Which 7" Kindle Fire HD is better...2012 or 2013?

[stuman74]

For Black Friday, I bought my kids the 2012 7" Kindle Fire HD 16GB at Best Buy (was on sale for $99.99 plus tax so about $108 each). Then on Sunday night, I saw on Amazon that they have the 2013 7" Kindle Fire HD 16GB on sale ($119.00 each, no tax). I went ahead and ordered two of those as well. I have Amazon Prime so they are already out for delivery today. I had looked at the HDX in person, but that blue haze along the edges was extremely annoying (and for my kids, the extras on that HDX aren't important).

Which version though is really better for 10-year-olds? They already have iPod Touch devices so FaceTime and iMessage can be done on that. Their main use for these Kindles will be:

1. Reading Kindle books
2. Playing some light games
3. Watching videos (Amazon Prime, Xfinity, ESPN, Disney)
4. Web browsing, email

From what I can tell, the Pro's of each model are...

2012:
Front Camera (none on 2013)
HDMI port (none on 2013)
Slightly Thinner (0.405" vs 0.417")

2013:
Faster (1.5 GHz vs 1.2 GHz)
Lighter (12.2 oz vs 13.9 oz)
Smaller Footprint (7.5" x 5.0" vs 7.6" x 5.4")
Newer Mojito OS 3.0
Ability to download select shows/movies from Amazon Prime

Am I missing any other key differences? Thanks!

 

[Ravynmagi]

I think the newer HD would be better because of the performance increase in both the hardware and software. The Fire OS 3.0 is running on Android 4.2.2 and that includes the Project Butter enhancements that makes the UI feel a lot smoother. Last years Kindle OS was running on Android 4.0.1, pre-Jelly Bean/Project Butter.

It's a shame to lose the HDMI port. But the faster performance and ability to download videos off line would be more important to me.


Though a little rant here. Why in the world is Amazon not updating the older Kindles? Makes no sense. They sell Kindles primarily to give customers a platform for buying their content. I don't think they make much money off the hardware at all. So why not allow the customers with last years model to still have the best content purchasing experience possible?

I'm an Amazon Prime user, but I'm put off by this behavior and sold my old Kindle and not really interested in buying another one.

 

[stuman74]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm leaning towards having them take the 2013's as well. Worth $11 more for the faster device with the newer OS (even though losing the camera). The HDMI they will never use.

 

[sm625]

If they have ipod touches I dont see why you would even get these. They'd be better off with itunes gift cards.

 

[stuman74]

If they have ipod touches I dont see why you would even get these. They'd be better off with itunes gift cards.

Reading books is very small on an iPod Touch.

 

[Midwayman]

Though a little rant here. Why in the world is Amazon not updating the older Kindles? Makes no sense. They sell Kindles primarily to give customers a platform for buying their content. I don't think they make much money off the hardware at all. So why not allow the customers with last years model to still have the best content purchasing experience possible?

I'm an Amazon Prime user, but I'm put off by this behavior and sold my old Kindle and not really interested in buying another one.

No kidding. Though I understand the hurdle to adapt a device from 2.x to 4.x is a pretty big one. Amazon is developing a habit of dumping their old hardware though.

 

[stuman74]

The 2013's got delivered early yesterday. I opened one up to compare it to the 2012. I do like the size on the 2013 better. Seems at least a touch more responsive (not sure if because of the processor or OS though). No camera or HDMI won't be an issue for them.

When setting the 2013 up though, the only issue I had was two apps for watching shows (Disney Channel and Disney XD Channel) are currently not supported on the newer 2013, but work just fine on the 2012. WTH? Not a deal breaker, but disappointing. I've never heard of an app working on an order device/OS and not the newer version.

 

[sgrinavi]

Ignore me