We've got bad news and good news for gadget-hounds looking at Amazon's Kindle Fire HD tablets.
The bad news:
If you're counting on replacing the forked version of Android Amazon loads onto its Fire tablets with an unadulterated install of Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean, you might want to hold off buying. A thread on the XDA developers forum suggests Amazon hasn't made the devices nearly as easy to hack as last time:
"It doesn't look good. This is not to say that it's impossible, but it will be considerably more difficult to manipulate these devices than [it was with] their 1st generation cousin."
While it's possible to work around a locked bootloader, the Fire HD tablets apparently include other "high security" features hard-wired into TI's OMAP processors. If a customizable interface or access to to the Google Play store are must-have features for you, choosing between Amazon's tablets and Google's Nexus 7 shouldn't be difficult.
The good news:
A report at iFixit - the guys who take new gadgets apart so we don't have to - has concluded the Kindle Fire HD (7") won't be impossible to repair or upgrade. Citing a "very easy to open" backplate, relatively few internal components and no adhesive to hold the battery in place, they scored it 7/10 for "repairability" - the same as the Nexus 7, but a big jump from the latest iPad's 2/10 rating.
It might not be exceptionally easy to upgrade the processor or LCD display, but you shouldn't have to send it in to the factory just to replace the battery.
If Amazon manages to stop you from rooting it, will you still buy a Kindle Fire HD? Let us know in the comments.
Jon Fox is a Seattle hipster who loves polar bears and climbing trees. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
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