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| Photo courtesy of: Courtney Boyd Meyers |
I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas and absolutely love it. A lot of Apple apologists (which usually I am) discredit it and remain steadfast in their belief that the iPad is far superior to the Kindle Fire.
The thing that they usually fail to note is the price difference - about $300.
Because of that price difference the Kindle Fire is obviously not going to be as good as the iPad in most aspects. Sure, the iPad has more internal memory (the Fire having 8gb and the iPad starting at 16gb), better selection of apps from itunes, camera and camcorder, and is bigger.
Despite all of these advantages the Fire has some great features that the iPad doesn't have.
1. Books
Ok, I know that you can read books on the iPad but the Kindle Fire is an eReader first and foremost. It is a great eReader just like its predecessor the Kindle. Not only that but you get access to the kindle store which has a large selection of books. Also, the iPad is so big that it is bulky and is like reading a text book. The Fire sits well in your hand and is just like any normal book.
2. Amazon Prime
This is to me the best part about the Fire. As a student I got amazon prime for free - but because of the services they offer will buy it as soon as my free trial runs out. If you have prime with your fire you can:
-Stream select movies and tv sereis. Free.
-Access the Kindle Library (download a free book - like an electronic e-library)
3. Cloud Access
Ok I know that the iPad has access to the cloud and so does most tablets. The Fire's cloud access is just really easy to navigate. The reason why I love it is that if you have to much books, movies, apps, or what have you on your fire you can easily remove them from your device but still have access to them on the cloud. Above each page you can either select the cloud (which has everything you put there) or device (which is just what you have on the 8gb of memory). If I ever fill my fire up I am going to start removing all of my apps that I already need an internet connection for.
When given the price difference between the iPad and the Fire I would much rather have the Fire. It preforms great and has so many features with it that make it an amazing tablet. Now I am not saying that the iPad is not a good tablet - in fact I think that it is amazing. All I am saying is that Amazon found a way to give people a tablet that preforms almost as well with the same versatility - at $300 cheaper.
Should Apple be afraid of the Fire though? I think just a little bit. Fire might take away a bit of their business but I feel that Amazon is reaching a different market. Take me for example - as a college student who already bought a MacBook Pro - I don't want to nor am I able to afford an iPad. Like me there are many people who would like to have a tablet but don't have the money for it. At a price of $200 the Fire starts to look more reasonable and persuaded me to get it.
Overall the Kindle Fire is an amazing tablet that combines great functionality with an even better price tag.
