Amazon Fire HD 8 (2024) review: A cheap tablet hampered by outdated software

The latest Amazon Fire HD 8, updated last month and starting at $100, is a modest refresh, offering more RAM, a nominally upgraded camera and some new AI features. The general sales pitch, however, remains the same: You get a just-competent tablet for the essentials at a dirt-cheap (and often-discounted) price, and in exchange, Amazon gets to plant another appliance for its own apps and services in your home. Nothing about this update drastically changes that agreement, but after using the tablet for the past month (and after using older Fire tablets for years prior), it may be time to demand more from Amazon’s end of the bargain. It’s definitely a cheap tablet Physically, the new Fire HD 8 is nearly identical to the last one. It is, without a doubt, A Budget Tablet — it’s nowhere near premium, but it doesn’t feel distractingly cheap either. At just under eight inches tall and 0.37 inches thick, it’s small enough for most kids to operate without much struggle and most adults to carry with one hand. If you care more about your tablet’s travel-friendliness than its virtues as a miniature TV, this size should be fine. The whole thing is lightweight at 0.74 pounds, so it’s not an anchor in your bag. Its textured plastic frame is somewhat slippery but altogether sturdy, with no creaking or flexing. Its gently rounded edges dig comfortably into your palms. There are fairly thick bezels around the display, but I’ve never minded those on a tablet — they give your thumbs a... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2024-11-15 14:19:25 UTC ]
News tagged with: #full-screen promo #extra $15 #content suggestions #significant chunk #discover row #similar range #not-so-personalized suggestions #thriller books #undignified mess #fire tablets #significantly undercut #unfiltered amazon-ness #software annoyances #cpu power #kindle

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Apple Fires Back at the Feds, Amazon

Apple responds to antitrust charges: "The launch of the iBookstore in 2010 fostered innovation and competition, breaking Amazon's monopolistic grip on the publishing industry." Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2012-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Will Review Kindle Newspaper Submission After All

Days after it told one publisher it had indefinitely suspended the programme to approve its Kindle newspaper edition submission, Amazon has suddenly relented. Last week, Scotland’s Herald & Times Group grumbled publicly that, after tw ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kindle Fire update brings sharing, 'print replica' textbooks, more to tablet

Amazon has started pushing out an over-the-air update that'll bring a slew of new features to its budget Kindle Fire tablet. Topping the list of upgrades is new sharing functionality that makes it possible for readers to send passages and notes from within the comfort of a book via social... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2012-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Expected to Cut Kindle Fire Orders in Half as New iPad Looms

Sources from Amazon's supply chain in the Far East indicated to DigiTimes that Kindle Fire orders with original device manufacturers are expected to be just 3 million units this quarter. That's half the 6 million units Amazon reportedly shipp ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2012-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kindle Fire Reviewed: Do Not Compare to iPad

The Kindle Fire is really a distant relation of the handheld portable TV that was popular about 20 years ago--you can consume lots of things fairly effortlessly on the Fire--movies, music, magazines, some kinds of apps, and, more importantly for us, books; but the Fire's real innovation is how... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Godfray asks BL to "review" Amazon link

Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 19/10/2011 - 15:01 Tim Godfray, chief executive of The Booksellers Association, has asked British Library c.e.o. Dame Lynne Brindley to review the Library’s relationship with Amazon “as a matter of urgency”, following the furore over links to... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Price of Amazon tablet hailed

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Thu, 29/09/2011 - 09:35 The price of Amazon's new tablet device has been singled out as its most eye-catching feature although analysts feel it may not be a direct competitor to the iPad. Amazon c.e.o. Jeff Bezos unveiled the device yesterday (29th... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon launches tablet and new UK Kindle priced £89

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 28/09/2011 - 15:40 Amazon has unveiled a Kindle Touch reader, alongside a brand new tablet device called Kindle Fire. It has also launched an £89 Kindle device in the UK. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon launches tablet and new Kindle Touch

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 28/09/2011 - 15:20 Amazon has unveiled a Kindle Touch reader, priced $99 for the wi-fi model, alongside a brand new tablet device called Kindle Fire. The new Kindle, which comes in silver, is smaller and lighter than the current, third-generation... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon Fires up new Kindle

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Tue, 27/09/2011 - 09:26 Amazon has reportedly dubbed its new tablet device Kindle Fire, with the digital company set to unveil it tomorrow (28th September). Techcrunch, which revealed details of the device at the beginning of September, reports the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Most – But Not All – Big Magazine Publishers Sign On For Amazon's Tablet

Conde Nast, Hearst and Meredith are in for Wednesday's launch. Time Inc. isn't, and may not get there for a while. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-09-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Excellent 2024 YA Books with Nonbinary Characters, Plus YA Book News for June 27, 2024

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How To Prepare for Pride Month in Libraries 2024: Book Censorship News, May 10, 2024

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Bologna 2024: Heinz Janisch and Sydney Smith Win 2024 Hans Christian Andersen Awards

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Amazon Prime Day 2022: Everything you need to know about Amazon’s shopping event

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Amazon is bringing mobile games to its Amazon Kids+ service

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Review: Larry Elder complained we'd never reviewed his books. So we did, like it or not

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[ Literrary Hub | 2019-08-26 16:58:35 UTC ]
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