Marco.org

I’m : a programmer, writer, podcaster, geek, and coffee enthusiast.

Amazon Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2

Amazon published this Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2 page shortly after its announcement on September 28, 2011. I thought it was just a temporary promo, but it turns out that Amazon is still pushing it heavily.

It’s interesting that the quotes under “What People Are Saying” aren’t linked to their sources (Gizmodo, Extreme Tech, Ars Technica, Forbes/Mobiledia). Maybe it’s because all of them are simply reactions to the Fire’s specs and price after the announcement, not reviews from anyone who actually used one. By those standards, I could have been quoted along with them that day:

“The Fire will be the first Android-powered tablet to sell in meaningful volume… It’s definitely going to compete with the iPad” — Marco.org

…but the context is far less effusive.

Why hasn’t Amazon updated the page with actual reviews since the Fire’s launch? Surely they can find some positive ones.

Anyway, the main attraction of Amazon’s Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2 page is the big comparison table. Other people’s feature-comparison checklists always leave out factors that are important to me, so I made my own additions that Amazon is welcome to include on their page:

Kindle Fire iPad
Price
$199
$300 less than iPad 2
$499
 
Volume Buttons
No
Yes
Stability
Needs Improvement
Very Stable
Home Screen
Frustrating
That was a small swipe. Did you mean to tap? Try again
Easy
Tap an app to open it
Magazine Reading
Infuriatingly Awful
Pretty Good
Netflix
Poor
No HD, no complete full-screen viewing, poor stability, and no convenient way to adjust the volume during playback
Very Good
HD-quality streams, stable app, volume adjustable via convenient buttons
Available Apps
Not A Lot
And mostly crap
A Lot
Critically acclaimed apps and award-winning games
Web Browsing Speed
Amazon Says It’s Faster
Reviewers disagree
Everyone Else Says It’s Faster
They must be fanboys
Overall Speed
Frustratingly Sluggish
Very Fast
Syncing Music And Videos From Your Computer
Only Manually
And 6 GB is really small
Automatically with iTunes
16–64 GB sizes available
Available Cases And Accessories
Very Few
Tons
3G Data
Not Available
Isn’t everyone always on a Wi-Fi network?
Available
$129 extra plus $15/month for 3G service
Automatic Shutoff Feature
Yes
Sleeps automatically when idle or if you rest the bottom edge on a table or your pants or pretty much anything
Yes
Sleeps automatically when idle or when a supporting case is closed
Your Kids Can Charge Whatever They Want To Your Credit Card
Yes
Configurable
And all purchases require your password
Fun
Only If You Hate Life
Yes
Delightful
You Will Want To Throw It Out The Window
Yes
Kindle Fire iPad