The Kindle Fire HD gives you multiple options for eBooks and audiobooks, whether you purchase them from Amazon or borrow them from your OverDrive-powered library.
Amazon has had great success with the Kindle, which has become the most recognizable eReader on the market. Jeff Bezos and company entered the tablet game with the Kindle Fire, and they’ve upped the ante with the new Kindle Fire HD.
Available with a 7-inch or 8.9-inch screen, the Kindle Fire HD features an HD display (duh!), Dolby audio, dual-band WiFi antenna, 16GB or 32GB of onboard storage, and access to Amazon’s cloud storage services. You can purchase the device with or without ads (the latter will cost you a little more).
In addition to all the technical features, you also have excellent access to eBooks and audiobooks, available for purchase through Amazon, or borrowed from your OverDrive-powered library. You can borrow Kindle-format eBooks and read them in the Kindle app, or you can install OverDrive Media Console for Android from the Amazon App Store to access your library’s EPUB eBooks and MP3 audiobooks.
One thing to note: Of the two Kindle Fire HD devices we tested here at OverDrive, both had performance issues in the first few months, and we had to return them. Maybe Amazon was too quick to rush these devices to market. Maybe Amazon’s manufacturing partners are slipping. Either way, the performance issues took us by surprise, considering how reliable the previous Kindle Fire model have been for us.
Justin Noszek is a Support Specialist at OverDrive.
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I’m interested in what “performance issues” you had with your HD Fires. I have just purchased one and it will not load library books. My local library has spent countless hours trying to help and have been unable to. They have seen other library ebook issues with HD Fires as well. Just curious.
Hi Carole- The issues we experienced did not involve library eBooks. On one device, the touchscreen went bonkers. On another, there was an issue with the kernel/ROM/firmware. -Mike