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  • Kindle fire vs normal Android
  • molgrips
    Free Member

    Normally I would not consider a locked down Amazon tablet, but we have a specific set of circumstances involving long plane journeys and very long drives with kids this summer.

    We were going to get in-car DVD players to entertain them, but now we’re thinking of tablets for extra versatility and they haven’t watched a DVD in about 2 years anyway. We need a second tablet (we already have a Hudl 1) and I think that purely for kids the Kindle Fire might be an option. It’s cheap, and seems to perform well. Considering the normal adult one rather than the kid specific one.

    Offline video is a key feature we need.

    1) It looks like the games and kids content in the Amazon store are a bit better than much of the dross on the Play store that only exists to try and trick your kids into spending a fortune on in-app purchases. Is that the case?

    2) The Fire for Kids Unlimited looks like a good deal – this is more content over what’s in the Amazon store, yes?

    3) We are interested in little kids books, they seem to have interactive ones on the Fire which would be great – these are not available on normal Kindle app for Android, are they?

    4) I don’t want to use Google Play to download video as you have to pay for everything (unless there’s a subscription for it?). We already use Amazon Prime Instant Video a lot, and it looks like you can watch those offline, and you can with iPlayer too which should be enough. Lack of Netflix is a shame.

    5) Does anyone know if your amazon prime subscription gives you the same content as you get at home when you are abroad? Or do you get that country’s content? I know that the latter is the case with Netflix.

    6) The kid specific tablet: I’m not overly worried about parental controls really, or the insurance you get. But can you get the ‘Fire for Kids’ app on a regular fire? Is it the same?

    7) Is there offline video content with Fire for Kids app?

    pnik
    Full Member

    I cant answer most of the specific questions, but i think if you are consuming amazon content it makes sense otherwise id go ‘proper’ android. I gave up with amazon on samsung android tablet as it requires side loading apps which i wont do on principle and Amazon should not be suggesting it.
    So in your use case fire tablet makes sense imho. Im sure more expert individuals can answer your specific questions about roaming etc

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Bought one now with nice Amazon case and 32Gb SD card for £80. However it’s not being opened until I get some answers dammit! 😉 In case I need to return it…

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    molgrips
    Free Member

    Hmm.. looks like Amazon Video only works on ‘approved’ devices.. hmm…

    steveoath
    Free Member

    We bought standard fire for much the same reasons. I think the downloaded videos “expire” when you are out of an internet connection and must reconnect to update it. The “Kid” interface on the fire is great and you can set it up with books/video/games and the child can easily pick whatever they want to use. The free undergound apps are great, and a wide selection.A quick check on amazon suggests (ymmv) that you cannot download content when abroad.

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201460850
    About Offline Viewing Periods for Video Downloads

    Some content owners place restrictions on the time period you can access downloaded video titles without an active Internet connection.

    The time period you have to view a downloaded video while your compatible mobile device is offline varies by title.

    Tip: You can download Amazon Video titles to Fire tablets, Fire phone, iOS devices and Android phones and tablets.
    If you try watching a downloaded video and the viewing period is over or almost over, a notification typically shows onscreen to let you know. If this happens, you’re prompted to connect your device to a Wi-Fi or wireless network so you can continue to access the downloaded video.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Thanks steve.

    Looks like we are in for a manic downloading session the week before our three week holiday 🙂

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Also looks like my Hudl cannot cope with Amazon Video in CPU terms.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Ah.. ok.. well it does after restarting.

    Also discovered that if you go to the Amazon undergroud app and then to videos, you don’t get a download link. However if you go to the Amazon Video app directly from the home page, you DO.

    And it works on Hudl.

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)

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