The hottest new products on the market hit the streets while I was on vacation…the Kindle Fire at $199 and the Nook Tablet at $249. These two products usher in a new product category of sub-$250 tablets. Which is best and how do they compare with the more expensive Apple iPad?
I am going to let you decide by reading some of the best and most in-depth reviews I could find. Trust me, there are many more than are listed here. Because of the interest in this new line of low priced tablets, everyone and their brother has written a review. Do a Google search and see what I mean. The reviews I include here are by experts I respect. I’ve included stand alone reviews of each product and a comparison review. To be honest, it is early days yet and a thorough comparison review is difficult as both products are adding new features and apps, even as we speak.
What is my opinion? Again, difficult for me to objectively analyze for a couple of reasons…one, I don’t own either yet…and two, I am thoroughly involved with the Kindle/Amazon universe as I‘ve owned and loved a Kindle for two years.
Your own decision may be heavily influenced by whether you already own a Kindle or Nook e-reader…which is only to be expected and should be a strong consideration. But, as Kindle user, I am leaning heavily toward the Fire, for more reasons than you might think.
First, the Fire universe is far larger than the Nook. By that I mean that most Android apps are available for the Fire…but not the Nook. There are thousands and thousands of those applications out there…I have some of the best ones on my Android phone and use them regularly. So having access to additional apps is critical to my way of thinking.
Second, the Fire has 8GB of memory and the Nook 16GB. But that number is very, very deceptive. Barnes and Noble reserves 15 of the 16GB for their products, leaving only 1GB available for your apps. The Fire has no such restrictions…so, in fact, you may have more useable memory in the Fire.
Third, the Fire can do most of the same things as an Apple iPad, for about $300 less. It’s nearly 3” smaller than the iPad, but still an extremely usable size at 7”.
On my recent photo expedition, my friend Dave brought his iPad while I brought my small netbook computer. So, I had a chance to use the iPad along side a computer and decide if I wanted or needed a tablet. While I loved what I could do with the iPad, I found it just a little too big for me. But darn…the information we could access was amazing.
As photographers, weather and light conditions are very important to both of us, and we had those kind of applications on the tablet. Yes, those things are available on a computer as well, but harder to get at in the field. Tablets are up and running the instant you turn them on, not so with a computer. So, the functionality of a tablet became very apparent to me on this trip.
As for reading, I still prefer the e-ink screen of a regular Kindle, but I don’t have any of the other functions a tablet offers. I look forward to reading a book on a tablet.
The other thing to remember when buying a tablet is they are a consumption device and not very useful for production. In other words, I would find it extremely difficult to write this blog very easily on any tablet…unless I had a plug-in keyboard. But I can read books, watch movies and surf the Internet quite easily.
I hope I ‘ve given you something to think about if you are considering a tablet, but I encourage you to read the articles below to see which might be right for you…or you might want to wait a bit as tablet computing is still in its early days. I’m sure the best is yet to come. -JRC
The Amazon Kindle Fire puts the Apple iPad on notice. The Fire is the first small tablet that average users can pick up and immediately use, with a simple, clear interface. Then there's the price: Android along with amazing specs for just $199.
PCMag got our Kindle Fire review unit a few days before we got the Nook Tablet, so it was tough to do side-by-side comparisons. We ended up giving the Kindle Fire our Editors' Choice for 7- inch tablets and I will confess I was a little worried that the Nook may come out as the superior device. In the end, I think we got the call right. The Nook tablet is a fantastic reading device, but the Fire makes a better overall media tablet.
If you want a low cost tablet for media consumption (music and videos), games, web browsing, and more with the ability to also read books then the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet are two solid devices to consider. I have been using both for a couple days and am having a tough time choosing just one.
The Kindle Fire is not an "iPad killer" because it's not a 1:1 replacement for Apple's far more expensive and complex device. But it is in fact an excellent iPad alternative, because it does exactly what most people want and it does so at a price that is ridiculously low. But price aside, the Kindle Fire is an excellent piece of hardware.
With a new dual-core processor, 16GB of memory, improved app store, and a few more multimedia features, this year Barnes & Noble is hoping that the Tablet can capture the hearts of those out there looking for an iPad alternative that's more than just a color e-reader. But will it? Does the Tablet live up to its name? Can it extinguish the Fire? Read on to find out.
I have the new Kindle Fire from Amazon in my hot little hands and I’m not letting go. It’s going to take the tablet market by storm.
Amazon and Barnes & Noble want you to buy only their content on the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet respectively, and new owners are finding out the companies are serious about that.
Amazon may be launching at least one larger version of the Kindle Fire in the first half of 2012. According to DigiTimes, the Taiwanese blog with deep connections in manufacturer supply chains, Amazon is preparing to release the device in new 8.9-inch and 10.1-inch screen sizes. The 8.9-inch size is said to be prepping for launch first.
