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:
Great comparison!
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. 😉
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.