Amazon Fire HD 8 review: the 99-euro tablet that's not for everyone
Such a low figure inevitably involves compromises to be accepted. The data sheet is in fact basic but enough to make Fire HD 8 a good companion in the free hours. Everything revolves around the ecosystem created by Jeff Bezos. You can guess it immediately, from the first ignition. Amazon services are omnipresent: from shopping to videos through books. It is from this point of view that this tablet makes sense. It is only suitable for certain categories of users and only for certain uses.
Design and display
The design of the Fire HD 8 is old-fashioned. Compared to the previous generation, the bezels have been reduced but still remain well pronounced. The shell is made of plastic and has the Amazon logo in the center. All in line with the belonging price range. Change the placement of the 2 Megapixel front camera that switches from the center of the short side to the center of the long top side. A more convenient location for any video calls.by Placing the tablet in the horizontal, on the right side we find the volume rocker, the power button, the charging port (now Type-C) and the 3.5 mm audio jack. On the upper one, have integrated the two speakers that reproduce sound quality in the media. Good positioning, in that it is difficult them you will cover it with your hands. While on the bottom there is a slot for memory expansion up to 1 TB. The back cover tends to retain fingerprints, but the dark coloration makes them less visible.
Fire HD 8 becomes a perfect tablet for entertainment and portability thanks to its small dimensions. We talk about measurements of 202 x 137 x 9.7 and a thickness of 335 grams. Numbers that make it quite light and easy to handle .
The front part, instead, is occupied by a display, IPS LCD 8-inch with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. The colors are not particularly bright, nor the deep blacks. The visibility outdoors is not the best due to a not successful treatment oleofobico of the front glass. It retains much fingerprints and are very visible. Therefore, the readability of the pool is compromised.
The reading of the ebook, however, is pleasant. You can also activate the mode Blue Shade that reduces the amount of blue light emitted from the display. A solution that can be of help to the view, but it is still far from the comfort given by a real Kindle.
Performance and autonomy
Fire HD 8 is equipped with a processor MediaTek quad-core 2 GHz combined with 2 Gigabytes of RAM and 32 or 64 Gigabytes of internal memory. We mentioned in the opening, the tab technique is basic. We are away from the insured benefits from other tablet, sold but also to the upper digits. The navigation is not always smooth and snappy.There has been some slowdown and a few block, especially if you expect to be able to carry out different actions at the same time or leaving a lot of applications in the background. However, it fails to fulfil its duty if it puts you under pressure. For example, there has never been a lock while watching video content.
While browsing the web, however, is not a splinter . You have to wait a couple of seconds for the loading of the pages and/or to switch from one window to another. As for the gaming, the experience is satisfactory provided that it does not intend to play with titles games, especially heavy.
As for the connectivity, we find the WiFi ac dual band, Bluetooth 5.0 while it lacks the GPS.
Amazon declares an autonomy of approximately 12 hours, the data that in general are reflected in reality . You will be able to use the Fire HD 8, with a pretty intense, even for 9-10 hours. In contrast, the charging is very slow. In the package, included is a charger (5W) which requires nearly 5 hours for a full recharge.
Software, and user experience
As we well know, the devices Fire use a modified version of Android. Fire HD 8 is no exception. The software platform is FireOS based on Android 9 Pie . As we said in the opening, the approach is very “ Amazon-centric ”. Everything revolves around the app and to the services of the colossus of eCommerce. So, no Play Store.The applications can be downloaded to the store owner (the Appstore). From here, we can download several apps, including the most-used options such as Netflix, Disney+, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify and others . There are still some shortcomings. There is, for example, the YouTube app. In this case, you have to log in to the web version. Missing Gmail, but we can use the mail client pre-installed. The store app would need to be more populated by applications that are more interesting, or maybe simply from more use.
The central role of the ecosystem of the Amazon is clearly visible from the Home, where you will find the cards corresponding to the various services of the colossus of Jeff Bezos: books, Kindle, video First, Video, games and apps, and finally music for the First Music. In addition to the pre-installed apps such as Alexa, Amazon Shopping, and Photos.
in Short, the Fire HD 8 takes on its own meaning in relation to the use by user of Amazon services that will complement the experiencing user offered by these devices.
Conclusion: who should buy it?
Amazon Fire HD 8 is not a tablet for everyone . It may be the ideal device for use at home and on the part of users who use the services offered by Amazon, such as Prime Video or Prime Music. Is indicated for the entertainment, therefore, for viewing multimedia content and streaming video. Not surprisingly, there is also the application of Netflix. Could be recommended also for those who want a sort of ebook reader that has additional capabilities . If you intend to do this by using a child, you have to be careful so as not to face the unintentional purchases. Given the presence of all the app services, would not be so difficult.The strong point, as I said, is the starting price: 99,99 euro for the version with 32 Gigabytes of storage. The reduced costs, however, requires waivers: performance-and-down, display with a color rendition a little convincing and aesthetic solution not in step with the times. In contrast, the Fire HD 8 is affordable, has a good battery life and is easy to handle.
