Amazon has served up a fresh batch of its popular Fire HD tablets. For those who don’t know, these Android-powered slates are designed to be the best way to consume Amazon content – from the magazines included in your Prime membership, eBooks, movies from Prime Video, and photos stored in the unlimited cloud as part of the Prime subscription.
It’s important to note that none of these new devices are the wannabe laptop-replacement style of tablets you’ll see from the priciest Apple iPad and Microsoft Surface range. However, at £89.99, you would not expect those productivity features.
The new tablets, known as Amazon Fire HD 8, Fire HD 8 Plus, and Fire HD 8 Kids Edition, should provide faster performance thanks to a 30% speed boost to its 2GB of RAM, as well as the ability to carry up to 1TB of storage thanks to the microSD expansion slot. That should be more than enough to ensure you have enough movies, books, photos, or music albums ready for your next flight or journey.
There’s also 12 hours of battery life, which should ensure you won’t need to stay plugged into the wall when you’re engrossed in a good book or movie. And when you do need to recharge the new tablet models, Amazon is now using a USB-C port for charging and syncing. If you’ve got a relatively recent Android handset, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, you’ll be able to use the same charging cable to top-up your new Amazon Fire tablet. That’s something that’s not possible with the latest generation of Kindle e-readers.
READ MORE
Sonos One (Gen 2) review: a smart speaker you’d be stupid not to buy
As the name suggests, the Fire HD 8 series sports an eight-inch touchscreen display. There’s also the all-new Fire HD 8 Plus, which Amazon describes as “an enhanced Fire HD 8 experience with 3GB of RAM, hassle-free wireless charging and a 9W in-box USB-C charger for faster charging”. The enhanced Fire HD 8 Plus will set you back £109.99. Both have the same 1280 x 800 panel, so don’t hope to be able to watch any of The Grand Tour or other Prime video shows in Ultra HD.
And finally, an update to the Fire HD 8 Kids Edition includes the Fire HD 8 tablet, one year of Amazon Fire for Kids with access to thousands of kid-friendly books, Audible books, videos, educational apps and games, a new kid-proof case with an adjustable stand, and a two-year worry-free guarantee for £139.99.
In the words of Amazon Devices Vice President for the EU, Eric Saarnio, “The new Fire HD 8 tablets offer the features that everyone in the family wants – great content, more storage, longer battery life – at a price that is incredibly affordable.
READ MORE
-
Windows 10 has a new security update, but you might want to avoid it
“We’ve made the all-new Fire HD 8 even better with faster performance, 32GB of internal storage, up to 12 hours of battery life, and easier charging with USB-C – all for only £89.99. For only £20 more, the Fire HD 8 Plus packs even more power with 50% more RAM, hassle-free wireless charging, and three months of Kindle Unlimited included. With access to millions of movies, TV shows, books, songs, magazines, Alexa, and more – Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 8 Plus are the perfect tablets for entertainment.”
Preorders are now live for all three Fire HD 8 models. The new models will start to ship on June 3, 2020.
Source: Read Full Article