I ordered a Kindle Fire HDX back in December 2014 and returned it to Amazon 3 weeks later so that I could change it for an iPad mini not because the device wasn’t any good but it just didn’t fit with my requirements from a tablet.
When I initially ordered the Fire HDX I was looking for a little tablet device from which the primary goal would be to consume media with, so films, books, music and so on, and for this the Fire HDX rocks, it is extremely quick with a superb screen and user interface and with its integration into the Amazon prime ecosystem this device is defiantly good at what it sets out to do.
But my secondary requirement from the device was for my professional life and this is where it fell down for me, sure the Fire HDX has email and calendar support but really that’s where it stops. Amazon have introduced their own flavour of the Android O/S so that they can have their slick user experience the downside to this is that not all Android apps are supported on the Fire and there is also no Google Play support. There is an Amazon app store but the quality and quantity of apps there when compared to Google play or the Apple app store well there is just no comparison at this moment in time.
In terms of the apps one thing that I missed more than anything else was Chromecast, Amazon currently don’t support Chromecast which I sort of get as they would like you to purchase their Fire TV but Apple do support Chromecast and they also have a similar device in Apple TV so really that isn’t an excuse.
Ultimately I Amazon are playing catch-up in the app stakes at present and I am not sure if they can ever get near Apple or Google in terms of app choices but then if you just want a content consumption device that you can watch video etc on then you may not need a huge selection of app or at least you may not need the selection that I was looking for and realised I needed.
So after three weeks of use I decided that the Fire HDX just wasn’t for me and returned it, Amazon were great they refunded the money no questions asked and then in turn I purchased the iPad mini which was more expensive than the Fire HDX but it just gave me more functionality through the choice of apps available.
I would recommend the Fire HDX to anyone wanting a device that they could consume video or read with (it was great with kindle books), but would that power users look elsewhere at least for the time being.
Kindle Fire HDX Review
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Performance
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Features
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Build Quality
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User Interface
Summary
The Amazon Kindle Fire HDX is super fast and a great little tablet for consuming media such as video’s and books especially if you have an Amazon Prime subscription where you get access to the lenders library and on demand video’s, but the lack of apps or google play functionality and it being a little on the heavy side for its size is limiting.
