Amazon's new entry, though, might be different. Instead of crafting an iPad carbon copy and asking consumers to choose between them, they've pushed out a stripped-down and simplified device that sells for much less than the iPad 2 while skimping on some of that tablet's features.
Price
Apple's higher prices make the Fire's price tag look like, well, a fire sale.
At $199, the Kindle Fire will be a full $300 cheaper than the lowest-priced iPad 2. That's possibly an easier entry point for folks who are intrigued by the iPad but can't justify spending $500 for a portable computer when they already have a smartphone and a laptop.
Screen size
There's a pretty clear difference here. The iPad has a 9.7-inch display, compared with a 7-inch screen on the Kindle Fire.
That screen size is probably a big reason Amazon can offer its tablet at $199 -- touchscreens are expensive to make. But with smartphone screen sizes inching ever-bigger (the just-announced Samsung Galaxy Note will clock in at 5.3 inches) the Fire ends up being a bit of a "tweener."
That's probably no big deal for some users. But if watching movies or playing games is a big reason you want a tablet, bigger is clearly better.On the flip side, the Fire is smaller and 50% lighter than the iPad.
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| The Kindle Fire Screen: 7-inch |
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| Ipad 2 Screen: 9.7-inch |
Camera
The Fire doesn't have a camera. For shutterbugs, that might not be such a big deal, as many folks find it easier to shoot photos on smartphones than tablets anyway. But it also means apps like Apple's video chat service, FaceTime, won't be replicated on Amazon's offering.
The Fire also doesn't have a microphone, so voice recording and Skype-style chat are out.
Connection
And the Fire is Wi-Fi-only, which means users will be able to surf the Web and download content (like books from Amazon) only when they have a connection. The iPad also comes in 3G models, albeit at a higher price.
Battery Life
The Kindle Fire promises eight hours of battery life, as opposed to 10 hours for the iPad 2.
Finally, the Fire has only 8GB of storage (compared with the iPad 2's bottom end at 16GB) but makes up for it by offering free cloud storage on Amazon's gargantuan bank of servers.
Apps
The Fire will run on a modified version of Google's Android operating system. Users will have access to several thousand apps in Amazon's app store for Android and other Android Markets. The iPad, has access to more than 425,000 apps in the Apple Store. So, advantage iPad on this one.
On the surface, both tablets appear to be good options for people who just want a basic portable computer for light Web surfing and content consumption.
