Reviews November 13, 2012

Battle of the 7″ Tablets – iPad Mini vs Kindle Fire HD vs Nexus 7

In our Gear Chat, I said to Dan that the iPad Mini was the ‘best small format tablet I have ever touched’. So what does that mean in context? Well, aside from the Mini, I have had a couple of Samsung 7″ tablets, one each from ASUS and Acer, HTC Flyer, original Kindle Fire, and most recently the Google Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD. Those last two are currently very popular, so I wanted to take a hands-on look at all three and compare them across a number of criteria.

Here are the comparison points I used:

1. Size
2. Format (i.e. aspect ratio)
3. Weight and thickness
4. Screen resolution (general)
5. External controls
6. Sound & music
7. Ebook Reading
8. Gaming
9. Video
10. Music (production)
11. Productivity
12. Virtual keyboard
13. connections & compatibility
14. Price
15. Accessories
16. Build Quality
17. Camera
18. Apps selection/capability/etc
19. Battery Life
20. Overall

Here is part one, with the first 13 items:

And here is part two with the remaining criteria and conclusions:

Tags: Amazon Kindle, Android Phones and Tablets, Apple iPad

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About Michael Anderson

View all posts by Michael Anderson

I have loved technology for as long as I can remember - and have been a computer gamer since the PDP-10! Mobile Technology has played a major role in my life - I have used an electronic companion since the HP95LX more than 20 years ago, and have been a 'Laptop First' person since my Compaq LTE Lite 3/20 and Powerbook 170 back in 1991! As an avid gamer and gadget-junkie I was constantly asked for my opinions on new technology, which led to writing small blurbs ... and eventually becoming a reviewer many years ago. My family is my biggest priority in life, and they alternate between loving and tolerating my gaming and gadget hobbies ... but ultimately benefits from the addition of technology to our lives!

TMEhrlich

Great comparison!
http://www.geardiary.com Bryan Eley

Nicely done, Mike. I really appreciate video comparisons such as these
as they illustrate the device usage and interaction much better than
static shots. You touched on some key elements that should help guide and inform buyers, especially with the big holiday(s) coming up.
http://twitter.com/Kiserem Eva Kiser

I think you did a good job of comparing and contrasting the devices, very thorough and well thought out. I would suggest in future comparison that you place the devices on stands and point at them rather that constantly picking up each device.
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