Opinion: The Massive Difference Between a $200 Kindle Fire and a $500 Tablet
If you expect the Fire to be a $200 iPad, then there is a good chance that you will be disappointed.
Yesterday, Amazon officially released its Kindle Fire, which is expected to offer a serious alternative to Apple’s iPad. However, the Fire will only live up to your expectations if you remember what you can buy with $200.
I can’t recall a non-Apple product for which we have been waiting as anxiously as we have for the Kindle Fire. Perhaps we are starving for tablets, or maybe we are just searching for one that is an affordable alternative to the iPad. If you have already purchased a Fire, then you know that it is not a means of getting an iPad for less than half the price. If you plan to order a tablet for Christmas, it would be a good idea to know exactly what capabilities you want in one. Depending on your needs, the Fire could be a waste of money (even if it is just $200).
Kindle Fire: What your $200 buys
The Fire is a 7-inch tablet that is built with the purpose of simple web browsing as well as using Amazon’s core digital entertainment services (books, music, and video) and a limited set of Android applications.
A positive aspect of the tablet is clearly the Amazon content offering with local and cloud storage as well as a slick web browser. Also, its display is the best I have seen in the $200 class of tablets so far. However, there is only so much that $200 can buy, and much of that value is derived from the Amazon platform rather than the Fire’s features. For example, I found the dual-core processor to be slower in everyday browsing than specs of the chip suggest. Compared to high-end tablets, there are occasionally delays when an app is launched.
When you consider a tablet, it is prudent to not only consider what you get, but also what you do not get. The Fire, for example, does not have cameras. Its screen is larger than your average smartphone, but it still feels a bit small for web browsing and typing emails. Furthermore, it does not include a microphone, a memory expansion slot (there are 8 GB of memory included), 3G/4G or GPS. The last feature is critical because it is the most likely reason why Amazon uses a curated Android app store. There are many of the big applications, but there are neither maps features, for example, nor applications such as “Sky,” which have made Android particularly appealing.
After one day of heavy usage, I consider the Kindle Fire a compelling tablet in its price category but not overall. The following are some alternatives.
Pandigital SuperNova: Two steps forward and two back
If the 7-inch size is a problem, there is an 8-inch option for $200—the Pandigital SuperNova, which we recently described in more detail. You will get two cameras, a Flash expansion slot, HDMI interface, a microphone and a much more standard Android (2.3) UI surface. The SuperNova has plenty of book content (Barnes & Noble) but no music service or Netflix (at least not yet). The display is not as crisp as the screen in the Fire, and there is only a single-core processor, which is, however, subjectively just as fast as the chip in the Fire.
Pandigital uses GetJar as its app market. This tablet, like the Fire, also lacks a GPS unit and does not qualify for the Android Market. App variety in such devices is definitely a problem. Personally, I feel that the 8-inch units are somewhat more attractive as they are small enough to easily fit in backpacks, briefcases and purses. However, they are much more convenient to use than the small 7-inch devices. If you are considering a $200 tablet, keep an open mind. There are products out there that may suit your needs better than the Kindle Fire.
Spend $400 and you get the kind of tablet everyone is talking about
I have been using several 7-inch, 8-inch and 10-inch tablets in parallel for several weeks. One of the lessons I have learned is that there is no perfect tablet at this time. There is always some sort of compromise you will have to make.
If you spend at least $400, you could, depending on your expectations, easily get twice the value. The Acer Iconia tablet has 16 GB of memory, Android 3.x, GPS and full access to Google’s Android Market. Unlimited access to it carries considerable entertainment value that virtually all entry-level tablets lack.
Spending another $100 can provide you with a capable 10-inch tablet with 32 GB of memory and 4G on-demand data access. A high-end tablet such as this is another class of devices that bridge the gap between casual computing devices and those that are sufficient for professional environments.
However, those extra features not only cost substantially more, but they are also heavier. For example, the Kindle Fire weighs 14.6 ounces, while the Iconia weighs 26 ounces. (This is a rather heavy example of 10-inch tablets due to their material choices.)
The Bottom Line: Know what you buy
The Kindle Fire is not an alternative to the iPad. Even if the two devices are competing for the tablet buyer, they deliver different features and require different compromises. The Kindle Fire is a very basic digital entertainment device that will not match what an iPad or a high-end Android tablet can deliver. If you expect the Fire to be a $200 iPad, there is a good chance that you will be disappointed. You may even be disappointed if you expect a high-end Kindle reader. The regular Kindles have screens that work much better for reading purposes. However, if you are looking for a simple tablet that you can use for occasional web browsing and email communication from the living room couch, you will get a decent compact computing device.
What makes the Fire attractive is Amazon’s approach to building an entertainment platform around minimalist hardware that focuses on what is truly important: an adequate processor and a great screen. The value over other $200 tablets is clearly in media streaming and storage services.
Counterpoint
This is just one man's opinion, of course. Be sure to read Barry Gerber's more positive take on the Kindle Fire at Tom's IT Pro.
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It's sad how this is actually so obvious, but some people just need to hear it...
Bottom line: Even the The Kyros™ MID8127 is a better deal. Selling for $180 or less, fully capable of running honeycomb, and thusly unlocking the full android market.
The Fire is a great device for consuming Amazon content, which there is plenty of.
I took a quick poll of everyone I know who uses a tablet- and I think the distribution is pretty typical:
4 who just use it for an in-car distraction for the kids, with a MiFi so they all share one internet connection bill ( that is an acer A500, two archos units and a HP Touchpad). two that use it for the Apple ecosystem, and dont really need it - and in fact have a backup tablet for when they actually need to do something kind of funny to see them carrying two tablets. (as a side note, the two who are carrying extra tablets got them from me, Acer W500 units) and four real estate persons who I got Acer w500's for because the web sites and apps they need do not work on Android or iOS. incidentally the two apple persons are also in real estate. If it looks like i am pushing the Acer, it is because it is the first windows tablet that had enough of the right stuff all working at the same time that I found, and I try to standardize to keep my support calls simpler.
I am not counting Kindles, as I dont know anyone with the newer ones yet and the normal kindle is an e-reader, not a tablet. (i know you can somewhat browse with it, but not really)
and
The Fire is a great device for consuming Amazon content, which there is plenty of.
That's the bottom line. Gruener manages to throw a useless ipad comparison in there, like this tablet was ever meant to be an ipad replacement. Typical fanboi.
Even so, Amazon offers their content on the Fire for less than half of the price of an ipad 1, which had the same goal with Apple content. That is impressive feat for Amazon. Next gen tablet will have more and more of what other consumers will want in it.
i don't expect a fire to be an ipad replacement, but it will definitely take away alot of ipad share,, if the fire or the nook tablet were made available in Canada, I'd be buying 2 for my kids (3 if my youngest was a little older) they use my Ipad all the time to do what? watch netflix,,,, something the fire & nook will be able to do just fine and when the kids get a bit older, it will let them do some reading and cruzing of the internet,,,
anyone that has kids and an ipad knows exactly how tough it is to get the ipad to themselves.. ipad is just a touch too expensive for each kid to own and the alternatives are still a bit too pricy too.
Maybe I'm just stupid, but I'm still trying to figure out what place a tablet pc has in my life when I don't travel or commute a lot, or have children. I have 3 computers at home, a couple at work, and a smartphone, so where does the tablet fit in?
Count me out until tablets are at least packing a ULV Core i series / ULV core 2 series or something with some balls, and a real OS. There's no reason they can't. A ULV core i3 has a MAX TDP of 17W (with an integrated GPU). That's absolute max. Idle or under partial load, it's in the 5w-10w range. Perfectly within the realm of a tablet. Currently, all tablets feel like giant cell phones to me.
Maybe I'm just stupid, but I'm still trying to figure out what place a tablet pc has in my life when I don't travel or commute a lot, or have children. I have 3 computers at home, a couple at work, and a smartphone, so where does the tablet fit in?
I didn't have alot of use for a tablet either before,, when i bought my ipad i still wasn't sure how much it would actually be used,, but my wife took to it real fast, and I warmed up to it a bit after i had some time with some of the apps that let me leech my media from my PC over the network... I love my desktop and it is hooked up to my TV,, but sometimes you just want to sit back in a comfy chair and cruze the internet or listen to a little music or something and not have to be in any certain room--- a smartphone is a bit different, but not as nice to watch/read from a small screen,, not trying to sell you on it,, just saying I wasn't really sure where a tablet fit in for me either till I had one.
they are out there. just not really common. the AMD APU in the W500 is not all that ball-sey as you say, but I have found little that it can not handle. running 32gb SSD plus 32gbSD with 2gb RAM, pretty dang useful.
Count me out until tablets are at least packing a ULV Core i series / ULV core 2 series or something with some balls, and a real OS. There's no reason they can't. A ULV core i3 has a MAX TDP of 17W (with an integrated GPU). That's absolute max. Idle or under partial load, it's in the 5w-10w range. Perfectly within the realm of a tablet. Currently, all tablets feel like giant cell phones to me.
How about Ainol novo7? Comes under 150$. It has mali400(found in galexy SII). Play ultimately any video and android market can be installed by rooting. I'm really tempted with this tab. Should I buy it?
http://www.youtube.com/results?sea [...] %2C24&sa=X
let's not forget what you can get for $200 .. the author seems as if that's a drop in the bucket to him. $200 can buy you .. about ten dinners. It can pretty easily buy the groceries for a family of four for a week. $200 wins you ~6 tanks of gas -- that might be pushing 3 months of transportation for some people. Speaking of transportation, that $200 can buy you a round trip flight to Puerto Rico during discounts season.
I find myself in that same position sometimes .. do I want to buy a toy like an iPad, that Ill use some and really enjoy -- or a vacation to Spain, that Ill remember forever?
I know several people who have iPads, Playbooks, and the like. Pretty much all say that, after the newness wore off, they rarely use their pads. The iPad users tell me that the only thing they use them for is email and entertainment, and even that mostly only when they travel. That is the question that has been on most of our minds, is it not? What are the things really for?
In my mind, a tablet is a useful for casual browsing, playing games, basic email, and content consumption. I am not insinuating that these thoughts apply to everyone, just that to me this is what a tablet would be useful for. Based on that, the Fire would easily meet my needs. No camera? I don't care, as I would not use that anyway. No usb or card slot? Once again, not an issue for me. Tied to Amazon? I am fine with that, as Amazon provides a fine ecosystem to be tied into. 7" screen size? I actually prefer that size, as the iPad and other 10" models are too big to easily carry or hold in one hand. Perhaps that is why there are so many iPads sitting in desk drawers rarely being used as surveys have shown. Finally, no 3G/4G is more than fine for me, as I don't need/want another contract and there is wifi pretty much everywhere I go anymore.
To each his own, but for $199 Amazon has finally produced a tablet that tempts me off of the sidelines.
let's not forget what you can get for $200 .. the author seems as if that's a drop in the bucket to him. $200 can buy you .. about ten dinners. It can pretty easily buy the groceries for a family of four for a week. $200 wins you ~6 tanks of gas -- that might be pushing 3 months of transportation for some people. Speaking of transportation, that $200 can buy you a round trip flight to Puerto Rico during discounts season.I find myself in that same position sometimes .. do I want to buy a toy like an iPad, that Ill use some and really enjoy -- or a vacation to Spain, that Ill remember forever?
where the hell do you live? 200 bux gets me 2 and a half tanks of gas (2 1/2 weeks of transportation) and maybe 8 meals at McDonald's,, wouldn't call em dinners,, I don't know anywhere I can fly from here for under 200,, and that would be 1-way,,
PS I live in Winnipeg
Puke of an article
"I can’t recall a non-Apple product for which we have been waiting as anxiously as we have for the Kindle Fire."
I can't ever recall "anxiously waiting" for any craPlle's product, and I am sure most of this site's readers would agree. % would go higher as you go back in time. Having said that, speak for yourself there Wolfgang, that sentence should be "I can’t recall a non-Apple product for which I have been waiting as anxiously as I have for the Kindle Fire." Looks like either Wolfgang is a fan, or Toms is being paid by craPlle. Sorry, Toms is long gone, it is now "Best of media".
Gruener is just feeding his ego.
This is another "i"advertisement by the Tomshardware in house living troll.
most of us don't care about mini pads nor "maxi pads", but good for you and your pads.
pun-intended.
now lets fo back to the real articles about real hardware pronto before this becomes itomspads.com
That's the bottom line. Gruener manages to throw a useless ipad comparison in there, like this tablet was ever meant to be an ipad replacement. Typical fanboi.Even so, Amazon offers their content on the Fire for less than half of the price of an ipad 1, which had the same goal with Apple content. That is impressive feat for Amazon. Next gen tablet will have more and more of what other consumers will want in it.
But you are very defensive with your comment also as it definitely wont harm anyone to do some side by side comparison and have an opinion here and there. What this article brings in is to expect what you pay for as the Kindle Fire is a fair device it is not a real Kindle tablet for optimal reading and not the best also for entertainment as it lacks more advanced features now regular on most expensive tablets. So it all comes at what do you really want to do with your tablet and how much do you want to pay. The Fire is good.
With enough time the Kindle Fire may get more advanced features but so it will any other device.
[quotation]"I can’t recall a non-Apple product for which I have been waiting as anxiously as I have for the Kindle Fire."[/quotation]
Since I cannot recall ever waiting for any Apple's product, let alone anxiously, I fixed it for you Wolfgang. Now it sounds more like the fanboy you really are. I think most readers would agree, and next time speak for yourself.
What people don't realize about the Kindle Fire is the resolution is not very good for reading...Which is one of the primary uses of a tablet... You have to constantly zoom or double-tap to read magazines, comics and kids books...and regular books will give you a headache after a while. Stick to the e-Ink Kindle for heavy reading...go for a larger tablet for everything else.
why not spend 299$ on toshiba Thrive??????
though i am too late it seems to sold out now....
Maybe I'm just stupid, but I'm still trying to figure out what place a tablet pc has in my life when I don't travel or commute a lot, or have children. I have 3 computers at home, a couple at work, and a smartphone, so where does the tablet fit in?
Tablets aren't for everyone. Right now in my life, a tablet would be a complete waste of money for me. Sounds like you're in the same boat. Either way, I'm waiting for the craze to die down, tablets to mature, and maybe I'll be in the market when the battery life lasts 24 hours or more.
This editorial could have been one paragraph: the Fire is not a $200.00 cheaper iPad replacement. Golly gee. But where the editor has failed Amazon has done their homework very wisely. 1. The cheaper price enables cheaper admission for more people. Where as the iPad is a niche item mostly for gleeful Apple loyalists travelers trying to quietly show their prizes, the Fire makes tablet use and ownership far more palatable for practical buyers. Fire "intrudes" on the iPad country club. And the brilliance of Amazon is that the device is intricately linked to one of the most powerful retail and larger media presences in the U.S. The iPad has to have app support and a certain amount of self developed interest to make it useful. For $200.00 -and Amazon Prime- there's books galore, movies, and a retail shopping capability experience no other can compare to. Would your typical tablet owner shop Home Depot items on it? No. Techie types and hard core readers will buy a Fire and instantly gain and appreciate it's baseline value. And seriously, how many people find much use for a tablet's camera?
Amazon: win
Editor: 0 for paragraphs of stating the obvious that won't matter to Fire buyers anyway.
I dunno. I have an HP Touchpad that I bought during the fire sale. The main thing I use it for is reading comics. 95% of my time on it goes to that. I do some light browsing, play the odd game, and that's pretty much it. Oh it makes a decent calender.
But whoever says tablets are going to replace desktops is an idiot. Tablets will never be as customizable, powerful, or practical as a killer desktop.
My friend bought the iPad 1 and loved it so much that he gave it to his mom so that he could buy the iPad 2 when it came out. (he is a doctor with money to burn). I don't have money to burn so I bought a Nook Color. When I ask him how he uses his iPad2 he says: kindle books, surfing the web, watching Netflix. What do I do with my Nook Color? Read B&N books, surf the web, watch movies I burned with HandBrake. We both do the same thing. He would never trade his iPad2 for a Nook color b/c he is in love with it. I would never trade my Nook Color for his iPad2 b/c he doesn't have Flash and it's too big and heavy to read books with one hand. But guess what - we are both happy with what we bought. Imagine that; two different products and they both serve their target market just fine. Glad we have choice. Please quit bashing each product for not being some other product. There are hundreds of millions of people in the world. I think have a couple different tablets will work out just fine.
JOKE:
What would Wolfgang say to Jobs if he were alive right now?
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Come on baby light my Fire!
Gruener is not the first to compare the Fire to the iPad. There was a story on NPR this morning comparing it to the iPad.
I think many will consider it as a replacement for the much more expensive iPad.
Maybe I'm just stupid, but I'm still trying to figure out what place a tablet pc has in my life when I don't travel or commute a lot, or have children. I have 3 computers at home, a couple at work, and a smartphone, so where does the tablet fit in?
In your ass, dude! It will perfectly fit in your fat ass! Maybe you should quit wondering and go to a gym, then look for a girl and make children.
The Nook Tablet seems like a better value proposition, even if it won't have the Amazon ecosystem or the same popularity. You get twice the RAM and twice the storage capacity for only $50 more.
Why is that important? Because the extra RAM will eliminate the unresponsiveness reviewers have found on the Fire and the storage capacity will allow you to store a lot more content. It seems Amazon forgot that there's not Wi-Fi everywhere and so they gimped the storage capacity while forgetting that these are supposed to be content CONSUMPTION devices.
For others Amazon Prime will seal the deal.
I wish people writing reviews knew the difference between memory and storage. I guess we have dumbed down so much that we just call it the same thing now. The Kindle Fire has 512MB of MEMORY and 8GB of STORAGE.
That's the bottom line. Gruener manages to throw a useless ipad comparison in there, like this tablet was ever meant to be an ipad replacement. Typical fanboi.Even so, Amazon offers their content on the Fire for less than half of the price of an ipad 1, which had the same goal with Apple content. That is impressive feat for Amazon. Next gen tablet will have more and more of what other consumers will want in it.
It seems strange to me that when Gruener says that;
the Fire and the iPad are two different tablets with two different purposes.
Then you say that you completely disagree and that;
the Fire and the iPad are two different tablets with two different purposes.