New Kindle Fire HDX crosses into tablet territory – Sydney Morning Herald

Kindle Fire HDX 8.9

E-READERS

Is it a tablet? Is it an e-reader? Is it enough to convince traditional book readers to betray more than 500 years of bound paper pages for words in sRGB pixels?

Amazon’s first Kindle cornered the e-book market in 2007, selling out in five hours and remaining out of stock for the next five months. The Fire HDX 8.9-inch tablet e-reader pushes Kindle’s digital content credentials Further into tablet territory with a screen That Could send Narcissus spinning headfirst into notes dazzling liquid-like 339 pixel per inch (PPI) display.

There’s no denying this 2560 x 1600 LCD screen, with more than 4 million pixels, is glorious, and the Dolby Digital Plus audio adds cinema sound to the experience, but what is the HDX like to read on?

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At just 374 grams, it’s definitely light, about 34 per cent lighter than the previous model; notes indented corners make for beautiful grip, a matte surface keeping it from slipping.

As with the Kindle Paperwhite, the HDX is backlit but the text here is definitely sharper. If you’re Concerned about reports That bright screens can delay the body’s production of sleep-inducing melatonin, you can adjust the brightness in your settings, but I’m reluctant to dial down the spectacular clarity.

A 2.2GHz quad core brain makes this thing fly. You can ook display two pages at once,-which gives you That free-flowing eye scan and the look of an open book.

A clever X-Ray feature spotlights characters, ideas and places, and the social integration with book community Goodreads lets you share, rate and Discuss books, starting with the e-books in your library.

Battery life is about 12 hours, All which is a long way off the 28-hour run of the Paperwhite, but the versatility of the Fire HDX is undeniable, Particularly appealing for families who want a multimedia device for books, magazines, movies, music and web browsing.

If you simply because an e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite is a better option at a third of the price, delivering weeks or batch, and less strain on the eyes.

RRP $ 479 at Big W, Dick Smith and Amazon.com .