Amazon Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2 vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1: How They Compare (INFOGRAPHIC)

On Wednesday, Amazon made their first entry into the tablet race with the launch of the Kindle Fire. Amazon already cornered the market on digital reading with their Kindle e-readers, and the content-focused Fire could prove a major threat to the king of tablets, the Apple iPad.

Fire users will have access to Amazon's bevy of media products including books, music, movies, apps, games, and a virtual newsstand. The Fire will even remember where the user left off in a book or movie and automatically go to that spot the next time the user wants to read or watch.

The Amazon Kindle Fire packs a 1GHz dual-core processor and runs on a modified version of Google's Android operating system. A custom web browser, Amazon Silk, should makes the Fire a nimble browsing device.

But does this all mean that the WiFi-only Fire is better than the plethora of available Android tablets? And can it really compare to the iPad? Some iPad owners note the attractiveness of the Kindle Fire's price tag, which is less than half of the iPad's price tag; though others seem more convinced that the Kindle Fire can't burn the mighty Apple tablet.

Check out the infographic below to see how Amazon's tablet stacks up against the iPad and the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. Then, take a look at the 6 things the Kindle Fire has that the iPad doesn't, as well as 9 big things you need to know about the new tablet.

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Comments

[sergal stew]

08:12 AM on 11/08/2011

I've also done a comparison of the kindle fire against the iPad 2. : http://goo.gl/CsZeL

[B mohan]

08:06 AM on 10/19/2011

Modified Android - Too much customization may left its OS behind with fast paced Android updates....good luck Jeff.

[dsa1115]

01:08 AM on 10/01/2011

The problem I see with the Fire is that all web connections will be going through Amazon's servers. In terms of security, I don't know if I want Amazon to know everything I'm doing online. As far as I'm concerned, it's none of Amazon's business where I'm going, what I'm buying, etc. etc. Neat product but everything you do is going through Amazon's servers. Talk about Big Brother. Good grief.

[Beach House]

01:15 AM on 10/02/2011

What do you think happens when you use Google?

[Lookin4 Some65]

12:15 PM on 11/03/2011

As if Apple or Google (agreeing with Beach House) is any better? Both of these companies have been rightly accused of all kinds of security faux pas...

[bleuwolf13]

10:58 PM on 09/29/2011

When I saw this I was ready to upgrade from the kindle I have now, but after thinking about it I'll wait & see if they make a 3G with hopefully better battery life. But I do like the price!

[Jack Toon]

09:58 AM on 09/29/2011

Amazon is also offering free cloud storage to customers of the devices. Since most of the content is backed Amazon's cloud, the Kindle Fire is also wirelessly synced to the cloud service, eliminating the need for users to manually back-up or sync their content.
http://www.technews5.com/2011/09/amazoncom-launched-kindle-touch-and.html

[Ampoliros]

08:38 PM on 09/30/2011

With a wifi connection of course. And its only free for content you bought from Amazon.

IIRC you get 2g of storage with basic cloud for content you didn't purchase from them with the option to purchase more.

"Option to purchase more" seems to be the running theme of the Fire.

[ILoveGreatDanes]

09:04 AM on 09/29/2011

I'm tempted to get this tablet just because I'm finally ready to buy a Kindle ereader, and for an extra $100, I can get a Kindle tablet that does a lot more. However, I've noticed a pattern that when a company puts out the first model of a certain product, there are many bugs that need to be worked out in order for its promises to be fulfilled. Perhaps I should save my money and just buy a Kindle stand alone ereader.

[Thomas River]

07:21 AM on 09/29/2011

Good thing H P does not have an Automotive section. "We compared this Mini Cooper against this Ford F150....."

Come on H P - if you are going to review a 7" tablet, compare it against OTHER 7" tablets!

[bmwracer]

11:52 PM on 09/29/2011

Good idea: HP should have an automotive section. :)

[jayded]

05:28 PM on 10/01/2011

except that you can't really compare it to nothing....which is basically the state of its 7'' competition, as it stands. The comparison is a lot more analagous to, say, a large SUV vs large SUV extended version.....same guts/engine, same functionality, one just has a little more space. Also, if this is to be considered a mainstream product, then it must be compared to other mainstream tablets....like, you know, that one tablet from apple....

[KPinSEA]

12:28 AM on 09/29/2011

... vs. ASUS Transformer w/ keyboard dock: massively behind.

[oldgeek1]

09:20 PM on 09/28/2011

A pedestrian chart. How responsive will the cloud be? Will streaming work well on the different WiFi networks? What happens to my content when I get on an airplane and not connected to WiFi? How does the download speed compare to 3G and 4G networks? How does the quality of the display for a book compare to e-ink. Of course I do not need to provide 500 words to an editor for a deadline and struggle to remember to take out the trash for my wife.

[EricBishop]

10:50 PM on 09/28/2011

Amazon's cloud services are pretty impressive. Streaming will depend on the speed of the WiFi networks. If the content is downloaded on your local storage, it will be accessible when you're not connected, such as when you're on an airplane. All 3G and 4G networks are different, as are all wired connection that service WiFi networks. Back lit displays are much harder on the eyes for reading than e-ink, which is excellent for reading.

Do you know anything about modern communication infrastructures? The way you ask the questions makes one doubt if you're even capable of understanding the answers.

[jayded]

05:31 PM on 10/01/2011

I currently have their cloud player for android....works really well....way better than google's....also, if you wanna know what books look like on an ips display, just look at an iphone.

[MrAugust]

09:02 PM on 09/28/2011

The world needs more 7-inch tabs. BTW, it would've been fair to compare this to the Galaxy 7-incher.

[LightShadow62]

08:37 PM on 09/28/2011

Interesting that they did not compare it to the original Samsung tablet.

[J5K]

04:38 AM on 09/29/2011

Why? They didn't compare it to the original iPad either. Makes sense to compare to current tech.

[go2goal]

10:06 AM on 09/29/2011

The Fire is NOT a tablet.

It is the 1st cloud computing device....and will be the market base definition for such devices. WiFi only with very limited local storage...READ as dependent on the cloud!

[LightShadow62]

05:26 PM on 09/29/2011

One of the supposed "pluses" is that is is smaller and lighter that the iPad and Galaxy Tab 10.1. The original Galaxy Tab, which is still in production unlike the iPad1, is the same size and relative weight as the Fire.

On a side note: As someone who travels, a cloud only device is useless as there are huge sections of the globe without decent data connections.