The Naked Tablet : Accessorizing Noel's Kindle HD 8.9

I ordered by Kindle Fire HD 8.9 last December when it was on sale for a day at $259. I find 7 inch tablets too small for my big fingers and 10.1 inch tablets were still typically over $400. Thus the 8.9 inch screen at $259 seemed a reasonable compromise of price and size. I also purposed to keep my costs down for the total purchase price on the device, wanting to move to something larger and faster in as little as two years. The easiest way to do enable that is to not spend a lot of money accessorizing it: hence the post title, "The Naked Tablet".

As for the tablet itself, it has worked out OK for me. My main complaint is the lack of Google apps like Google Earth and Google Maps via the Amazon app store. I could "side load" them, but don't want to get a non-standard configuration. The Kindle Fire HD also doesn't support Flash.

A typical recommended configuration would include the customized case for $55 and a screen protector for $20, bringing the total price up another $75. I decided to go naked without a screen protector and also seek a lower cost case and accessories that could be reused with a future tablet of a different size. What I've bought for my tablet so far as accessories are

$10  Kindle charger (not included in the box and typically $20 when not on sale)
$13  Case Logic case (Amazon Basics also have some affordable ones)
$11  Tablet stand from Amazon Basics
$14  Stylus (actually I got this earlier for my Smart phone)
$  8  HDMI cord from Amazon Basics

The stereo speakers on the Fire HD are fairly good, so I haven't seen a need to use an external set of speakers when listening to music in the Digital Den. The 1920 x 1080 display is great.

My main use this past winter and spring has been email, Facebook, Pandora, and checking weather. I hope to do more reading as we move into summer. Like all tablets, it isn't a stellar display in bright sunlight, but I do have a Kindle with e-Ink for outdoor reading. Page refreshes hesitate at times, but overall aren't bad.

In general, the device has met my cost/performance expectations. The 10.1 inch tablets have been falling in price, so I'm not sure what I would consider the cross-over point for getting a comparable 10.1 instead of the 8.9 Fire HD. Probably at $300.