The Kindle Fire HD is out! (also called the Kindle Fire 2 by some)

Owners of the original Kindle Fire may be wondering: is it worth the upgrade?

To put it shortly — yes. Read on to find out why as we do a comparison between the models so you can see what the differences are.

There’s a 7″ Model, 8.9″ model, and 8.9″ 4G LTE model.

Kindle Fire HD verse Kindle Fire – Screen Size

These all have different price points as well: $199, $299, and $499.

The REGULAR Kindle Fire only comes in one model, which is 7″.

Another difference here is that the Kindle Fire HD models have 10-point multi-touch for things like hand gestures and finger swipes, whereas the regular Kindle Fire has 2-point multi-touch.

Kindle Fire HD Models:
— 7″ HD LCD; 1280×800 for 720p
— 8.9″ HD LCD; 1920×1200 for 1080p
— 8.9″ HD LCD; 1920×1200 for 1080p

Regular Kindle Fire:
— 7″ LCD; 1024×600

Kindle Fire HD versus Kindle Fire – Hard Drive

The normal Kindle Fire has a 8GB hard drive with no other options.

That’s not the case with the Kindle Fire HD. It has several options.

Kindle Fire HD Models:
— 7″ Hard Drive Size: 16GB or 32GB
— 8.9″ Hard Drive Size: 16GB or 32GB
— 8.9″ 4G Hard Drive Size: 32GB or 64GB

Regular Kindle Fire:
— Hard Drive Size: 8GB

Kindle Fire HD vs Kindle Fire – Speakers

The speakers received a big overhaul. The Kindle Fire HD has two quality speakers on the back of the device.

Kindle Fire HD:
— Dolby Audio, dual-driver stereo speakers

Regular Kindle Fire:
— Stereo speakers

Kindle Fire HD vs Kindle Fire – Wi-Fi

The wireless / WiFi has been improved too.

However, we found that the original Kindle Fire already had great Wi-Fi so it may not be a noticeable change to you.

Kindle Fire HD:
— Dual-band,dual-antenna Wi-Fi

Regular Kindle Fire:
— Regular Wi-Fi

Kindle Fire HD vs Kindle Fire – Dimensions

The dimensions between the original Kindle Fire and the 7″ Kindle Fire HD are relatively similar.

As you can expect, the 8″ has the biggest difference.

Kindle Fire HD Models:
— 7″ Size: 7.6″ x 5.4″ x 0.4″
— 8.9″ Size: 9.45″ x 6.5″ x 0.35″

Regular Kindle Fire:
— Size: 7.44″ x 4.72″ x 0.45″

Kindle Fire HD vs Kindle Fire – Weight

Oddly enough, the regular Kindle Fire weighs more than the 7″ Kindle Fire HD.

The Kindle Fire HD 8″, however, weighs even more (as to be expected).

Kindle Fire HD Models:
— 7″ Weight: 13.9 oz
— 8.9″ Weight: 20 oz

Regular Kindle Fire:
— Weight: 14.1 oz

Kindle Fire HD vs Kindle Fire – Battery

One would think that the battery life of the original Kindle Fire would be better.

That is not the case. The new Kindle Fire HD wins!

Kindle Fire HD Models:
— 7″ Battery Life: 11 hours

Regular Kindle Fire:
— Battery Life: 8.5 hours

Kindle Fire HD vs Kindle Fire – Processor

The processor speed is the same as the original for the 7″ model.

However, they kicked it up a bit for the 8.9″ model to help support driving the extra screen space.

Kindle Fire HD Models:
— 7″ Processor: Dual-core 1.2GHz OMAP4460
— 8.9″ Processor: Dual-core 1.5GHz OMAP4470

Regular Kindle Fire:
— Processor: Dual-core 1.2GHz OMAP4430

What’s New Kindle Fire HD

So what’s new in this device that the original Kindle Fire did not have?

The interface has been improved so that it’s even easier on th eyes than ever.

First of all, it has a font-facing HD camera. You can video chat with it OR take pictures.

There is also bluetooth. You can connect your bluetooth devices to it this way.

Even more, there is now HDMI-out port too (micro-HDMI). This feature is welcomed!