Amazon's Fire HD 10 review: $150 gets you a decent 10-American news

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Amazon's Fire HD 10 review: $150 gets you a decent 10

时间：2024-09-22 04:33:53 来源：American news

How much tablet can you get for $150? Surprisingly, a great amount, but also not that much at all.

The tablet in question is Amazon's new Fire HD 10. It's textbook Amazon gadgetry: cheap and basic. It doesn't come with the niceties of an iPad, and maybe that doesn't matter. You can't expect the world from a tablet that's 150 bucks.

SEE ALSO:Why the iPhone 8 Plus is a better camera than a real camera

The golden era of tablets (especially Android ones) may be long over, but Amazon's cheapo tablets are still thriving. Whereas iPads are getting more expensive thanks to features like advanced screen technologies and Apple Pencil support, Amazon's Fire tablets continue to get cheaper.

The Fire HD 10 is $100 less than the original 10.1-inch tablet was, and $180 less than Apple's 9.7-inch "new iPad" (2017). It's a downright bargain, but nothing we haven't seen before from Amazon. The company already sells a $50 7-inch tablet.

Basic AF

Inexpensive as the Fire HD 10 is, it's still pretty respectable. Well, decent, I should say for a 10.1-inch tablet.

Whereas I always feel compelled to baby my iPad Air 2 just a little whenever I toss it in my backpack, I felt sure the Fire HD 10 could take a beating with all the other crap in my bag.

Plastic and proud.Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

The Fire HD 10 is pure plastic and owns it. The thick case and buttons are anything but premium, but at least the tablet is durable. I performed a few drop tests, kicking it off my bed and sofa, and the plastic body remained damage-free. Obviously, it's not indestructible, but if you want a tablet you don't need to handle with exorbitant care, this one can gentle abuse without issue.

The tablet itself is exactly what you'd expect for $150.

I like that the 10.1-inch screen is large and comes with a full HD (1,920 x 1,200) resolution. But it's pretty terrible compared to an iPad. Viewing angles from off-center are average, colors lack dynamic range, and the screen doesn't get very bright even at 100-percent brightness.

You know it's a barely passable display when you can see compression marks on the pre-installed wallpapers. It's good enough for watching Netflix on the toilet or reading articles or e-books, so long as you don't demand any crispiness to your content. Or any kick to the Dolby Audio speakers, because they're kind of weak.

You get two speakers, but they're kinda weak.Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Amazon's at least doubled the storage from 16GB to 32GB. And if you're think you need more, there's also a 64GB version for an extra $40. I'd recommend getting a 128GB microSD card instead, though, since they cost as much.

The Fire HD 10 has a faster quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM, but I'll be the first to tell you these specs are wimpy and don't really matter if you're only using the tablet to stream movies, listen to music, and read books. These things already worked fine on the previous Fire HD 10 and on the $50 Fire 7.

It's great for playing casual games.Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Casual games like Subway Surfersand Candy Crushrun fine, but the more graphic-intense ones like Asphalt 8: Airbornechoked and stuttered every now and then. Again, you can't expect a whole lot from a tablet at this price.

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Like most tablets, the Fire HD 10 comes with two cameras. However, they might as well not exist because they're total garbage: 2 megapixels on the back and a VGA camera on the front.

The Fire HD 10's camera is garbage. Pretend it doesn't exist.Credit: raymond wong/mashable

Amazon says the front camera is "perfect for Skype calls with friends and family." If perfect is the person on the other end seeing your face in blocky pixelation, then sure, it's perfect. But I'm going to say nobody wants VGA-resolution (that's 640 x 480) video chats in 2017.

Better with Alexa

Once Alexa hands-free is turned on, just say "Alexa..."Credit: raymond wong/mashable

As basic as the Fire HD 10 is, it does have some redeeming features. The biggest one is hands-free Alexa voice controls.

I'm a big fan of Alexa in my Echo and Fire TV, and its injection into the Fire HD 10 feels right. With the "Alexa, ..." voice command, I asked it for the weather and it tossed up the forecast on the screen. Same thing for playing music, getting news briefs, and launching apps. I had no problems doing all of the things I normally do with my Echo on the Fire HD 10. Plus, Alexa also works from the device's lock screen.

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I opened apps and opened movies from Amazon Videos. I could even use voice controls to rewind and fast-forward within a video. For example, I could say "Alexa, skip 20 minutes forward" and it would just do it. It's a godsend for those days where you've got the tablet propped up on your stomach while you're in bed or on the couch and you just can't muster the energy to poke at the screen.

On the downside, you can't make Alexa voice calls. It kept asking my to open the Alexa app, which I did. Weird. Maybe this gets patched in later.

Alexa on the Fire HD 10 is everything the Echo Show should be. It's sleeker, more portable, and the voice commands work with more apps. I'm aware the Show is a device designed to sit in one place (like in your kitchen) and never be moved and has a better camera for video calls, and clearer speakers for music, but you could get by fine with the Fire HD 10 and a case $40 case to prop it up.

The screen's fine for reading, so long as you don't expect any kind of crispiness.Credit: raymond wong/mashable

Amazon's also tweaked the Fire OS interface to make it easier to discover new content and pick up where you left off. The new "For You" screen arranges all of your books, movies, magazines, etc. onto digital shelves. And the "Try This Next" page uses its magical prediction algorithms to help you find fresh content to devour and binge on.

For content consumers, not creators

Credit: raymond wong/mashable

These new sections tell you exactly who the Fire HD 10 is for: people who consume a lot of content. If you're more of a creator, Amazon's tablets are not for you; you want an iPad or a 2-in-1 Windows 10 device.

And that's really the only reason you'd buy the Fire HD 10. It's a basic tablet made for basic consumption needs. Like its other cheap tablets and its e-readers, the Fire HD 10 is merely a display and portal to content. It's not meant to impress your friends or help you get work done.

You pick a price you're willing to pay and get what you pay for.

You use it for watching YouTube videos (even though the app is complete crap) and reading books, and Alexa voice controls. Not for Snapchat, or Instagram, or Google Doc (these apps still don't even exist in Amazon's Appstore and the Google Play Store isn't supported).

It's extremely depressing that there are really only two tablets that matter these days: the iPad and Amazon Fire whatever. I know, Samsung and Huawei are still pumping some out, but I'd be lying if I said there's anything really eye-catching about them.

That's just how sad the state of tablets has become. How do you compete with the iPad at the high-end or Amazon's Fire devices at the low-end? You can't. You pick a price you're willing to pay and get what you pay for.

Keep your expectations low (really low) and you'll see the Fire HD 10's a good, cheap tablet that isn't complete budget trash. It's good-enough, and for a lot of people, that's all they need.