Amazon is close to making the perfect budget tablet. First of all, I own the 2017 HD 8 as well and feel that this is a great upgrade. The size difference being obvious and the 10 might be a bit large for some but you may feel that it's a noteworthy upgrade. Everything seems to run smoother and faster. And it's brighter, sharper, and louder.
The higher resolution is immediately noticeable. I can't believe that companies still make low res tablets. I bit my tongue and bought the HD 8 and regretted it for that. My 5 year old Nexus 7 had full HD and was sharp and crisp. This new HD 10 is beautiful. Even though it doesn't have the highest pixel density for reading fonts, it's perfectly acceptable for consuming video. The IPS display is very forgiving horizontally but slightly less so vertically. The screen is not as bright as an iPad but in my opinion it's fine for all but direct sunlight.
The speakers, they're not full sounding at all. Very tinny with no bass. You're neighbors aren't ever going to complain, but it's significantly louder than the HD 8 which I struggle to hear anywhere except in a quite room. The HD 10, I can actually watch movies and hear things while I'm doing things around the house or at work. But paired to my Bluetooth speaker, this thing is really amazing. I have an Amazon Music account and since Alexa works even while in stand by, I can request it to play whatever I want. By now, most of you know what Alexa can do. And you know how convenient it is. And a lot of you spent money buying Echos, Dots, and Shows. And a lot of you have nice BT speakers and even stereo systems at home. Ummm... why not use your Fire HD 10 and your $300 BT speaker instead? My friend has a Show and it's fairly impressive. But my HD 10 and JBL Xtreme will blow it out of the water.
Battery life is really good imho. I pushed it hard at work today. I had it streaming an event from 9:30AM to 3:30PM connected to bluetooth speakers. The screen was set to maximum brightness with adaptive brightness turned off. It had 2% battery left. I used the supplied charger and it took 3 hours to fully charge. 6 hours at max brightness is really impressive for a $150 full HD 10 inch tablet with a relatively high nit value. At medium or low brightness setting, I can't see why this couldn't last it's rated 9 hours of play time. I've had the HD 8 stream non stop for 8 hours before I had to shut it down for the day but I don't recall the battery capacity left. For all I know it could've gone 9 or 10 hours. That little sucker keeps chugging on.
Unlock it's full potential. There are easy 4 step guides on YT to install Google Play Store. It literally takes 5 mins. Click to install a few files. That's it. This won't do anything bad to the tablet. All it's doing is installing files that all other Android tablets normally come with. It doesn't erase anything. And it doesn't overwrite anything. But you can install the YouTube app from the Google Play Store instead of the Amazon store and get full HD content. You can install Chrome browser and sync everything across all your platforms. Gmail, Kodi, Utorrent, yada yada yada. There's just so many things that Amazon app store doesn't have that many of us need. I wouldn't have purchased the HD 10 unless Google Play Store was available.
Anyways, if you're on the fence between the HD 8 and the HD 10, I would steer you towards the 10. It provides a more immersive experience with it's sharp screen and loud speakers. If you want stocking stuffers this holiday, get the HD 8 and miser a HD 10 for yourself. And if you're on the fence between the HD 10 and the basic iPad, unless you're locked into Apple's eco system, I don't see a reason to spend more than double for the iPad with their locked storage capacity. A 32GB iPad is $329 and a 128GB is $429. For some of us, storage capacity is a big deal. Whether we're working with photography or downloading a ton of music, or storing hours and hours of movies and TV shows to watch in airports, planes, and hotels. And compared to the Pro models, the regular iPad feels cheap with it's thicker body and double layered screen (albeit still feels more top shelf than the HD 10). The one thing going for iPads are the wider 4:3 screen format for reading. I find older style screen formats to be more comfortable for stacking in longer lines for reading.
What I don't like. There's no Fintie Tuatara with Magic Ring case! I have one for the HD 8 and it's incredible. Basically a giant rugged case with a kickstand that rotates so there's no limit on how to angle it in portrait and landscape modes. Also, the speakers are acceptable but I wish that they were better. Fuller sounding with more bass. And although I can link my Spotify premium account to the HD 10 Alexa App, when I request it, it says that Spotify is not supported on this device. That's a shame really because I use Spotify for all my music. I can still just use the Spotify app, just not with Alexa. The battery life is good. But can be better. Just compare it to an iPad. And last but not least, the screen is acceptably bright. But it can be brighter. Again, compare it to an iPad. But let's be real. This is a $150 tablet with a micro SD slot.
EDIT: The Fintie Tuatara is coming out in a couple of days! And I added a 64GB micro SD card to store offline Netflix and Amazon videos. An entire season of Mind Hunter or Stranger Things is only a couple of gigs in standard quality and 7 or 8 gigs for high so you can store enough movies for a week or two for $20. To store vids on the SD card, go to the Fire HD Settings then Storage and make sure that Download Movies and TV Shows to SD card is clicked on. And in the Netflix app, click the hamburger then App Settings and set Download Location to SD card. You can also set the Download Video Quality to standard or high. Bought a 2nd Fire HD 10 in 32GB for $99 during Black Friday to keep at work for reading. Andy Weir's new book Artemis is calling. I've gotta go.
As there are several different varieties of the HD10 Fire you can order, to clarify this review is for the 64GB of storage option with special offers. I am also writing this review from the perspective of being a long-time Fire owner, as I have owned and used nearly every model that has come out over the years (my family thinks I have a problem).
To summarize, for $189 for the 64GB option I think you are getting a heck of a deal on a large-sized tablet in comparison to offerings from other table manufacturers. The price keeps getting lower for increased quality – last year’s model cost $230 and the year before that it was $379 for the 8.9” Fire HDX.
As a heavy user of Fires for several years now, I am impressed with this year’s model not only because of the lower price but several things that annoyed me are much improved, particularly with speed of the processor and the quality of the display on several apps I use as well as video. Initial setup was pretty fast – an easy connection to Wi-Fi, enter your Amazon account username and password to establish this Fire is really yours, followed by an approximate ten minute download and installation of a software update.
As I mentioned above, the speed of the Fire’s processor is noticeably faster than last year’s model: some games I like to play on the Fire are much faster in loading and moving onto the next level without much of a lag – last year’s model would hang and think about it for a while. Looking at the technical specs, the quad 1.8GHz is 20% faster: that makes a huge difference in not only some of the game apps I like but in other things such as switching back and forth between various apps (not only game apps, but apps I use around the house as well as for work).
The screen resolution and quality of video playback is very crisp and very good – I thought last year’s model was a big improvement, but they stepped it up another notch with a screen resolution and pixels per inch 125% greater than last year. I watched portions of the same video with this year’s and last year’s model side-by-side and there was a noticeable difference in the quality.
I’ve been more than impressed with the battery life – maybe my previous versions had different batteries, but the things that normally suck the battery down fast (streaming, some game apps) don’t have as much of a drain on this one. Where I normally have to put it on the charger mid-day, I’ve gone two days doing the things I normally do before feeling the need to charge it. I hope this experience lasts!
It’s also not noticeably heavier than what I was expecting with a 16% increase in weight – I have it in a protective case, and when watching a video, playing a game, or reading a book you don’t really notice a difference.
The two speakers are located on the side of the Fire in two not-noticeable ports. My usual test of this feature is cranking up Van Halen's “Panama” to maximum volume (I always want to see if it could really play the guitar licks and hear the bass), and I would alternate covering one speaker up over the other: you have true stereo sound, but you’re not able to crank it up as much as you could other models as the sound starts to degrade and you think you are about to blow the speaker. The speakers sound nice at about 50% or less on the indication bar and you do get to hear the bass. One thing to point out is there is not a default equalizer with this Fire: everything sounds the same. To get the most out of the bass and treble, as well as to turn down the mid-range, I highly recommend you downloading and installing one of the many free equalizer apps here from the Amazon app store as it makes a huge difference, especially if you are listening with headphones. Speaking of headphones, the sound sounds great using my cheap box store branded headphones.
It also comes with a port on the opposite side of the speakers to insert a memory card – I added a 256GB memory card to transfer music to it. Sure, you can listen to your music store in the cloud or stream away from your favorite streaming provider, but as I travel a lot it is convenient to have a lot of music stored on it for listening to on the plane.
Reading books is straight forward and turning pages is easy - just tap the side of the screen to go to the next page or back a page, or you can swipe your finger across the screen to do the same.
The Alexa app is incorporated into this version of the Fire tablet – by default, it is “on” and always listening and you will need to manually disable the auto-listen feature and replace it with the “push to talk” option (for lack of a better phrase) if that is your desire. I didn’t realize that when I was in my office and thought I was talking to my Echo Dot – the Fire answered instead. Yes, I know the instructions say if two devices are in the same room the Fire would be the option of last resort to automatically answer, but that was not my experience. Having the Alexa app built-in for voice commands is convenient, as my household has become more dependent on the integrated Alexa gadgets running our household. I do like it built-in as I am able to put in an alarm or timer using my voice, mainly to tell me it is time to put the Fire down and my lunch break at work is over!
One thing I don't like is everything pushes you to purchase something from the Amazon website- I understand it, but it would be nice to have a competitor's app store available for the Fire tablet.
If you are new to the tablet world or need a new tablet, or are looking to upgrade from a smaller size I would highly recommend getting this one – not only for the positive technical aspects above but you can get all of this for less than $200. As someone who was disappointed with last year’s version and always looking forward to trying the next one, I am very impressed and will be retiring my beloved 8.9" model.
I upgraded from a generation 5 with ads to this generation 7 without ads and am giving the 5 to my grandson. Since the price difference between a 128gb SD and a 256gb SD is about $100, I went with the 128. I use this away from home since it is a lot smaller and lighter than my laptops. This is a lot better than using your cell phone
1. The customer service both phone and chat is outstanding.
2. The Alexa set up is better than it is on the Generation 5.
3. I would suggest that you go to “Settings” and the “Help”. An excellent manual is available in “Help”.
4. If you are new to the Fire HD 10, Take your time picking out your aps and delete the one that didn’t work out the way you want.
5. The screen size is fine and very clear.
6. If you have Alexa play music while you work on something on the Fire, you will find that the battery charge will drop faster.
For you senior citizens, I am 83 years old and have no trouble using this unit.
If you’re looking for a great do-it-all tablet, and, you use Amazon's services, this is a fantastic media-consumption tablet for you.
I see this tablet made for two demographics: a beginner tablet for young kids (if they break it, it won't break the bank), and as an affordable iPad equivalent/backup Kindle.
— AMAZON SERVICES —
To start, this is an Amazon tablet made to do Amazon things. Since I use Amazon's Audible, listen to Amazon Music, watch Video, read their Kindle books, and shop on Amazon, this device is *perfect* for me. The digital content that you own or subscribe to can be streamed or stored on this HD 10.
— SCREEN —
Let’s talk about the biggest feature to arrive: a 1080p HD screen! This used to be on the HDX models, but that came with a hefty price. Now, we have a low-cost 1080p device and can watch movies at full HD resolution.
Pixels per inch has increased which means everything looks sharper. PPI helps while reading as you are less likely to zoom in on photos or text in magazines and PDFs.
Also, color saturation is bolder. Reds are distinctly redder, along with all the other colors [see photos].
1080p resolution was the only thing stopping this tablet from being truly must-have, and now it’s here!
— DEVICE SIZE —
Not going to lie, the jump from 8” to 10” is pretty huge. 8” was big enough to still be compact; the same can’t be said of the 10".
This device is now the same size (but wider) as a regular iPad [see photos]. In fact, if you’re watching movies, it’s slightly larger because of the widescreen shape versus the iPad’s squarish shape.
— BACKUP KINDLE —
I have a Kindle Paperwhite. With this tablet, I now have a backup Kindle that I can put all my books on and switch between the two. Granted, it's not the same reading experience, but it's more than fine as a backup device, and it helps divide the lifespan of both devices.
Reading magazines and comics is much more enjoyable because of the large size and color screen. Plus, this is faster than a Kindle at page turning. Adding books is as easy as on a regular Kindle: connect it to a computer, and transfer your files into the Kindle folder. Done.
— APPS —
There are very few apps that I was interested in their store. I got the usual: Netflix, HBO, and Plex to watch my other content. There are lots of free (in-app) games, with the occasional free gem. Don't expect many productivity apps; emphasis is placed on games. However...
*** MOVIES ANYWHERE ***
As soon as you get your tablet, immediately download the ‘Movies Anywhere’ app on this and your other devices. Launched 10-11-2017, Movies Anywhere connects your Amazon + iTunes + Vudu + Google + Disney accounts together, and you can watch nearly all your movies from one app! This is as close to world peace as we’re going to get! Now, it doesn’t matter what device or service you use, if you buy a movie somewhere you can watch it anywhere! This is the deal sealer!
— INTERFACE —
It's an Android-based OS. I think that says enough. If you've used an Android, you've used them all. The interface and usability are perfectly serviceable. It's definitely not iOS.
— STORAGE —
You can download content to the device for offline viewing. If you intend on storing your media, storage is upgradeable with a microSD card up to 256GB. I think having this option is great and lets you decide how much you want to spend separately on storage.
I have the 32GB version. I've downloaded some audio books and apps, and have yet to fill that up since I stream most of my content.
*** TIP *** Use the tablet for a while before deciding if you want/need a microSD card.
— SOUND —
Depending on the content, the Dolby sound coming out of the two speakers is sufficient for anything. Obviously, don't expect a movie experience, but you will be able to listen to your music, your audiobooks, and your Netflix without issue.
*** TIP *** Connect Bluetooth headphones/speakers or plug in headphones for louder and fuller sound.
— BATTERY —
The battery on this is darn good. It can last about 5-7 days with minimal to no usage. If you were to use it non-stop, you get about ten hours of use. Charge time is about five hours, so best leave that done overnight.
— BUILD —
The plastic back shell feels tough and durable. After a few months I decided to get the official case (which adds noticeable weight). I did buy a glass screen protector, as one should for any screen.
— SUMMARY —
This is a great deal for the Fire HD 10. If you wait for one of their tablet sales, then it’ll definitely be worth it.
If you use a lot of Amazon services, this would make a perfect device for consuming all your media. Recommended.
I’m really immersed into Amazon’s ecosystem. I have the original Echo in my living room, an Echo Spot in my bedroom, The 2nd gen Echo in my home gym, an Echo dot at work, an Echo show in the kitchen, the fire 7 tablet, fire stick, fire TV box, and now a Fire 10 HD with Alexa. I have Alexa controlling my fans, TVs, fire TV devices, thermostat, security cameras, lights, surround sound, and space heaters.I’ve been using Alexa for the last 2 years and the devices have become a routine part of my daily life. I preordered the Echo show (Alexa with a screen) and was very disappointed with my $230.00 purchase. What I realized I really wanted was everything the Fire 10 HD with Alexa could do. It’s like amazon heard my grievances and within months developed the tablet I wanted.
When I heard about the new Fire 10 HD I hesitated on pre ordering it after feeling burned by my Echo show experience. I decided to wait and see how the reviews turned out. Well today I received my Fire 10 HD tablet and after a few hours of experimenting with it I’ve come to the conclusion not only is the Fire 10 HD tablet a snappy well rounded tablet, it’s also everything I wish the Echo Show would have been.
I currently own a ASUS Chromebook flip which is a mini laptop that can be converted into a tablet, a Fire 7 2017 tablet, and an android 10" ASUS Memopad tablet. So the real question is how well does the Fire 10 perform compared to other tablets? My experience is it’s very responsive to touch, I think out of my 4 tablets it’s the most responsive. It also has the best looking display. The display also looks better than the Echo Show. Other than my Chromebook my Fire tablet has more expandable storage, however my Fire tablet beats out all my tablets including my Chromebook with internal storage space. As a side note the Echo Show has no internal storage everything is stored on the cloud. My Chromebook and Fire 10 HD tablet run neck and neck on battery life I can get at least 8 hours of use from both of these devices. My 10" ASUS Memopad about 4-5 hours, Fire 7 table about 6 hours, and it goes without saying the Echo Show is plugged in so there is no internal battery.
My Fire 10 sounds significantly better than my Chromebook, it’s probably twice as loud as my
Fire 7 tablet, and on par with my ASUS tablet. The sound on my Echo Show is significantly better. Pages and content loaded without any stuttering. The memory never seemed taxed or overworked despite the fact I had multiple windows and apps running in the background while I was watching a movie on Netflix.
I really don’t understand the complaints about the sound or picture quality. I think that both are much better than I expected, and are strengths not weaknesses of the Fire 10. There are complaints about not having access to Google Play store. It’s not rocket science do a google search how to install google play on the new Fire 10. There are 4 links you click on that will take you straight to the 4 downloads you need to install straight from the tablet. Once you download them restart the tablet and that’s all there is to it. You now have complete access to google Play in under 5 minutes and all you had to do was 4 downloads. For those that complained about lack of HDMI output you can cast straight to fire sticks and boxes and even better control them with your voice. Using a HDMI cable seems like going back to the stone ages in comparison, but if it is a must you can buy a micro USB to HDMI converter pretty cheap on Amazon.
I honestly can’t think of one thing I can complain about with this tablet. If you purchase it expecting it to wow you over a higher end Samsung or Ipad it’s not going to happen, but for $150.00 you are purchasing this tablet at cost. Amazon isn’t trying to get rich off of the tablet, it’s all the other things you are going to buy from the tablet that is going to make them their money. It’s definitely the best $150.00 I’ve ever spent. Android tablets usually start to get outdated within 3-5 years. At the price point of the Fire 10 you can buy a new one every 2 years and still pay less then trying to stay up to date with Android’s tech.
Why should you consider buying the fire 10 HD over the Echo show? The tablet's screen is 10" vs the Shows 7". The tablet will show you everything the Echo Show can with the same exact artwork. You can't watch news clips from your daily briefing with the Fire 10 HD.The clips really don't show much footage and should not be a deal breaker. You can't use Amazon's video chat from the tablet. Chances are everyone you'd want to video chat with has Skype, Oovoo or other services the Show can't use. The Fire 10 is portable where as the Show has to be plugged in. The Show has an awkwardly positioned camera angle for video calls. The Show can't display as much content on it's screen. The Show has much richer audio and bass. However you can connect bluetooth speakers to the tablet and improve the audio. Both have the always listening capability with Alexa. Honestly unless you have to have Amazon's video chat all the advantages are with the Fire 10. As a side note you don't have to have an Echo Show to use Amazon's video chat. You can use it for free from your phone using the Alexa app. Let's face it you can pretty much do everything the Show is capable of doing with the tablet, plus you have all the features of a tablet, and it's portable! I personally feel the display on my fire 10 is much better than my Echo Show. All I ever use my show for is listening to music, news briefings, adding and removing items to my shopping list, maybe an occasional movie while cooking if there is any thing decent on Prime videos, and controlling my smart devices. The Fire 10 is perfectly capable of completing all of these tasks and more. Alexa on my Fire 10 works with all my home smart devices, and instantly carries over all of my existing Alexa settings. I can open apps by asking Alexa. Unlike my Echo Show I can watch Netflix, HULU, Youtube and other streaming services through my Fire 10.As a testimony to how much I love this tablet I bought 4 more for Christmas presents. I get the best of both worlds with all the benefits of Amazon's services, Alexa on my tablet and Google's Playstore. Having an Android tablet means missing out on how well Amazon integrates all of their services in to a tablet and no Alexa. If you found this review helpful please click on the this was helpful tab.
Feature Product
- Brilliant 10.1" 1080p Full HD display (1920 x 1200), up to 1.8 GHZ quad-core processor, 2 GB RAM, and up to 10 hours of battery life.
- Our largest display, now with over 2 million pixels, stereo speakers, Dolby Audio, and dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi-perfect for watching Full HD video, playing games, reading magazines, and streaming content seamlessly
- Use Alexa hands-free mode to pause videos, play music, open apps, show sports scores, display the weather, and more-just ask
- Call or message almost anyone hands-free, or make video calls to family and friends with a Fire tablet, Echo Spot, Echo Show, or the Alexa App. Instantly connect to enabled Echo devices.
- 32 or 64 GB internal storage expandable by up to 256 GB (using the microSD slot). Watch downloaded videos anywhere with a Prime membership, Netflix plan, or Showtime subscription.
- Enjoy millions of movies, TV shows, songs, Kindle eBooks, magazines, Android apps, and games-including Netflix, Facebook, HBO, Spotify, and more
- Prime members get unlimited access to over a thousand books and magazines, millions of songs, and thousands of movies and TV episodes-at no additional cost
Description
Expansive and immersive
Fire HD 10 features a brilliant 10.1" 1080p Full HD display (1920 x 1200) with over 2 million pixels (224 ppi). Enjoy widescreen movies, videos, and games with wide viewing angles, less glare, and more brightness thanks to a stunning IPS (in-plane-switching) LCD display.
Fast and responsive
Fire HD 10 is now 30% faster thanks to 2x the RAM over the previous generation and a more powerful quad-core processor. Two 1.8 GHz cores and two 1.4 GHz cores run simultaneously, delivering quick app launches, smooth games and videos, and great overall performance.
No more worrying about storage space
Fire HD 10 comes with the most internal storage of any Fire tablet at 32 or 64 GB, great for offline video watching. Expand your storage by up to 256 GB using a microSD card, and keep photos, favorite movies, and compatible games and apps with you. Plus enjoy free unlimited cloud storage for all your Amazon content and photos taken with your Fire tablet.
Power when you need it
Don't be tethered to an outlet—now with up to 10 hours of mixed-use battery life, Fire HD 10 gives you more flexibility to go where the day takes you.
Capture life's moments
Fire HD 10 features a 2 MP rear-facing camera for taking photos or shooting 720p video. The front-facing VGA camera is perfect for Skype calls with friends and family.
Engineered by Amazon
Amazon engineers Fire tablets to hold up against everyday life. We put the Fire HD 10 through over 50 tests to replicate drops, tumbles, spills, and other everyday wear and tear.
Alexa on Fire tablets
Alexa, the brain behind Echo, provides quick access to the information and entertainment you want, including video, music, games, audiobooks, and more. Ask Alexa questions, see your calendar, get news, show sports scores, and even control your smart home—just ask.
Now with hands-free mode
When connected to Wi-Fi, simply say the wake word, "Alexa." Alexa will respond to you—even when the screen is asleep—and will show visual responses to certain questions.
Everyday tasks made easier
Alexa on Fire tablets helps make every day easier. Just ask to set alarms and timers, check traffic, your calendar, to-do or shopping lists, and more. You can order millions of items with your voice, such as household and personal care products.
Be entertained
Whether you are playing and pausing your favorite movie, starting a playlist, or need a quick joke, you can ask Alexa and stream directly over Wi-Fi. Alexa also provides voice control for Amazon Video, Prime Music, Pandora, iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and more.
Voice control your smart home
Alexa works with devices such as lights, switches, thermostats, security cameras (coming soon), and more from SmartThings, Insteon, Nest, ecobee, Arlo, Ring, and Wink. Dim the lights from the couch to watch a movie or change the temperature on your thermostat while reading in your favorite chair—all without lifting a finger.
Calling and Messaging
Make hands-free voice calls to almost any local number, message your contacts, or video call friends and family who have a Fire tablet, Echo Spot, Echo Show, or have installed the iOS or Android Alexa App. You can also instantly connect with family and friends, by asking Alexa to drop in on enabled Echo devices, or Fire tablets, when the tablet is in Show Mode. For example, you can drop in to ask what time dinner will be ready, see the baby's nursery, or check in with a close relative.
Watch in 1080p Full HD
Enjoy all your favorite movies and TV shows on Amazon Video, Netflix, HBO NOW, Sling TV, and more (subscription fees may apply). Discover hundreds of thousands of TV episodes and movies, plus fling Amazon Video content to your Fire TV using Second Screen. Enhance your video experience with features you only get from Amazon, including On Deck for watching videos anywhere, ASAP for fast video streaming, and X-Ray to go behind the scenes of your favorite movies and TV shows while you watch. Watch downloaded videos anywhere with a Prime membership, Netflix plan, or Showtime subscription—on a plane, on vacation, in the car, or wherever you don't have a wireless connection.
Read
Choose from millions of Kindle eBook and magazine titles that you won't be able to find anywhere else. Over 1 million titles are priced at $2.99 or less. Or read as much as you want with a Kindle Unlimited subscription for just $9.99 a month. Connect with the largest online community of book lovers on Goodreads. Read comfortably at night with Blue Shade, an exclusive Fire OS feature that automatically adjusts and optimizes the backlight for a more comfortable nighttime reading experience.
Listen
With millions of songs from thousands of artists, the Amazon Digital Music Store brings all your favorite music to your fingertips. Music you buy on your Fire tablet is saved to Your Music Library for free, and you can play or download it anytime. Unlock more music with Amazon Music Unlimited, just $7.99 per month for Prime members ($9.99 per month for non-Prime members). Audible offers more than 180,000 titles in audiobooks, including best sellers, romances, thrillers, and much more.
Play
Fire tablets feature instant access to over 600,000 of the most popular free and best-selling games, social media, premium TV and movie provider apps, and so much more. Choose from top titles including Candy Crush Saga, Township, Mobile Strike, and more.
Try Prime free for a month
If you haven't tried Amazon Prime in the past, we'll give you a 30-day free trial. Experience what millions of members already enjoy—unlimited streaming of thousands of hit movies and TV episodes, ad-free access to over a million songs, over a thousand Kindle books, and Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items
Unlimited reading on any device
Prime Reading gives you unlimited access to over a thousand books, current magazines, comics, Kindle Singles, and more. With any device—including your phone, tablet, or Kindle—you can read however you want, whenever you want.
Stream thousands of movies and TV episodes with Prime Video
With Amazon Prime, members enjoy unlimited streaming of thousands of movies and TV episodes at no additional cost, including award-winning Amazon Original series Transparent, top HBO shows like True Blood, Girls, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
No Wi-Fi, no problem—Prime Video downloads
Exclusive to Prime members, download thousands of Prime Video movies and TV episodes. Watch downloaded videos anywhere—on a plane, on vacation, in the car, or wherever you don't have a wireless connection. Prime Video offers offline viewing at no additional cost.
Over 2 million songs free with Amazon Music
Prime Music is a benefit of your Amazon Prime Membership, featuring a growing selection of 2 million songs, always ad-free and on-demand. Unlock more music with Amazon Music Unlimited, just $7.99 per month for Prime members.
Add HBO, SHOWTIME and more to Prime
With Amazon Channels, Prime members can also subscribe to over 100 premium and specialty channels like HBO and SHOWTIME to add and stream—no cable or satellite subscription necessary. Prime members can subscribe to any or all of these channels with a free trial.
Browse the reviews of this tablet and you'll quickly discover that your happiness with it will entirely depend upon your expectations. If you're looking for a tablet that can play videos beautifully, present a hard-back book sized version of your kindle content, shop Amazon with ease (of course) and respond to your Alexa commands, you'll likely be very pleased. If you're entrenched in the non-Amazon Android tablet universe and expecting the same functionality, you're most likely going to be disappointed. I was surprised at a few things that were on my old Fire HDX 8.9 that I didn't find on this model. There is no HDMI port to pipe video to a tv (something I used a lot with my old unit), and no mirroring capability to speak of. The screen resolution is lower, 224 compared to the previous 323 ppi. I found the videos I watched to be very good quality, though. You wouldn't notice the lack of resolution unless you were previously used to working with a high-res tablet. I was really hoping that the Alexa integration on the Fire HD 10 would extend to Spotify, but that is not the case. Other than opening the app, there is zero integration. What has me boxing up the unit to send back to Amazon, though, is something I didn't realize would be a big deal: there is no keyboard button to voice type or voice search on this tablet. The silk browser has come a long way, and I enjoyed using it, but the lack of voice search combined with a clunky keyboard that cannot be replaced by third-party keyboard apps is a dealbreaker. I was hoping the Alexa feature may substitute for this, but it is clumsy at best. Attempts to search the web inevitably lead me back to related product pages for the Amazon store. I had to work a bit to get to the web results I wanted.
If you are buying this unit for long plane rides or to pass the time, at this price point picking one up is a no-brainer. It is very very good for what it was designed for. If you want not only a media consumption device but a tablet that can function as a customizable portable computer, you might find it somewhat limiting.
Note: This review is done with the 32GB Fire Tablet with No Special Offers
I've been searching for a cheap yet functional Android 10" tablet for a while now. With the Black Friday sales lowering the price of the HD 10 to $100, I had to give this a try. It has some flaws, but overall I am very happy with the HD 10.
**Pros**
* Value: You absolutely cannot beat the value on this tablet. For $130 out the door ($100 base + $15 for no ads + CA tax + environmental fees), I couldn't find anything that beat this tablet. It is the perfect intersection of performance, battery, functionality, and cost.
* Display: The site advertises this as a 1080p tablet but the screen is actually a 1920x1200 resolution. In other words, it's even higher resolution than advertised (this is a good thing!). The screen has great brightness and good colors at a very nice resolution. Absolutely more than worth the cost.
* Performance: It lags when I'm actively using the tablet while installing new apps, but otherwise I haven't had an issue with it yet. I don't install apps all the time so I don't see this as a regular use problem. Keep in mind that my use is light compared to some others. My typical tablet use involves reading newspaper articles, listening to music, watching Netflix, and browsing the internet. This tablet is more than powerful enough for all of that. The CPU isn't the strongest but it holds up well to my daily use and it makes for a good battery life. Speaking of:
* Battery: When I received my Fire HD 10 at 9AM this morning, it was at 80% battery. Four hours later after various app installs, launcher changes, and testing, the battery is at 56%. I'm very happy that four hours of continuous hands-on use only drained the battery by 34%. Under normal use for me (reading newspaper articles, browsing the internet, listening to music), I can easily see this lasting all day for me. The compromise on the CPU power is worth it for me considering the battery life I get out of this.
**Cons:*
* Build Quality: I know this is a $100 tablet but even then I was expecting better build quality. I was expecting build quality to be on par with my Moto G5 Plus, but this tablet is inferior to that. The plastic on the back feels very cheap and thin. There's some creaking play with the display and the back of the tablet on the left side in portrait mode. It's nothing I can't live with but I do wish the tablet felt more solid.
* Camera: Listen to the other reviews. The camera on the back is *terrible*. Even in decent lighting conditions the image looks very grainy with aggressive noise reduction leading to soft images. This camera will absolutely only be used as your last possible option. If a camera matters to you, you need to look elsewhere. This camera just isn't useable to me.
**Neutral**
* Software: This is a tricky one. Bear with me here:
Personally, I'm not a fan of Fire OS at all. I don't mind the Amazon content but I do mind that the OS favors selling items over usability. For example I'm really not a fan of how all your apps are lumped on the Home tab. I much prefer the standard Android layout where you can put your most used apps on the page and have the rest accessible from the drawer. The way FireOS is done would be if the app drawer is your home screen itself. I'm also not a fan of the default FireOS apps. The Silk browser in particular had issues properly displaying websites and for some reason wouldn't load mobile versions of certain websites.
That said, this is all easily changed. A quick Google search will yield four easy .apk downloads to install Google Play's services and store on your HD 10. This means you get access to Google's library of Android apps. I'm now using Gmail, Chrome, Google Search, Google Docs, and Google Keyboard. If you feel like diving in even more, you can change the default launcher so you're no longer using the standard FireOS launcher. My tablet is now running Google Now (Android's current default launcher), and the method I used is also compatible with Nova Launcher if you prefer that.
**Summary**
Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase. The build quality isn't great and the camera is terrible, but at the end of the day I have a $100 10" tablet that does everything I need it to while using Google's Android apps and Now Launcher. Absolutely the best value 10" tablet out there. If you're looking for a media consumption device with excellent battery life, usability, and might want to slap an Android interface on there down the road for as little money as you can get away with, this is the tablet for you.
I specifically ordered this for Kindle books to be read back by Alexia. This function far exceeds my expectations! The reading is smooth and clear and relatively easy to operate. There is little documentation on how to use this powerful function but searching the internet garnered the necessary words to say. So basically any Kindle book can be played back as text to speech by Alexia. One can even change the voice from female to male and with different accents. One only needs to speak the following: "Alexia play Kindle book (and then the title)" at first I thought it wasn't working but it takes awhile to download on the first book.
I'll preface this by saying I have 6 other Fire tablets, so I'm very much an Amazon fan. That said. My HD 10 is my favorite of the lot. Why? Well. It's got Dolby sound, which is awesome for watching movies. It loads apps fast, I never wait. It has snappy response when you type or want to do anything, and honestly, it loads faster than my iPad. I'm blind, but from what I'm told, the display is beautiful and clean. The fact that you can get a 64 gig Fire with expandable storage that can make it hold more than many ultra books is amazing. It is durable, light and thin. The battery life is amazing. Using VoiceView to read email, play some games, and type a paper, I've gotten more than 10 hours out of it. Alexa hands free makes Siri look like a child's toy. I can open any app with Alexa, and she can just go with me anywhere. The For You screen has allowed me to find new books and things I like, that I'd never have found before. And the big screen allows me to watch movies with other folks instead of alone.
I can't see any cons to that. Maybe the fact that it's plastic, but really that's actually good. I have labradors. My tablets have taken many a fall thanks to their wagging tails. While my Apple devices have been scratched, my Amazon ones have not, thanks to that durable plastic backing.
Now, for those of you curious. This Fire, like all the others, comes with VoiceView accessibility. Many android tablet makers turn off the accessibility shortcut when they put their skins over the OS. I've sent many a tablet back for that reason. Amazon allows you to turn on accessibility simply by holding 2 fingers on the screen when the device starts. Then it is permanently on, unless you turn it off. I haven't found any inaccessible apps, but I mostly use amazon content which is naturally accessible to us all.
Oh, and while the NFB and others haven't noticed this, I have. Thanks, Amazon for the braille support! Now, I can pick which braille code I prefer, just as a sighted person can pick font. I can have VoiceView automatically mute when my braille display is on and connected, which is brilliant. The Fires are the only devices that allow this. So thanks, for allowing me to read, rather than listen like any other person. And thanks for making books accessible to us all, because rather than the library for the blind, I can just buy my books from the kindle store.
Overall, if you want amazing sound, a beautiful display, and a tablet that can both work and play, and you want a large slate, this HD10 is perfect! It's my favorite tablet of them all! PS. I typed this on my Fire, so long document typing is more than possible.
Pro: Fantastic amount of hardware for the money.
Con: Buying this is like Amazon becoming your parent. They want total control over what you watch and do and are constantly trying to shove you towards their preferred selections. I like Amazon but I don't want to be a branded sheep in the Amazon herd.
Conclusion: Worth it if you are willing and able to work around Amazon's controlling ways. For instance, I managed to install the google play store and now my options are much improved.
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