Comments on: Kindle Fire HD Bootloaders Locked Tight, XDA Developers Begin Plan of Attack

By: Neall

Neall — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 17:57:00 +0000

As an early Kindle Fire “hacker,” I can tell you that MANY fires were bricked during the installation of a custom recovery or bootloader. They are very easy to get into fastboot mode, which makes them appear bricked (though far from it) and very difficult to get out of fastboot if you don’t know what you’re doing. Thus, I suspect Amazon got tired of “refurbishing” the thousands of Fires that came back “bricked” due to these issues.

Also, rooting the Fire blocked the Amazon video app, but using Voodoo rootkeeper got around that issue, and Amazon hated having rooted devices accessing their streaming video content.

By: Stephen D

Stephen D — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 03:39:00 +0000

The biggest issue with the Nexus 7 screen is brightness. It’s very accurate color wise, but it is just too dim.

By: Kane

Kane — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 23:41:00 +0000

Cheap price = more hands on it to hack it. Plus we all want WebOS on this :; Seriously I haven’t looked at a tear down of this to see exactly whats inside. Wonder how it compares in a benchmark agaisnt N7

By: trixnkix637

trixnkix637 — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 23:16:00 +0000

And this is why I love Android. Some much diversity and problem solving as a community. It truly is a freedom of choice. Something the iPhone just isn’t capable of.

By: Althris

Althris — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:12:00 +0000

Amazon makes no money selling the tablets. It’s only a way for them to sell more digital content. Amazon absolutely does not want people buying these to remove the software, they make zero profit when that happens.

By: Mario Mendez

Mario Mendez — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 21:32:00 +0000

The Nexus 7 lined up perfectly

By: EC8CH

EC8CH — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 21:06:00 +0000

I kinda wonder how much better the screen is on the Fire HD though….

My N7 screen does look kinda washed out, but then again I’m used to the hella blacks on my G-Nex.

By: azndan4

azndan4 — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 21:01:00 +0000

And do you have reasons to back up your claim? Why would they be idiots for preventing removal of their software? Warranty claims? Give me a break.

By: JB

JB — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 21:01:00 +0000

I can’t wait for it to be hacked so we can get the Instant Video .apk off of it. It’s not fair that it’s on Itunes but not the Play Store.

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:33:00 +0000

The kindles were never meant to be for “enthusiasts”, they are designed and built strictly as a way to sell more products. They would be idiots if they didn’t lock them to prevent the removal of their software.

By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:22:00 +0000

Haha, I looked at the same thing and then remembered the N7 review was just below it xD

By: Althris

Althris — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:16:00 +0000

Exactly. Amazon makes little to no profit on their tablets, it’s value to them is as a content distribution channel. They gain nothing by selling their tablet to someone who wants to hack it.

By: Go Hawkeyes

Go Hawkeyes — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:14:00 +0000

The better screen and better speakers would be the reason to get the Fire HD, but only if it can be unlocked and CM installed.

By: Nicholassss

Nicholassss — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:52:00 +0000

if i had the skills and i thought it was fun, I’d be down for it. Unfortunately(maybe fortunately) I dont and I dont so i’ll go the nexus 7 route.

By: cheezer88

cheezer88 — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 19:52:00 +0000

exactly! i have an N7 but im really considering a Kindle for my kids