The Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch Android tablet offers great content, features and formidable processing power. However, the real news is Amazon's ambitious 24/7 customer tech support program on the HDX called Mayday. The feature offers live video help at your command.
As soon as we got our hands on a review unit, we had to take it for a test drive. Here are some things to know about Mayday:
It only works with Wi-Fi access.
It really is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
It's free.
You can see a small-on screen tech support assistant, but they cannot see you.
Yes, they can hear you.
The tech support assistants will ask you to verify your identity (name, email address and account home address) before offering to help.
You can drag and drop the Mayday box to any spot on the screen.
The Mayday box stays visible on top of every screen.
Mayday support techs can, with your permission, control the screen and even change settings.
As you can see in the video above, Mayday is the real deal. We failed to stump them or even wear out their patience. We can't wait to test out Mayday's sustainability when Amazon starts selling the 16 GB Amazon Kindle Fire HDX ($229) in bulk.
Let us know what you think of its performance in the comments below.
Image: Mashable
We got our hands on the Wi-Fi model. There's also an LTE version (AT&T or Verizon)
Amazon's packaging is almost as good as Apple's.
The launch screen is pretty familiar.
It's 0.35-inches thick and 10.7 ounces.
The mostly soft-touch back features Dolby Stereo speakers, a volume rocker on the left and a power/sleep button on the right.
It's the carousel you know and love.
Don't like the carousel? Try the new grid view.
The powerful CPU and graphics engine make console-level gaming possible.
That's a live tech support guy I reached at around 11PM ET.
Now you really can sing along with any song.
It's a great experience, and all synchronized with any other Kindle device or app you use.
The new Origami case/cover folds up for portrait or landscape viewing. I kept getting confused about how to pinch the center to fold it properly, but I eventually got the hang of it.
A sideview of the new stand.