亚马逊的新款Kindle Fire究竟有多好

    当去年第一款Kindle Fire上市后，不少评论家和用户纷纷在第一时间给出了测评报告。硬件性能不够，设计稍欠精良，软件还经常抽风。还有，音量键去哪了？

    一年过去了，关于新款Kindle的新闻一直不绝于耳。现在，Kindle家族的首位新成员——7英寸版Kindle Fire HD终于登台亮相。重量仅14.6盎司（约合414克），背面仍然保留着一条黑色纽带，不过现在变得更宽也更方正。屏幕周围的黑色边框不但没有变小，反而更大了，不少人肯定又要说，这根本是画蛇添足。边角和背面也变得更加圆滑。这个变化不错，现在即使长时间端着Kindle Fire HD也不会那么累了。

    现在的新款平板似乎都应该搭载四核处理器，不过，亚马逊（Amazon）这次仍然选择了德州仪器（Texas Instruments）的双核CPU。Kindle Fire HD的其它配置还包括16GB内置存储器、1GB内存、蓝牙、陀螺仪、全新设计的杜比数字音效（Dolby Digital Plus）内置音箱和双天线WiFi。亚马逊首席执行官杰夫•贝索斯表示，双天线技术可以带来更快的下载速度和更稳定的数据接收。显示屏也经过改进，可以有效减少眩光干扰。

    我们花了一周时间试玩Kindle Fire HD，相较于去年的老款，新款Kindle无疑在各方面都得到了显著提升。总体而言，硬件性能不错，总算没给软件拖后腿了。应用程序、电子书、视频及其它多媒体应用的启动速度更快。在新屏幕上，图像显示更加明亮和锐利，虽然在大多数情况下，我们仍不能很舒服地在阳光下使用。杜比音箱呢？这是我们在所有平板电脑上所听到的声音最大的：低音效果仍有欠缺，不过高音表现不错，而且声音清晰。

    亚马逊的操作系统是深度定制的谷歌（Google）Android系统，Kindle Fire HD的界面仍是书架形状，用手轻抚屏幕，可以旋转界面上的滚动条，上面显示着用户最近浏览的多媒体应用。不过，在屏幕底部，显示的不再是“我的最爱应用”，而是与上下文相关的内容，它会随着滚动条最前端的应用变化。如果你选中了一本书，那么屏幕底部会显示“购买此书的顾客还购买了”的其它商品。这招很妙——亚马逊显然可以通过这种购买推荐进一步提升其业绩，不过，让“我的最爱应用”保持显示在主界面上应该对用户更有用。还有一个消息，新款亚马逊Silk浏览器的速度据称提高了30%到40%。不过经过实地考察，我们发现虽然网站加载速度确实变快了，但速度仍慢于其它Android平板和苹果（Apple）iPad上的Chrome浏览器。

    虽然亚马逊的Kindle Fire HD比一年前有了明显提升，但仍暴露出不少问题。显示屏确实更锐利和明亮了，但其对触摸经常没有反应。（例如打开一本书，有时要点两三次才行。）此外，亚马逊所宣称的11小时续航时间我们也从未达到过。在实际使用中，续航时间经常是8个半小时。我们还希望亚马逊能在标配中提供电源适配器。不然的话，我们还得花20美元单独购买一个，这点上亚马逊显然不够厚道。

    当然，还有一个问题就是你购买该设备的用途是什么。Kindle Fire HD是否真像贝索斯所说，“不管在哪个价位，都是最好的平板电脑”？答案是否定的。谷歌的Nexus重量更轻，价格也差不多，多任务处理表现更出色，虽然其存储容量只有亚马逊Kindle Fire HD的一半。当然，如果不考虑价格，你也不介意更大的尺寸，那么软件和硬件完美结合的iPad仍是当之无愧的最佳选择。不过，如果你投资了亚马逊的生态系统，那么Kindle Fire HD应该可以成为你的最佳移动平台候选者。

    译者：项航

    When the first Kindle Fire arrived last year, some critics and users were quick to judge. The hardware could have been faster and better designed, the software less spastic. And where were the volume buttons?

    Fast-forward a year or so and there's a slew of new Kindles to buzz over. The first to arrive, the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD, is entirely new. Weighing in at 14.6 ounces, this tablet keeps that stealthy all-black scheme, but it's now wider and squatter. Instead of shrinking, the black borders around the screen are larger, some would say unnecessarily so. The corners and back are more rounded. That's mostly a good thing, as it's easier to hold for longer periods of time.

    Newer tablets seem to be adopting quad-core processors, but Amazon (AMZN) chose instead a dual-core Texas Instruments' CPU here, along with 16 GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, Bluetooth, a gyroscope, a new set of built-in Dolby Digital Plus audio speakers, and dual WiFi antennas that CEO Jeff Bezos says translates to faster download speeds and more consistent reception. The display has been streamlined to reduce glare.

    We spent a week with the Kindle Fire HD in tow, and found it to be a significant improvement over last year's version all-around. For the most part, it feels like the hardware has caught up with software. Apps, books, videos and other media opened faster. Images are brighter and sharper on this new display, though in most cases, you still won't be able to read comfortably in the sun. As for those Dolby speakers? They're the loudest we've ever heard on any tablet: lacking in bass, but sharp and clear.

    Amazon's software, a heavily customized version of Google's (GOOG) Android operating system, still resembles a book shelf, with a carousel-like row of recently browsed media to swipe through. But in lieu of a bottom row of favorited media, the row is now context-sensitive, changing based on the piece of media at the forefront of the carousel. If a book is highlighted, then the row below reveals several other works "Customers Also Bought." It's smart -- certainly another way for Amazon to potentially boost its sales even more via recommendations -- but keeping the ability to somehow pin your favorite apps to the homescreen would have been useful. And for those wondering, the newest version of Amazon's Silk Browser is reportedly 30% to 40% faster. Anecdotally, we noticed Web sites loading faster, but not as fast as Chrome on other Android tablets or on Apple's (AAPL) iPad.

    Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet may be a big improvement on last year's model, but there are some issues holding it back. The display may be sharper and brighter, but the tablet didn't always respond to our touch. (Opening a book for instance, sometimes required two or three taps.) We also never reached the 11 hours of battery life Amazon has advertised -- in the real world, it was more like 8.5. And we wish Amazon would include a power adapter in the box. Instead, that's a $20 item owners have to buy separately, which shouldn't have to be the case.

    There's also the question of what you're using this for. Is it, as Bezos recently said, "the best tablet at any price?" No. Google's Nexus 7 is lighter, priced similarly and better geared towards multitaskers, though it offers half the storage that Amazon does. And of course, if price isn't an issue and you don't mind the somewhat larger size, the iPad still can't be beat where the union of hardware and software is concerned. But if you're invested in the Amazon ecosystem, the Kindle Fire HD is one of the better mobile solutions for accessing it.