When we think about buying a Tablet we tend to avoid any inexpensive Android tablet. Thanks to our horrible experiences with initial Android tablets.

But things have changed over the time, and Amazon Kindle Fire has proved to be worth every penny. It is time to know why you should consider to buy an inexpensive tablet like Amazon’s Kindle Fire even if you already own an iPad.

Kindle Fire vs iPad –

There can not be a feature by feature comparison between Fire HD and iPad, because both the tablets have very different price points and target totally different market segments. But it is important to to understand their differences.

 

Amazon Kindle Fire –

Amazon launched this line of tablets in 2012 for the first time. And currently it is available in three different sizes –

1) Kindle Fire 7 with 7 inch screen – Priced $49.99

2) Kindle Fire HD 8 with 8 inch – Priced $79.99

3) Kindle Fire HD 10 with 10.1 inch screen – Priced $149.99

 

All three models use Amazon Fire OS which is a forked version of Android. All three models now come with Alexa.

The major difference between all 3 Fire tablets are screen resolution and storage space, processor speed is almost similar across the models. Performance wise all of them are quick and responsive enough for your everyday use (Games, Apps, Movies, Songs everything) thanks to their Quad-core 1.3 GHz and 1.8 GHz processors. Battery life is also quite impressive as my Fire HD 8 easily plays videos for 6-8 hours without any problem.

 

Apple iPad –

Apple iPad comes in 4 sizes –

1) Apple iPad Mini with 8 inch screen – Priced $399 – $529

2) Apple iPad with 9.7 inch screen – Priced $329 – $529

3) Apple iPad Pro with 10.5 inch screen – Priced $649 – $1129

4) Apple iPad Pro with 12.9 inch screen – Priced $799 – $1279

 

There are few very clear reasons why Fire HD holds its ground in front of iPad.

First is price, iPad Mini is five times costlier than Kindle Fire HD 8 or at the price of one iPad Pro you can buy 4 Kindle Fire HD 10 and still save some money. This price point makes Kindle Fire HD very attractive option for everyday use.

Second is durability. fragility is a big issue with iPad, in most of the cases a single accidental drop can be enough to break the screen. This is where Kindle Fire really shines, it can handle few accidental slips from hands. You can search on YouTube about ‘Kindle Fire drop test’ and see for yourself. Infact Amazon list durability as a feature for Fire HD 10 and claims –

“As measured in tumble tests, Fire HD 8 is more durable than the latest iPad and 2x more durable than iPad mini 4 (and costs a lot less too).”

and – “As measured in tumble tests, Fire HD 10 is more durable than the latest iPad Pro 10.5” (and costs a lot less too)”.

Third is Alexa. Every Kindle Fire HD comes with Alexa now. So you can do almost same things with your tablets in hands free mode which you can with Echo. In fact consider your Kindle HD as an Echo with a screen. So play videos, songs, do shopping, check weather, and everything else just by talking to Alexa. And all this for a fraction of the price you paid for your iPad.

These differences makes Fire HD very suitable for students, travelers, kids, and anyone with shaky hands. You wont get heart attack if you dropped it or lost it, just go and buy another one.

Here are few usages where I find Fire HD to be a true companion –

1) Movies and TV Series – Use it to watch movies and videos. Kindle Fire can play HBO GO, Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video and almost all of your favorite entertainment apps. You would be missing only official YouTube app, but you can use alternate YouTube apps to play videos. While Traveling Good battery life ensures that it can be a companion for a flight or train journey. I have used it during long flights and it holds up for most of the duration. Advice here is to pair it up with a good pairs of earbuds or headphone which comes with noise cancellation.

 

2) Reading Kindle Books – You do not need to carry an additional Kindle if you have Fire HD. You can use Amazon’s Kindle app and have almost the same experience of reading books on Kindle Fire. You can access all your Kindle books on the tablet, just make sure that you download them beforehand if you are planning to travel.

 

3) Listening to Audiobooks – Install Audible on your Kindle Fire HD and you can listen to your Audiobooks. This is where Kindle Fire outperforms Kindle because older Kindle models like Kindle Paperwhite does not come with an audio port and does not support Audiobooks.

 

6) Social Networking – Stay connected with your friends using  Twitter, Reddit, Facebook and Instagram on Kindle Fire. All these apps are available in Amazon’s App store.

7) Games – Kindle Fire can run most of the Android games smoothly. The real challenge you will face is due to the fact that Google Play store is missing on these tablets. However a simple google search on how to install Google Play Store on your Kindle Fire will give you instructions on how to do it. Once you have Google Play Store, there is not stopping on installing any game you wish on the Fire tablets.

So get one Kindle Fire HD even if you already have iPad. My recommendation is to buy Fire HD 10 (if you can afford) or buy at least Fire HD 8. I would not recommend Fire 7 because during any Amazon sale you can buy a Fire HD 8 for the same price (I got my Fire HD 8 for $50 during a sale).