Amazon is currently offering two lines of the Fire tablets. One is the Fire HD released in 2014 and the other is the Kindle Fire HDX released in 2013. So what is the difference between the Kindle Fire HD and HDX?
The HDX is the older model (3rd generation) but it’s still more advanced and expensive than the newer HD model (4th generation), whereas the new HD model is an update on the previous Kindle HD model with a few tweaks. Below let’s compare the Kindle HD vs HDX.
Advantages of Kindle Fire HDX over Fire HD 7″
Kindle Fire HDX with Mayday
Below are the benefits of the Kindle Fire HDX 7, as compared to the Fire HD:
- Difference in price is very small (see our Conclusion at the end)
- Better screen resolution at 1920*1200 HD @ 323PPI (vs 1280*800 HD display @ 216PPI).
- Faster 2.2Ghz Quad-core processor (vs Quad-core up to 1.5 GHz processor)
- More memory at 2GB RAM (vs 1GB RAM)
- 16/32/64 GB storage options (vs 8/16GB options in Fire HD). You can read here to quickly decide which size to get.
- Higher resolution HD front-facing camera (vs VGA front-facing camera)
- Longer battery life – You get 11-12 hours for mixed use, and 17 hours in reading mode (vs 8 hours).
- More stable Dual-antenna Wi-Fi (vs Single-antenna Wi-Fi)
- Mayday button for instant live support (vs No Mayday button)
- Option for 4G with assisted GPS function (no such option in Fire HD)
- Lighter in weight at 303 grams / 10.7 oz (vs 337 grams / 11.9 oz)
Advantages of Fire HD 7 over Kindle Fire HDX
Cloud service on Fire HD
Though the Fire HD is of cheaper price, it does have a few strengths over the Kindle Fire HDX:
- USB port is Slimport enabled (vs normal USB port) – The USB port on the Fire HD is equipped with Slimport, which allows you connect to HDTV, VGA monitor, or even to Flash drive via the appropriate adapter. It’ll be helpful if you need such features. The USB port on the HDX can only be used for charging or connecting to computer for file exchange.
- 2MP Rear-facing camera (vs None)
- Five color options: black, white, cobalt, citron, magenta (vs black only)
- Cheaper in price
Features available on both HDX and HD models
Here are the features that are available on both devices:
- Dolby Audio Stereo Speakers
- Text-to-speech, to read books aloud to you
- X-Ray for movies, TV, books, music
- Email, Web Surfing, Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc.), Videos, Photos, Music, Books, Magazines, Audiobooks, Apps, Games, etc.
- Kindle Fire for work
- One free month of Amazon Prime
- Free unlimited Amazon Cloud storage for all digital content from Amazon
- Come with a power adapter (the previous Kindle Fire 2012 models don’t come with any power adapter, now all new models come with the adapter)
The Fire HDX does have a few limitations (same applies to the Fire HD):
- No direct access to Google Play Store (though you can get most Google Play apps via sideloading)
- No SD card slot
Kindle Fire HD vs HDX – Differences in specification
Conclusion
The price difference between the Kindle Fire HDX 16GB and the Fire HD 16GB right now is around 20 bucks. If you have the budget, you can get the HDX version for those better features as discussed above. However, if you have a lower budget, the Fire HD will still give you most of the features you need at a cheaper price.
This following new user review should help your final decision too:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2PDSJFY9NRED7/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8…