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You might have heard that Amazon disabled the option for software encryption in the latest version of its Android-based Fire OS for the Kindle Fire series of tablets. (This isn't new - Fire OS 5 has been rolling out to various tablets since last year.) And if you read news that isn't Android Police, you probably also know that it's not the biggest story involving encryption right now. After consumer backlash following the Apple-FBI encryption case, Engadget reports that Amazon says it will return software encryption in the next major update.
Amazon's tablet offerings have gone from rather uninteresting to impressive in the last few years. All they had to do was make them really, really, cheap. Last year's Fire HD 6 is on sale today, making it even cheaper than usual. It's selling for $69.99 today, down from the usual price of $100.The Fire HD 6 has a 6-inch 1280x800 screen that actually performs quite well. There's only 8GB of storage in the base model, but the 16GB is on sale too for $30 off. That one works out to $89.99. This deal is also valid on the black version of the tablet only.Amazon now sells a $50 version of the Fire, but the HD 6 is a little better across the board, including a higher resolution display and faster internals. Just a reminder, this tablet runs Amazon's Android build, so you don't have access to Google apps and services. The sale only runs through the end of today.Source: Fire HD 6
It's official. Amazon is ready to sell you a tablet for just $50. Not only that, it will let you order six of them together for $250. The Internet retailer is making the task of filling a home with tablets as affordable as bringing home a Wii U.We first caught wind of this device earlier this month, and it appears to pack better hardware than the junk Android tablets we're accustomed to from no-name brands. That said, the specs still come in on the low-end side of things. The front offers a 7-inch 1024 by 600 display. On the inside there's a 1.3GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8GB of storage (along with a microSD card slot). Less than stellar cameras sit on the front and back.
Looking for a starter tablet? You know, something to give a kid or someone not so into tech that they would scoff at something not running regular Android? Then consider the Fire HD 6. Amazon is currently offering it for $30 off, bringing the price to a compelling $70. Sure, the 1280 by 800 6-inch display won't turn heads, but the build quality is solid enough where it won't feel like a comparatively priced off-brand knock off.Maybe you're looking to stick a tablet in the hands of a really little person, someone not ready for a big kid tablet. In that case, pick up the Fire HD 6 Kids Edition instead. Amazon is offering the device for $120, which is also a $30 discount.
At this year's Google I/O, we heard that HBO Now would eventually be available across all Android devices. Well, today appears to be that day. HBO appears set to drop Now into the Play Store. The company has listed Android as "coming later today" on its list of supported devices.
Amazon's Fire HD line of tablets aren't geared for hardcore Android enthusiasts. They don't come with the Play Store. They don't offer Google apps. And they don't come with the Google Now Launcher or any of that relatively new material design. But they are pretty good at letting you consume media.The Fire HD 7 is a low to mid-range offering with a rather mediocre 1280 by 800 display. But today you can get it for off, which isn't all that much dough to cough up for the hardware. The cheapest option is the 8GB model with ads (ahem, special offers), which has dropped from $140 to $80. The ad-free model costs an extra $15.
Amazon's Fire HD tablets are surprisingly good purchases if you just want something to consume media. They're inexpensive, snappy, and have great battery life. Now they're learning a new trick courtesy of an OTA update. The coming upgrade for Fire HD tablets will include Amazon's Firefly feature, allowing them to recognize music, movies, and more. Why? So you'll buy more stuff, duh.
Until now, Amazon's Kindle and Fire devices have lacked one important feature that sets them far behind their Android counterparts: porn. Wait, that's not true, there's tons of porn on Amazon, you can hardly look on the bookstore without seeing self-published Harlequin-style short stories. But if you want to browse a bunch of sites on the less savory side of the Internet on your Kindle Fire without leaving a trail, you're out of luck.
When Amazon entered the tablet game with the original Kindle Fire, we all kind of chuckled at the idea of it being a reasonable entry into the market. With each iteration, though, those silly Fire tablets have gotten more and more powerful, and each edition of Fire OS has brought new features that proved to actually be useful. While Fire Phone may have been a flop, the Fire tablets are still very much alive, and the newest editions are better than ever.
Fire OS is a solid operating system if all you need is the ability to consume Amazon content in various forms, but it just doesn't cut it for the nerdier stuff we pickier types get off on. In some ways, it's a shame, because Amazon puts out solid hardware at affordable prices. On the other hand, there's the option to wipe the slate clean, so to speak, and flash something more exciting onto the tablet.Before this can happen, though, custom ROM developers need to bring their offerings over to each particular model, and before that can happen, Amazon needs to release enough code for them to work with. Fortunately, the company has now released the open source kernel files for its new Kindle Fire HD 6 and 7.
Today Amazon popped its yearly Kindle Fire update unannounced, showing off no less than four new models of its customized Android tablet family. The Kindle Fire HD Kids is being covered in this post, but the main event is the refreshed versions of the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9, Fire HD7, and the "all-new" Fire HD 6. These will make up Amazon's new line, scheduled to go on sale in October.
If you want a mid-sized tablet with a high-resolution screen, LTE connectivity, and you don't mind going with Amazon's ecosystem, but don't want to spend much money, today's Gold Box deal should be particularly compelling. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 LTE version (the previous high-end Kindle Fire model, from late 2012) is discounted by $80 today, bringing its price down to $219.
It's not the latest and greatest, but the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is still a capable device with a nice screen. You can pick up one of Amazon's Android-ish tablets on Woot right now for a mere $179.99. You better get on it, though. A good deal on Woot won't last all day.
Amazon isn't letting Google run away with the bargain-priced tablet market just yet. It's offering $50 discounts on the Kindle Fire HD and Fire HDX 7 for Cyber Monday. That means you've got to jump on it soon to secure the deal.
Amazon is now distributing an OTA update for the Fire OS that powers the Kindle Fire HD and HDX tablets. Version 3.1 brings deeper Goodreads integration, so users can more easily share favorite quotes with others, view what their friends are reading, and leave reviews. Readers can also import their Amazon library directly into the social network. This may not be the most exciting new feature, but it makes perfect sense for a tablet that is descendent from a line of e-readers.
Frequent fliers breathed a sigh of relief when the FAA ruled that most electronics could be used from takeoff to landing, and Amazon was a big part of that decision. To celebrate they're having a one day sale on two 7-inch Kindle models, the new Kindle Fire HDX and the year-old Fire HD. Enter the code "ThnksFAA" (note spelling) at checkout and you can take 15% off the regular price.
It's been just about a years since Amazon refreshed the Kindle Fire line, and like clockwork, here are some new tablets from everyone's favorite megalithic online retailer. The updated 7" and 8.9" versions are named Kindle Fire HDX, and surprisingly, they feature some of the best hardware available for Android tablets. In addition to new high-resolution displays (1920x1200 for the 7" and an eye-popping 2560x1600" for the 8.9") they've both got 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processors and 2GB of RAM.
So here's the thing, if you need to learn a new language and wouldn't mind getting your hands on a nice tablet, Amazon's willing to help scratch both itches at once. For a limited time, you can save 40% off the price of a Rosetta Stone 5-Level set and get a free refurbished Kindle Fire HD with your purchase. If you combine the cost of the Kindle with the Rosetta Stone discount, you're looking at a total savings of $369.99. That's nothing to shake a stick at.
If you're looking for a good throw-in-your-bag tablet with an excellent form factor and beautiful display, it's hard to beat Amazon's 8.9-inch Kindle Fire. Sure, it doesn't have the Play Store, and belongs in a completely different playing field than something like the Nexus 7, but for a consumption tablet, it can deliver the goods with the best of 'em thanks to Amazon's massive collection of Kindle books and quick access to Instant Video for Prime members.