confirm this.)
8. **AMAZON PRIME BENEFITS**: Amazon Prime benefits, if you have it (it's $99/year and $45/year for students I believe) are great including being able to checkout books for free, stream thousands of movies, millions of songs, etc.
9. **CONNECTIVITY**: HDMI and VGA adapters can be connected to the device due to the SlimPort enabled micro-USB port
10. **OFFICE SOFTWARE**: Like other tablets and Chromebooks, there are apps to view, edit, and create Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint presentations.
11. **EMAIL SUPPORT**: The HDX 8.9 also supports web browsing, Gmail, and Outlook. Haven't tried Google Calendar yet but I'm hoping that is supported, too.
12. **WiFi**: The 802.11ac Wi-Fi is the new standard for tablets, Chromebooks, and laptops and is included in the HDX. Speeds can reach 600Mbps (4x faster than the previous generation) and with MIMO (Multiple Input and Multiple Output), you can multi-task high-bandwidth activities like streaming music on wireless speakers, while downloading an HD movie, and transferring high-resolution photos, for example
13. **PRICE (PRO AND CON)**: Price is reasonable for what you're getting and is comparable to other products on the market. If you've already invested into the Amazon environment via Kindle usage, etc., it may be cost effective to stay in that operating system/format.

*** CONS ***

1. **BUTTON PLACEMENT**: This could be a pro or a con I suppose, but the buttons are on the back of the device which may be annoying for some, yet appreciated by others. That's up to you to decide.
2. **LACK OF EXPANSION PORT: No expansion options! This is a big one for me because with the exception of Apple, almost every other manufacturer gives you the option to insert an SD card to expand your storage capacity. Not the case here with the HDX.
3. **ON-BOARD SPEAKERS**: The speakers are loud enough but they're on the back of the device and more importantly, they were not designed around the Dolby Atmos system so if you want the Atmos sound quality, you'll need to use a good pair of headphones.
4. **CAMERAS (HORRIBLE)**: The camera is disappointing as I mentioned earlier in the review but you can record in 1080p resolution (not impressive given the QUALITY of the 1080p video due to the disappointing camera.) Again, this is a tablet, not a camera, but come on Amazon, smart phones are using amazing cameras now... put a better one in the HDX!
5. **TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY**: Buy now or wait for a more substantial upgrade? I put this is the con section because this HDX is not a HUGE upgrade over 2013's HDX and I have a feeling Amazon is going to step up their game even more, especially now that they're beginning to gain substantial traction in the tablet and even smartphone market. I know I keep mentioning the camera being crappy and I will say, Amazon is almost 100% likely to address this in a future update since so many people are complaining about it so if the camera is important to you, you may want to hold off for right now.
6. **PRICE (PRO AND CON)**: I have this as a pro also because it is reasonably priced, however, it is not a product that everyone can afford and a lot of people I've spoken to, and showed the device to people who want to get one for their kids for reading, games, and schooling purposes... unfortunately, it's the price point that's holding them back. As I mentioned to them and I'll mention here, to get a decent tablet, you're going to have to pay close to $400 no matter which manufacturer you go with. I understand this isn't in the price range of everyone so I'll leave this as a pro and con as it is very affordable to some, and not so much for others.
7. **NO NATIVE SUPPORT FOR GOOGLE PLAY STORE**: Google Play Store is not a native app on the HDX. It can be side-loaded but involves changing some settings. Dozens of users are also reporting problems with app compatibility, apps freezing, Android apps simply not working, etc. Keep in mind though, this is a brand new device... it's going to take a couple months for patches to be released to address all the bugs.
8. **GOOGLE APP COMPATIBILITY ISSUES**: Using certain Google apps would require "rooting" the device which is not advised as it voids your warranty and could affect the ability to use the MayDay service. You're better off finding Amazon apps to use than doing something that could either "brick" your device or void your warranty.
9. **FREEZING/LOCKING UP**: (Updated 11/23/2014): After about a month, I have noticed the device occasionally locks up for no apparent reason, usually when streaming audio or video. MANY other users are reporting the same thing. This will likely be fixed with a software patch but for right now, it is a pretty big problem for a lot of people.
10. **BATTERY POWER**: Something is eating up a lot of battery power. The screen is a special type of LCD that is highly power efficient so my guess is, the power drain is coming from the CPU and GPU. It's not horrible, but it's not great either. And as we all know, every time you recharge the battery, the battery life gets lower and lower over the course of a year or two. As far as I know, the HDX's battery is NOT serviceable so this could be problematic in the future.

*** CONCLUSION ***

The bottom line is, you really can't go wrong with this tablet. What it comes down to is your needs in a tablet. Do you need apps that are only available on the Google Play Store or the iTunes store or have you already heavily invested in them? If so, you may have to eliminate the Fire HDX from your list and stick with the operating system you have now. If you're brand new to tablets in general, or all you're looking for is a great, beautifully performing tablet with the best display on the market, blazing fast processor and WiFi, console-quality graphics, combined with a stable and proven operating system, and a solid feel and durability, then the Fire HDX immediately moves to the front of the line. Besides the camera, I honestly cannot think of a problem serious enough to caution me from giving the green-light to make the purchase. Personally, as much as I love the new HDX 8.9, I'm going to stick with my Galaxy Tab and Chromebook (and Kindle Paper White for eBooks) because I'm so heavily invested into Google apps but I will say this: I will continuously be jealous of the HDX every time I pick up my Galaxy Tab!

*** If you found this review helpful, please let me know! I try my best to spend time with the product to review it in detail and pass on what I discover to you. I do this to help you make a stress-free decision on whether or not to purchase the product, and to let the manufacturers know about any flaws or defects in their product. I appreciate you reading my review and I hope it was helpful to you! ***

UPDATED ON: 11/09/2014, 11/19/2014, 11/20/2014, 11/21/2014. 11/22/2014. More updates will be added as the product is tested further and more data comes in. I know this is a lot of info but I hope it has been helpful to you in some way!

Great device; it's zippy, has an AWESOME display, great sound for a tablet (rivals/bests any portable device I currently own, including laptops) has incredible ease of use and I'm basically "all-in" on the Amazon ecosystem. I know people lament the loss of Google Play, but I'm a simple guy who doesn't actually "need" absolutely everything. I can watch movies/videos from the major streaming services I use (Netflix/Prime), music (Pandora, Spotify, Prime), the various apps I use for fantasy sports, reading emails, ebooks (honestly the main reason I bought this thing), and reddit. That's more or less all I need it to do, and it does all of these things beautifully and quickly.

The reason for the 3 star is because, as of this review, the device has the SUPREMELY ANNOYING HABIT OF LOCKING UP. It seems to happen most often when I'm running a music program while reading or browsing then attempting to shutting it off. It occurs to me anywhere from once to three times a day, but this is a device that I only use when I'm traveling around or somewhere away from my home computer, so those 1-3 times happen at the most inconvenient opportunities.

Example of a recent situation: I'm waiting for my class to start so I'm hanging out at the college library, listening to some stuff on Prime while flipping through reddit, with headphones on. It's time to go in, so I switch to the music app to shut it off and simultaneously remove the headphones to put it in my bag. Except it locks up; the screen stops moving, I lose any and all functions to use it, and the music just KEEPS ON PLAYING. I can't shut it off. I can't even manually shut off the device by holding the power button; doing so just shuts off the display, yet the sound continues and now I'm just looking at a black screen that won't turn back on. I feel like the biggest d-bag standing there in the library with music just playing at full blast. I was mortified. There are kids around me studying for exams for Christ's sake. My final option (when it finally occurred to me) was to just plug the headphones back in and toss it in my bag, scurrying out with my head down and refusing to make eye contact. When the lockup happened again later at home, it took a little over 2 minutes (I'm guess, it was about the duration of one song) before the screen started working again. So...that happens.

I'm not the only one to complain about this either. It's a shame; I love this device, more than any other tablet I currently have, because it does everything I want in a quick and intuitive manner (this my second Kindle, and I personally love the carousel). But this little bug or whatever is positively rage-inducing, especially on a brand new product I just dropped almost $479 on. Until it's fixed, I don't feel comfortable taking it anywhere with me in public wherever A) I'll be playing any kind of media, and B) headphones are required.