Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet?
First things first, the Kindle Fire is $50 cheaper - $199 for the Fire and $249 for the Nook - and that is a major selling point. As a result Amazon will gain more market share and make more money and be more likely to invest in improvements.
Although some of the specifications of the Nook Tablet are better than those of the Kindle Fire, the Fire is better known and access to Amazon content should mean it will sell better this Christmas as a Christmas gift.
Both have 7" touch screens. The Kindle Fire will be available from Nov. 15, the Nook about 1 week later.
The NOOK Tablet has 1GB of memory compared with 512K for the Fire but many people don't look that closely at the specs.
The speed is the same for both at 1 GHz.
The Nook has 16GB of storage space, which can be expanded via a slot for a 32GB memory card. The Kindle Fire has 8GB but books can be stored online with Amazon.
Neither of them are the same as the iPad but they are almost $300 cheaper and most iPad users don't need an iPad a Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet would do what they want to do just as well.
One advantage the Nook Tablet has over the Kindle Fire is that you can try it out in a Barnes and Noble store before deciding whether to buy it.
It is worth noting that is also has a built-in microphone.
In addition to price Amazon also wins on availability of apps and content.
It is quite possible, however, that Barnes and Noble will reduce the price of the Nook to $199 once the initial rush has subsided (possibly after Christmas?).
In conclusion, the Kindle Fire and the Nok Tablet are very similar physically. The Nook has a number of clear advantages in so far as concerns storage, microphone, and battery life (maybe). For the software the Kindle Fire is the better device. Barnes & Noble will probably increase their number of apps but at the moment Amazon has a clear advantage in this area.
Many people will probably consider that the slightly better specifications of the Nook do not justify the extra $50.
Amazon Kindle Fire Technical Details
7" multi-touch display - anti-reflective treatment, 1024 x 600 pixels at 169 ppi, 16 million colors.
7.5" x 4.7" x 0.45").
Weight
14.6 oz.
System Requirements
Wireless – no computer required.
Storage 8GB internal. Enough for 80 apps, + 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books.
Free cloud storage for all Amazon content
Battery Life Up to 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback, with wireless off.
Full charge in approx. 4 hours via U.S. power adapter (included).
Charging from your PC via USB.
Wi-Fi Connectivity via private and public Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or enterprise networks with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.
USB Port USB 2.0
For more details from Amazon click here - Kindle Fire or NOOK Tablet
For details of the reduced price 'ordinary' Amazon Kindle click here -
$79 Kindle
