Amazon's Prime service provides access to Instant Video titles, videos available for instant streaming at no additional change with your Prime membership ($79 annually).
There is a catch with Amazon's Prime service, though: these videos cannot be downloaded. Other videos listed with the "rent" or "buy" options can be downloaded and viewed offline without a Wi-Fi connection.
All streaming videos are displayed within the same horizontally-oriented interface featuring controls for volume, track position, play/pause, quick rewind (10 seconds), and general navigation. Other than repositioned controls, it is a near duplicate of what we saw a year ago on the first-generation Kindle Fire. The interface is designed to give you access to more information and control, but it can also be a distraction. Tapping on the screen lets you toggle the controls on and off (including the top status bar).
A new feature is X-Ray, which displays a quick link to the IMDb bio information of actors on-screen at any given time.
If the screenshots look a little dark, that's because the controls are overlaid on top of the video image. Any rotation from landscape to portrait mode is automatically detected, and the controls automatically reorient themselves. This was lacking in the past.
As we'd expect, video is mirrored when you hook the Kindle Fire HD up to an external display. This isn't a bug or anything, but the fact that we're not able to extend the tablet's display to the second screen is an annoyance we can trace all of the way back to Motorola's Xoom.
Apple's iPads only output video to the external monitor, and that approach makes more sense. If you're going to the trouble of connecting a screen to your tablet for movie playback, you don't want the image playing back on the smaller device simultaneously. We'd like to see the behavior of Android-based devices change, if only to preserve battery life.

- Amazon's Second-Gen Tablets: The Kindle Fire And Kindle Fire HD
- Kindle UI: If It's Not Broken, Don't Change It
- Prime: Streaming Video And HDMI Output
- CPU And GPU Performance
- Storage Performance: Amazon Fixes A Big Weakness
- LCD Performance Analysis
- Battery Life And Recharge Time
- Wi-Fi Performance: Faster From Farther Away?
- Kindle Fire HD: Another Tablet That Plays Into Amazon's Business
- Appendix A: USB Debugging, Screenshots, And Rooting




"Buying a Nexus 7 locks you into Google's Play store and its movies, newspapers, magazines, and music."
I have BOTH the Kinda Fire app and Barnes and Noble app installed on my Nexus 7. And that is one of the things I love most about Google's tablet: the ability to get content from any provider I want. I would also like to point out that my gf has the B&N tablet, and it is much better than the Kindle Fire for several reasons: 1) you can sideload your own content through a removable memory card, 2) it has a better screen, and 3) the build quality seems much better after holding both in your hand. It's a shame the Kindle get's more attention, the power of advertising I guess....
"Buying a Nexus 7 locks you into Google's Play store and its movies, newspapers, magazines, and music."
I have BOTH the Kinda Fire app and Barnes and Noble app installed on my Nexus 7. And that is one of the things I love most about Google's tablet: the ability to get content from any provider I want. I would also like to point out that my gf has the B&N tablet, and it is much better than the Kindle Fire for several reasons: 1) you can sideload your own content through a removable memory card, 2) it has a better screen, and 3) the build quality seems much better after holding both in your hand. It's a shame the Kindle get's more attention, the power of advertising I guess....
I don't care for a manufacturer remotely deleting things without my permission.
There was an interesting case study a while back by AMD that pointed out most people use their devices at maximum brightness, and we've always strove to lean more toward real-world conditions. Having said that, a while back, we also started to standardize our battery life tests to a fixed brightness setting. While not real-world, it does provide a window into how devices compare to one another in that specific scenario. Bear in mind that a fixed brightness on one display may look different on another because of gamut differences. Often times you'll push the brightness up on a low gamut LCD to improve readability or visibility. The article has been updated to include those results. We always intended to do so but this understandably doubles our benchmarking workload and battery life tests take a lot of time. Thanks for being patient.
Yes and no. You can use the Kindle Android app to view ebooks from Amazon. That's the case with Android, iOS, and Windows. However, this is not the integrated interface that the Nexus 7 provides. It's a little different for viewing ebooks and magazines.
More importantly is the difference in movie support. You cannot use the Nexus 7 to view Amazon Prime movies the same way on the Kindle Fire HD. H.264 streaming works when you're on an Amazon tablet, plain and simple. If you want to watch those same movies on the Nexus 7, you need to install Firefox and Flash. But that's still Flash, not the streaming H.264.
That's a great idea! Unfortunately it's very difficult to implement from a programming perspective to keep consistent across all devices and platforms.
I'd actually settle for "idle" battery life, since reading an eBook is effectively utilizing nothing but the screen. So Wifi/bluetooth/GPS/camera off (not just unused, but literally disabled in settings), screen on (at ~50% brightness). Do these things last for days under these conditions? I can't find data for that anywhere. My primary use for a tablet would be eBooks, but I have no idea which reader (except the original Kindles) actually gives the best battery life for that specific purpose.
Amazon does allow installation of apps from "unknown sources," so I have (from places like getjar.com or 1mobile.com) apps like Google Maps in satellite mode, Mantano and also Aldiko to read DRM'd ePub books legally. I also have the B&N Nook app, since I have the NookColor but prefer to just read on the Kindle Fire HD now.
Very accurate article. As for the Kindle Fire HD, I love the stereo speakers with Dolby and good separation because they're relatively strong and very clear. I hate using headphones or earbuds as a rule (unless in public but I don't usually listen to anything while around other people) unless I'm wanting best sound in music. For me, although my hearing is not ideal, dialog is MUCH better on these than on laptop units I've tried.
Printbot and Printer Share work great on the Nexus 7.
From an owner of both an Android tablet (10" galaxy tab) and an e-Reader (nook) I can say that the book reading experience on the e-Reader is VASTLY superior, even with the smaller screen and horrible resolution. The e-Ink display is much easier on the eyes, and the reduced weight is a huge factor.
I would only recommend a tablet to a person looking for the multi-media and browsing experience, and so I appreciate that Tom's focuses on those aspects in the review.
If your primary usage for a tablet is eBook then I would strongly suggest you to consider a Kindle, the eBook reader, it will benefit your eyes so much. We already stare at so many screens(at work, at home with tv), why stare at another screen to read books? Just a suggestion though. Your money your choice.
Except that I would occasionally like to do other things with my device (web browsing or watching a youtube clip, for example). Sure, it would be great if I had unlimited funds to spend on different gadgets for different purposes, but (unfortunately) we don't all have loads of cash to blow on tech gadgets that are primarily (solely) used for entertainment (e.g. reading a book, browsing Tom's, watching youtube clips, listening to music, playing a game etc - it's ALL entertainment, not life or death - I just can't justify blowing wads of cash on more than one gadget used for this purpose).