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The Kindle Fire HD gets embiggened (pictures)

The Fire HD 8.9 is essentially a larger version of the Fire HD 7-incher. At least from a strictly physical point.

Eric Franklin
Eric Franklin led the CNET Tech team as Editorial Director. A 20-plus-year industry veteran, Eric began his tech journey testing computers in the CNET Labs. When not at work he can usually be found at the gym, chauffeuring his kids around town, or absorbing every motivational book he can get his hands on.
Eric Franklin
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1 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Pretty much the same

The Kindle Fire HD 8.9's interface is the same one used in the Fire HD 7-inch and the Kindle Fire (2012).
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2 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Two ports

The Micro-HDMI and Micro-USB ports come in handy from time to time.
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3 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Flush

As with those on the 7-incher, the Fire HD's buttons are too flush with the tablet's body.
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4 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Speaker power

The Fire HD's 8.9's speakers deliver the best sound we've heard from any tablet.
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5 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Time to be free

Amazon's FreeTime app is a well-implemented parental controls/profiles feature.
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6 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Lacking

Whether under Wi-Fi or 4G, the Web experience on the Fire HD 8.9 is disappointing.
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7 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Better suited

The Fire HD 8.9, with its 1.5GHz OMAP 4470 CPU, is a better game machine than its smaller brother.
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8 of 8 James Martin/CNET

Great text

The Fire HD 8.9's 1,920x1,080-pixel screen delivers crisp text.

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