Making an amazing pill in 2018 isn’t any straightforward job. Shifting on from their preliminary gross sales growth post-2010, slates have begun to coalesce into a variety of discrete segments – with the ‘pill’ in its purest sense disappearing at a speedy tempo.For the ability customers who desire a pill which doubles as a pc, there’s the Microsoft Floor Professional and different Floor slates. Those that are invested within the Apple ecosystem will get plenty of mileage from the likes of the iPad Professional 10.5, and Google continues to be making an attempt to determine make Android click on with the shape issue.Within the midst of this, Amazon has carved its personal area of interest by manufacturing and promoting bucketloads of lower-specification, bargain-priced slates to the plenty.Some tablets within the Amazon Fireplace sequence promote for as little as $30/£30 in gross sales, and the brand new Amazon Fireplace HD Eight (2018) takes this ethos and runs with it. The bottom mannequin runs at $79.99/£79.99 (and on the time of writing is already on sale for £60 within the UK) and provides 1.5GB of RAM, an 800 x 1280 display, 16GB of storage and an unspecified quad-core 1.3GHz chipset.It comes with lock display adverts by default (costing $15/£10 to take away) and Amazon’s personal customized model of Android – which can be a great or a foul factor relying each in your outlook and buying habits.Then there’s the brand new ‘Present’ dock, which permits your new pill to function a comparatively cut-price Alexa gadget, do you have to want to introduce a sensible speaker to your property.With this in thoughts, is the worth promised on this price range bundle definitely worth the hype? Or had been too many corners lower within the manufacturing?Amazon Fireplace HD Eight (2018) worth and availabilityOut now within the UK and USBase mannequin (16GB) prices £79.99 / $79.99The Amazon Fireplace HD Eight (2018) is on the market now direct from Amazon within the US and UK for $79.99 / £59.99 (round AU$110). Amazon nonetheless sells the earlier era of tablets, so you’ll want to examine you are shopping for the eighth era that was launched in 2018.That worth above is for a 16GB mannequin, however you may also get a 32GB one for $109.99 / £99.99 (roughly AU$155) or add a ‘Present’ charging dock to both model for more cash nonetheless. You additionally need to pay an additional $15/£10 in order for you a model with out lock display adverts. Nonetheless, no matter model you select it is a low cost pill.Key features8-inch 800 x 1280 display16/32GB of storageWide number of shade choices‘Present’ dockWhat marks the eighth era of the Fireplace tablets above all these which have come earlier than is the non-compulsory inclusion of the ‘Present’ dock.By including this dock to the slate, which additionally has Amazon’s Alexa assistant included, what has been created is a severe rival to Amazon’s personal devoted Echo Present. There may be different competitors on this area too although, such because the Lenovo Sensible Show and Google House Hub for instance.All the things else that this pill options should be taken inside the context of the worth charged, with Amazon nearly giving these away within the hopes of locking customers into its procuring and content material ecosystems.The display is an 800 x 1280 pixel affair which beats out each different pill on this worth vary for decision and value, with the one actual competitor being Amazon’s cheaper Fireplace 7 (2017), which boasts a display straight from the reducing fringe of 2011.Two flavors of the Fireplace HD Eight (2018) can be found, 16GB and 32GB, with the choice so as to add a microSD card as much as 400GB in measurement (a purchase order which in itself would value greater than the pill). Which means that those that wish to take a conveyable slate with them on public transport to look at video on the go shall be properly served. The Amazon Fireplace HD Eight (2018) additionally boasts one other small however considerate addition which can little doubt please consumers – quite a lot of completely different shade choices in addition to a ‘children’ model. Yellow, Blue, Purple and Black can all be had, with the reviewed Canary Yellow model wanting fairly dapper and holding consideration regardless of the plastic construct.The talked about ‘children’ model comes with a particular (functionally indestructible) thick rubber case and particular software program features to assist helicopter dad and mom.Not touted fairly as loudly as different options is the supposed ruggedness of this pill, with Amazon claiming it to be a least twice as sturdy because the glass and metallic iPad lineup.Definitely, seeing an $80/£80 gadget crash in the direction of a hardwood flooring in gradual movement is a distinct expertise to seeing a cherished funding do the identical – however the added sturdiness is appreciated regardless.DesignSlightly creaky, however reassuringly weightyYellow possibility stands outTablets on the price range finish of the spectrum incur a distinct set of standards to be judged by when in comparison with smartphones. A smartphone is one thing the consumer takes of their hand all through the day, in entrance of an amazing many individuals – in brief it’s a prime instance of conspicuous consumption. Consider it as a graceful swimsuit, a luxurious object.From this, an inexpensive pill is the equal of a pair of comfortable slippers. It’s one thing which individuals come house to, which is used throughout downtime. It lives within the area between the cushions of the couch, or on the backside of a satchel. The Amazon Fireplace HD Eight (2018) matches proper in to this life-style.With a sturdy plastic construct and the marketed sturdiness, customers can really feel snug tossing one across the house (although by no means too enthusiastically) largely with out consequence. It is a gadget for households, for many who worth money above flash.Saying this, we did encounter an odd flex in sure parts of the rear of the gadget, nonetheless this may occasionally merely be a quirk of the overview unit.The again of the Fireplace HD Eight (2018) homes an Amazon brand and the rear-facing digicam. Both sides is sort of fully flush, aside from the highest, which accommodates the quantity buttons, a three.5mm headphone jack (hooray), the ability button and a micro USB port (boo).The left facet homes two small cutouts for the dual audio system, whereas the fitting facet holds a microSD card slot.On the entrance of the gadget will be discovered the Eight-inch 800 x 1280 display together with the 2MP selfie digicam.In all, that is an unassuming gadget, which at 363g isn’t any dainty presence within the hand, however one which exudes a sure form of design confidence that comes from exactly understanding one’s area of interest.ScreenGets fairly brightNot very correct colorsGiven that the first use of many tablets is the consumption of media, the display is make or break in virtually each occasion. Sadly, there are an amazing many price range tablets, particularly these which value lower than $100/£100, which have really poor screens.As such, it’s considerably fortunate that, whereas the Amazon Fireplace HD Eight (2018) won’t win any awards for its display, nor will it evaluate to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4, it’s actually ok for watching Netflix on the go, or studying a guide.Brightness is maybe its strongest swimsuit. Though not fairly suited to very sunny days, it will probably actually compete properly with most indoor mild sources and has a good backlight, with no ‘bleed’ points so far as we might see.As for decision, that is realistically the minimal that Amazon might get away with for the worth. With 189 pixels per inch it’s properly under what we’d think about to be ‘retina’ territory, that’s the place the human eye ceases to note particular person pixels.Textual content can seem a bit of jaggy when studying, an issue which we notably encountered with the net browser. For the worth, it’s forgivable, however solely simply.Colour replica is one other weak spot. This display is washed out and missing the vibrancy which attracts the consumer in to their content material. Once more although, nothing extra might realistically have been anticipated, and for vegetating on the couch it’s greater than sufficient total.