![]() ![]() Advertisementįor the kids-Fire HD 8 Kids Edition, $140Īs with previous generations, the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition isn't actually different hardware-it's the base Fire HD 8 plus a rugged, kid-friendly case, a two-year "if they break it, we'll fix it" guarantee, and a year's prepaid subscription to Free Time Unlimited, Amazon's rotating firehose of kid-friendly game and media content. The Fire HD 8 Plus is $110 or can be purchased in a bundle with a made-for-Amazon wireless charging dock for $140. The Fire HD 8 Plus comes in an exclusive Slate color not available on the base model, and the same $30 accessory cases for the base model fit the Plus as well. It also includes a six-month pre-paid subscription to Kindle Unlimited, an otherwise $10/mo Amazon service offering all-you-can-read consumption of a large but limited set of books and magazines. Upgraded model-Fire HD 8 Plus, $110įor $20 more than the base model, Fire HD 8 Plus offers an extra GB of RAM, wireless charging capability (wireless charger not included), and a 20-percent faster USB-C charger than the base model. ![]() The Fire HD 8 is available in White, Black, Twilight Blue, and Plum-and optional cases, which fit either the HD 8 or the upgraded HD 8 Plus, are available for another $30 in Twilight Blue, Charcoal Black, Sandstone White, and Plum. We wouldn't recommend going for last year's model unless you can find it at truly fire-sale prices-$50 or less-and don't mind getting a minor downgrade all the way around. The hardware upgrades are worth the extra $10, in our opinion-particularly the shift from micro USB-B to USB-C charging. The new model is launching at $90-which is $10 more than the off-sale price of last year's model. Very few people have Wi-Fi 6 routers or mesh kits so far-and in its current state, Wi-Fi 6 is unlikely to be an enormous upgrade for those few who do. There is no Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) support, but we don't think that's a deal-breaker. The new Fire HD 8 models also joins last year's Fire HD 10 in offering Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) support-a welcome change from the Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) only networking of previous HD 8 models. Amazon tells us the feature will be added to Fire HD 10 and Fire 7 tablets in the coming months as well. AdvertisementĪmazon is also offering a new "Game Mode" feature in its Fire OS ecosystem, which allows the user to disable notifications from other apps while playing games. Screen resolution remains unchanged, at 1280×800-enough to watch a 720p movie at full resolution.īattery life also takes an uptick, with Amazon rating the new model at "up to 12 hours" of use, compared to the last generation's "up to 10." These ratings are pretty loose and are described as time spent "reading, browsing the web, watching video, and listening to music"-playing games will generally result in considerably less battery time, as will keeping the screen at full brightness. Amazon claims a 30-percent speed boost-but it's still probably not as fast as the larger, more expensive Fire HD 10, which offers an octa-core CPU. The processor in the Fire 8 gets a significant bump from the prior generation, replacing its 1.3GHz quad-core processor with a 2.0GHz. Charging is USB-C, like 2019's Fire HD 10-which is a blessing for both adults and small children, since there is no "upside-down" orientation for USB-C. It also bumps up the RAM a touch, going from 1.5GB in the last generation to 2GB with the new edition. The base Fire HD 8 doubles the internal storage of the prior generation, going from 16GB to 32GB, and offers later expansion of up to 1TB with an additional microSD card. ![]() Amazon is updating its eight-inch line of Fire HD tablets today, including a Fire HD 8 ($90), Fire HD 8 Plus ($110-or $140, with optional wireless charging dock), and Fire HD 8 Kids Edition ($140).Īll three versions are available for pre-order today, with shipping beginning on June 3. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |