# Anyone have a Kindle Fire & an iPad?



## StephenLivingston (May 10, 2011)

Does anyone have both a Kindle Fire and an iPad?  If so, I'm interested to know, how do they compare?
Best wishes, Stephen Livingston.


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## Thumper (Feb 26, 2009)

I have both; I find I still use the iPad more, but overall they're comparable. The Fire is heavier, but it's more transportable. The iPad (I have the 3G) is more useful if I need to get online (was *very* handy to have while car shopping...) away from home and the battery life seems to be pretty close to the same on both.

Reading doesn't seem to be much different; both are backlit, only real difference is the screen size. The iPad has more apps available for it, but that will change, and so far the apps I use the most are available for both.

If I could only have one, I'd stick with my iPad. If I only had a few hundred to spend, the Fire is an acceptable alternative, and you don't really miss anything by having it instead of an iPad, other than the 3G option.

I hate the carousel on the Fire, for what it's worth. But that's kinda minor...


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## jbcohen (Jul 29, 2011)

I also have both of them, although they do very different things in my house I personally think that the fire is a bit faster than the ipad is loading the same web site on the same network.  I don't use either one of them for book reading, my kindle three does that for me, I use the ipad for apps for my young son while the fire is more for me then for him, although my fire does have a few apps for him as well.  I use the fire mostly for gathering information from the internet and presenting it in a readable manner, also the fire does not get any where as dirty as fast the ipad does with the same amount of use and abuse.  Needless to say I much preferr my fire over my ipad most any day.


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## Toby (Nov 25, 2008)

I have both. I love both. I am glad I have both. No regrets. Both have Pros & Cons, so I use the one that works better for me.


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

I kinda have both. We got our son the fire for Christmas. He uses it for school and games and videos. I use my iPad mostly. I like his fire, but I tend to keep the iPad handy and use it more. The fire is a great size, though. But for web searches, I like the iPad better due to the larger screen.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I use my iPad more. But love 'em both.  I bought the Fire for media (games, video, music) consumption.

Betsy


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## mkelley (Dec 24, 2011)

As for your very specific question, Stephan, they are two very different devices.  Even though they are both "tablets" it's a bit like saying a pickup truck and a passenger station wagon are both "cars" (and I'm not making an analogy here between which is what).  While both a truck and a station wagon will indeed drive on the same roads, and take the same fuel, they are designed for very different purposes.  Both can get you where you want to go, but in either if you try to do what the other is best at you will be compromising at best.

To me the biggest advantage my wife's Fire has over my iPad is form factor.  The smaller size is much easy to transport, handle, and manipulate (assuming you need to do any or all of those things).  Being smaller the resolution seems better, just like blowing up a larger photograph tends to make it look less detailed.  If you are a Prime content user then the Fire has a huge (overwhelming?) advantage over the iPad (but we aren't -- although we have Prime we also have Netflix and the superior library as well as device access makes Prime a moot point *for us*).

In all other ways (although everyone here on the Kindle boards will probably disagree) the iPad is superior.  Much, much faster browser, faster interface in every respect, *better* and more consistent interface (multi-touch, once used, is impossible to live without), larger size (magazines are almost unreadable on the Fire), bluetooth (keyboards and headphones are unbeatable), more featured and better apps, Facetime (a huge plus for us, given our grandkids live across the country), much longer battery life, stronger construction (although the Gorilla glass on the Fire is very nice), larger RAM (try loading a single home video into your Fire and you're basically done), magnetic off switch (another feature that's impossible to live without once you're used to it), volume buttons, camera...  it really isn't close.

To be fair, the Fire is in very early stages of its OS, and the interface *will* get better.  And, of course, it's MUCH cheaper (although if fairly reliable rumors are to be believed, Apple will undercut this advantage in a few months).  And, again, the advantage of the form factor is not inconsiderable (oh how I wish Apple made a 7" iPad.  Won't happen, but I'd be first in line).

If you're trying to decide between the two you should really go into a Best Buy (where you can handle and play with both) to get a feel for them.  And try and define what it is you're looking for in such a device.  If you can figure out whether you need a truck or a station wagon the decision will be MUCH easier.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

As mkelley has said (sort of  ), "better" is a function of what you want the device to do.

I like them both but I use them quite differently.  But, if I could only have one of them (and this might surprise you, mk ) I would only have the iPad.  But that's because I use the iPad for all of my grunt Internet work, including posting this message, and I use a bluetooth keyboard paired to it.  I also give the edge to the iPad's virtual keyboard, but that's partly a function of size. Copy and paste-ability of text on the iPad is better.  And I do a lot of that...  Others here will definitely disagree, because for them, and for how they use the devices, the Fire is better.  There have been members here who state they got rid of their iPad and bought the Fire and are completely happy with their choce.

Fortunately, I can have both.  

Since I use my iPad so much for other things, I don't use it much for media consumption.  That's why I bought the Fire.  I use the streaming from Amazon quite a lot for music and video.  (Although one can have music playing while working on the iPad, I find I seldom do it.)

Betsy


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## geko29 (Dec 23, 2008)

Thumper said:


> The Fire is heavier, but it's more transportable.


This is an intriguingly frequent misconception. My wife thought the same thing when she opened hers. But it's not even remotely true. The Fire is 14.6 oz, while the iPad weighs 21.6 oz, basically a half-pound more. I think the perception issue comes because the Fire is so much smaller and more dense.

To answer the original question, we have two iPads (both generations), a Xoom and a Fire. My wife loves the formfactor of the Fire and some of its features, but she's annoyed by its bugginess, frequent hangs and crashes. I suspect we'll wind up returning it in favor of something like the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. Or we may just wait, since we're just two months away from her inheriting an iPad 2.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

I think I would miss the wireless keyboard option that I have with my iPad. Great for longer typing sessions. I think Amazon missed the boat on that one. I can do without the camera, etc. But a bluetooth wireless keyboard lets me nearly completely replace my laptop with my tablet


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## Neon8 (Oct 19, 2011)

I have both and as many have said there are completely different. I use my iPad for most things I do when at home due to larger screen. Fire is easier to carry and use when out and about for email,games, web, media. The main drawback to the iPad for me has been the inability to view my amazon content. I have been amazon prime for years and also have a lot of video I have bought over the years. The main reason I got the fire is to be able to view prime videos and my video library when traveling and when not at home. I also have a kindle touch - my 4th kindle and i can leave it at home and read on the fire with whisper sync if I want. Used to take my iPad and kindle with me on the go. Now only the fire. With the iPad, Bluetooth keyboard, and the fire my laptop is gathering dust. Both devices are great for what they are designed to do.


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## dori chatelain (Dec 31, 2011)

I have a fire and my husband has a Ipad. I have used my husbands Ipad a few times but I find it very big and heavy for what I wanted the fire for. I mainly wanted the fire to play games and surf the web. mostly imdb.com that is my favorite. we seem to always want to look someones information up while watching a movie and I find it so much more comfortable using the fire. plus I have my fire next to me on the bed every night. I love playing my games on my fire. I have played a couple games on the Ipad but it is to big for my hands. Now for him the Ipad is perfect size. he has big hands and the ipad is a good size for him. 

I know the Ipad does more than the fire but like I said I got by fire for entertainment not work related stuff.


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## teralpar (May 18, 2010)

dori chatelain said:


> I mainly wanted the fire to play games and surf the web. mostly imdb.com that is my favorite. we seem to always want to look someones information up while watching a movie and I find it so much more comfortable using the fire. plus I have my fire next to me on the bed every night.


I love searching imdb.com while watching movies as well, and the Fire makes it much more convenient to do so, instead of having to use my netbook.


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## jbcohen (Jul 29, 2011)

I third those statements, imdb knows everything there is to know about hollywood. Although I find that imdb is equally as easy to use on a fire and an ipad so I would not make this a deciding factor in getting a fire.



teralpar said:


> I love searching imdb.com while watching movies as well, and the Fire makes it much more convenient to do so, instead of having to use my netbook.


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## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

I have both - I find myself using the Fire more often.  DH loveslovesloves the iPad - I like the iPad, but love my Fire.  I think part of it is that indeed, size matters.   

I do like some magazines better on the iPad - again, the size thing.


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## Steven Stickler (Feb 1, 2012)

Agree with the general consensus. We have both and I find myself gravitating to the ipad if I am planning to do any sort of serious web browsing. It is faster, the screen is larger, and it responds more reliably to touch. However, and this is important, the Ipad can become incredibly cumbersome and start to feel heavy and awkward when trying to use it while lying in bed. That's when the lighter, smaller Fire starts to shine. For reading (books, magazines, etc.), I prefer the Fire.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

After using my Kindle Fire for two months, I actually sold my iPad 1 and used part of the money to buy another Fire for my wife.

That doesn't mean that I think the Fire is better than the iPad, but I gradually found myself using the Fire more and more, and the iPad less. Now my wife no longer has Fire-envy, and we can afford more books and apps.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I do almost all of my reading on my old K3.


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## dori chatelain (Dec 31, 2011)

I have a fire and my husband has an I pad. I love my fire. I got it just because I wanted it. no other reason. I use it mostly for games. I like playing games and for the longest time I wanted an ipod touch (so I thought I did) and when it came time to decide between the ipod touch and the fire I picked the fire.  for 3 reasons

1.) The fire is an amazon device and I have so many things already amazon. even tho I have an Itunes account I only use it for my music for my ipod video and I haven't bought any music from itunes in 4 years. 

2.) I liked the screen size of the fire more than I did the ipod touch.especially after my daughter and I put the same game on both her ipod touch and my fire and played with them for an hour. 

3.) because I want the fire. thought it was cool.... 


I have a kk3 and I love it. I do most of my reading on it so I don't do much reading on the fire. how ever I do have the nook app so my daughter can share her books that she has on her nook with me. I do have books with pictures and cook books on my fire. 

I like the fact I can carry both my kk3 and my fire with me at all times and never have to worry about the size. I have a bag that I bought that they fit in perfectly. 

The one thing I like to do on my ipod is listen to audiobooks while working out at the gym. 
or anytime... 

I have used my husbands ipad he has a big  bulky case for it that makes it feel like a tank. I do like the web browsing on the ipad better than on the fire. but I haven't really done much web browsing on the fire. I have my laptop and usually use it for surfing the web. I do like the fact that the ipad has 3g. I love the map app he has on it and when we travel we can follow the map and figure out when we want to stop for gas and what and where our choices are. it will even tell us where other stores and restaurants are. as far as games go I don't like to play them on the ipad. it is too big and bulky. 

the best thing about my fire is that I can sit and play games in the evenings without having to have my computer on my lap. 

I have watched a movie on my fire but I would rather watch them on my big screen tv. and save the movie playing on my fire for traveling.


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## Betty Boop (Feb 2, 2012)

I have  a Fire and got my hubby the Ipad2.... we love them both.....

the Kindle Fire is designed expressly to consume other types of media (and a few books too, if that’s what you’re into). Much like the Kindle leveraged Amazon’s extensive e-book catalog to sell books, the Kindle Fire is for those who want a simple device that will let them purchase and enjoy colorful things like magazines, music, video, websites, and some games and apps as well, all of which are sold by Amazon. If you want to read a book or document, you can do that too, 

I play more on the Fire and read books from it, take it to church and have all my prayers a touch away... I absolutely love it.... have grocery apps on it and family calendars... so its great for shopping, just the right size to carry around like a small book... can put into my purse and it is very quick in pulling up apps... and for the money, you can't beat a better deal.

My hubby also absolutely loves his IPad2..... they are two devices with different options.. plus the IPAD has a camera and microphone which the Fire does not... so if you live in the Itunes world...go with IPad but if you live in amazon then its the fire!  The best of all worlds is to have both...


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

Cost being no object, the iPad wins hands down. Even my gen 1 is faster, most stable, and has a smoother touch feel thn the fire. But having flash is nice. The app store is a joke on the fire, it is a tiny subset of the android market which is already a weaker alternative to the iOS market.

Give it 6-12 months and another 5 million fires sold and things might be different, but the fire is a very underbaked product right now, at least compared to the iOS devices. They will get there eventually, but right now it is like a k1 compared to the current ereaders.


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## B.A. Spangler (Jan 25, 2012)

I have both and I use both.

For the iPad I paired it with a bluetooth keyboard and now use it for a lot more productivity than before.

For my Fire, this is purely a consumption device. From books to movies to games - awesome.


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## ayuryogini (Jan 3, 2010)

I have both the Fire and iPad2, and I love both, but use them for very different things. 

Early on, I read that the Fire was a good interface for Amazon, and that is how I mostly use it; if I tried to use it for much else, I would be disappointed. For surfing the web, I think it's quite a bit slower than my iPad, and the web pages are SO small, it's hard for me to read or navigate them. (Probably not a big deal for people with better eyesight.)

The games and graphics on my iPad are superior.

For reading, I usually use my Kindle Touch; I sometimes use my Fire, especially at night, because the angle of the light in the book cover shines in my eyes when I'm lying down; I rarely, if ever, use my iPad for reading books, but get most of my magazines on it. For magazines, I like the larger pages of the iPad. IMO, it's more conducive to magazine formatting than the Fire, and i don't usually have to enlarge the pages.

I need 3G when I'm out and about, so the Fire usually stays home, since it doesn't have it, which makes its use very limited for me. 
It also doesn't have bluetooth or an external speaker.

In all fairness, I haven't tried to make my Fire work as hard as my iPad, because I haven't needed to, so take that into consideration with my comparison

I'm glad I have both, but if I could only have one, I would choose the iPad.


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## Cyanide5000 (Aug 30, 2010)

I dont see the point in an iPad, in fact i dont see the point in tablet computers all together, or net books for that matter also. But im set in my ways with laptops , im not trendy enough to own a fancy tablet computer


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## Bob327 (Nov 17, 2011)

Cyanide5000 said:


> I dont see the point in an iPad, in fact i dont see the point in tablet computers all together, or net books for that matter also. But im set in my ways with laptops , im not trendy enough to own a fancy tablet computer


I agree somewhat tablets are a solution waiting for a problem I personally do not have...

I'm retired at home most of the time. I have a desktop or a laptop within a few steps no matter where in the house or garage or workshop for that matter plus I have my smart phone ...

I do not think you or I are really behind the thundering heard we are just on a different road which leads us to where we want to go...

Bob G


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## ayuryogini (Jan 3, 2010)

Full Disclosure:

I just realized another reason I may be biased toward the iPad is that every other gadget I have is Apple, so my laptop, iPad, iPods and iPhone all interface very nicely together. 

I didn't want to have to learn too much with Android, so mostly just use it to interface with Amazon. 
I probably have no real conception of the capabilities of the Fire because of that.


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