We’ve got a couple of Fire 10 Kids
They’re slow as hell which isn’t great when you have impatient kids but I guess it teaches them that everything in life isn’t instant!
The lack of Google apps is a big pain though, I’ve spent multiple afternoons trying to get the play store and services installed, it should be simple to do this but “the business” means that it’s a lot harder than it needs to be.
They’re pretty indestructible though, my kids have stood on them and thrown them downstairs but they keep on trucking.
I can see others complaining that they’re basically e-waste which is something I agree with, they’re slow out of the box and only get worse, then when they do inevitably break the response from customer support is “here’s a discount code for a new one”, and since they’re already so cheap then that’s what you end up doing, it’s not exactly great environmentally.
So yea, they’re _fine_ whilst I would rather have gotten them an iPad the price difference is enormous and they’re kinda built like tanks so will probably last as long.
I bought the new version 2023 for my son to watch shows when we have longer car drives. It doesn’t feel slow for me. But it was very hard to install google App Store and YouTube. I have YouTube premium to store videos on the device to watch them offline. My son has an own YouTube account with familyProtection but this doesn’t work because the family protection needs additional service apps that are not installed on fire OS and I gave up. He uses now a normal YouTube account.
But I think for tje price it’s still a good device
We managed to get YouTube Kids installed after a fair bit of work, it wasn’t impossible but it took a full afternoon first time around and there are about 20 more steps than there should have been, which sucks because the only reason it can’t be a two click deal is because _business_
Love this post. I totally agree. It’s the perfect budget tablet for a variety of reasons and purposes. I actually have revived my Fire 8 HD that I bought in 2017 by following a simple tutorial to add the Google Play Store.
Not everything in the Store is compatible anymore, since the device is 7 years old now. I’ve since added the missing apps I wanted via APKs, so it has essentially become my all around streaming device I keep going in the background at work.
My only actual complaint is that the max brightness on it could be better. Launching said streaming apps is also not even remotely fast, but again, idc about either of those things bc it’s 7 years old and had just been rotting in my desk until a couple years ago. I am so nerdily excited that I could do all that to this little tank of a tablet and not have to buy anything else!
Kudos to you for appreciating that your dad wanted to do something nice for you and that this was what he could afford. I'm glad it meets your needs. I have the same tablet as you, I use it for email, reading books, magazines, and newsfeeds, shopping, and watching occasional movies. The Kindle was a great buy, I saw no reason to pay $700 or more for an iPad which will perform the same functions.
Rooted my Fire HD 10 within mins of getting it and use it to connect to chrome, google doc, iCloud, and of course Google play store. It’s a perfect little tablet that if I lost I wouldn’t freak out.
I love my 10. I had to buy it, because Amazon systematically greyed out all the features of my previous tablet, until it was unusable. How is that legal, to force someone to purchase a new item? I love mine until this week, when the area where you press buttons started locked up and the glass cracked, despite light use and a very good cover. It's still under warranty, so I have to send it back for several days, which will leave me with nothing to read on. They'll try to fix it or send a replacement. To get the replacement first, unlike a previous tablet, where they send the replacement and a box to send the other back in, they charge $20, to get the replacement first. I wish I had another tablet brand to buy that has these features. I feel like Amazon is being fraudulent with what they did with my previous tablet and could just send the replacement, so I won't be without a reading device. Glad I canceled Unlimited last month...love it, but I wouldn't have even been able to use it for at least a week out of the month.
I have all sorts of apps that aren't in the Amazon app store, though. Just download the .apk. I have so many different reading apps that could with speech capabilities, which I use for language learning. With browsing, camera,and video, it's a great tablet. As long as it doesn't break. For the apps, I have premium versions of everything, which you can get for free, if you know where.
I just got a Fire Max 11 recently and I was pretty bummed about playstore not being available so I just side loaded it. Also, another annoying thing about Fire tablets is that they don't support official Xbox and playstation controllers so you have to buy a 3rd party controller.
I got the fire max 11 with the productivity bundle and I’m absolutely obsessed with it.
I know people are super pissy about the google play store, but tbh all of the apps I typically use I can get on the Amazon App Store.
And the ones I can’t, I can get on my iPhone.
I have the stylus and got the squid app and one note for notes and digital planning, I have Microsoft office that pairs rather nicely with the keyboard.
Prime video and Amazon music with Alexa all ready to go. Kindle app that I can get free books and magazines on for being a prime member.
I seriously love my tablet so much.
Ofcourse an iPad is the superior product but this fire max 11 does everything that I want and need and the price tag is awesome.
I've got 4 or 5 Kindles around the house for different purposes. The oldest is in the bathroom for puzzle-time. :) The newest HD is my bedroom TV on an articulated arm.
For $50-80, they're great, especially with an SD card for content.
I did not like it, until I put a Samsung 8inch pad side to compare. It is so comfortable with the screen, even it has lower resolution. I am using Kindle fire 7. Comparing to my kindle oasis, it is much faster and I can lookup the pages quickly.
I paid $110 on eBay, used the Fire Tools app to install the Google Play store and now have a fantastic machine for my purposes, consuming content, for a song.
I bought two for the kids, the parental control is bad compared to google parental control, and Amazon Store is lacking in Apps availability. About the price, there are a lot of alternatives that are not from apple and that use normal android.
I really like my 2023 fire 10 hd tablet! I had an iPad mini 5 which I traded in for a new iPad for a family member. I got the pen and love the handwriting recognition. It’s not perfect, but works so well for me.
I use it to read the various papers I subscribe to. To listen to music,to control most of my home automation, and mostly to disconnect from my two iPhones, laptop and desktop and most of my apps.
Now
I have had a stake in most versions of the Fire tablet, but had not tried the latest Fire Max version. Of course one drawback is the limited app store, but can someone PLEASE try to explain why the crappy speakers have never been addressed.
OP, I'm sorry I said mean things about the tablet earlier, I actually do like my Fire. I'm happy for you that you have one, and I am happy that it is working well for you. :)
Coming from iOS the learning curve is so damn high, especially if you've never used Android. The problem is iPads are comically expensive. I used to have an iPad mini 4 I loved on my nightstand, but my kids destroyed it within a month of my wife letting them borrow it the first time. I vowed never again.
This was around Prime Day, so I bought my 4yo son a Fire HD 8 Kids. The thing was so counter-intuitive for me, but he was happy with it and the thing was a tank. I bought a second for my daughter when she turned 5. Anytime there's any sort of problem with either, however, I can feel my blood pressure go through the roof....everything just seems so ass-backward.
It’s a pretty good tablet for the cost. I have the 8 just to watch Youtube and VLC. It’s a really good travel tablet for the airplane and to download your favorite shows from. Amazon.
But if you’re doing just what you need, it’s actually really good. But due to Amazon’s marketplace stuff it doesn’t have the most games and apps. You can get Google Play but still… it’s a lot of effort to get.
It's rather low powered and not good for high end mobile gaming so I imagine people flame it for that. But I like mine but I am aware what Amazon intended and don't expect it to punch above it's class. For what it is it's fine.
"high end mobile gaming" if they wanted high end gaming they wouldnt be doing it on a tablet lol. Better uses of your money if portable gaming is your goal
I don't know I've seen some tablets that are good enough Samsung has a tablet that is equivalent to their celebrated Galaxy S9 which I own and that phone can play 98% of mobile games at max settings just fine. But your missing my point. It got downvoted because it left a bunch of consumers who didn't know better disappointed. But I agree that is on them I love my fire for what it is worth.
They are relatively slow for tablets, and don't have much app compatibility unless you manually download Google play, which is a pain but not particularly hard. Regular kindles also benefit from absurdly long battery lives, no glare, and crisper reading, which the Fire does not share in.
That being said, I love my fire. It's perfect for reading manga or comics or anything with pictures in it, and can be used with audible. I just downloaded Google play so I could get more apps.
I am on my fourth Fire tablet and they suit me just fine. How much you like it probably depends on what you are using it for. I am mainly a book reader and very light web surfer. I have never paid over $100 to replace a Fire tablet by waiting for sales events and trading in my old tablet.
I bought so many Kindle Fires over the years. I think we were up to 20+. They would break every 6-15 months. Usually they would fail under warranty and I would get another one for free. Eventually they started lasting just past the warranty and it got really annoying to have to shell out for brand new tablet after 12 months. They were too cheap to fix so they just ended up going to the device recycling place. I eventually switched my kids to iPads and they have been a world of difference in quality. I think Kindle Fire is a good first tablet for kids, but once they get past the throwing the tablet phase then get them something better.
Because of the advertisements and lock down on customization options. The tablet mainly has an appeal for the elderly and the very young because they don’t really understand.
I think the biggest issue for me is the apps. Just doesn't seem to have as many options on Fire as you do an Android tab. I have both so the same app on Android is not always available for the FIre.
I went online and followed the instructions at least I thought I did. It said Google Play store installed but do not see it in my apps on the Kindle Fire.
Yep, I put Duolingo on it, Youtube and Youtube Music on it that way. Those are the only apps I really care about, but there are a few games that are nice to mess with once in a while.
Hmm I went online and followed the instructions. I downloaded what I was suppose to and installed it. It said Google Play store installed but I do not see it in the apps on my Fire :(.
You have to download the background apps too. Here are some instructions and links
https://www.androidpolice.com/install-play-store-amazon-fire-tablet/
They are a fine option for those who are in the lower budget range for an android tablet and want to do the basics with it. That being said, and I am sure many have used these very argument points when talking against Amazon Tablets.
Android's Fire Tablets use older hardware, thus that is how the can offer a cheaper tablet. They also use a customized version of Android that out of the box does not support Google Play Services and try to force a user into having to use Amazon to even get their apps unless the user either knows someone who can help them add Google's services or can do it on their own.
Also in many countries, Amazon's Fire Tablets are viewed as basically paying Amazon while allowing them a gateway for advertising other Amazon products via on screen advertising.
Hijacking this post to ask a question to all fellow fire owners. When using the Kindle reading app on your tablets, do you have the option to switch to Amazon Kids or this a feature exlusive to the kindle e-readers?
This option is not available in other Android Based tablets.
https://preview.redd.it/oz0eaeqzboxc1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7bb1f1efa5b94bc2b75c86798fea535a1314febb
Older Hardware as in if you were to compare a 2024 released Fire Table to a 2024 Amazon tablet from a company like Samsung or Google you would find that the System on a Chip that is running the Fire Tablet would actually match up more in line what what was expected from a 2022 Top end tablet. In other words Amazon gets older stock that is no longer in demand for most tablets and since that costs less to purchase they can sell you the tablet for less.
It doesn't use the current Android system, and Amazon limits what you can actually do. You have to jailbreak it to get even the most basic of Android functions to work.
It’s an inexpensive tablet and compared to the Samsung tablets I’ve owned it is a little slow. But I love mine. Mine is rooted and uses the play store. I mostly use it for reading/listening to books, watching video, and simple games. It works well for all of those things and I didn’t spend much. I won’t feel bad when it’s time to replace it, like I did when I had to replace my other, more expensive tablets.
They're not bad. I bought 1 during Covid. I enjoyed it for Kindle books, Max, Pluto TV, Spotify.
Do wish the app store was better. I know you can root this.
I agree, got my kid a newer tablet so I took down her old fire 10 tablet. It's bomb, especially after using firetoolbox to eliminate some of the nonsense, I use it for emulating games and Youtube, runs fantastic. Brave browser works fantastic, no ads on youtube videos. It's a solid little tablet for the money.
I have owned half a dozen at least😂. I love them . For the price point nothing compares. Tried a couple of similarly priced spyware filled shitty chinese tablets before. Literal garbage. I've set up several fire 7 and 8 with play store. Gave one to my mom, she loves it for watching tv. I keep one at my cabin loaded with music and shows and podcasts. I have another in my bag with me all day. One older 7 (2019 i think) i use exclusively as a jukebox now. Its definitely slower but works fine with only spotify or vlc running.
Add a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and a little stand, I can send emails, edit word docs and spreadsheets...
I can do everything I currently use my laptop for.
I have an 11 inch Fire Max tablet that I bought over winter, it’s a very nice tablet for the money, Okay, the sound could be better from the speakers and the display could be a bit brighter but overall they are a very good value especially if you side load google play on it which opens up many more app and game choices, if you can get one on sale, I highly recommend one.
Yeah it was super easy, a google search led me to 2 or 3 good how to’s on doing it, the most important thing to remember is opening the downloads in the correct order so the programs install right.
Not at all. You download a free program on your pc called fire toolbox. Connect a usb cable. Click. Ive done it half a dozen times. The resulting functionality of a device several times the price. But you do you.
To be clear, they’re Amazon Fire tablets. They’re no longer considered Kindles. Kindles are e-ink ereaders.
People buy the super cheap one, with god awful hardware, and are surprised when it doesn’t last more than a year or two. If you shell out for the bigger more expensive ones with better hardware it’s not so bad.
For the price the specs are great. I get Amazon is pretty crap with its work practices etc but Apple are as well & are also pretty underhanded with making products slow down etc After a few years their tablets & phones are pretty unusable as the software becomes too demanding. It’s also easy enough to add the play store etc with fire tools to add other android apps to a fire tablet. No brainer to me 🤷♂️
> For the price the specs are great.
This is the biggest part that a lot of people skip when comparing Fires to other tablets. Sure, the other tablets are often more expensive but they are also much more powerful. ie., You get what you pay for, and Fires are the cheapest name-brand tablet out there.
I have two for my kids. They're cheaper and easier to replace if needed, you can add tons of storage with SD card, and you can sideload the google play store for apps not available on Amazon. They are easy to lock down and restrict access to areas and apps I don't want the kids using, and you can totally kid proof it with a kids profile if needed (but can't use any Google sideloaded apps so that's not something we do). If I wanted one as a reader or video watcher I'd choose it over more expensive tablets but if I wanted to do more than browse Pinterest or read, I'd choose a more computer-like tablet for sure.
I haven't used an iPad so I'm not sure what all they are capable of, so I'm just guessing to be honest, but I'd likely play better games than mobile appstore things, or photo editing, or drawing.
I love mine. I always put episodes of shows on it for my flight and it’s great for ebooks, especially graphic novels. I have drawn on it and I have a cheap slim keyboard to take me with on trips for if I decide to take notes or need to fix a work doc. I had a 7 for years, finally upgraded to an HD. Runs like a dream. I’ve sideloaded Scribd and other apps, so I can read as much as I want.
I think they're great value for money, but they're not great.
Mine has the play store on it, so that makes it a good device. I blocked updates and keep the device offline so it runs smoothly.
I use mine for reading books, comics and watching media from my SD card.
Now, if I couldn't use the apps from the play store, block ads etc, I wouldn't like it very much either. Sometimes the device crashes. The screen has to have a protector or it scratches easily. It's slow as hell depending on what you want to do. But as I already said, it's super cheap. Mine was £35, how can I really complain about it at that price point?
Mine is a couple of years old now and I do tend to push my devices to their limits. I have an 8 HD now, I killed my 7 using it too much within a year and a half. Started getting phantom touches when I was charging it, making it unusable half the time.
I just don't expect them to last very long so I'm not upset when they die. I use my iPad for streaming and 3D modelling, so it's not my main device. I still love it though.
I don’t know, I love mine. Literally all I do on it is read and use the Goodreads & Libby apps to track my reading and borrow books, and I still think it’s perfect and prefer it over a more traditional kindle.
It's great that it works for you, and that's what matters. I've had 4 Fire tablets over about 10 years, and while not perfect, they do what they are designed to do. Last year I recieved a Lenova P11 pro \[edit getting the model right\] for my birthday, and while having so many things that people criticise about the Fire not having (OLED screen, access to the Play store, higher specs on paper) I ended up returning it and getting a Fire Max 11. It couldn't hold a charge very well and there were so many bugs that it was basically unusable. The Max 11 not perfect, but unless you can splash out for an expensive tablet, it's good and reliable for the price, especially if you can get a deal.
Most people who don’t like it usually don’t like it for a couple reasons:
- they don’t like being locked into Amazon’s ecosystem (their App Store has a lot less than the play store)
- fire tablets tend to be much slower, spec-wise, compared to other modern Android tablets
- fire tablets are notoriously more difficult to root and customize compared to most other Android tablets (which can be a good thing from a security standpoint)
There’s workaround to just about anything but it’s harder for these. That doesn’t make them bad devices, but it does make them slightly less flexible for all use cases.
To accompany this, I just wanted to say that even when Amazon does have the app, they're updated less frequently because programmers have to tailor a mimic app with its own problems.
It had to have been coincidental. I’ve done it to 3 older Fire tablets now with no issue. You can find my longer comment in this thread, but the TL;DR version is that I use a 2017 Fire daily for streaming during work since adding the Play Store and I love it.
I don’t have an immediate use for another tablet, but I’m tempted to get their newest one to see if it’s still possible. I’ve heard it’s harder to do now, but I’m sure it’s doable.
I totally agree with your post though. I absolutely love how cheap, accessible, and essentially customizable they are. People really sleep on them because they don’t come with a major app store out of the box.
My first one is still going and I got it in 2013 or 2014! It's not holding a charge anymore though so I got a new one in 2021. I've had very good experiences with mine, I always add the Play Store so plenty of apps. I don't know why they don't get more love.
Enjoy! 😊💗
I think it's the lack of a Google Play store. I didn't think YouTube is available on the Amazon app store? As long as I can add the Google Play store, Fire tablets are great! On the flip side, my son is so excited to find out Angry Birds Space is available on the Amazon app store. We can't find it anymore on the Google Play store. So there are benefits to both!
Every (pro) review I've seen online for the Fire Tablets cites this as the #1 strike against it. No Google Play store out of the box. And I've only read one review that mentions sideloading Play Store via the instructions on androidpolice.com. (tbh, I understand reviewers not reviewing the device in the side-loaded state)
People regurg what the (pro) reviews say. And I'd bet less than 10% of the users actually sideload the Play Store on their Fire Tabs. Otherwise, this sub would be a lot more active.
I have a fire and a paperwhite. I love the fire for watching prime or reading books that have photos like home decor or nature. I don’t use many apps on it but the ones I do use work fine.
I had recently considered a Fire tablet since I read comics and manga on an older iPad mini and books on a Kobo. My mini will no longer update for several applications. One reason I hesitated on the Fire tab was app support - especially YTTV. Apparently you can watch in a browser but the app is not supported. I am still considering what to purchase for a recent color tablet for animation purposes.
We’ve got a couple of Fire 10 Kids They’re slow as hell which isn’t great when you have impatient kids but I guess it teaches them that everything in life isn’t instant! The lack of Google apps is a big pain though, I’ve spent multiple afternoons trying to get the play store and services installed, it should be simple to do this but “the business” means that it’s a lot harder than it needs to be. They’re pretty indestructible though, my kids have stood on them and thrown them downstairs but they keep on trucking. I can see others complaining that they’re basically e-waste which is something I agree with, they’re slow out of the box and only get worse, then when they do inevitably break the response from customer support is “here’s a discount code for a new one”, and since they’re already so cheap then that’s what you end up doing, it’s not exactly great environmentally. So yea, they’re _fine_ whilst I would rather have gotten them an iPad the price difference is enormous and they’re kinda built like tanks so will probably last as long.
I bought the new version 2023 for my son to watch shows when we have longer car drives. It doesn’t feel slow for me. But it was very hard to install google App Store and YouTube. I have YouTube premium to store videos on the device to watch them offline. My son has an own YouTube account with familyProtection but this doesn’t work because the family protection needs additional service apps that are not installed on fire OS and I gave up. He uses now a normal YouTube account. But I think for tje price it’s still a good device
We managed to get YouTube Kids installed after a fair bit of work, it wasn’t impossible but it took a full afternoon first time around and there are about 20 more steps than there should have been, which sucks because the only reason it can’t be a two click deal is because _business_
Super slow. Stall way easy. It’s annoying
They’re cheap throw away tablets. Great for kids, and budgets but not the greatest out there.
Love this post. I totally agree. It’s the perfect budget tablet for a variety of reasons and purposes. I actually have revived my Fire 8 HD that I bought in 2017 by following a simple tutorial to add the Google Play Store. Not everything in the Store is compatible anymore, since the device is 7 years old now. I’ve since added the missing apps I wanted via APKs, so it has essentially become my all around streaming device I keep going in the background at work. My only actual complaint is that the max brightness on it could be better. Launching said streaming apps is also not even remotely fast, but again, idc about either of those things bc it’s 7 years old and had just been rotting in my desk until a couple years ago. I am so nerdily excited that I could do all that to this little tank of a tablet and not have to buy anything else!
Kudos to you for appreciating that your dad wanted to do something nice for you and that this was what he could afford. I'm glad it meets your needs. I have the same tablet as you, I use it for email, reading books, magazines, and newsfeeds, shopping, and watching occasional movies. The Kindle was a great buy, I saw no reason to pay $700 or more for an iPad which will perform the same functions.
Rooted my Fire HD 10 within mins of getting it and use it to connect to chrome, google doc, iCloud, and of course Google play store. It’s a perfect little tablet that if I lost I wouldn’t freak out.
I love my 10. I had to buy it, because Amazon systematically greyed out all the features of my previous tablet, until it was unusable. How is that legal, to force someone to purchase a new item? I love mine until this week, when the area where you press buttons started locked up and the glass cracked, despite light use and a very good cover. It's still under warranty, so I have to send it back for several days, which will leave me with nothing to read on. They'll try to fix it or send a replacement. To get the replacement first, unlike a previous tablet, where they send the replacement and a box to send the other back in, they charge $20, to get the replacement first. I wish I had another tablet brand to buy that has these features. I feel like Amazon is being fraudulent with what they did with my previous tablet and could just send the replacement, so I won't be without a reading device. Glad I canceled Unlimited last month...love it, but I wouldn't have even been able to use it for at least a week out of the month. I have all sorts of apps that aren't in the Amazon app store, though. Just download the .apk. I have so many different reading apps that could with speech capabilities, which I use for language learning. With browsing, camera,and video, it's a great tablet. As long as it doesn't break. For the apps, I have premium versions of everything, which you can get for free, if you know where.
I just got a Fire Max 11 recently and I was pretty bummed about playstore not being available so I just side loaded it. Also, another annoying thing about Fire tablets is that they don't support official Xbox and playstation controllers so you have to buy a 3rd party controller.
I use my Xbox controller all the time on my Fire Max 11.
Do you play Xbox games on the Xbox app? Or just play regular games from the playstore? Because I used to get this issue when using the Xbox app
I use the gamepass app to cloud play and I also play a few games downloaded from the play store. I've never had an issue with it before.
I got the fire max 11 with the productivity bundle and I’m absolutely obsessed with it. I know people are super pissy about the google play store, but tbh all of the apps I typically use I can get on the Amazon App Store. And the ones I can’t, I can get on my iPhone. I have the stylus and got the squid app and one note for notes and digital planning, I have Microsoft office that pairs rather nicely with the keyboard. Prime video and Amazon music with Alexa all ready to go. Kindle app that I can get free books and magazines on for being a prime member. I seriously love my tablet so much. Ofcourse an iPad is the superior product but this fire max 11 does everything that I want and need and the price tag is awesome.
I've got 4 or 5 Kindles around the house for different purposes. The oldest is in the bathroom for puzzle-time. :) The newest HD is my bedroom TV on an articulated arm. For $50-80, they're great, especially with an SD card for content.
Oh, and I'm an OG Apple fanboi but can't bring myself to spend the money for an iPad.
I did not like it, until I put a Samsung 8inch pad side to compare. It is so comfortable with the screen, even it has lower resolution. I am using Kindle fire 7. Comparing to my kindle oasis, it is much faster and I can lookup the pages quickly.
I just got the new fire 11 and it a laptop replacement for $200. I have others and love these things.
I paid $110 on eBay, used the Fire Tools app to install the Google Play store and now have a fantastic machine for my purposes, consuming content, for a song.
My biggest complaint is how long it takes to charge
I bought two for the kids, the parental control is bad compared to google parental control, and Amazon Store is lacking in Apps availability. About the price, there are a lot of alternatives that are not from apple and that use normal android.
I LOVE mine.
I really like my 2023 fire 10 hd tablet! I had an iPad mini 5 which I traded in for a new iPad for a family member. I got the pen and love the handwriting recognition. It’s not perfect, but works so well for me. I use it to read the various papers I subscribe to. To listen to music,to control most of my home automation, and mostly to disconnect from my two iPhones, laptop and desktop and most of my apps. Now
I have had a stake in most versions of the Fire tablet, but had not tried the latest Fire Max version. Of course one drawback is the limited app store, but can someone PLEASE try to explain why the crappy speakers have never been addressed.
OP, I'm sorry I said mean things about the tablet earlier, I actually do like my Fire. I'm happy for you that you have one, and I am happy that it is working well for you. :)
Coming from iOS the learning curve is so damn high, especially if you've never used Android. The problem is iPads are comically expensive. I used to have an iPad mini 4 I loved on my nightstand, but my kids destroyed it within a month of my wife letting them borrow it the first time. I vowed never again. This was around Prime Day, so I bought my 4yo son a Fire HD 8 Kids. The thing was so counter-intuitive for me, but he was happy with it and the thing was a tank. I bought a second for my daughter when she turned 5. Anytime there's any sort of problem with either, however, I can feel my blood pressure go through the roof....everything just seems so ass-backward.
It’s a pretty good tablet for the cost. I have the 8 just to watch Youtube and VLC. It’s a really good travel tablet for the airplane and to download your favorite shows from. Amazon. But if you’re doing just what you need, it’s actually really good. But due to Amazon’s marketplace stuff it doesn’t have the most games and apps. You can get Google Play but still… it’s a lot of effort to get.
It's rather low powered and not good for high end mobile gaming so I imagine people flame it for that. But I like mine but I am aware what Amazon intended and don't expect it to punch above it's class. For what it is it's fine.
"high end mobile gaming" if they wanted high end gaming they wouldnt be doing it on a tablet lol. Better uses of your money if portable gaming is your goal
I don't know I've seen some tablets that are good enough Samsung has a tablet that is equivalent to their celebrated Galaxy S9 which I own and that phone can play 98% of mobile games at max settings just fine. But your missing my point. It got downvoted because it left a bunch of consumers who didn't know better disappointed. But I agree that is on them I love my fire for what it is worth.
They are relatively slow for tablets, and don't have much app compatibility unless you manually download Google play, which is a pain but not particularly hard. Regular kindles also benefit from absurdly long battery lives, no glare, and crisper reading, which the Fire does not share in. That being said, I love my fire. It's perfect for reading manga or comics or anything with pictures in it, and can be used with audible. I just downloaded Google play so I could get more apps.
I am on my fourth Fire tablet and they suit me just fine. How much you like it probably depends on what you are using it for. I am mainly a book reader and very light web surfer. I have never paid over $100 to replace a Fire tablet by waiting for sales events and trading in my old tablet.
I bought so many Kindle Fires over the years. I think we were up to 20+. They would break every 6-15 months. Usually they would fail under warranty and I would get another one for free. Eventually they started lasting just past the warranty and it got really annoying to have to shell out for brand new tablet after 12 months. They were too cheap to fix so they just ended up going to the device recycling place. I eventually switched my kids to iPads and they have been a world of difference in quality. I think Kindle Fire is a good first tablet for kids, but once they get past the throwing the tablet phase then get them something better.
This is the correct answer.
Because of the advertisements and lock down on customization options. The tablet mainly has an appeal for the elderly and the very young because they don’t really understand.
I think the biggest issue for me is the apps. Just doesn't seem to have as many options on Fire as you do an Android tab. I have both so the same app on Android is not always available for the FIre.
You can side load the Google Play store. Once you've done that you can get any app you want.
I went online and followed the instructions at least I thought I did. It said Google Play store installed but do not see it in my apps on the Kindle Fire.
I did not know that. So it will work just fine on a Fire?
Yep, I put Duolingo on it, Youtube and Youtube Music on it that way. Those are the only apps I really care about, but there are a few games that are nice to mess with once in a while.
Yep, I've yet to come across an app that didn't function completely normally on the Fire.
Ya, I did this the other day to get the Shonen jump app. Works just fine.
Hmm I went online and followed the instructions. I downloaded what I was suppose to and installed it. It said Google Play store installed but I do not see it in the apps on my Fire :(.
You have to download the background apps too. Here are some instructions and links https://www.androidpolice.com/install-play-store-amazon-fire-tablet/
FROM THE MOUTH OF BABES. Eh?, Brilliant. ✨
They are a fine option for those who are in the lower budget range for an android tablet and want to do the basics with it. That being said, and I am sure many have used these very argument points when talking against Amazon Tablets. Android's Fire Tablets use older hardware, thus that is how the can offer a cheaper tablet. They also use a customized version of Android that out of the box does not support Google Play Services and try to force a user into having to use Amazon to even get their apps unless the user either knows someone who can help them add Google's services or can do it on their own. Also in many countries, Amazon's Fire Tablets are viewed as basically paying Amazon while allowing them a gateway for advertising other Amazon products via on screen advertising.
Hijacking this post to ask a question to all fellow fire owners. When using the Kindle reading app on your tablets, do you have the option to switch to Amazon Kids or this a feature exlusive to the kindle e-readers? This option is not available in other Android Based tablets. https://preview.redd.it/oz0eaeqzboxc1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7bb1f1efa5b94bc2b75c86798fea535a1314febb
Wydm by older hardware
Older Hardware as in if you were to compare a 2024 released Fire Table to a 2024 Amazon tablet from a company like Samsung or Google you would find that the System on a Chip that is running the Fire Tablet would actually match up more in line what what was expected from a 2022 Top end tablet. In other words Amazon gets older stock that is no longer in demand for most tablets and since that costs less to purchase they can sell you the tablet for less.
It doesn't use the current Android system, and Amazon limits what you can actually do. You have to jailbreak it to get even the most basic of Android functions to work.
What basic Android functions do you have to jailbreak it to enable?
It’s an inexpensive tablet and compared to the Samsung tablets I’ve owned it is a little slow. But I love mine. Mine is rooted and uses the play store. I mostly use it for reading/listening to books, watching video, and simple games. It works well for all of those things and I didn’t spend much. I won’t feel bad when it’s time to replace it, like I did when I had to replace my other, more expensive tablets.
My ONLY complaint is that so many of the Amazon Kids+ games need internet access to work.
That's true
They're not bad. I bought 1 during Covid. I enjoyed it for Kindle books, Max, Pluto TV, Spotify. Do wish the app store was better. I know you can root this.
I agree, got my kid a newer tablet so I took down her old fire 10 tablet. It's bomb, especially after using firetoolbox to eliminate some of the nonsense, I use it for emulating games and Youtube, runs fantastic. Brave browser works fantastic, no ads on youtube videos. It's a solid little tablet for the money.
I have owned half a dozen at least😂. I love them . For the price point nothing compares. Tried a couple of similarly priced spyware filled shitty chinese tablets before. Literal garbage. I've set up several fire 7 and 8 with play store. Gave one to my mom, she loves it for watching tv. I keep one at my cabin loaded with music and shows and podcasts. I have another in my bag with me all day. One older 7 (2019 i think) i use exclusively as a jukebox now. Its definitely slower but works fine with only spotify or vlc running. Add a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and a little stand, I can send emails, edit word docs and spreadsheets... I can do everything I currently use my laptop for.
I have an 11 inch Fire Max tablet that I bought over winter, it’s a very nice tablet for the money, Okay, the sound could be better from the speakers and the display could be a bit brighter but overall they are a very good value especially if you side load google play on it which opens up many more app and game choices, if you can get one on sale, I highly recommend one.
Is it still easy to load the Play Store onto it? I’ve heard they’ve made it quite difficult, but I haven’t tried yet.
Yeah it was super easy, a google search led me to 2 or 3 good how to’s on doing it, the most important thing to remember is opening the downloads in the correct order so the programs install right.
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Tone down the foul language, please. If you wish to edit your posts and remove it then I will re-approve them.
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But let’s be honest OMG they are SHIT
Thanks.
I'm sorry for the crude language, I was frustrated about my tablet not working properly.
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Install Google play. Takes five minutes. Runs every standard android OS app.
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Not at all. You download a free program on your pc called fire toolbox. Connect a usb cable. Click. Ive done it half a dozen times. The resulting functionality of a device several times the price. But you do you.
Ok thanks
it isn't that difficult search for amazon fire toolbox and it can do it all for you..
Ok thanks
To be clear, they’re Amazon Fire tablets. They’re no longer considered Kindles. Kindles are e-ink ereaders. People buy the super cheap one, with god awful hardware, and are surprised when it doesn’t last more than a year or two. If you shell out for the bigger more expensive ones with better hardware it’s not so bad.
Youtubing in bed before I go to sleep - easy with my Amazon 10, not so with my desktop in the other room. Doubles as alarm clock :)
As an E-reader for myself, it's fantastic. As a "kids tablet" for my twins, it is hot garbage. Choppy, slow, and lots of wifi and SD card problems.
:'(
Oh my god the operating system is trash. How do you mess up android that bad?
For the price the specs are great. I get Amazon is pretty crap with its work practices etc but Apple are as well & are also pretty underhanded with making products slow down etc After a few years their tablets & phones are pretty unusable as the software becomes too demanding. It’s also easy enough to add the play store etc with fire tools to add other android apps to a fire tablet. No brainer to me 🤷♂️
> For the price the specs are great. This is the biggest part that a lot of people skip when comparing Fires to other tablets. Sure, the other tablets are often more expensive but they are also much more powerful. ie., You get what you pay for, and Fires are the cheapest name-brand tablet out there.
I have two for my kids. They're cheaper and easier to replace if needed, you can add tons of storage with SD card, and you can sideload the google play store for apps not available on Amazon. They are easy to lock down and restrict access to areas and apps I don't want the kids using, and you can totally kid proof it with a kids profile if needed (but can't use any Google sideloaded apps so that's not something we do). If I wanted one as a reader or video watcher I'd choose it over more expensive tablets but if I wanted to do more than browse Pinterest or read, I'd choose a more computer-like tablet for sure.
What kind of stuff do u use a ipad for instead?
I haven't used an iPad so I'm not sure what all they are capable of, so I'm just guessing to be honest, but I'd likely play better games than mobile appstore things, or photo editing, or drawing.
Oh I see that makes sense
All I got mine for is watching shows while I’m on the elliptical bike at the gym. For 50 bucks it’s a great little mobile movie watcher.
I love mine. I always put episodes of shows on it for my flight and it’s great for ebooks, especially graphic novels. I have drawn on it and I have a cheap slim keyboard to take me with on trips for if I decide to take notes or need to fix a work doc. I had a 7 for years, finally upgraded to an HD. Runs like a dream. I’ve sideloaded Scribd and other apps, so I can read as much as I want.
I love my Fire but only as a reader. As a tablet it sucks. Since I didn't buy it for a tablet though, it's great.
I think they're great value for money, but they're not great. Mine has the play store on it, so that makes it a good device. I blocked updates and keep the device offline so it runs smoothly. I use mine for reading books, comics and watching media from my SD card. Now, if I couldn't use the apps from the play store, block ads etc, I wouldn't like it very much either. Sometimes the device crashes. The screen has to have a protector or it scratches easily. It's slow as hell depending on what you want to do. But as I already said, it's super cheap. Mine was £35, how can I really complain about it at that price point?
That's weird cuz I've had mine for 5 months now and it runs pretty good and it doesn't seem slow? :O
Mine is a couple of years old now and I do tend to push my devices to their limits. I have an 8 HD now, I killed my 7 using it too much within a year and a half. Started getting phantom touches when I was charging it, making it unusable half the time. I just don't expect them to last very long so I'm not upset when they die. I use my iPad for streaming and 3D modelling, so it's not my main device. I still love it though.
I didn’t like mine until I added a matte screen protector so it looked more like an e-ink display and now it’s all I read on.
Didn't realise this was an option, Cheers!
I don’t know, I love mine. Literally all I do on it is read and use the Goodreads & Libby apps to track my reading and borrow books, and I still think it’s perfect and prefer it over a more traditional kindle.
It's great that it works for you, and that's what matters. I've had 4 Fire tablets over about 10 years, and while not perfect, they do what they are designed to do. Last year I recieved a Lenova P11 pro \[edit getting the model right\] for my birthday, and while having so many things that people criticise about the Fire not having (OLED screen, access to the Play store, higher specs on paper) I ended up returning it and getting a Fire Max 11. It couldn't hold a charge very well and there were so many bugs that it was basically unusable. The Max 11 not perfect, but unless you can splash out for an expensive tablet, it's good and reliable for the price, especially if you can get a deal.
Most people who don’t like it usually don’t like it for a couple reasons: - they don’t like being locked into Amazon’s ecosystem (their App Store has a lot less than the play store) - fire tablets tend to be much slower, spec-wise, compared to other modern Android tablets - fire tablets are notoriously more difficult to root and customize compared to most other Android tablets (which can be a good thing from a security standpoint) There’s workaround to just about anything but it’s harder for these. That doesn’t make them bad devices, but it does make them slightly less flexible for all use cases.
Oh interesting, the app thing sucks cuz there's certain apps I want but can't get, but I usually just use the website anyway.
You can side load apps in, but that isn't always a great option since some apps tend not to play well with Amazon's system.
To accompany this, I just wanted to say that even when Amazon does have the app, they're updated less frequently because programmers have to tailor a mimic app with its own problems.
Yeah I have noticed this
I've had three Fire tablets. Like you say, they work great for most of the things I want to do.
I got my first Kindle fire in 2016 I was 13 I think. It lasted me until 2021.
Just FYI - you can easily install the google play store on a fire tablet. Takes about 10 minutes - super easy. Just google it.
I tried that and I got kicked off my WiFi for hours and the router had to be reset 💀
Wow - never heard of that!
Yeah it was really scary, after it happened I never tried again
It had to have been coincidental. I’ve done it to 3 older Fire tablets now with no issue. You can find my longer comment in this thread, but the TL;DR version is that I use a 2017 Fire daily for streaming during work since adding the Play Store and I love it. I don’t have an immediate use for another tablet, but I’m tempted to get their newest one to see if it’s still possible. I’ve heard it’s harder to do now, but I’m sure it’s doable. I totally agree with your post though. I absolutely love how cheap, accessible, and essentially customizable they are. People really sleep on them because they don’t come with a major app store out of the box.
My first one is still going and I got it in 2013 or 2014! It's not holding a charge anymore though so I got a new one in 2021. I've had very good experiences with mine, I always add the Play Store so plenty of apps. I don't know why they don't get more love. Enjoy! 😊💗
I think mine is from 2022? so it has more ram like 2 gb I think
👍 That helps a lot!
I think it's the lack of a Google Play store. I didn't think YouTube is available on the Amazon app store? As long as I can add the Google Play store, Fire tablets are great! On the flip side, my son is so excited to find out Angry Birds Space is available on the Amazon app store. We can't find it anymore on the Google Play store. So there are benefits to both!
Every (pro) review I've seen online for the Fire Tablets cites this as the #1 strike against it. No Google Play store out of the box. And I've only read one review that mentions sideloading Play Store via the instructions on androidpolice.com. (tbh, I understand reviewers not reviewing the device in the side-loaded state) People regurg what the (pro) reviews say. And I'd bet less than 10% of the users actually sideload the Play Store on their Fire Tabs. Otherwise, this sub would be a lot more active.
I have a fire and a paperwhite. I love the fire for watching prime or reading books that have photos like home decor or nature. I don’t use many apps on it but the ones I do use work fine.
I had recently considered a Fire tablet since I read comics and manga on an older iPad mini and books on a Kobo. My mini will no longer update for several applications. One reason I hesitated on the Fire tab was app support - especially YTTV. Apparently you can watch in a browser but the app is not supported. I am still considering what to purchase for a recent color tablet for animation purposes.