????當去年第一款Kindle Fire上市后，不少評論家和用戶紛紛在第一時間給出了測評報告。硬件性能不夠，設計稍欠精良，軟件還經常抽風。還有，音量鍵去哪了？

????一年過去了，關于新款Kindle的新聞一直不絕于耳。現在，Kindle家族的首位新成員——7英寸版Kindle Fire HD終于登臺亮相。重量僅14.6盎司（約合414克），背面仍然保留著一條黑色紐帶，不過現在變得更寬也更方正。屏幕周圍的黑色邊框不但沒有變小，反而更大了，不少人肯定又要說，這根本是畫蛇添足。邊角和背面也變得更加圓滑。這個變化不錯，現在即使長時間端著Kindle Fire HD也不會那么累了。

????現在的新款平板似乎都應該搭載四核處理器，不過，亞馬遜（Amazon）這次仍然選擇了德州儀器（Texas Instruments）的雙核CPU。Kindle Fire HD的其它配置還包括16GB內置存儲器、1GB內存、藍牙、陀螺儀、全新設計的杜比數字音效（Dolby Digital Plus）內置音箱和雙天線WiFi。亞馬遜首席執行官杰夫?貝索斯表示，雙天線技術可以帶來更快的下載速度和更穩定的數據接收。顯示屏也經過改進，可以有效減少眩光干擾。

????我們花了一周時間試玩Kindle Fire HD，相較于去年的老款，新款Kindle無疑在各方面都得到了顯著提升?？傮w而言，硬件性能不錯，總算沒給軟件拖后腿了。應用程序、電子書、視頻及其它多媒體應用的啟動速度更快。在新屏幕上，圖像顯示更加明亮和銳利，雖然在大多數情況下，我們仍不能很舒服地在陽光下使用。杜比音箱呢？這是我們在所有平板電腦上所聽到的聲音最大的：低音效果仍有欠缺，不過高音表現不錯，而且聲音清晰。

????亞馬遜的操作系統是深度定制的谷歌（Google）Android系統，Kindle Fire HD的界面仍是書架形狀，用手輕撫屏幕，可以旋轉界面上的滾動條，上面顯示著用戶最近瀏覽的多媒體應用。不過，在屏幕底部，顯示的不再是“我的最愛應用”，而是與上下文相關的內容，它會隨著滾動條最前端的應用變化。如果你選中了一本書，那么屏幕底部會顯示“購買此書的顧客還購買了”的其它商品。這招很妙——亞馬遜顯然可以通過這種購買推薦進一步提升其業績，不過，讓“我的最愛應用”保持顯示在主界面上應該對用戶更有用。還有一個消息，新款亞馬遜Silk瀏覽器的速度據稱提高了30%到40%。不過經過實地考察，我們發現雖然網站加載速度確實變快了，但速度仍慢于其它Android平板和蘋果（Apple）iPad上的Chrome瀏覽器。

????雖然亞馬遜的Kindle Fire HD比一年前有了明顯提升，但仍暴露出不少問題。顯示屏確實更銳利和明亮了，但其對觸摸經常沒有反應。（例如打開一本書，有時要點兩三次才行。）此外，亞馬遜所宣稱的11小時續航時間我們也從未達到過。在實際使用中，續航時間經常是8個半小時。我們還希望亞馬遜能在標配中提供電源適配器。不然的話，我們還得花20美元單獨購買一個，這點上亞馬遜顯然不夠厚道。

????當然，還有一個問題就是你購買該設備的用途是什么。Kindle Fire HD是否真像貝索斯所說，“不管在哪個價位，都是最好的平板電腦”？答案是否定的。谷歌的Nexus重量更輕，價格也差不多，多任務處理表現更出色，雖然其存儲容量只有亞馬遜Kindle Fire HD的一半。當然，如果不考慮價格，你也不介意更大的尺寸，那么軟件和硬件完美結合的iPad仍是當之無愧的最佳選擇。不過，如果你投資了亞馬遜的生態系統，那么Kindle Fire HD應該可以成為你的最佳移動平臺候選者。

????譯者：項航

????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.