Kindle Fire HD 7" 16GB Wi-Fi Tablet

I never write reviews, and I felt like I needed to review this, mainly because I've got some interesting incites in the pros & cons of the Kindle Fire HD 7 in. *with advertisements. If you are not quite sure what tablet to get, or perhaps you're torn between the Kindle or a Nook (or some other "next new" like the Galaxy Tab that is one he'll of a phone! (Completely Ridiculous) Or maybe you are like me, who is an avid reader on an older version of Kindle that has the real paper look and was very comfortable when reading for long periods, (which I am, & have held out on getting a newer Kindle Fire HD model for two major reasons and a little of what lies underneath. I will end this review with explaining why I chose this device and how happy I am with my choice as of now. THIS IS MY OPINION...DON'T FREAK OUT. I'M NOT ATTACKING YOU, I PROMISE! Now clam down and let me explain. <<<<FIRST: My first concern was my eyes that are very sensitive to bright light, and sometimes too much optical simulation may result in see a computer screen or even the flash of a camera will cause temporary blindness which is followed by severe Migraines that cripple their victims with pain. I have always been fond of the paper look, and how much it relates to an actual "real" book experience and feel. I believed I didn't want or need an e-reader to do anything but let me read my books. I believe my exact words were, "I have a Kindle for reading and that is all I need it for and don't need it to do tricks, play games or use apps that I have no want to have...I got it to read on and it does that just fine. If it isn't broken, why bother fixing it?") And I was content with my original Kindle, Netbook, and phone. Until I realized one thing, maybe I do need an upgrade not a replacement, just something to have fun on and watch movies, tv, and other ...ish, to occupy my mind. So I noticed something that hasn't crossed my mind before, duh pffftt, the darn screen has a brightness control for this reason. So, I found that about .25% on control panel, that way it doesn't hurt my eyes at all. I like that volume & brightness control are located in the top menu bar making it easy to change it easily & often for different functions. So once I figured this out it was all basically settled, I was goin to buy a Fire HD. Hint: Movies have to be super bright or it looks really dark, you'll notice it fairly quickly though. It's pretty obvious. <<<<Second: My biggest worry was buying a Lemon and being stuck with it. No one wants that. I remember when I first heard about the "New Kindle Fire" it was extremely popular, and everyone just loved it. I saw thru it though, I wanted to wait and see what happens when they work out all the kinks that a mass-produced proto-type aka KindleFire original, are bound to have. Honestly, choosing to not be a lab rat on my dime, (like everyone else who bought the first KindleFire and ended up burned) was pretty smart on my part. My best friend was one such person and now she has a thin lead brick that you couldn't make turn on much less take a charge. 6 months ago it worked and the memory wasn't totally full but it didn't have much, it stopped running every app & within a month it was totally dead, won't charge or turn on anymore. We have tried everything, with no success and the only thing it's good for at the moment...is throwing at mean children who need since knocked into them. *I'm kidding, I don't hit children with broken electronics.* Or maybe a paperweight that cost 200$, either way I'm happy I waited for the HD and I believe I made a superb & informed choice. That I didn't rush into. <<<<So I compared it to a NookHD: I have a close friend who bought a Nook for Christmas. I compared book, movie, music, & game prices, if it would have been better, I had every intention of sending the HD back, and buying the Nook HD. I found that the Fire HD really was better all around. Especially considering the content pricing differs so drastically from one to another. The Amazon App Store is hands down the fastest downloading, and very simple to navigate though, and the prices are considerably lower for content, and have MANY more Free options. Also the Fire HD is a little faster while surfing the web (reminder: my opinion) than the Nook, though it's not too noticeable. I only figured it out when downloading content and streaming video with Netflix it was slower loading and had to buffer often in order to play. The Fire HD hardly ever has to buffer in the middle of movies or shows if ever and if it does it's due to our Wi-Fi connection being low and not an operational problem with the browser or device it's self. The only pro (in my opinion) for The Nook HD it comes with Google Play Store previously installed, though it's nice to have in certain situations, I honestly don't see a need for it and I haven't found an app or content that I wanted or needed that Amazon app store doesn't offer, cheaper in most cases. I haven't bothered to download PlayStore.apk, though I may change my mind in the future, I just don't foresee that not having it pre-installed would be a problem, in any case, I just don't need it. *at the moment* <<<<I'm lovin it....YESSIRR This is a one stop shop for ALL my entertainment needs. I watch Netflix, Hulu+, and HBOGo, with no streaming problems or constant buffering in the middle (my Netbook is notorious for this, drives me crazy) The touch screen is very responsive and so sensitive that I hardly have to touch it and have to constantly remind others that it isn't like most touch screens, It loads all my .pdf files with no problem which surprised me very much because Amazon is forever messing with my reading material, by making pages disappear or completely deleting them from the device when it updates and it has happened more than once with my other one. I was even able to put Magic Jack on it witch works great as long as I got battery and Wi-Fi we got a phone, (that can't call 911, mind you) it's pure stupid, I know. I had to know if it would work, sure does too! It even has it's own phone #, cute, huh? or like me and say all the time before I actually had a Fire HD Today I'm not sure where my Netbook is..lol...I haven't looked at it since my Kindle Fire HD arrived I even enjoy surfing the web despite the small screen, seeing how I can zoom in on almost everything to see better (except pictures on the pop-out item viewer and only on Facebook & Amazon, which seems odd seeing how this is an Amazon made device, right? Then shouldn't that site run flawlessly by default? You would think so, but not here in reality, where everything runs a little differently. I love the Silk browser it is super simple and the speed that pages load is out of this world! My computer is slower but honestly I haven't seen a faster web browser or a faster overall E-reader / tablet / all in one entertainment / storage / DJ /fun center / and study & reading helper for my kid and not to mention, my new super addiction...and so much more :) I know... it's almost / nit quite healthy and it keeps my brain busy. Which you can't say about most addictions (such as Facebook) that kills brain activity and causes you to act a fool on the regular. I love that I can see all my downloaded content directly on my device without having to go online with my computer to amazon cloud. Speaking of sound and the speakers they have put in this thing makes my tv cry, or it should because these sound so much better! These are remarkably clear and loud for such a small little tablet. So far I've read 3 full books to test this before I decided to keep it, and haven't had any problems as long as I turn the brightness waaaay down, it seems to help with head ache & eye strain seeing how I have unusual light colored eyes and am extremely light sensitive because of that and if things are too bright for too long I will get a migraine, and that is no good and extremely painful and have no want to induce such pain on myself if it can be avoided. But that hasn't happened as of yet. Thank God! I would have to say goodbye to my new toy that I truly love. Another thing I wish is...that there was a way to stream music and movies from your cloud storage so you don't have use up space on the device for it. That would be awesome to have all your ripped DVD's and music right there without using internal storage being that it is considerably finite when you are talking about the memory and ram of the Fire HD. They're are many apps that you can stream content you've downloaded from an online cloud(like) database and allows you to view and listen to your personal library, though I haven't tinkered with that yet. (Let you know in the update later on.) I have allot of stuff that I need to put on my cloud storage for easy access but I'll save all that busy work for a rainy day. This review is enough busy work for today. Oh and I backed up all my Facebook photos to the cloud and now they are at my fingertips...I can easily have them printed, send them to friends, make post cards..whatever it's gonna be a blast. It was really easy to sink all my accounts to the Fire HD as well. This thing is definitely worth the money that I paid, and considering how functional it is I believe I made the right decision for me. There are a few OS problems but only because I'm not 100% on how to do things that isn't very important or causing problems with how the device works but I would like to understand how to do a few little things, such as... configure the carousel, and place other items to be viewed there or if they are just there because it's recently viewed apps/data or if it's just random stuff that amazon puts there like the stupid advertisements. My guess is recently viewed or used apps show up there because there is no way to change it other than to remove unwanted items, and I haven't found a way to add items other than the favorites star which I honestly wish was located where the (other customers enjoyed blah, blah, non-sense...it says stuff like trending now! I don't even know what that means. I just don't like it, grrrrr.) I'm actually going to call amazon and see if the no ad version is able to be personalized or are they restricted like it's annoying little friend here. If it turns out that you can, I will be sending this one back for the no ad version. I'll update after I speak with them about it. I believe that amazon "tweeked" the Ice Cream Sandwich OS to work especially for the Kindle Fire HD, but it has a different feel. Or at least that is the feel I get from daily usage and prior experience with the android operating system. I can't explain it, it's so different, but the same on a basic level. It just feels awkward at times, and that causes confusion when finding controls and options, but it all seems to operate smoothly, so I guess I'll get used to it. Which brings me to the one problem with this lovely machine....of course it would be totally my fault, I can't even really blame Amazon because they told me exactly what to expect, though now that I've seen it in action there is a very fine line between brilliance and total stupidity concerning what Amazon's doing here and why, giving people the choice of the version with Ads and paying more to have one without. Now the brilliant part is having people pay you to advertise everyone's crap, and the people who want to be advertised pay you too...so your making money coming and going. Pure brilliance Amazon! *Standing Ovation* But to prey on the cheap people who will take ANY discount for a better deal, this isn't the case with the Kindle HD. I was hoping that it was worth the 14$ I saved, while these ads are driving me crazy...Not so much now. I find myself wishing that I would have just shelled out the extra $, all the time. Now that I see the ads in action I believe the price break should be more than 14 to 20 $ due to the fact that it won't let me change anything! Wallpaper, lock screen, home screen set up, NOTHING and I believe it is because of the adds, so the break in the price should reflect the limitations and $50 for instance, seems extremely fair in my opinion. Only because you loose value when you limit the users who are used to using android devices that are almost limitless in their personalization, concerning home screens, wallpaper, lock screen, and as small as widgets (you don't need them but they are nice to have when you want to use them) even text is locked unless you're in a book. It truly bugs me, but not only the fact that I went for cheaper and screwed myself and it really drives me nuts. It was suppose to be a thrifty well informed decision made sense at the time, & it bit me in the rear. THAT IS MY ONE and ONLY GRIPE, I HATE THE DANG ADVERTISEMENTS ON MY HOME SCREEN and the personalization limits that come with it!!! My advice is to just spend the extra 20 or 15 $ or whatever it is now and get it without the stupid ads. Every time I open my super nifty leather magnetic & perfectly lovely purple protective cover, that I really love, and also it hides the ads when not in use. (I realize that it's not a big deal, but it's still makes me wonder how it would be without the ads. I wish that wasn't the case on my brand new Kindle and it makes me wonder how much memory and space those actually take up, I wonder how much faster it would be if it didn't have all the non-sense running that I don't use, nor do I want or need it. I'm sure the answer would make smoke come out of my ears. Actually I know it would. Mucking Ads! SMH! It's kinda sad that it bothers me that much and it's only on my lock screen and in the bottom of my home screen (so wish I could remove that too. I would give anything for a do over on this one small thing. Everything else is utter PERFECTION and I'm not sure how I lived without it for so long! <<<<In conclusion: I love this tablet, I bought my daughter a no name brand Android tablet it runs on Ice Cream Sandwich and is pretty fast for the price, I paid $170 for it because she wanted a 10 inch, I was super impressed with it...until this came and blew it out of the water. My Kindle flies compared to her sad, slow, huge freaking tablet, it is like it is a bigger yet retarded(no offence, I don't know what other word would fit this particular situation) version of the Fire HD, it's just sad how much they differ, but at the same time be so similar in operation specs. and price. I'm kicking myself for not going with my gut and spend the extra 20$ (after sales tax) on her a Fire HD instead, I wish now that I had. Guess you live and learn and know that all tablets and reading devices are NOT created equal. They differ drastically and the older the no name one gets (which is only 2 months btw) the slower and more hopeless it becomes. Now it's has started to freeze on Netflix and shut down apps unexpectedly, that originally worked perfect. My 7 year old daughter said that she wants to play on my Kindle because hers is too slow, and she doesn't want to mess with it, while fighting to open apps. I bought the extended warranty on it so, I may take it and have them either replace it or just get the $ back and buy her a Fire HD, as well. I will try to update this in a month or so, and hopefully I will still love it just as much.