All New Fire HD 8 Tablet Review

The New Fire HD 8 has debuted but will not be available until September 21,2016, but can be pre-ordered now. Amazon has done it again.  I am a happy user. I am not crazy about the idea that I just bought my Fire HD 8 last year and now there is another one out so soon, but that could be to improve some of the issues some buyers had with the original.

There are not many changes to the design, but more improvements have been done under the hood. Of course, any changes to the device will be welcomed by those who really like the Amazon ecosystem. Yes, I am one of those people. Buyers will have the same four design colors as last year’s model. However, the two new Fire HD 8 models offered this year are based on the amount of memory designated for each. 

For example, the New Fire HD 8 comes with the memory choice of 16GB and 32GB. If you want something larger which I wouldn’t blame you. There is the 10 inch Fire HD with 64GB of memory.  The best part about owning one of these devices is the fact that it comes with a microSD card slot that will allow additional memory to 200Gb. That is an increase of 72GB of memory.

Product Features

• New Fire HD 8, now with up to 12 hours of battery life
• 1.5GB  Ram 50% more RAM for faster performance
• Stunning 8″ HD display (189 ppi / 1280 x 800)
• 1.3 GHz quad-core processor
• Stereo speakers with Dolby Audio, and rear and front-facing cameras.
• 16 or 32 GB of internal storage.
• Free unlimited cloud storage for all Amazon content and photos taken with Fire devices.
• MicroSD card slot for up to 200 GB of additional storage: keep photos, movies, and compatible games and apps on it.
• Now with Alexa, a cloud-based voice service that provides quick access to the entertainment you want, including music, games, audiobooks, and more. Ask questions, shop, find news, weather, and more – just press the home button and ask. (Coming soon)
• Amazon Underground, a one-of-a-kind app store experience where over 2,000 apps, games and in-app items are 100% free – including extra lives, unlocked levels, unlimited add-on packs and more
• Enjoy millions of movies, TV shows, songs, Kindle e-books, apps and games – including Netflix, Facebook, HBO, Pandora and more
• Prime members can choose from thousands of Prime movies and TV episodes to download for offline viewing – at no additional cost
• Camera: 2 MP rear-facing camera for taking photos or shooting 720p video; also front-facing VGA camera for Skype calls with family and friends
• 16GB & 32GB models are available in four colors:  Black, magenta, blue and tangerine
• 10 inch 64GB model are available in two colors: Black and silver-aluminum
  

  What’s In The Box?

  Fire HD 8 tablet, USB 2.0 cable, 5W power adapter, and Quick Start Guide

  Tough Design

  The new Fire HD will hold up against everyday use. In tumble tests, the Fire HD 8 is two times more durable than the iPad Mini 4 and also costs a lot less.

  Amazon Has Designed The New Fire HD 8 For Entertainment

  
  Kindle App:  Choose from millions of Kindle e-book and magazine titles. Connect with the largest online community of book lovers on Goodreads. Discover over a million titles with a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Also, listen to your favorite books with Audible.

  View your favorite movies and TV shows: on Amazon Video, Netflix, HBO NOW, and more. Discover hundreds of thousands of TV episodes and movies and fling Amazon Video content to your TV using Second Screen.

  Social media lovers can enjoy over 300,000 apps including favorites like Facebook, Twitter, and Spotify. There is also something new called Plus Amazon Underground, a one-of-a-kind app store experience where over 2,000 apps, games, and even in-app items are 100% free. Play great titles like Frozen Free Fall, Angry Birds Slingshot Stella, and Sonic Dash from developers like Disney, Gameloft, Rovio Entertainment, and more.

  Alexa is coming to all Fire Tablets:  Alexa will be available via a free over-the-air software update in the coming months. What’s also neat when wanting to use Alexa, when connected to Wi-Fi simply press the home button for 2 seconds then make a request. Alexa will respond and has the capability of showing visual responses to certain questions.

  Alexa provides quick access to the entertainment you want, including music, games, and audiobooks. When you press the home button on the Fire HD and make a request, get an immediate voice response about Wikipedia articles, news, sports scores and more. You can check your calendar,set alarms and timers, check traffic, to-do or shopping lists and even control your smart home. All you have to do is press and ask.

  Do you have a favorite playlist on Spotify? All you have to do is  ask Alexa.  Just press and ask for a song, artist or genre, and stream directly over Wi-Fi.  Alexa also provides voice control for Pandora, Spotify, TuneIn, IHeartRadio, and more.

  Note:  Alexa will not work on the Fire Tablets like it does on the Echo or Dot. It works like the Tap. For example, if you want to access Alexa you have to press the home button. On the Tap, the user has to press a button in order to access the voice activated controls of Alexa.

  New  Fire OS Coming Soon

  In addition to Alexa, the next Fire OS update will allow users to quickly access game play directly from the Games tab with Twitch, the world’s leading social video platform and community for gamers. Fire tablet owners will also have easy access to over 65,000 recommendations from ComiXology, which provides an unrivaled library of comic books, graphic novels, manga and more.

  The Fire OS will allow with quick access to the things you do most on your tablet. The home screen includes dedicated content pages for books, games, and apps, video, music, audiobooks, and Newsstand, making it quick to pick up right where you left off. Powered by Amazon’s recommendations engine, you can quickly browse books, movies, TV shows, music, apps, and games suggested just for you.

  Family Library

  Family Library links your Amazon account to that of your spouse or partner so you can easily share apps, games, audiobooks, and books, and it now allows Prime members to share their Prime Video content. Access your family’s content across devices—both Amazon devices and free Amazon apps for other platforms, including iOS and Android.

   ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction)

  Amazon movies and TV episodes are ready for you to watch instantly. ASAP dynamically adapts to your viewing habits. On Deck automatically downloads Prime Video (for Prime members) and the first episodes of Amazon Original Series while your device isn’t in use, ensuring that there is always something new to enjoy instantly, even when offline.

  Integrated On-device Tech Support

  Screen Sharing brings Mayday-powered customer service to Fire tablets. Simply call customer service and Amazon experts can connect to your Fire tablet to co-pilot through features by drawing on your screen, walking you through how to do something yourself, or doing it for you—whatever works best.