On Prime Day, I purchased 3 Amazon Fire 7 Tablets for our family. We’ve been Fire users since the first generation and now that the 7th generation is out I thought it was time to review their newest model.
For this review I used the criteria from episode 108 of The Wired Homeschool: How to Choose the Best Tablet for Homeschooling. I’ve found that the Amazon Fire 7 Tablet with Alexa still fulfills my prerequisites when buying a tablet.
Here’s a quick rundown of my thoughts. Listen to the entire episode for full details.
1. Purpose
We primarily use these tablets for entertainment. The kids play games, make videos, and watch Netflix with them. We also include some educational games on the devices.
2. Storage
Although the baseline Fire 7 only comes with 8GB of RAM, it’s expandable to 256GB by adding an SD card. This is plenty of storage for music, pictures, and videos.
3. Usage
The Fire 7 allows parents to setup multiple profiles on the device. This is very helpful when it comes to setting parental controls.
4. Size
The 7-inch format fits comfortably in my hand and the kids don’t have any trouble managing the device either.
5. Battery Life
This is where the Fire 7 falls a little short. In use, the device will last most of the day. However, I’ve found that you can’t leave it sitting overnight without charging it.
6. Wi-fi and/or Cellular Data
This is a criteria I’m thinking about removing due to the ubiquity of wi-fi, however, there are some cases where people may need a tablet capable of accessing cellular data. That’s not the case for us.
7. Price
You really can’t beat the Fire 7 Tablet on price. $50 with “special offers” (ads) or $65 without is a huge bargain. We got them on Prime Day so we paid even less.
There are a few things besides battery life I’d like to see improved:

* Some of the more popular educational apps on iPad aren’t available in the Amazon App Store. This is really Amazon’s fault but the could do more to convince developers to target their plat form.

*
The Back of the tablet is a bit slippery. I find myself gripping the tablet a little tighter than usual. A case or skin would probably alleviate that.

Overall, the Amazon Fire 7 Tablet with Alexa is a great device. I’d give it an A-. These meet the needs for our family and we’ll continue to purchase them as long as Amazon keeps making them.
Thanks to Aaron, Lori, Matt, & Winston for their continued support on Patreon. Patrons help make this podcast possible.
How to Setup Amazon Fire 7 Tablet

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