You may have heard that the new Kindle Fire HD line comes with Bluetooth functionality, and you may have thought, “Wow, that sounds cool, but what’s it for?” Bluetooth expands the capabilities and convenience of your Fire HD through Bluetooth-enabled, wireless accessories. For example:
The Ionic Bluetooth Keyboard Stand Leather Case Cover (available in a model designed for the 7″ KFHD and another designed for the 8.9″ KFHD, both currently on sale for $34.85, half off the usual retail price of $79.85), provides a protective cover and a wireless keyboard for your Fire HD. If you just can’t seem to get used to using the on-screen keyboard, this is an accessory you’ll be very glad to own.
The LG Tone Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headset (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $45.46, 35% off its usual retail price) features a lightweight collar that’s worn around the neck to receive and transmit the Bluetooth signal, plus noise-cancelling earbuds. Pictured at right.
If you need a headset with a microphone, such as for making video calls with Skype, consider the Motorola S305 Bluetooth Stereo Headset w/ Microphone (4/5 stars, currently priced at $31.99, 68% off its usual price). Pictured at left.
For those who already have a case for their KFHD, but want an external Bluetooth keyboard, the Motorola Wireless Keyboard with Trackpad (4/5 stars, currently priced at $59.99, 40% off its usual retail price) may be just the ticket.
Finally, even though the Dual Dolby Stereo speakers on the KFHD provide excellent sound, if you want to crank up the tunes or video volume even higher, you might want to pick up the Veho VSS-006-360BT Bluetooth Wireless Speaker (4/5 stars, currently priced at $26.67, 47% off its usual retail price).
Our own Editor in Chief has tested the Bluetooth capabilities of the KFHD, and found it’s very simple to get connected to various Bluetooth accessories:
1. Turn on your Bluetooth accessory(ies) and your KFHD
2. Swipe downward from the top of the KFHD screen to open the device menu and tap on the More icon (looks like a plus sign in a circle).
3. Select Wireless from the More menu.
4. Under Wireless, tap Bluetooth to select it, then tap “On” to turn it on. The KFHD will immediately search for any Bluetooth-enabled devices within range and display them on the screen. You can tap to connect to any or all of them.
Note that Bluetooth does consume battery power, so be sure to turn it off when you’re not using it.
So you see, Bluetooth on the KFHD not only sounds like a cool feature, it IS a cool feature!
Kindle Fire HD Bluetooth does NOT work with headsets (headphone/microphone combination). The Kindle Fire HD web site FAQ page states this clearly. I wanted this feature for doing skype calls. I tried pairing a Plantronics cell-phone-style headset; Kindle detected it, biut stated that the Kindle does not support this combination.
We should lobby Amazon to add headset support for Kindle fire in a future SW upgrade, if it is doable via software!
We tested it with a Motorola Bluetooth headset and pairing worked. So while Amazon does not advertise this as a feature, possibly because it doesn’t work for all brands, it does work with *some* brands.
I have a motorola T505 bluetooth that allows me to hear music from my kindle fire hd 8.9″ … can i use y mic on this kindle to be hea4d to e T505?
Al – It’s not clear what it is you’re asking here, but the product page for the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ says it has built-in Bluetooth so we suggest you simply try pairing your Bluetooth device with your Fire. The Bluetooth option can be found under Settings (the gear-shaped icon in the main menu ribbon). If you encounter difficulties in getting your Bluetooth device to pair, we suggest you contact Amazon Kindle customer support directly for further assistance.