Electronics

[MKR14]

I am thinking of purchasing a Kindle Fire HDX probably in the 8.9" size. Is the 2013 model better than the 2014 or does the 2014 have any problems that make the 2013 a better deal? There are new ones still available online of the 2013. I have two iPads-the iPad mini 2 and the iPad 3rd Gen and I love them. I just want something different to learn and use. I would welcome pros and cons as you have used these and this forum is honest.Thank you.

[mima]

The following in italics was found on the Amazon site (copy and pasted).

The Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" tablet being released in November 2014 is the 4th generation tablet. It has new hardware changes and a new generation of operating system and other software.

I own the newest Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 and I will tell you that the app Words With Friends does not work on it. I have contacted Amazon and went though gobs of trouble shooting. They have reported it to their app dept. There are lots of problems with this app on this tablet. That is the only negative that I know of.

BTW, the app WWF works great on the 7" HDX.

[ChynnaBlue]

A new model will always have better hardware - faster processing, etc. So really, it depends on what's important to you, price or more efficient hardware? Even if you get an older model, it will download new software updates, so you'll keep up that way, but they may run more slowly on older hardware. That's a general rule.

I have a 2013 Fire HDX in the smaller size and I love it. I got it on QVC in late 2014 because QVC offered a better price than Amazon (even with Amazon's free shipping) and an included case. I mainly planned on using it to take notes in meetings and seminars, so I didn't mind if it wasn't cutting edge. I use it for games, watching YouTube videos, web surfing, email, and all kinds of things and it's not slow at all. I've been impressed and pleased with it, so far.

The Kindle does have some drawbacks. The Kindles offer a smaller selection of Apps. Some of the things I have on my iPhone I cannot get on my Kindle, which I am unhappy about. I can also not link some apps between devices because one is Amazon/Android based and the other is iOS based. So, for example, if I log into one app on my phone, it immediately logs me out on the Kindle and vice versa. But at least when I do log in on either, the same account exists and the same information shows up. If I have that same app on two Apple devices, it keeps me logged in on both. For other apps, I can't link AT ALL. That means information is never shared between the devices. For example, if I have a game on my phone and have made a lot of progress on it and then download the same game on my Kindle, it may be a completely new game and I have to start over from scratch because there's no cloud/web based account that links both to the same data.

[Rabid1]

If you are buying through Amazon there isn't a huge difference in price so go for the 4th gen, but if you can find a good deal on the 3rd gen there isn't a big jump in performance between the two. Because Kindle are Android based the majority of Android apps can be installed and used either by sideloading wirelessly or connecting to your PC.

[mima]

On 1/8/2015 ChynnaBlue said:

A new model will always have better hardware - faster processing, etc. So really, it depends on what's important to you, price or more efficient hardware? Even if you get an older model, it will download new software updates, so you'll keep up that way, but they may run more slowly on older hardware. That's a general rule.

I have a 2013 Fire HDX in the smaller size and I love it. I got it on QVC in late 2014 because QVC offered a better price than Amazon (even with Amazon's free shipping) and an included case. I mainly planned on using it to take notes in meetings and seminars, so I didn't mind if it wasn't cutting edge. I use it for games, watching YouTube videos, web surfing, email, and all kinds of things and it's not slow at all. I've been impressed and pleased with it, so far.

The Kindle does have some drawbacks. The Kindles offer a smaller selection of Apps. Some of the things I have on my iPhone I cannot get on my Kindle, which I am unhappy about. I can also not link some apps between devices because one is Amazon/Android based and the other is iOS based. So, for example, if I log into one app on my phone, it immediately logs me out on the Kindle and vice versa. But at least when I do log in on either, the same account exists and the same information shows up. If I have that same app on two Apple devices, it keeps me logged in on both. For other apps, I can't link AT ALL. That means information is never shared between the devices. For example, if I have a game on my phone and have made a lot of progress on it and then download the same game on my Kindle, it may be a completely new game and I have to start over from scratch because there's no cloud/web based account that links both to the same data.

I'm not sure what games you are playing that they don't sync. I play Candy Crush, Wordfeud and Words With Friends. I have a Samsung Note 3 and some Kindles. Those games sync from phone to Kindles perfectly all the time. EXCEPT I can't play WWF on my 8.9 HDX. I can play WWF on the others though and they all sync.

[MKR14]

I always like to buy the newest electronics when they are out. I think the 8.9"" Kindle Fire HDX would be the best for me as I have the iPad Mini 2. I was just wondering if there were any problems with the 2014 version before I bought one? It isn't much more money to buy the No Ad version. Is the new version of software better with more features you all enjoy? I believe Mayday is only on the newest version? Thanks for the replies.

[ChynnaBlue]

On 1/8/2015 mima said:

On 1/8/2015 ChynnaBlue said:

A new model will always have better hardware - faster processing, etc. So really, it depends on what's important to you, price or more efficient hardware? Even if you get an older model, it will download new software updates, so you'll keep up that way, but they may run more slowly on older hardware. That's a general rule.

I have a 2013 Fire HDX in the smaller size and I love it. I got it on QVC in late 2014 because QVC offered a better price than Amazon (even with Amazon's free shipping) and an included case. I mainly planned on using it to take notes in meetings and seminars, so I didn't mind if it wasn't cutting edge. I use it for games, watching YouTube videos, web surfing, email, and all kinds of things and it's not slow at all. I've been impressed and pleased with it, so far.<br /> <br /> The Kindle does have some drawbacks. The Kindles offer a smaller selection of Apps. Some of the things I have on my iPhone I cannot get on my Kindle, which I am unhappy about. I can also not link some apps between devices because one is Amazon/Android based and the other is iOS based. So, for example, if I log into one app on my phone, it immediately logs me out on the Kindle and vice versa. But at least when I do log in on either, the same account exists and the same information shows up. If I have that same app on two Apple devices, it keeps me logged in on both. For other apps, I can't link AT ALL. That means information is never shared between the devices. For example, if I have a game on my phone and have made a lot of progress on it and then download the same game on my Kindle, it may be a completely new game and I have to start over from scratch because there's no cloud/web based account that links both to the same data.

I'm not sure what games you are playing that they don't sync. I play Candy Crush, Wordfeud and Words With Friends. I have a Samsung Note 3 and some Kindles. Those games sync from phone to Kindles perfectly all the time. EXCEPT I can't play WWF on my 8.9 HDX. I can play WWF on the others though and they all sync.

The games that don't sync are games that don't ask for your email or Facebook information. If I'm playing a game on my phone and data is synced to my Apple Game Center account, it has no way of connecting to the same game that's synched to a Google Play or Kindle games account.

[ChynnaBlue]

On 1/8/2015 MKR NY said: I always like to buy the newest electronics when they are out. I think the 8.9" Kindle Fire HDX would be the best for me as I have the iPad Mini 2. I was just wondering if there were any problems with the 2014 version before I bought one? It isn't much more money to buy the No Ad version. Is the new version of software better with more features you all enjoy? I believe Mayday is only on the newest version? Thanks for the replies.

Then do that. I've heard of no issues with the 2014 model.

Mayday is on the previous generation model, as well as the 2014 model.

As I mentioned before, my old version automatically updated with the new software. I didn't notice much difference.

[Rabid1]

On 1/8/2015 MKR NY said: I always like to buy the newest electronics when they are out. I think the 8.9"" Kindle Fire HDX would be the best for me as I have the iPad Mini 2. I was just wondering if there were any problems with the 2014 version before I bought one? It isn't much more money to buy the No Ad version. Is the new version of software better with more features you all enjoy? I believe Mayday is only on the newest version? Thanks for the replies.

All of the HD and HDX have upgraded to the latest Sangria OS so that won't be an issue. There are no issues being reported between the two versions. Mayday is on both. Like I said for the price difference through Amazon the 2014 is the way to go.

[Nuttmeg]

On 1/8/2015 MKR NY said: I always like to buy the newest electronics when they are out. I think the 8.9"" Kindle Fire HDX would be the best for me as I have the iPad Mini 2. I was just wondering if there were any problems with the 2014 version before I bought one? It isn't much more money to buy the No Ad version. Is the new version of software better with more features you all enjoy? I believe Mayday is only on the newest version? Thanks for the replies.

Why are you buying an Kindle Fire HDX? You have iPads and mini. Apple products run all of Amazon major apps.