Review: Amazon Kindle Fire HDX

Individual hardware specs no longer hold the sway they once did. In order for those CPU, GPU, and RAM numbers to be worth anything, you need an ecosystem. Seamless access to music, video, and books is how Apple, Google, and Amazon hope to woo you to their services and keep you part of their hardware ecosystems. But while Apple stops at media, and Google's scattershot shopping schemes are confusing, Amazon has tied everything together in a little black rectangle.

The Kindle Fire HDX isn't just a portal for Amazon. It is Amazon. It's a marriage of impressive technology and easy access to commerce. Every spec and feature is there to make sure you keep using the tablet, and by proxy, buy more stuff from Amazon.

Powered by a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, the HDX hums with nary a hiccup or UI stutter. Gaming is smooth and looks outstanding on the 1920 x 1200, 323 ppi (pixels per inch) display. While the iPad mini features auto-screen brightness, the HDX adds contrast to the auto-adjustment mix. When a photo with dark areas is introduced to bright light, in addition to bumping up the brightness of the screen, the HDX adjusts the contrast so that darker areas aren't lost in the shadows under the harsh light. It works great for photos and watching videos outside.

It's a nice touch. But when a company is pushing its video offerings, it's important to make sure its customers can actually see the videos. And watching those videos anywhere is one of best new features in Fire OS.

Amazon Prime account holders ($100/year) can stream videos for free from Amazon Instant Video. It's a perk of the Prime feature that also includes free two-day shipping on select items and access to an e-book lending library. It's actually a great value if you order more than a few items a year.

Adding to that value is the ability to download select Amazon Prime movies and TV shows to the Fire HDX. If you fly a lot, this just made your flights a bit more bearable. Be warned that downloading the full HD version of a movie will eat a ton of storage. The HD version of the 108 minute Sound City documentary ate up 7.66GB of storage. Fortunately you can opt to download the lower resolution SD versions of videos.

The biggest software feature relates to how Amazon is changing the world of tech support. Mayday's always-on lifeline starts a tiny video conference with a helper on the HDX screen. Ask your new friend for new game recommendations in the Amazon app store or how to set up a new email account.

The Amazon staff I spoke with during my tests were courteous and helpful. While troubleshooting an email photo issue, they warned me that they would be able to see my emails and photos and asked if I would like to proceed. I was placed on hold when an issue required additional research. While the support member couldn't see me, I could see them and it created a strange connection that is lacking in over the phone support. It felt more personal.

Something many tech devices are lacking is personality—particularly those in the drab world of tablets. Amazon hopes Mayday will help inject a little with these (hopefully) friendly faces that can walk and talk you through your problems.

While actual hardware changes are relatively small, they do improve things. The new seven-inch Kindle Fire HDX moves the volume and power buttons to the back. Your fingers now rest along the buttons when the tablet is held in landscape mode. When your thumbs rest on the front of the device, the angled back edge and slightly rubberized back offer better grip than the flat back found on other tablets.

The ports have also been updated. The mini-USB and audio port are at a slight angle so that cables are tilted towards you and stay out of the way of your hands. One port that's still missing, however, is the HDMI out.

The Fire HDX features content flinging to the PlayStation 3 and 4, and select Samsung TVs. Instead of pushing video from a tablet or phone, like AirPlay does, it tells the media streamer (or TV) to launch Amazon Instant Watch and stream the video from Amazon's servers. Amazon calls this "Second Screen."

While these features, when lumped together, show that the company is paying attention to the little things that add up to a great Amazon device, the Fire is still not perfect.

It's based on Android, but you'd be hard pressed to catch even the slightest waft of Google's efforts under all the e-books and videos. Unfortunately, that also means there is no Google Play store. Instead, you're at the mercy of Amazon's app store. You can side-load Android apps onto the device, but for a tablet that prides itself on making consuming content easy, getting your favorite Android apps from somewhere other than the Amazon app store is just too difficult.

Still, if you're more concerned with reading e-books, listening to music, watching videos, and buying large variety packs of chips than pure versions of Android, the seven-inch Kindle Fire HDX is the best bang for your buck in the seven-inch tablet world. Just be careful not to empty your bank account while using it.