Tablets get ready to rumble

Why confine yourself to a clunky laptop for gaming sessions when a light and versatile slate wants to come out and play?

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Amazon Fire HD 10

What’s the story? As with any Amazon kit, you know you’ve at least got something reliable here. The Fire HD 10 has a walled garden so there are critical omissions for gaming without a lot of fiddling about (we’re looking at you, Xbox Cloud Gaming); but it has a bright 10in screen, and Fire OS offers access to the most popular mobile titles if not all of the Google Play Store. It’s a family-friendly alternative to higher-priced tabs that may be offputting to less tech-savvy users.

Is it any good?

The screen is the highlight of the Fire HD 10. At 10.1in and 1920x1200, its 224ppi density means it looks nice and punchy. An extra 10% of brightness compared to the previous model isn’t obvious but brings subtle refinements – it competes well with pricier rivals.

The vibrant colours are ideally suited to streaming TV shows; for gaming, this system is best aimed at playing the likes of Candy Crush rather than anything that entails sideloading the Play Store (such as Fortnite). So you might find it a little limited, depending on your gaming tastes.

More impressive is the sound, with surprisingly strong low frequencies for a tablet – though obviously it won’t beat a good pair of headphones.

If you’re used to the latest version of Android, Fire OS will feel a tad dated and restricted. But there are enough games here to keep casual fans happy and they run well despite a mediocre processor. And you’ll be unlucky to run out of battery within one day, unless you’re genuinely hooked on crushing that accursed candy.

As a first-time gaming tablet, the Fire HD 10 is sufficient if a little basic.

from R2 500 / evogames.co.za