Review: Slightly faster charger for the original Fire; much better form factor
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 14, 2012
I purchased this to go along with my new 8.9 inch Fire HD (and I'm counting the days until it arrives), but it also works with the original Fire. I found the major benefit for the original Fire to be the better form factor -- unlike the "wart" shape of the original Fire charger, this is much more sleek, with folding plugs to make it very easy to carry in a case. Very simple, clean design.The downside to using it with the original Fire is that you need to provide your own cable from the charger to the Fire, as the charger does NOT include it.The charge time is only slightly faster for the original Fire. Using the app Battery HD to measure charge time and level, the new charger saved about 15 minutes to go from a 15% charge to a 100% charge versus the original charger. Faster, but not a huge gain. I expect that the differential in terms of charge time for the new Fire (especially the 8.9 inch one) will be much greater when comparing this charger with using a USB port to charge. I'll post results once I have my 8.9 inch Fire.While it's not a compelling purchase if you have the original Fire, it is worth getting (at 50% off) if ordered with a new HD Fire, especially if you can also get the MP3 credit. I'm giving it 5-stars since, at the price paid, it's very handy to have as a spare charger, and it's MUCH easier to take along than the original Fire charger.