Amazon fire tablets are the only brand tablets I will ...
352634
Amazon fire tablets are the only brand tablets I will purchase. They have always held up well & ran smoothly, this purchase was no exception. 1 year later & it continues to impress....
1932862
The kindle fire is a fine tablet, if annoyingly unable to support Google Play for some reason (it's an android tablet that won't run android apps, good job, Amazon). Although the dearth of good content is manageable, we've had two for about a year and they're starting to turn off randomly. Sometimes in the middle of a game, sometimes a few seconds after they finish their 2-3 minute boot time from the last time they died. And this is with 50%+ battery life left.

Considering Amazon Prime Video runs on other, actually good devices, I recommend getting something that isn't subject to a walled garden.

If they didn't constantly die, I'd probably be a lot happier.
406441
I love Amazon, but I have to be honest... The Fire HD 8 lacks in some areas. Mostly, I'm annoyed by how slow it can be, especially when first waking it from sleep. I suspect the problem is that the "special offers" are sucking up system resources, making a quick wake from device sleep a little harder to accomplish. It's enough to make me consider buying myself out of the special offers.

Other areas I wish Amazon would have allowed a little more leeway:  The keyboard can be changed, but there are no keyboards in the Amazon App Store to swap for. You can sideload another launcher, but you can't make it the default launcher as the Fire OS lacks that ability. Silk Browser, for me, has been a slow experience that doesn't have any of the polish of my go-to browser, and sadly, you can't download the most popular web browser for Android from the Amazon App Store. You can download Firefox and a few others, but no matter how many times you tell the system to make the other web browser the default, it won't do so. You'll always have to select it manually when you click a link.

On the positive side, games and apps work fine once you get past the slow startup. In fact, some of the more demanding games work beautifully on the Fire HD 8.  The screen is beautiful. Movies and TV shows from Prime Video look great on this screen, and the speakers are loud enough to enjoy stereo audio without having to wear headphones.

As a Kindle device, it's a good reader. I still prefer my Paperwhite to this for most reading, but it does a good job of making Kindle books look good.

Battery life is average for this size tablet. When compared to an iPad mini, this wins in price and versatility, but suffers a bit in speed. In terms of customization of the interface they're both about the same (very limited). That said, if you're considering an iPad mini but don't want to pay the ridiculously high price for the Apple offering, the Fire HD 8 is a very good alternative.

I have to say, however,  that if  I could do it all again I'd probably go for a more open Android device over a Fire OS device. I have a ton of games in the Google Play Store, and none of them can be downloaded on the Fire HD. Amazon makes up for that (a bit) with Amazon Underground, and as a content viewer for a Prime member (which I am) it's unparalleled, but you get that at the cost of not having ANY access to Google Play services. No Chrome, no Play Store apps, no connection to your Google products or accounts aside from a really basic log-in and the ability to get your Gmail. I understand why Amazon plays it this way, but seeing as I can get my Amazon apps on any standard Android device, I think it's a tad short-sighted of Amazon to limit their own hardware from doing the reverse.

Either way, I'm not unhappy with the purchase. It IS a nice tablet. I just really wish I had a bit more personal control over what it can and cannot do.
2570520
I am configuring 6 of these tablets and while doing so I have not found an issue or problem with any of them. The only drawback I can see in the unit is the weight and no back camera, both of which were not requirements of mine. I researched a long time for a "name brand" 10" tablet that would have available accessories, supported apps, and which had been on the  market long enough to get a large number of good and descriptive ratings. This Acer tablet was the leading make/model I found that met those requirements ...at the lowest price point of all of the "name brand" makes/models. A nice market sweet spot for Acer.
3620295
I started with the original Fire, went to the Asus Transformer and then down to the Nexus 7. I only changed from the original Fire to see what the better equipped tablets were like. I ended up using all of them for the same thing, ebooks and simple card games. The larger tablet was too bulky for me. The extras with Nexus 7 and the Asus we already had with our laptop. I found that I ended up going to our laptop for those functions as laptops are, obviously, more superior in every way but portability than any tablet. The Fire was, and is, the best ebook reader out there according to a number of reviews, hardly more expensive than the Kindle Paperwhite and much, much better. The new Fire is improved and just that more of a bargain with the price cut. I have to agree with the reviews, through experience. It cost me to find out this way, but I don't have any doubts about my choice.

Con:
No sdcard port. I don't see how that could have been such a savings move nor how it would taken anything away from their online setup. Probably would have helped them sell more. Because Amazon cheap skated us on that, I took off a star.
2194529
I was so impatient waiting for this tablet to come out that the very first place that had it on sale, I bought.  Needless to say, it was not Amazon.  I love Amazon for their return policy and I wish it had been them.

Thank goodness though that I finally have an Android tablet that I did not want to return within a very short period of time.  This TF700 does have its glitches, but most of it is due to Android as I have seen the same problems on every other brand.

The first thing you will notice is the beautiful screen.  What makes it more beautiful is that so far, everything is responsive.  I finally was able to swipe the screen and it changed without stuttering.  No dead pixels and the one irk is that yes, there is some very little light bleeding going on.  Very little though compared to the other tablets I have owned or tried.  Frustrating, but not enough to return it.

This TF700 is very light weight.  Much lighter than most I have ever help in my hands.  Makes my iPad 3 feel very heavy.  The weight makes it feel fragile indeed, but only time can tell how well it holds up.  My case is still on back order, so I have been treating this like a baby.

Many of the apps I use or want to use unfortunately are made for Android phones and not for tablets.  So many of them look bad.  A nicer tablet means nothing without updated apps.  Hopefully more of the apps I like to use will become tablet apps as well.  Most of those same apps are made for the iPad and look wonderful on it.

Another device with a proprietary plug for it.  Need I say more?

My volume control seems to click funny and I hope that does not become a problem some day.  I am hoping that is just the way it is, but it does not feel quite right.

With my one processor intensive game I have played for a couple of years now on Android, I get about 4.5 hours of battery life.  Which is a lot compared to other tablets i have tried.  Without playing that game and just doing other things, I got about 9 hours twice.

The TF700 is a great device. Whether or not is it worth this much is completely for you to decide.  I think it is a little on the high side, but doable.  The biggest issues are what most tablets experience: ICS.  Though ICS is a big improvement, it has some issues and hopefully Asus publishes updates in a timely manner.
4809475
i had own a galaxy tab 7.0($399)and kindle fire($199). Both are great tablets but either of it has come the the new Tab2. first tab is way to expensive with even with 16g memory. kindle fire is cheap but still too slow for ICS.

Galaxy Tab 2 has set a new margin for tablets. its only $50 more than kindle fire and with ICS system. it has 1g of ram and faster processor, which is great for some good quality games. even two camera front and back. i know sumsung could do a better job on the cameras. i really loved it.
1347846
Do Not have a kindle product anymore.  Had lots of touble with the Kindle HD 7. That I hate .  I have had 4 Kindles since the first original product that you had to get on a waiting list in order to get one.  I think my original order was #205 on the list..  The FIRE HD7 was quite a letdown..  I still use my NEXUS 7 that I ordered from AMAZON and it still WORKS LIKE A CHAMP.
1412856
How can you create an Android tablet and not support the google play store nor any of the google apps.

No Chrome
No GoogleCast ability
No Google Maps
No Google Hangouts
No Gmail

This tablet met every other expectation I had of it and was absolutely great hardware for the price. I was also very excited to get Amazon Prime hooked up and start streaming all of my content. I would rather talk with my family over google hangouts than stream amazon content... a shame really.
3595052
I have both an I-Pad and a new Kindle Fire..... hands down the Kindle is better and it is cheaper.
1255739
I use these for work-related purposes. For personal use they are not my first choice. But for a scenario where they might get lost/broken/stolen and I just need them to work, they can't be beat.

 Battery life is very good
 Screen is very good
 Sound is ok
 Plastic case is good
 Can't say I've ever used the camera
 As you probably know, Amazon Fire tablets run Amazon's version of Android. And subjectively, pretty much every deviation in this version of Android is for the worse.
 App store is very limited. No Google services, for starters. No web browsers can be loaded either, you have to live with what they give you.
 Plus Amazon frequently adds new stuff you probably won't want on the home screen. But that's the price you pay for decent hardware at this price point.

I have bought a dozen fire tablets in 7 & 8 in sizes. I will undoubtedly buy some of the new 10 inchers too.
74098
Love love love.  We have used many different competitor similar products and just LOVE the amazon Fire TV.  In addition to the main TV that it's connected to, the transition from TV to kindle is a bonus.
459232
By far the best brand of chargers.  Takes a lot of strength to disconnect from tablets, especially the Amazon kindle fire.
463531
Got screwed by warehouse deal Fire HDX 8.9 4th gen. This tablet's speakers were not working! Went through troubleshooting with Amazon support/Mayday to no avail. No sound from a tablet rated highly for the quality of it's speakers. Had to pay Amazon almost $3.00 return shipping to get this defective unit back to them. Ended up ordering a brand new 8.9 HDX  for over twice the price which was DOA. Brand new tablet would not boot up!! Finally got a working Fire replacement (at least this time at no additional cost other than a lot of wasted time). So far so good (guess the third time was the "charm") I came VERY close to just ordering an iPad from Apple but I am currently enjoying the Amazon universe with our Prime membership now that I finally have a working tablet (the reviewers are correct about the sound from the HDX 8.9's speakers)
4976774
I already had an amazon fire stick that worked well. I decided to upgrade to the fire tv so that I could hard wire it to the internet, vs. just wireless. Wow I am truly impressed.
2092082
The Fire is very nice and works well so far. Here's the but:  Because of proprietary operating system, you can't use Google apps or products. As far as I'm concerned, and this is not restricted to Amazon products, the purpose of these products is convenience and functionality which is restricted because manufacturers don't want to share.
659773
Having had this tablet almost a year now Ive found a couple of issues that bother me. First, Amazon does forced updates whether you want them or not. The changes aren't always better. Second, their app updates aren't instant. For example, my Hulu app won't let me use it till I do an update but that update isn't available yet. I was told it could be several days before its available and I cannot use the app until then. WTG Amazon.