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Much improved screen!
It turns out that the $49.95 Fire 7 version released two years ago didn't have an IPS screen.
Now it does.
Technically, both the old one and this new one are just 171 ppi (pixels per inch) but this one seems much "crisper" than the first generation "$49-er".
My eyes don't lie. IPS makes the screen a lot crisper!
There's also a stunning improvement in color quality with the new screen. Now it holds its own with the 62% color gamut original iPad Mini; before, it wasn't anywhere near.
Mind you it's not current Apple screen quality, or current high-end Samsung screen quality - but what is? It's only $49.95, and it's good enough. Heck, at $49.95, its MORE than "good enough", it's great. It blows away just about any entry level consumer laptop screen, that's for sure.
I pulled out my 2015 first-gen, $49.95 Fire 7 - the one this replaces - and placed it side by side with this new one. The colors (including a horrific green tint on white backgrounds) on the old one weren't video-worthy - ok for casual videos on Facebook and YouTube, maybe, but not good enough for Netflixing and Amazon Prime.
This new one, though? It's movie-worthy, especially with earphones (ok, ONLY with earphones). I'd prefer 720p over the Fire 7's 600p (600p is better than 480p DVD's, but not ask good as even entry-level - 720p - HDTV quality), but overall even at 600p it's eminently watchable.
By the way, for me streaming video content on Amazon Prime Instant Video has been noticeably sharper than streaming YouTube. I think Amazon Prime adapts to 600p (max for this tablet) while YouTube is is probably delivering only 480p (remember YouTube's defaults are 360p/480p/720p and up).
So the short-and-sweet advice is try this out on your favorite video sources when you get it, and make sure you are getting the video quality you want; also, use Netflix's Fast dot com web site to check your internet download speeds. If they aren't high, even Amazon Prime won't be able to deliver sharp video.
Tip: due to the limited 1gb of onboard RAM, try not to multi-task for zippy performance. After my Fire OS updates were completed (which slows down everything while they are downloading), there was no lag in ANY app, so long as I wasn't background running another app (like music).
Tip: there's only one really usable brightness setting, and that's all the way up. This is not a screen with "extra" brightness in reserve. The best tablet experience with this is setting the brightness level to "11."
Tip: if you don't have a spare lying around, order this with at least a 16gb Class 10/UH1 micro SD card (I like Samsung Evo Select currently under $15 for 32gb). Go into Settings (or follow the alert that pops up) and have apps and content default store to the micro SD card - Amazon now allows downloaded videos and books to go there, making the 8gb model very usable. At just $49.95 and with the ability to download both Netflix and Amazon Prime movies and TV, you shouldn't fly without this.
Tip: there's only $10 difference between the 16gb version of this new Fire 7, and the entry level of the brand new 2017 Fire HD 8 - which already comes with 16gb, PLUS 1.5 gb RAM vs. 1gb on the Fire 7, PLUS actual HD video quality (720p). So for a mere $10 more you get a whole lot more.
Of course if you can live with 8gb storage - I have my tricks! - nothing beats $49.95.
Tip: GREAT for kids since Amazon says it survives drops better than even an iPad Mini, AND Amazon has the best kid control settings in the business. $49.95 vs. a couple hundred dollars counts for a LOT too. BUT Apple continues to rule the roost in terms of maximum number of education and game apps for kids.
Tip: the speaker IS adequate especially if you cup your hands behind it to reflect the sound forward. BUT you are better served by a budget AmazonBasics Bluetooth speaker, or by earphones. The AmazonBasics won't sound THAT much better, but it WILL be easier to hear and easier to hold the tablet; with earphones, you'll think the tablet cost several hundred dollars! (That's thanks to the magic earphones work vs. tiny built in speakers on ANY tablet.)
Tip: screen resolution is about the same as the entry-level Amazon Kindle E-reader, so apart from the E-reader's unparalleled ability to deal with bright sunlight without washing out the screen, you are probably better off with this more versatile $49.95 Fire 7 table than the $59.95 (current sale price) E-reader.
Tip: "blue light control" saves your sleeping if you Kindle read a lot; just select the option from the swipe-down menu on the home screen.
KUDOS: really compact, useful, and safe charger (it's Amazon, not mystery-sourced). It only puts out 5 watts (some phone chargers on low-end phones actually put out less!) but it's plenty for the modest battery in this $49.95 tablet. It seems very well built, works with the other phones and tablets I have (both Apple and Android), and the cable (detachable) that comes with it feels really solid and sturdy. Nothing flimsy or fly by night here.
CAVEAT: You do know this won't run classic Google apps or Apple apps (like Music), right? (Yeah some users "hack" it do do so, but I'm talking about the rest of us.) This limitation is just Amazon going it's own way. Fire OS is a legal "clone" of Android 5.1.1, a solid Android release, with Amazon "skinning" (putting its own book cover on) the usual Android home screen etc.. Amazon has been very good about security and version updates with Fire OS, BUT I and many others long for the day, hopefully not too far in the future, when Amazon bites the bullet and releases regular Android on an Amazon tablet. And, btw, when that day comes, I hope it's still $49.95, but gets a bump to 720p. What a sales success that would be! (And by all accounts Amazon ALREADY has huge sales success with Fire tablets.)
KUDOS: Alexa! You have to hold the button though, it's not always listening like a standalone Alexa speaker.
This is 5 star if you don't care about Google and are a big Amazon fan, 3 star if you love Google apps and think Amazon turns the Fire line into "all Amazon shopping, all the time" sales tool, and for me about 4.5 star based on its price, build quality, and durability. A good $49.95 tablet is now great thanks to the IPS addition to the screen!
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Fast and responsive
The fast quad-core processor consists of four high-performance 1.3 GHz cores for quick app launches, smooth games and videos, and great overall performance. Plus, Fire 7 now offers dual-band Wi-Fi with support for more Wi-Fi networks and better network performance.
No more worrying about storage space
Expand your tablet’s storage by up to 256 GB using a microSD card to keep your photos, movies, and compatible apps and games with you. Plus enjoy free unlimited cloud storage for all your Amazon content and photos taken with your Fire tablet.
Capture life's moments
Fire 7 features a 2 MP rear-facing camera for taking photos or recording 720p HD video. The front-facing VGA camera is perfect for Skype calls with friends and family.
Crisp and vivid 7” IPS display
Fire 7 features a 1024 x 600 IPS display with 171 ppi for a bright display with vivid colors and whiter whites for a great viewing experience from all angles. Compared to the previous generation, Fire 7 features an improved display that provides higher contrast and sharper text.
Power when you need it
With up to 8 hours of mixed use battery life, Fire tablet gives you the flexibility to go wherever the day takes you.
Stands up to everyday life
Amazon engineers Fire tablets to hold up against everyday life. As measured in tumble tests, Fire 7 is 2x more durable than iPad mini 4 (and costs a lot less too).
Adjust the backlight for nighttime reading with Blue Shade.
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.
Watch
Enjoy all your favorite movies and TV shows on Amazon Video, Netflix, HBO NOW, Sling TV, and more. Discover hundreds of thousands of TV episodes and movies, plus fling Amazon Video content to your 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.
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 two million songs, over a thousand Kindle books, and Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items. Learn more
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 like Jack Ryan and Sneaky Pete, and 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 Prime Music
Prime Music is a benefit of your Amazon Prime Membership, featuring a growing selection of over two million songs, always ad-free and on-demand. Unlock more music with Amazon Music Unlimited, just $7.99 per month for Prime members. Learn more about Unlimited
Add HBO, SHOWTIME and more to Prime
With Prime Video 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.
Technical Details
Fire 7
|
Display |
7” touchscreen, 1024 x 600 resolution at 171 ppi, SD video playback, with IPS (in-plane switching) technology and advanced polarizing filter |
|
Size |
7.6” x 4.5” x 0.4” (192 x 115 x 9.6 mm) |
|
Weight |
10.4 ounces (295 grams) Actual size and weight may vary by configuration and manufacturing process. |
|
CPU & RAM |
Quad-Core 1.3 GHz with 1 GB of RAM |
|
Storage |
8 GB (4.5 GB available to user) or 16 GB (11.6 GB available to user) of internal storage. Add microSD card for up to 256 GB of additional storage for even more movies, TV shows, music, photos, personal videos, and apps. Some apps may require that they are installed on internal storage. |
|
Battery Life |
Up to 8 hours of reading, surfing the web, watching video, and listening to music. Battery life will vary based on device settings, usage, and other factors such as web browsing and downloading content. Actual results may vary. Certain software features or apps may reduce battery life. |
|
Charge Time |
Fully charges in under 6 hours using the micro-USB power adapter included in the box, or slightly longer with other micro-USB power adapters that you may already have |
|
Wi-Fi Connectivity |
Single-antenna dual-band Wi-Fi. Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n standard with support for WEP, WPA, and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks. |
|
4G Connectivity |
N/A |
|
Ports |
USB 2.0 (micro-B connector) to connect to a PC/Macintosh computer, or to charge your device with the included power adapter; microSD slot for external storage |
|
Audio |
3.5 mm stereo jack and integrated speaker |
|
Content Formats Supported |
Kindle (AZW), KF8, TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, Audible Enhanced format (AAX), DOC, DOCX, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, PCM/WAVE, OGG, WAV, M4V, MP4, AAC LC/LTP, HE-AACv1, HE-AACv2, MKV, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, HTML5, CSS3, 3GP, VP8 (WEBM) |
|
Sensors |
Accelerometer |
|
Camera Specs |
VGA front-facing camera. 2 MP rear-facing HD camera |
|
Location Services |
Location-based services via Wi-Fi |
|
Available Colors |
Black, Marine Blue, Punch Red, Canary Yellow |
|
Additional Features |
External volume controls, built-in Bluetooth with support for A2DP compatible stereo headphones, speakers, microphone, and LE accessories support |
|
Accessibility Features |
VoiceView and Screen Magnifier enable access to the vast majority of Fire tablet features. VoiceView features IVONA's award-winning natural language text-to-speech voice. Fire OS 5 also includes system wide closed caption settings, adjustable font sizes up to 50% larger, and a variety of book reading text adjustments such as adjustable colors and text spacing. Also includes adjustable font sizes/color, and built-in Oxford dictionary. |
|
System Requirements |
Fire 7 is ready to use right out of the box—no setup, no software to install, no computer required to download content |
|
Warranty and Service |
90-day Limited Warranty and service included. Optional 1-Year, 2-Year and 3-Year Extended Warranty available for U.S. customers sold separately. Use of Fire 7 tablet is subject to the terms found here. |
|
Included in the Box |
Fire 7 tablet, USB 2.0 cable, 5W power adapter, and Quick Start Guide |
|
Generation |
7th generation - 2017 release |
Customers say
Customers find this tablet to be a great starter device that's easy to use and set up, with a great screen size that's perfect for travel. Moreover, they consider it good value for money and appreciate its functionality, particularly for kids. However, the device has significant reliability issues, stopping working after 6 months and crashing frequently, while also being terribly slow. Additionally, customers report problems with charging, noting that it stops charging altogether and has short battery life.
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8215 customers mention quality, 7243 positive, 972 negative
...Great tablet just more for recreational purposes. Work or office based things, or even studying might be more attuned to a traditional android tablet.Read more
This is a great product with a great price! I’m so excited to give it to my son... I got him a kid soft case to go around it and a screen protector...Read more
its a good tablet but if you buy it and don't take your name off and give it as a gift they charge you for whatever they buy I bought two and both...Read more
Overall good product...I bought this and an identical one for my grandson's who are 2 & 3 years old...They absolutely love them!!...I also purchased...Read more
7599 customers mention value for money, 6719 positive, 880 negative
This is a great product with a great price! I’m so excited to give it to my son... I got him a kid soft case to go around it and a screen protector...Read more
Great value! Bought this for my four year old nephew. Since he's really rough on everything I figure if he broke it could easily be replaced.Read more
...But I got it for a good price so not complaining. But if someone else got the cyber Monday deal and you know what the special offer is let me know😊Read more
Great tablet for the price, Iv'e been through a few different $50 tablets all were garbage. The fire is by far the best, but the ads are irritating....Read more
5419 customers mention functionality, 4377 positive, 1042 negative
I bought this for my daughter and she loves it. Works great. Just wish they had some better apps. She wasn’t able to get Pokemon go or Clash of Clans.Read more
...The device is affordable and works well , but check what apps you are wanting first to see if they are available or even compatible with the Kindle.Read more
...we also purchased one last year for my husband to surf the web etc. works fine but he has mentioned there are ads on the screen sometimes which does...Read more
Works perfectly! I bought a different, more expensive tablet a few months ago for my four year old son and it worked THREE WHOLE DAYS!...Read more
3500 customers mention user-friendliness, 2964 positive, 536 negative
Gran kids love it.easy to use. Videos are nice and clear.good price for good merchandise.good n fast delivery.thank u.i found my new place to shop at.Read more
Ive purchased two of these for my grandchildren(2 yrs old). Very easy to use...lots of games and netflix compatible. Great tablet at a fantastic priceRead more
I love the Kindle Fire's setup, ease of use, memory capabilities and perfect size for taking along with you, wherever you go and that it's basically...Read more
...I especially love Fire os. Its the best, so much simpler and user friendly than Android is! Amazon should make firebooks laptops with fire os on them.Read more
2824 customers mention size, 2321 positive, 503 negative
Perfect size and efficiency for my 7 year old grandson. Of course he will not get it until xmas. My tablet that he uses is not much bigger than his....Read more
I bought these for my 4 year old twins. They are small and fit nicely in little hands. They have a smooth operation and are easy for my kids to use....Read more
It's perfect for a child. The ads don't bother her, or me. It's a great size and feels much more durable than her iPad. Very easy to download items.Read more
...I didn't want to go too crazy since this is his first tablet. It's a nice size. Its pretty fast. All the apps we use work on it. I am very satisfied.Read more
3195 customers mention charging, 391 positive, 2804 negative
...tablets, my children really enjoyed them but within 6 months they stopped charging. I bought 5 and they all quit charging. I would not recommend them.Read more
...Two of them will not charge. I am now worried about the third. I am sorry I wasted my money on this purchase. My students are really disappointed.Read more
...for a few months and have used it a couple of times, and it it won't charge. The cord it came with won't make contact. It also just seems shoddier....Read more
Purchased this tablet not even a year ago for my mother. It will no longer charge. I have tried numerous compatible chargers and it still won't work....Read more
2751 customers mention reliability, 464 positive, 2287 negative
...within one year we had to replace the tablet 3 times because they stopped working. These are cheaper than iPads but you are getting what you paid for.Read more
...After a few months it gets glitchy and laggy. It works ok when you first get the tablet but it goes down hill from there. I would not recommend this....Read more
...It was awesome. This one is horrible. Very slow, poor battery life, freezes, dumps me out of games constantly, tells me in the middle of a game that...Read more
...for lots of apps and games unfortunately what I don't like is it's durability out of five that were purchased all but one the charging port has gone...Read more
2499 customers mention performance, 402 positive, 2097 negative
...unresponsive, I have to swipe 2 or 3 times, and then wait, it's very slow, I don't know if it's an anomaly or not, but i'd like to trade it in, but I...Read more
...Worst mistake. It's so slow and lags consistently. I thought maybe if I unlinked so kindle books and music from the Amazon store it would run faster....Read more
...I bough it and use it mainly to stream music. But it's just too slow. A lot of lags. Will probably upgrade to the new generation is reviews are good.Read more
...I realize that it costs 1/3 the price I paid for the HDX, but it is super slow, volume is low even when it is set to the max and the single speaker...Read more
For the price and after the reviews I read I'm happy and pleasantly surprised!
Okay so I ordered two of these on prime day at $30 a piece. One for myself in the color yellow, and one for my husband in the color red. I depend on reviews when I buy everything so I did read all the reviews before purchasing, which is why I'm pleasantly surprised. I'll start off with the fact that neither of us plan on using our tablet as our main and constant source of entertainment. My husband works in a vape store where he has a lot of downtime throughout the day so his is most often used for watching Twitch gamers stream. I use mine for shopping Amazon, and playing puzzle type games. Some of the reviews I read, stated that the speaker quality was bad in these tablets. My husband and I beg to differ. We don't expect amazing noise cancelling audio out of these $30 tablets. The speakers provide plenty of sound to watch and hear videos in good quality and that's not even on the loudest setting. I also read that the battery life isn't the greatest but to be honest I don't agree with that either. As I said before, my husband uses his mainly for watching videos constantly. One hour of video only drops the battery percentage by about 7% which I think is great. My iPhone 6s Plus battery goes quicker than that. If I had to chose cons to these devices, I would definitely say minimum customization. For example, I wish I could change the screen saver. But as for most kindle devices, the screen saver cannot be changed and it will be ads and offers. The device comes with about 5gb of storage that is open for you to use because the operating systems do use some of your 8gb making it not a true 8gb available. But to me that isn't a huge deal because I have other devices such as laptops and cellphones. Not to mention that it does come with the option to expand storage via sd card. You also have unlimited photo storage which I think is neat. The ability to use Alexa is cool as well. We have Siri, Kortana, google home and Alexa in our house hold and I love them each individually. For the $30 I paid, I don't expect this device to be my holy grail. I don't expect the best sound quality or photo quality (although I'm really not upset with the quality at all). Normally you pay for what you get. To me and my husband these were definitely a bargain and a great deal. For $30 a piece I couldn't pass it up. They're great to have around. I'll update my review if anything happens, but as of now these are super solid for the price and I have no legitimate complaints for either of them :)
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2017
- Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2017
