I had the original Kindle Fire which worked nicely, but had a pretty poor screen. Now I have the 7" Kindle Fire HDX which has been fantastic with a beautiful screen, except a few days ago I noticed a yellow blur irregularity in the top right corner, like a little streak stain that turns things a little bit yellow. I don't know, if Amazon Video were available on a real Android tablet I'd get that, but until then I'm using these Fire tablets.
Also, my opinion on the kids version of the Kindle Fire is don't get it. Get an iPad. The iPad ecosystem is so much better for kids. There are so many great learning apps, there is no question unless the price is really a deal killer that you should get an iPad for a child. Very few of these children apps are available on Android tablets, much less the Amazon app store. I say this as someone who owns a Galaxy S5 and loves Android. These products are great, but sometimes even frustrating for adults so for kids they are not so usable and have a poor choice of apps.
Oddly, from my end the kids version is ridiculously compelling. Especially if it really has a "no questions asked" replacement policy.
Of course, our non eink kindles spend the majority of their time in freetime for the kids. With "unlimited," I have a hard time warming up to any other offering.
My daughter has had an iPad available to her for 3 years now and she's never managed to break it, although we are careful with it. It's all about the apps. You can take a look in iTunes to see the many wonderful children apps, compare that with the Amazon App store before you decide. There's just no comparison in my opinion.
We've only broken one. And, at the cost it wasn't a huge deal to replace it. Still, is a nice lure.
And I've never actually browsed the Amazon App store. I have flipped through all of the apps available in Freetime Unlimited. To say there are a lot of apps there would be understating it. Sure, many are probably not that good. On the flip side, none of them have in app purchases.
I am curious if there are any that truly aren't in both ecosystems.
> I don't know, if Amazon Video were available on a real Android tablet I'd get that, but until then I'm using these Fire tablets.
It is. You just have to go to the Amazon Appstore and install the "phone" version of the Amazon app (the app is available in Google Play, but blocked for tablets there). Then that Amazon app can do the extra download of the Instant Video app/plugin and so on. It's working fine on my Nexus 7.
No, my paid videos also work. The only limitation (vs Amazon devices) I'm aware of is that you can't download videos to play later.
I've seen people claim that there are SD/HD issues, but I haven't noticed (though, to be fair, a lot of my usage has been watching an SD TV show, so...).
I forgot to say that I do agree with your assessment of Amazon Video being pretty vital. I'll confess I'm actually somewhat tempted to try and get their bloody phone so I can watch some things on the train. For now, I'm enjoying a stock Moto G, though. :)
They just recently released it for the phone. Go through their shopping app and it should prompt you to get it all set up. It's kind of janky, you have to use the shopping app to find the movie and then it kicks you into the standalone app, but it works.
Also, my opinion on the kids version of the Kindle Fire is don't get it. Get an iPad. The iPad ecosystem is so much better for kids. There are so many great learning apps, there is no question unless the price is really a deal killer that you should get an iPad for a child. Very few of these children apps are available on Android tablets, much less the Amazon app store. I say this as someone who owns a Galaxy S5 and loves Android. These products are great, but sometimes even frustrating for adults so for kids they are not so usable and have a poor choice of apps.