Amazons Kindle Fire update brings the best of both worlds to the Fire HD and HDX

Amazon doesnt want to just be known as your entertainment portal--it wants to be your everything portal. The company hopes to continue to instill that vibe with the latest software update for its Android-based tablet line. Fire OS 3.1 begins rolling out Monday to Kindle Fire HD and Fire HDX devices, bringing with it a few new features, like enterprise support and wireless printing to turn your existing Kindle into more than just a destination for ebooks and video. The update also beefs up the last-generation Kindle Fire HD with some of the HDXs marquee features.

Amazon unveils Fire OS 3.1 update for Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire HDX tablets

BYOD, finally

For Amazon to make its tablets a be-all, end-all device for consumers, it needed to cater to the business crowd, too. The device now includes better enterprise support with features like the ability to connect to secure Wi-Fi networks and log on to a corporate network via VPN. Fire OS 3.1 also supports Kerberos authentication for more secure browsing of your companys internal Intranet through the Silk browser, as well as a Kindle-specific device management API to make life easier on your IT department.

See what your friends are reading

Amazon aims to be more friendly with the integrated Goodreads social network for book lovers. The service lets you connect with friends to share things like your favorite quotes, what youre currently reading, and what you thought of the books youve read. You can also import every book youve ever bought or read through Amazon into your Goodreads account and sign up for a daily or weekly newsletter that offers suggestions on whats new to read in your favorite genres.

Share your screen with your TV
As if the Amazon Video app on almost every set-top box out there wasnt enough, the bundled Second Screen feature is now supported for the older Kindle Fire HD. Second Screen lets you "fling" movies from your Kindle to your television set through supported third-party devices. Amazon writes that the feature is meant to free up your device so that you can use it for apps like X-Ray or browsing the Web--a definite ploy to get you to always use the device when youre thinking of entertainment in your living room. The feature is currently limited to the PlayStation 3 and compatible Samsung TVs, though Amazon writes that it will be available later this year for the just-released PlayStation 4.

Other miscellaneous features in Fire OS 3.1 include things like wireless printing and voice dictation to convert your speech into text. Voice dictation is available in all languages when youre connected to a network, though only English is available offline.

If many of the new features sound familiar, thats because Amazon is taking a page out of the iOS/Android playbook to make its tablet lineup more attractive to those who want something more than just a content consumption device. You can pick up the update by heading into the Settings panel, Device, and then checking to see if there is a System update available, or by visiting Amazons official software updates page.

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First Impressions GoPro Helmet Hero HD

One of the daily deals site offered the GoPro Helmet Hero HD for $135, and at that price I jumped on it in the hopes that I might be able to replicate the results of my touring videos locally, without having to carry a stoker up mountains (or deal with a stokers sway as she manhandles the camera at speed!).

At that price, the camera can double as a HD camera as well, for general use as well as if my brothers or friends want to borrow it for skiing.

The device comes with the camera, a waterproof case (with both a waterproof backing and a non-waterproof backing), several adhesive mounts for attaching it to a motor-vehicle, as well as a helmet mount. Sadly enough, the device as is does not come with a scuba unit, though a scuba case can be bought separately through eye of mine for about $100.

The camera comes with a few modes, 720p, 960p, and 1080p. The default is the 960p, which is a weird mode which produces a square picture. The reason for this is that on a bike you might look up and down often and it could be useful to get more picture of road. Having tried it once (see sample video), Im likely to stick with 1080p.

On the helmet, the camera does weigh your head down more. Im not sure I would want to carry it up a major mountain pass on my head, though sticking it into your saddlebag (or jersey pocket) and mounting it for the descents seems like something eminently doable. (Uphill, I have no issues with manipulating a Canon S100.

The output of the video is huge. For 1.5 hours, itll use up 8GB, so at least a 16GB card would be recommended for any kind of extended use. The battery will run out in 2.5 hours, so getting more than 16GB would be pretty pointless unless you have a spare battery. As for the lens quality, you can see it generates a lot of flare when pointed into the sun, so I would make a note of that. This is pretty bad, because cyclists dont usually have control over the flare or not. Note that the camera is designed for what I call "point and pray". Since theres no display for the image youre getting, and the cameras mounted on your helmet, you just cant possibly know what youre shooting until you get home.

On an unsupported tour, Im not sure I would want to have this on my head or in my saddlebag. It weighs only 213 grams (without the charger), but since it uses up video pretty quickly, youd either have to carry a stack of SD cards, or youd have to carry some sort of additional storage, which would be even more weight. On a supported tour, however, such as the first half of our tour of the alps, I would consider it eminently usable. I am now extremely curious to see if I can get Pardo or some other fast descender to stick it on his helmet and take it down Page Mill Road or Highway 9.

For editing the video, unlike indoor videos, where lighting frequently demands color correction (meaning you pretty much need Adobe Premiere Elements or some other such software), outdoor videos dont need much color correction, and all the editing can be done with say, Windows Live Movie Maker, which is what I used for the above sample. The output will likely be huge, but with storage essentially free on YouTube, theres no reason not to store your video there and delete it from your hard drive afterwards.

Would I recommend this? I hesitate. First of all, video editing is much tougher than photo editing. Its not clear that I want to do it, or for that matter anyone else. Secondly, Ive been very happy with my compact camera photos, and Im not sure if video would help. On the other hand, I want to attach it to some of my friends helmets so I can see how they descend, or get their comments on my descents as well, so in that sense its a useful tool.

Ironically, the one place that the HD Hero would be most useful is actually for Scuba. The 2.5 hour battery life is just right for a 2-tank dive, and the fact that the Scuba case comes with a wrist attachment means that it wont get in the way, unlike the Canon underwater housing Ive been using. Neutral buoyancy would also be a non-issue since it would be attached to you, and the case has essentially no air, unlike the Canon cases. Ill probably give it a shot and see. In the mean time, I see no reason to regret the decision at the price I got it for.

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