Tablet Comparison: iPad vs. Kindle Fire HD
Amazon made a splash today with the announcement of a group of new Kindles, none more squarely aimed at taking on Apple’s iPad than the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD.
Amazon is selling the base model, WiFi-only, Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ for just $299 with 16GB. At that price, it’s $100 less than the least expensive iPad, last year’s iPad 2 with a lower-resolution display.
The real device of intrigue announced by Amazon is the 4G LTE-enabled, Kindle Fire HD 8.9″, which starts at $499 with 32GB, $230 cheaper than the equivalent iPad. And a 250MB data plan for Amazon’s tablet costs just $49.99 a year, or almost $130 less than what it would cost with the iPad.
Another difference between the two are the cameras. The iPad has a 5-megapixel rear camera that records 1080p video; the Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ lacks a rear camera entirely. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ does have a front-facing HD camera HD, better than the the iPad’s VGA sensor.
Further, Amazon improved the Kindle Fire HD’s Wi-Fi capabilities, with a pair of antennas (the iPad has single antenna) and MIMO support. It also supports 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz bands, which the iPad already did (the original Kindle Fire did not).
How does the rest of the specs compare? Take a look at the chart below:
What do you think of the Kindle Fire HD? iPad competitor?