I bought the latest Fire tablet “Fire Max 11” released by Amazon. The Fire Max 11 has an 11-inch 2K (2000×1200) display, and although it’s sold separately, it’s a tablet that can be used for a wide range of purposes by combining a stylus head and cover with a keyboard.
That said, unlike iPads and high-end Android tablets, this isn’t the kind of tablet you’ll be using at work. The basic is “Amazon Prime memberI thought it was a tablet that you can enjoy with specializing in entertainment.
However, although I mainly use my tablet to watch videos and social media, I also want to enjoy drawing a bit, and I want to use Word and Excel as I do on my computer. And so on, it is also a point that you can now make a “small addition” that you gave up on the super-discounted Fire tablet series so far.
Fire Max 11 Review
First of all, the price is much higher than the previous Fire HD 10. The 64GB Fire Max 11 model is 34,980 yen for the main unit only. Moreover, if you collect all the items such as keyboards and pens, it will be 47,980 yen (fixed purchase price). I think there are a lot of people who get lost at this price, but there is always an opportunity to buy Amazon products at a low price.
The Fire Max 11 is definitely cheaper during Amazon’s big sales, which happen several times a year. So I think it’s worth waiting a while before buying.
So, let’s check the design and specifications of the main unit first.
Instead of vinyl, it was an eco-friendly package made entirely of paper. There are many such packages these days.
| spec | detailed |
|---|---|
| display | 11 inch 2K display |
| performance | Has an 8-core processor and 4GB RAM |
| battery | Up to 14 hours of operation, battery 7,500mAh USB-C (2.0) compatible |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi 6 compatible |
| camera | 8 megapixel camera |
| accessory | Optional Made for Amazon certified stylus pen and cover with keyboard |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | 3 month free trial included |
Included with the unit is a USB-C (2.0) cable, a 9W power adapter, an SD card ejection pin, and a quick start guide.
Unlike the previous Fire tablet series, the aluminum body gives it a luxurious feel.
One camera out is simple. At 8 megapixels, it also allows 1080p HD video recording.
There are two speakers at the top with the main body reclining. Dual stereo speakers compatible with Dolby Atmos that allow you to feel the spread of sound while watching videos. However, when asked if the sound quality is the best, it is not (laughs).
Aluminum body is the basic, but is this the part with the antenna? Only here was different material.
All the action buttons etc are arranged on this side. “Power button” “Volume button” “USB-C (2.0) port” “Microphone” “microSD card slot” from the top right. microSD card supports up to 1TB.
And the high point is the “power button”. In fact, there is a “fingerprint authentication sensor”. It’s a nice point that you can log in quickly without using a passcode.
There is a keyboard connection terminal on the bottom of the main unit.
The actual weight of the main unit was 492g. Since it’s a Fire tablet, I think a lot of people read magazines and comics, but to be honest, reading with one hand was tiring.
The stylus head is not made by Amazon, but it was convenient
I bought the stylus head as a set, but I thought it was made by Amazon until I received it. But… when I looked closer, it was written as “made for amazon” and it was a pen made by another company. However, it is a full spec that supports USI 2.0, tilt detection up to ±45 degrees, 4,096 levels of head pressure detection, and a sleep mode function.
The head unit runs on AA batteries, and the tip of the head is replaceable. It is also a nice point that there is one spare nib.
A simple but stylish stylus that goes with the Fire Max 11. I actually used it, but it was easier to write than expected with less lag. There is also a function to convert handwritten characters into data, which is quite convenient.
You can also use the hover cursor. Even if the pen is not attached to the main unit, when the tip of the pen approaches the touch panel, it will be firmly recognized and a small circle will be displayed. This function is useful when taking pictures.
I think the pen is comfortable to use, but the Fire tablet can only use apps that can be installed from the Amazon Appstore, so the lack of compatible apps seems to be a bottleneck.
However, I can use simple drawing software, and mostly I wanted to use it for “writing notes while reading”, so I was able to use this without any problems. Rather, it was perfectly comfortable to use.
For example, launch the Kindle app and “split screen”. If you start “OneNote” next to it…
Take handwritten notes with OneNote on the right side while reading on your Kindle. You can use it like this. Since the main body is still horizontal, it’s fine to split it up and use it for handwritten memos.
It has nothing to do with handwriting, but I recommend using it as Twitter on the left and Amazon Music on the right.
The keyboard was easy to type on!
The keyboard does not require charging, is magnetically attached, has a touchpad, and has a Japanese layout. This keyboard was easier to type on than I expected and convenient. First, attach the cover to the side of the tablet.
If you attach it with a magnet, you can also use the cover to stand on its own. I leave the back cover on even when I’m not using the keyboard.
It can also be used as a stand like this, so it can be used conveniently when watching videos.
There is a connector on the side of the keyboard. It snaps into place with the tablet body and magnets.
It looks like the Surface series.
The keyboard layout looks like this. A special key is used in a tablet at the top, but other than that, it feels like a general JIS layout and was easier to type than I expected. With this, I feel I can handle simple sentences, and I can comfortably write sentences on SNS like Twitter.
By the way, there are no switches on the left side of the tablet, so you can attach the stylus head with a magnet. It has a well thought out design and is easy to use.
High sound quality with LDAC support!
I wrote that the speaker on the main unit does not sound so good, but Fire Max 11 supports “LDAC”. I am happy to be able to enjoy high quality music with Amazon Music.
small app problem
It’s nothing new, but the Fire tablet line is based on Android but doesn’t have the Google Play Store. So, as I wrote earlier, you need to use the Amazon Appstore.
However, the Amazon Appstore does not have many compatible apps. There are many cases where there are no apps that can be used on iPads and Android tablets, so this area needs to be shared.
summary
Personally, I have a good impression of the tablet, but as I wrote at the beginning, “Amazon Prime memberI think that the tablet specialized for entertainment is the basic one, so Amazon Video, Amazon Music, reading and writing notes on Kindle, writing on various SNS, writing simple sentences, etc… If you use it this way, you can It’s good and I thought it would be fun for a long time.
I will update you if anything comes to mind. Well then! again!
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