Amazon Fire 7" (2017) 16GB Wi-Fi Tablet - Yellow

I wish I could give the Fire 7 Tablet a 5 star rating, but I cannot not.This version does not live up to the older, original version at all. This Fire 7 replaces my Kindle, one of the early and very well done products. I've had that Kindle for 7-8 years and loved it. While the weight was less than ideal, it was never horrible. Until the last few months that Kindle was a workhorse when it's age began to show: harder to get it to highlight, load, or at times, see pages. Up until then it was an amazing product, well used, and loved. This new Fire 7 does not live up to that in the slightest and I'm sure it will be replaced in less time. This is supposed to be an enjoyable product, that I spent money for plus books, and not a headache to use. They get you hooked - original Kindle purchase, subsequent books - and you cannot leave. Apparently Amazon then no longer feels it needs to offer as good an overall product: you're too far invested to leave. In the end I will keep and use this product. That said, I have had an easier time using my iPhone to read Kindle since the end of life for my previous Kindle. I will use this Fire 7, but at replacement time I might look to other versions (iPhone, iPad, others) to serve in place of the Kindle/Fire product line. That's to be decided in the future. For now, I am providing cons and pros for the Fire 7. First, the cons. I chose to go with the cheaper version - not realizing at first it included ads, then when I "got it" decided to stick with the choice when ordering. How bad could it be? I wish now I'd spent the extra $20. It can be and is bad. The numbers of ads that pop up have grown to be obnoxious. It angers me that I'd already paid for a product or I'd have to pay "extra" to get the same product only minus the ads. Really, that $20 difference makes up for the number of ads and their revenue? How then can Amazon justify the price difference for ads vs non-ads? This does not make sense beyond a way for a passive income for Amazon. I highly recommend paying the extra and saving yourself the "frustration." I will next time. That's how they get you. It also puts another mark in the pro column a different platform (iPhone) with the Kindle app. Loading is slow. I cannot believe that in this day and age a product that has had a decade to get better has in fact gotten worse. My previous Kindle loaded well, fast, and reliably. This Kindle/Fire 7 takes 4X as long. It's shameful. That includes books, apps, or anything I've used it for so far. I only used my previous Kindle for books other than one trip I'd downloaded a couple TV shows. I highly doubt I would ever use this Fire 7 to do the same. If it takes this long to load a book I can only imagine the length on a movie or TV show! I have added one app: a puzzle app. Perhaps it's the app itself, but if books take so long to load I have to think both at least play a role. The app not only takes time to load to open, but when I attempt to load a puzzle (I only use the free ones within the app) it can take more than a half a dozen times to get the individual puzzle to load. Sometimes it won't load at all and at that point I will do another puzzle or leave the app. Cons within the books: Beyond taking time to load, the the touch function is very touchy, but also not touchy enough. It can take multiple times to get the highlight to take. I'll attempt to use the highlights and it won't take the words I want or take too many other words I never touched. This is one of the issues my previous Kindle had at the end of its life and a main reason I replaced it. Now the newer version does this as well. Why? On the other hand I can touch "near" the corner where bookmarks show and it'll come on - I have not wanted to apply a bookmark - then take many, many, many times to remove. I've ended up leaving some bookmarks much to my annoyance. Then when I want a bookmark it can take as many times or I end up highlighting instead when it won't take. I only had similar issues with my previous Kindle in the last 6 months. The touch issues include page turning, moving into another view, or coming out of these options. Sometimes it wants a harder touch, sometimes softer, sometimes many times, sometimes you bump and it does something you didn't intend. Again, these are glitches and issues that should not be happening at this point in the history of these products. Almost every time I have touched the screen to do something within a book it takes multiple times for the action to occur. This is not acceptable on a product that has been around this long. It is not associated with the pressure: this occurs at multiple levels of touch. I did not get this for it's video or streaming capabilities, though being able to use it as such is nice. To that end, the speakers are ok. I've seen others talk about the ability to hear and quality. This is not a speaker-focused product. Yes, you can hear, it's clear, it's functional, but if you want great sound why are you getting a Fire/Kindle? Alexia it Out We did not have any interest in including Alexa - we are not planning on having that kind of device in our home. But it came with this Fire 7. We therefore gave it a try, set her up, made sure she was "operational," and attempted to use her. She never responded. Not once. We each tried her. We each checked all the on and off and use buttons, switches, and options. Nothing got Alexa to work. It was a sign we were right in the first place. We turned her off and have no plans to ever invite her back. Pros: There is a decent look, picture/view of the main page(s) and books. Clean, easy to read. It offers more options than my previous Kindle as far as what you can see and where you can see them. You can move "easier" through the various pages and options than my previous version which was more stacked than swiping. This version is much lighter. In general the previous version was not bad, however when wanting to hold it while in the tub, reclining, laying in bed, or anything more relaxed than in your lap it would grow tiring quicker. This new version is lighter, even with the cover. I like the size. I can use the video and streaming. While I have not yet used the Fire 7 for TV or film viewing I can if wanted. The sound is decent/fine (see above). I have watched a few videos for work and pleasure and they've had a nice appearance, clear, and sound was fine. If I wanted to watch something for it's appearance and sound quality I would not first reach for a Kindle/Fire, so as-is function is fine. In conclusion I will keep this Fire 7 and use it. I will put it through the same paces I did with my previous Kindle, but at this point know I will not get the same quality. This is frustrating. I cannot understand how with more time, R&D, and technological advances Amazon has created an inferior product. To that end I know now that I will be less likely to replace this one with another Kindle/Fire product. I will remain open as technology is always changing. But as of right now a door has opened to change that prior to owning this, I wouldn't have expected. Get this Fire 7 if you want something basic and few expectations. Otherwise, consider looking at your other options.