Kindle Fire HDX 8.9", HDXis too jarring.
584778
I'm used to standard android tablets and while the is a mostly useful device the non standard interface is too jarring for me to feel comfortable using it on a daily basis
4278842
I bought a Kindle Fire HDX8.9 with 4G AT T service about 2 and a half years ago. I loved it up until about 2 weeks ago when it crashed and wouldn't boot up. It was stuck on the logo screen. Today I was told that it was unrecoverable,  something  wrong with the mother board. For $500 +, it should have lasted longer then 2 and a half years. All Amazon offered was $30 off a new one, only the HDX 8.9 was discontinued. I bought a new Fire HD 10. It is slow as molasses, no 4G, low volume and keeps going back to the home screen. I believe that I am done with  Kindle Fires.
3865558
I just received the new Kindle Fire HDX 8.9" from Amazon.  So these are just first impressions in three words: light, thin, beautiful.  How much of a difference does 1.9" make in the screen size as compared with the 7" Fire?  A lot!  Am I glad I paid the extra dollars to get the Fire HDX 8.9?  Absolutely!  Thanks Amazon.
356585
Bought this tablet to replace my aging Toshiba Thrive. I knew early on that the Kindle HDX was not meant to be a full featured tablet like the Thrive and Nexus. But I was still disappointed at how much Amazon unnecessarily left out or disabled features that are common on Android tablets. The Mojito OS takes some getting used to even if you are accustomed to Android, not seeing a whole list of configuration options was a little jarring. But overall the HDX OS performed very smoothly.

PROS:
- Lightweight. About a third of what my Thrive tablet used to weigh.
- Great display and video.
- Sound was clear and crisp.
- Nice case texture and screen. The back has a subtle rubber texture that makes it very easy and comfortable to hold. The screen is super smooth; it feels like you're moving your finger on an oily surface.
- Painless E-Mail & Calendar Sync. I was able to connect my Google GMail account to the HDX's email client quickly and easily. However the email & calendar client are basic and limited in what they can show. For example my GMail Inbox message categories did not carry over into the HDX email client.
- Speedy performance. I was able to stream Prime movies with no noticeable lag.
- Connection to Amazon.com was seamless. When I took my HDX out of the box it recognized me right away and connected me to my account.
- Mayday Tech Support. Really works as advertised. I was connected to a tech adviser in about 30 seconds. He was knowledgeable although he did misunderstand my initial problem and I had to interrupt to correct him.

CONS:
- Speech-to-Text(Voice Dictation). This is a new feature that was added in an update after my purchase. Is accurate but is noticeably slower than the voice recognition in other Android devices.
- No GPS. I have read conflicting reports on whether or not the HDX has GPS or not. Either way using your HDX with GPS enabled apps is a no go.
- No Haptic Feedback. It would've been nice to have a tablet that provided tactile feedback for text entry and games.
- Bad photos with the Camera. My HDX took pics that were very grainy with inaccurate color. The photo options available for the HDX are also very limited. About the only things that you can change while taking a picture are the flash and panorama modes. You cannot adjust the white levels, spot metering, etc.
- Limited personalization options. On my old Android tablet I like being able to organize my apps as I saw fit. Also I liked being able to change the wallpaper every now and them. There is no way to do these things with the HDX.

At this point I'm torn on whether to keep my HDX or to return it. I like the idea of watching Prime Movies on a tablet even if I am not connected to the internet. However not having basic tablet functions is very frustrating. Also Amazon makes no promises that the problems will be addressed in the future. All I was told by Kindle Support was that a new update was coming soon. There was no comment about what exactly the update would contain, just that one was coming(!?!?)
4025927
Important Update: RATING REDUCED FROM 5 TO TWO STARS
After using the Fire HDX 8.9 for a couple of weeks I noticed problems with playback on my MP 3's. Set at any volume, with ANY song, the last 4 or 5 seconds the volume reduces to barely audible. This is extremely frustrating, especially with classical music having a crescendo at the end; it's entirely lost. Hit the Mayday button with demonstration, was then transferred to the next two levels of tech support and ran every troubleshooting actions with negative results. Device was declared defective and a NEW (not refurbished unit was sent) as replacement. The second device had the same problem, went thru the second three-tier tech support with same troubleshooting. A third NEW device was sent with the same problem. Went thru tech support again with same troubleshooting; this time level two and three said "this is a known problem". Sent email, got a call from tech support who approved return for refund.

EVERYTHING else about the device is wonderful and haven't had a problem. Hate to have to send it back but the problem with music is unacceptable. I have to say the customer service was excellent and each tech did his/her best to find a solution; replacements were sent right away.

I will wait for the next version/generation and hope this issue is resolved. It's hard to believe I am the only person, out of the millions of units sold, who received THREE tablets with the same defect. I'm very disappointed; this is the flagship of Amazon's product and this problem with all mp3s should not occur.

ORIGINAL FIVE STAR REVIEW:
I have four 7" Kindle's, the original fire and three of the 1st generation KF HD's (two are refurbished; I wanted backups in case something happened I like them so much). Tried the KF 7" HDX but did not like it for a reader, which is what I mostly use them for. Skeptical, but looking for a larger screen I took the plunge and got the Fire 8.9"  HDX display. Boy what a great tablet! And changes in the reader are great. Sound is beautiful and video is outstanding. I got the largest storage capacity and WITH 4G LTE (I'm not going tho use it now but wanted the capability to add later). I could not be happier. And with a new software update today (Jan 9th) things are even better.
Thank you developers for making a light green background available in reading mode. It softens the contrast without losing clarity, much easier on these 70+ year old eyes.
Amazon you've done it again; a superlative product with the mayday feature that blows the competition out of the running. Just keep up the good work. This is a 5+ star product and I recommend without question the best product of its kind on the market today.
1772416
Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 is nice and take everywhere I go.  I enjoy reading from it and surfing using the Silk browser.
2228601
I already had a Fire HDX 8.9 that I like very much, but I am something of a sucker for newer versions of things, so I bought the HD 10. So far, I have been disappointed in several things about it.

1. After charging the device to 100 percent, I shut it down (not just sleep, but where it actually asks you if you want to shut it down) for the night. When I booted it up the next day, I had to plug it in because despite supposedly being turned off, the battery had drained down all the way.

2. In the last day or two, it has developed the problem others have mentioned about not turning on when I push the button to turn it on. Yesterday it took three tries. Today I have tried repeatedly and it won't boot up.

3. Since I also bough the SD card, I downloaded several movies. When I turned it on the day after doing that, one of the movies I had downloaded was not there and I had to do it again.

I suppose in one respect this my own fault for ordering one that would be delivered on the first day of release. I hope the bugs get worked out, because there are some very nice things about it, including both audio and video on playbacks. For now, I guess this one just goes into a drawer.
2446267
I love my Kindle Fire HDX - it's the right size for me,  and the display clarity is tremendous!  However, there's one problem that the 4G enabled version I have has, and that's the unreliability of the Kindle software/firmware "feature" for power management. The Kindle's software, to conserve battery life,  makes the networking capabilities of the device (both the 4G capability as well as wireless wifi connections)  "sleep" during long periods where you are reading Kindle books or not using the device at all. When you go to switch from reading a Kindle book  to web browsing or pick up the device after a time of no use and it's asleep,  you end up with either an invalid SIM error for the AT&T or Verizon mobile network, and/or a wifi only connection that looks active but isn't. Amazon will advise you to reseat the SIM, and this works for the mobile network connectivity but most often to get both the mobile and wifi only network connections to work again, you have to reboot the device. This is patently unacceptable and Amazon needs to fix this "feature" now rather than later. Too many customers have had issues with this  (check the Kindle customer support forums) and and are advised to go to their carrier to get a replacement SIM - only to find 99% of the time, that doesn't address the issue, which is is inherent in the Kindle software.
2514539
It's ok.  Not great, but okay.  Why is it that Amazon makes a great 8.9" Kindle Fire HDX, but no decent case to go with it?  I've tried several and ..... so far they've all been returned.  I like the overall design of this one.  The color choices are plentiful if that matters to you.  My issues with this case are 1) the holes cut out for the speakers are not quite big enough and block a lot of the sound and 2) the hole for the volume up/down button is undersized so adjusting the volume can be difficult and 3) The position - when open and being used as a stand is not adjustable.  It's either stood up or closed flat.  You cant have it at different angles (which would have been so easy to incorporate - too bad they didn't)

When I had my first 7" kindle fire, I had an awesome case for it that adjusted to several different heights and positions.  The kindle wasn't great, but the case was.  Now I love my newer kindle, but cant find a case made decent.
It's ok, but improvements are needed.
2101974
This isn't specifically about the Kindle Fire HDX -- it applies to any of the kindles. The kindle fires are really nice readers, I use and enjoy mine too many hours every day (yeah, they're a little addicting). If you're a New York Times reader, though, you'll be a little frustrated, as I am, about the differences between the reader for the Kindles, and what you see if, as my wife does, you have an Ipad mini. All the illustrations in the paper edition of the NYT appear  in the Mini in dazzling color and detail. On my kindle, you get one illustration per article max. Sometimes -- which is somewhere between amusingly clueless and really irritating -- there wlll be an article which is basically just the written details surrounding the main event, which is a graph. And there'll be no graph!

I have no idea who is responsible for this stupidity. The Times? Amazon? It can't be that the problem is the limited capacity of the Kindle -- there's plenty of memory available. And it doesn't have to do with some incompatibility between NYT illustrations and the Kindle, because then there'd be no illustrations. Who decided that one photo max per article was a good idea? Maybe there's some limitation on Amazon's internet delivery capacity.

Anyway, after tiring of reading tantalizing accounts of new houses, gardens, fashion events, etc, all referring to non-existent photos, I'm getting ready to give up. Sometime this Spring I'm putting up the Kindle for resale and getting the Ipad Mini
546524
I really, really wanted to like this tablet. I would return it if I could but I've had it longer than 30 days...
I love Amazon and I have the HDX 7 and I purchased this HD 10 to replace my Fire HDX 8.9 that was stolen.

The screen is nice but the tablet performance is really bad:
Pros:
Big screen
Low price
SD card slot

Cons:
Even though screen is big it is not as bright and clear as the HDX 8.9
Overall performance is nowhere near that of the HDX series.
I usually have to swipe up two or three times when trying to unlock it.
Apps are slow to load and often 'hang' and I have to restart the kindle
The new look of the OS seems like a step backwards
Slow response to touch screen in almost every app. I often have to tap multiple times just to turn a page in a book
Wifi sucks: I can be within 15 feet of WiFi router and still only get 2 bars
WiFi drops connection often
Some of my favorite Apps that worked fine on the HDX 7 and HDX 8.9 are not even available for this tablet. (BBC news app is just one example)

PLEASE Amazon. Make an updated HDX. I'm willing to pay more money for a good product. This tablet is no better than all the other 'budget' android tablets out there.
493514
Handsome looking, but too long and with poor conduction to screen versus the stylus that accompanied my Kindle fire.
1581260
It's nice, thin, and lightweight, but it's actually about 1/2 inch too big on all sides for the HDX 8.9", so the device actually floats around inside the case causing the buttons on the back (power and volumn), the ports (USB and headphones) and the camera to get partially or fully covered up by the case.  This requires you to push the Kindle further one direction or another inside the case to get the buttons and hole to all line up.  Frustrating.
1201946
My least favorite Kindle ever!  I bought this to replace my FireHDX8 that died for some unknown reason after about two years.  I loved that device so this one definitely was a downgrade.  Most of the Fire devices have the "carousel" type home screen.  This one has a very annoying home and "recent" screen.  The problem isn't the set-up itself, but navigating between these screens and between apps.  The "buttons" at the bottom of the screen don't always work......but you'll still try to use them.  After pushing the home button several times you must resort to using the "prior" button.  That will require MANY pushes to get back to the home screen.  You can also try using the button that produces a history page that will require you to delete all recent history to get back to the home screen.  This is not just once in a while.  This is every time you use the device.  If this was my first  Kindle,  I wouldn't buy another.
It may be considered by some to be a "good buy" compared to other tablets, but it's not a good buy compared to other Kindle Fire devices. I wish I had returned it.
2738647
After having bought the most recent generation of the 6" Kindle, which I love, I decided to spring for the DX in order to be able to read work-related pdfs. The small Kindle can manage these - barely - by rotating to landscape mode, but the resulting window is so small that I was getting annoyed every time I used it. When I got the DX I reckoned I made the right decision - I could carry my pdf library around with me. The display is good (though seems less crisp with less apparent contrast than on the 6" version), figures show up fine, and everything is easily readable. Having said that, the DX feels like an older device - controls clunkier and less well placed than on the 6" version, page turning/refresh seems slower. I also discovered that the DX is way too heavy for comfortable reading in bed and gave up after nearly dropping the reader on my face late one night. But read on my lap or on a tabletop and in good light, it works well. Finally, there are some pdf limitations that the DX shares with the 6" Kindle. Changing or scaling font is not an option, and the DX won't let you vary contrast for readability. More importantly for work-related files, none of the note-taking or highlighting features the Kindle has for ebooks is available for pdfs, although you can bookmark pages. This makes the device less usable than it might be, and I'm hoping the next generation DX can improve on this.
4773275
I have purchased several Kindles, but the Fire HDX 8.9 was my favorite by far. I say was because the screen is now broken. All of my books that I put on it for summer reading are not assessible. I am upset because I have been trying to replace it with the same model and they have been discontinued. Why?????
4009387
It seems to be made well.  Fits my Kindle, but you cannot reach the power or volume buttons without taking the unit out of the case.  That's terribly annoying.  The reverse side has five holes, but they cover the buttons.

The problem seems to be that I purchased the HD rather than the HDX, which I have since reordered.  If that one is correct, I'll return the other.  Buyers, just make sure you choose the right case for the right unit.