title: Kindle Fire HD (7") screen resolution: difference between spec and JS/CSS detected resolution
body: <p>I don't know if I'm misunderstanding something fundamental in how screen resolutions work, but I'm getting stuck on an issue with the Kindle Fire HD (7").</p>
  
  <p>I have a responsively designed page that, as normal, uses CSS media queries to change the presentation of certain elements. This works as expected on all browsers and devices tested, except for when browsing with the Kindle Fire HD (7"). According to specs (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindle_Fire_HD" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindle_Fire_HD</a>) it has a screen resolution of <strong>1280 x 800</strong> px. This is also verified when I check the device using WURFL's test tool at tools.scientiamobile.com. </p>
  
  <p>So... I have breakpoint screen widths set for</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>'mobile' - <strong>767px</strong> and below</li>
  <li>'tablet' - <strong>768 - 989 px</strong></li>
  <li>'desktop' - <strong>990px</strong> and above</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>... so I'd expect the Kindle Fire to display my page in 'tablet' mode in portrait orientation, or 'desktop' mode in landscape. However instead it shows it in unexpectedly smaller breakpoints: 'mobile' mode in portrait, and 'tablet' mode in landscape.</p>
  
  <p>On closer inspection, I'm not sure this is actually much to do with my webpage, or its CSS. When using this device, I also seem to be seeing 'smaller' breakpoint views of other RWD sites (e.g. in portrait mode, I get the 'tiny' breakpoint view of getbootstrap.com, which is aimed at 767px and below). </p>
  
  <p>What's then strange is that, when detecting the screen size using JavaScript, I get <strong>534 x 854px</strong> (and have also tested this again on other sites, like supportdetails.com, and got the same results). </p>
  
  <p>I haven't found any similar issues reported re this device, so I'm wondering a) if anyone's encountered similar issues, or b) if I'm just misunderstanding something crucial with how screen resolutions are detected by different devices.</p>
  
  <p>Thanks!</p>