Tuesday, October 23, 2012

iPad mini vs. Kindle Fire HD - Know Your Cell











The iPad mini?was just announced and it's an exciting portable tablet but how does it compare to devices like the Amazon Kindle Fire HD? We break it down for you.??

Screen size

The iPad mini will feature a 7.9-inch display with a 1024 x 768 display and that's the same resolution as the iPad 2. That resolution means it will be able to easily run the existing apps in the App Store.?

Much like the full iPad lineup, the Amazon Kindle HD tablets will give you the choices of screen sizes: You can pick up a tablet from Amazon with a 7-inch screen or an 8.9-inch display. We'll focus on the 7-inch tablet for now since the 8.9-inch version isn't on the market yet.?

The Kindle Fire HD has a nice 7-inch screen with a 1280 x 800 resolution and it's quite a nice display. Watching videos is a delight and it's quite responsive to your touch. Amazon has done a really nice job with this one and it actually outdoes the iPad mini when it comes to pixels per inch. ?

Other specs

Apple is claiming that the iPad mini is every bit an iPad, just smaller. That means you can expect a dual-core A5 processor, Wi-Fi, GPS, multiple cameras, the option for 4G LTE and also things like the gyroscope inside (key for gaming). While the processor isn't the most powerful that Apple offers -- that would be the A6X), it's still going to be more than enough to power your Web browsing, games and more.?

Once again, Amazon has done a nice job of making sure its Kindle Fire HD didn't lag behind the competition when it comes to specs (not really the case with last year's Kindle Fire). The latest Kindle Fire HD tablets sport a 1.2 GHz TI OMAP 4470 processor, two Wi-Fi antennas for a better connection, Dolby audio and a front-facing camera.?

The Kindle Fire HD performs well and operates like a modern tablet should. If you pick one up, it should deliver a high-quality experience.?

Software

The iPad 4th generation will launch with iOS 6 and despite the hubbub over the Maps app, it's the best version of Apple's software yet. If you haven't used iOS before, you should know that it's very intuitive and easy to pick up and understand.?

Just because it's simple doesn't mean it's not powerful, as iOS 6 features a host of useful features. It now has Facebook and Twitter built in, so sharing photos, links and more on your social network only takes a few clicks. E-mail, browsing, taking photos and everything else you'd expect is very simple to do with iOS 6.?

The App Store may be the best thing about iOS 6, as it's filled with more than 700,000 apps that can run on this tablet. Sure, not all of those are custom built for this size but you probably won't have to wait too long until you see a variety of high-quality programs built specificially for this iPad.?

The Amazon Kindle Fire HD is based on Android Ice Cream Sandwich?but don't expect to see the Google Play store on this thing because the Amazon tablet has its own custom user interface. Amazon has skinned its tablet to include a carousel-like interface and this makes finding your apps and content pretty easy.?

This customized version of Android is good and bad. It's good because it's cleaner and prettier than stock Ice Cream Sandwich and it also includes Amazon-specific software like FreeTime, which lets you limit how much time a kid can spend on certain programs.?On the negative side, the Amazon App Store for Android?will give you a free premium app each day but it's not as filled with content as the Google Play Store. ?

Ecosystem

Apple is still the clear leader when it comes to having a complete tablet ecosystem but Amazon isn't as far behind as you may think. The iPad mini will be able to hook into the vast iTunes ecosystem for a variety of songs, movies, television shows and apps.

It's not just the content, as Apple has done a solid job of building out its online services. The iPad ?will be compatible with the iCloud?and this makes it easy to keep your content backed up in a seamless way. This also makes file management between your iDevices very simple.?

Apple is also dominant in an area that doesn't get spoken about often: the accessories. Sure, the Lightning cable?may cut into how many interesting third-party accessories there are at launch but you can be sure the market will soon have a variety of covers, docks, Kickstarter products and more.?

Amazon has a few cases for its Kindle Fire HD and we'll see some from third-party providers but it's not in the same class as the iPad XYZ. Luckily, Amazon matches or exceeds Apple is other ecosystem categories.?

The Amazon Music store and its movie and television selection is quite stellar. If you're on Amazon Prime, you'll also get free streaming access to a (somewhat limited) selection of free TV shows and movies. The Amazon Cloud Player?is also an incredible way to get all your music on your device without having to eat up your internal storage space.?

Price

The iPad mini will start at $329 for the 16GB version and getting more storage or 4G LTE data will increase the costs. Basically, expect to pay $100 more for each storage update you want and 4G LTE support will cost even more.?

The Amazon Kindle Fire HD has the Apple tablet beat on price, as you can get a 16GB Amazon tablet for $199 and the 32GB version will cost $249. Keep in mind these prices also mean you'll get the "special offers" or ads but you can pay about $20 to get rid of those.?

Bottom line

By this point, you should know what you're going to get with an Apple product. The Apple mini is going to be a well-built device that's intuitive to use, has a robust app, content and accessory ecosystem and it will fit in nicely with your other Apple products. The latest iPad will be much more portable than the larger version but it will still give you that iPad experience you want. It's not going to be as cheap as the competiton, but that premium may be worth it when you consider the apps and ecosystem.?

The Amazon Kindle Fire HD tablets may be geared toward those who want to spend a bit less on a device but don't want to compromise on quality or performance. The Kindle Fire HD provides a good experience filled with a wealth of content but the app and accessory selection may lag behind Apple's latest tablet.?

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Source: http://www.knowyourcell.com/news/1646921/apple_ipad_mini_vs_kindle_fire_hd.html

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