Kindle Fire vs. iPad

[Ashenor]

I hated the iPad for reading, it's to heavy to hold comfortably in one hand .

If you have Erkel like arms, sure.

 

[Raswan]

Reading - Kindle Touch.

Everything else, iPad.

This. No one buys the Fire or the iPad just to read on, unless you're a yuppie dbag with more money than brains.

So, if she wants to read, Kindle Touch. If she wants a tablet to pretend to enjoy for 3 months and then never touch it again, but you're on a budget, the Fire.

If the above statement is true, excepting a substitution of "you're on a budget" with, again, "you're a yuppie dbag with more money than brains," get the iPad.

There are no other scenarios that exist.

 

[Raswan]

Is the reason why I dont want to get her the plain kindle. She reads in bed all the time with a lamp on while I try to sleep and drives me nuts. So thats why I tought about the Fire/ipad.

Then get a Nook, glowlight style. Or, buy an eyemask and quit tucking your twig and berries behind you, and send me the >200$ I just saved you.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

My wife has the Kindle Touch with a cover and attached led light. She likes it better than the Kindle Fire which I use. I just use it for reading and would prefer a kindle touch like the wife's but, we got it for free. The kindle fire is considerably heavier than the touch and it requires a wifi connection unless you connect it to your computer.

 

[kaerflog]

Stop.

Just get her the iPad.

"Oh look, my husband got me a Kindle for our anniversary." *her friends: yawn.*

"LooK! My husband got me an iPad...!" *her friends: swoon*

Anniversary gifts are not to be bargained for.

This right here.
Anniversary....get her something really nice.
Mine is coming in a few months. I'll probably get her the GS3.

 

[Bateluer]

Just another 2 cents.

The Nook Glowlight is 139 out the door. The Kindle Touch, which has no LED, is 99 with Special Offers. 139 without. The Nook Simple Touch at $99, a nearly identical reader to the Kindle Touch, a better buy, because there's no ads.

B&N has priced their e-ink nook line up very competitively relative to the Kindles.

 

[Raswan]

Just another 2 cents.

The Nook Glowlight is 139 out the door. The Kindle Touch, which has no LED, is 99 with Special Offers. 139 without. The Nook Simple Touch at $99, a nearly identical reader to the Kindle Touch, a better buy, because there's no ads.

B&N has priced their e-ink nook line up very competitively relative to the Kindles.

It's crazy. I keep writing BN off, but then they update the nook, or announce a new deal with Microsoft, or lower prices on the nook line, or some report comes out and says there are more nooks than kindle (readers, not tablets) or add glowlight. Honestly, if I didn't already have a kindle, and was looking at the two, it would be a hard choice.

 

[gorcorps]

It's crazy. I keep writing BN off, but then they update the nook, or announce a new deal with Microsoft, or lower prices on the nook line, or some report comes out and says there are more nooks than kindle (readers, not tablets) or add glowlight. Honestly, if I didn't already have a kindle, and was looking at the two, it would be a hard choice.

Apart from the recent perk of the Kindle having free book rentals via Amazon Prime, I haven't had a reason to side with Kindles since the Nook came out. I don't know why but Amazon has always seemed to be behind the curve on stuff, though when they do release it it's a nice product all the same.

The original Nook was ~$250 and was 3G+wifi like the Kindle. Then B&N was first to drop the 3G, and released a wifi only Nook for $150. I think this was a huge turning point for ereaders in general because it started a large price war. Now you can get them for $70.

B&N was the first to market with a Nook color, which was huge in the android rooting community. There was no immediate competition here.

Then B&N was the first to offer a touchscreen e-ink reader. Amazon soon followed suit.

B&N then upgraded their tablet to release alongside the Kindle Fire. This was Amazon's first tablet

B&N is now again first to include a built in backlight to their e-ink reader.

I'm a Prime subscriber and big Amazon fan, but I don't like Amazon's recent trend of just keeping up with the Nook. I'm waiting for them to come out with something new and exciting.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

If you have Erkel like arms, sure.

I'm guessing the weight is a non issue when you are only spending a few minutes flipping though a picture book but when I am spending multiple hours reading technical documents a lighter, more ergonomic tablet is much more pleasant to use. My Xyboard 8.2 weighs half what an iPad does and has a soft touch coating on that back that makes it much more pleasant to hold than the iPad.

 

[FoBoT]

my wife loves her Fire
she does use the iPad for Plants vs Zombies, only because the newest version is only on iPad, right now

if you have tons of $$$, go with the iPad, otherwise, she is likely to enjoy the Fire just fine

 

[Raswan]

Apart from the recent perk of the Kindle having free book rentals via Amazon Prime, I haven't had a reason to side with Kindles since the Nook came out. I don't know why but Amazon has always seemed to be behind the curve on stuff, though when they do release it it's a nice product all the same.

The original Nook was ~$250 and was 3G+wifi like the Kindle. Then B&N was first to drop the 3G, and released a wifi only Nook for $150. I think this was a huge turning point for ereaders in general because it started a large price war. Now you can get them for $70.

B&N was the first to market with a Nook color, which was huge in the android rooting community. There was no immediate competition here.

Then B&N was the first to offer a touchscreen e-ink reader. Amazon soon followed suit.

B&N then upgraded their tablet to release alongside the Kindle Fire. This was Amazon's first tablet

B&N is now again first to include a built in backlight to their e-ink reader.

I'm a Prime subscriber and big Amazon fan, but I don't like Amazon's recent trend of just keeping up with the Nook. I'm waiting for them to come out with something new and exciting.

Completely agree. Also a big Amazon fan, and subscriber to prime, but in terms of quality and design I'd go with the nook most days.

Of course, Amazon can afford to play behind the curve, while BN has to be bolder. I'm actually surprised we haven't seen any major missteps by the nook yet. I wonder what the next step for them is. Will they both parlay the e-reader and budget-tablet success into a bid for the more expensive tablets? Will BN invest in its content offerings? I think a case could be made, even though the lcd market has in the last five years been notoriously unprofitable, for BN to develop a stylish, sleek, sophisticated TV that can be controlled by the tablet. The Nook TV could be a success if it comes out of the gates well-polished.

 

[TheStu]

If I were to do it all over again, i would get a Nook Glowlight instead of the Kindle Touch that I have. The Nook is more comfortable in the hand, has physical buttons, no ads, and has the glowlight. I am not particularly invested in the Kindle ecosystem, so no real loss there.

 

[Cares]

Wait for new Google Tab!

 

[zerocool84]

I prefer a smaller tablet. I'm usually in bed laying down while using the tablet and I eventually got tired of holding the iPad as it's much larger compared to the Fire. A larger tablet is definitely better for doing everything on since the screen is much better and higher rez but portability was big enough of the deal for me that it outweighed the added usefulness of the larger screen.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I have a Kindle Fire. But lately I haven't been using it much at all because I upgraded my phone. Now that I have a Galaxy Nexus, which runs ICS and has a much bigger, sharper screen than my previous phone, there's not much reason for me to use the Fire.

Not that it's a bad device. I have it rooted and installed CM9 for a stock ICS experience. But now I really only use it for reading, so I'd probably be a lot better off with an eInk reader instead. I do read at night a lot so it's nice having an illuminated screen, but it looks like B&N has taken care of that. And it's lighter than the Fire and has hugely better battery life.

Oh well, it's not worth switching it up at this point, but maybe if/when the Kindle dies I'll look at one.

 

[poofyhairguy]

This thread is confusing. Are we comparing a Fire to an iPad 1? That makes sense as they would be near the same price-point. In that case the Fire wins, the iPad 1 is clunky and about to be left in the cold.

Are we comparing the Fire to an iPad 2 or 3? Then the iPad wins, but hey it costs more too.

 

[Ravynmagi]

I have a Nook Color and an iPad 3 and both are acceptable for reading e-books. But you can get a Kindle e-ink read for only $80 and I think that is an excellent purchase for anyone that reads books often. Because it's much lighter than even a 7 inch tablet, can be used for weeks between charges, and probably produces less eye fatigue.

So if money isn't a big concern, get a regular Kindle and an iPad 3. Or perhaps a Kindle and Google Nexus tablet or Kindle Fire 2 (expected to be announced late July).

 

[Ashenor]

I'm guessing the weight is a non issue when you are only spending a few minutes flipping though a picture book but when I am spending multiple hours reading technical documents a lighter, more ergonomic tablet is much more pleasant to use. My Xyboard 8.2 weighs half what an iPad does and has a soft touch coating on that back that makes it much more pleasant to hold than the iPad.

I read on my Kindle touch a lot, the weight is not really a issue reading on that or the iPad i do like the more page like size though. I normally prop either on a pillow if reading though i really don't hold it.

 

[Sixguns]

I went with the Fire, she loves it and hasnt put it down since she got it.