# Kindle Fire vs. Apple iPad2



## Zell (Dec 27, 2010)

I have an iPad2.  I'm considering getting a Kindle Fire.  Why should I get the Fire in addition to the iPad I have?  In what ways is the Fire better than an iPad?

Thanks!


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## SusanCassidy (Nov 9, 2008)

It is smaller and more portable.  Other than that, the iPad is superior, as far as I can see.


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## Zell (Dec 27, 2010)

By the way, I do already have a Kindle Keyboard.


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## Okkoto86 (Oct 29, 2010)

Hottest topic on the net right now probably. Its impossible for us to say anything that hasn't been said about a billion times already.

http://bit.ly/vsTm08

Just sayin.


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## Zell (Dec 27, 2010)

SusanCassidy said:


> It is smaller and more portable. Other than that, the iPad is superior, as far as I can see.


Right now, I'm not sure portability is an advantage to me unless the Fire has free 3G (does it?). My iPad is not 3G so I don't take it out of our home very often where I have a wireless connection for it.


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## Zell (Dec 27, 2010)

Okkoto86 said:


> Hottest topic on the net right now probably. Its impossible for us to say anything that hasn't been said about a billion times already.
> 
> http://bit.ly/vsTm08
> 
> Just sayin.


But I want to get the perspective from Kindle Fire owners here on the Kindle Boards.


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## georges (Feb 15, 2009)

The Kindle Fire is much better for me. It's smaller and much more convenient to use. In my circumstance, the Kindle Fire does everything I used my iPad for. I couldn't justify the 600 price difference so, I am selling my iPad and am keeping the Fire. 

I will admit, the iPad exceeds the Fire in performance and features. It's just doesn't make sense for me to have an iPad with the low price and great features of the Fire.


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## Zell (Dec 27, 2010)

If the Kindle Fire has free 3G connectivity, then that's a feature that would make me want to get the Fire -- for sure.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Zell said:


> If the Kindle Fire has free 3G connectivity, then that's a feature that would make me want to get the Fire -- for sure.


But it doesn't; and in my opinion, it never will....Amazon is phasing out free 3G browsing on the devices it offers.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a paid 3G option in the future, however.

I have a WiFi iPad1 and a Fire and consider the Fire a complement or supplement to my iPad, not a replacement. But it depends on what you want to use it for. I use the Fire as a media consumption device while I "work" on the iPad.

Betsy


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## legalbs2 (May 27, 2009)

Zell said:


> If the Kindle Fire has free 3G connectivity, then that's a feature that would make me want to get the Fire -- for sure.


Our Kindle DX has free 3g. One reason we are keeping it. Love my new Fire though for reading and for checking online every now and then within WiFi range. The iPad is a portable computer and too pricey for just reading; however, the Kindle DX was $389.


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## Stormy (May 24, 2010)

it is my understanding that the fire has flash and ipad does not


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## Neon8 (Oct 19, 2011)

I have had iPad since launch day and upgraded to iPad 2. Also have had a Kindle since K1. I also got the Fire. The iPad is great for some things but the main problem for me with the iPad is no flash. All sorts of video content just doesn't play including Amazon content. I have grown a large video library over the years since the days of unbox. Years ago I got an Archos media player and it played well with amazon and was my travel movie device. So now with the fire I have access to all my content including prime videos. Also like the fire for carrying around every day. Used to always carry my iPad and my kindle everywhere but now just the fire. For home use - for everything not Amazon - the iPad is better due to larger screen. Almost all the apps I regularly use on my iPad are available for the Fire. I can do 90% of what I want or need on the fire but still use my iPad for most things at home and my kindle for serious reading. I see all the devices as complimentary. I love them all  Now if Amazon makes a larger fire and made it both LCD and e- ink I would preorder in an instant as I hate having to sync with iTunes


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## legalbs2 (May 27, 2009)

I have the feeling that the battery in the Fire is not all that good with a very short life before needed charging.  Someone stated that your should only charged the battery in the Fire between 40 - 80% and never let it go all the way down or up.  Does anyone know if either the iPad or the Fire has a replaceable battery or do we send it back when it dies?  Expected life on either's batteries?  

The Fire is really fast and you can get apps that play live radio shows and podcasts.  If it had 3g, it would be perfect!


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

legalbs2 said:


> I have the feeling that the battery in the Fire is not all that good with a very short life before needed charging. Someone stated that your should only charged the battery in the Fire between 40 - 80% and never let it go all the way down or up. Does anyone know if either the iPad or the Fire has a replaceable battery or do we send it back when it dies? Expected life on either's batteries?
> 
> The Fire is really fast and you can get apps that play live radio shows and podcasts. If it had 3g, it would be perfect!


I don't agree with the information about the Fire battery charging that one member posted (sorry) although it's too soon to tell what the life expectancy of the battery will be. I charge the battery every night, sometimes it's pretty close to 15 or 20 percent remaining. I charge it overnight. Devices these days will charge until full (takes the Fire about four hours according to what I've read) and then stop charging even if still plugged in.

My battery last for a day of medium use, which is as advertised and certainly consistent with what I get from my iPad (although I use the iPad more and so need to charge it more often).

Betsy


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## TraceyC/FL (Mar 23, 2011)

legalbs2 said:


> I have the feeling that the battery in the Fire is not all that good with a very short life before needed charging. Someone stated that your should only charged the battery in the Fire between 40 - 80% and never let it go all the way down or up. Does anyone know if either the iPad or the Fire has a replaceable battery or do we send it back when it dies? Expected life on either's batteries?
> 
> The Fire is really fast and you can get apps that play live radio shows and podcasts. If it had 3g, it would be perfect!


I believe the iPad is rated at 1,000 cycles on the battery. A replacement is $99 from apple, and if you do it in store they don't replace the battery, they replace the iPad.


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## kay_dee (May 24, 2009)

I love, love, love my Fire. I have an iPhone and an iPad and I purchased the Fire as a middle device—when the phone is too small and the iPad is too cumbersome. I use my iPad mainly for work and production and it's not always convenient to carry around. The Fire allows me to do many of the things I want to do like social media, email, music, movies and reading and it fits nicely in my purse. I also like that it does Flash. I've side loaded several of the apps I use on the Ipad so I've got just about everything covered. It's the perfect entertainment device for me.


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## TraceyC/FL (Mar 23, 2011)

I think how "worth it" to you would depend on how much you are invested in the amazon Eco-system outside of books. If you have prime and can stream their movies, and buy/rent movies from them, even having music with them.

For me, the Fire would be a device for ebooks and some games for the kids, and with the issues regarding the carasol/archive I'm not going there yet.

All of our movies have been imported into iTunes (not that I can stream them to the tv yet since I'm lacking HDMI on the thing so I can't get a new appletv box), anything I've bought has been in iTunes, my music is all in iTunes and I have only bought a couple of things from amazon, we use Netflix instead of prime for streaming, and quite frankly, I'm HEAVILY invested in iOS apps.

So for me, the content consuming aspect is better on iOS devices than the Fire, and my iPad fills all my tablet needs, which doesn't mean I wouldn't take one if gave it to me, nor am I ruling out a purchase for the kids use.


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## KR Jacobsen (Jul 19, 2011)

I have an iPad and an iPad 2, and had a Fire. Before I say anything else, I fully admit I'm an Apple fanboy (I'm posting on my iPad 2 via Taptalk now). 

However, having both, the Fire was absolutely worthless for me, outside of its more portable form factor. While I'm used to limited storage and the inability to add more (thanks, Apple), the Kindle is even more limited. Add to that it doesn't play movies in the format I've ripped all of mine to, and that the Netflix app is terrible, and suddenly it's a lot less useful to me. 

The Kindle app on the Fire highlights the problems with its hardware and the lack of optimization. For $200 I understand it's a really, really minor point to complain about, but page turns should be crisp and smooth, and they're anything but. From what I can tell, the Nook Tablet doesn't have this problem with its own software, and the Kindle software on the iPad/iPhone definitely does not. 

I think Android is still missing some polish. I vastly prefer the spit and polish Apple has put into its devices, and the jerky, high-speed animations in Android devices is jarring to me. And have I mentioned the UI feels unfinished, the keyboard is terrible, and the display is so sensitive that it's a pain to get the stupid carousel to stop on the right item should you actually try to use it? Oh, and the web browser...what a pile.

If you already have an iPad, a Fire is a waste of $200 unless you a) really need a 7" device (nice physical design, but kind of heavy and limited); or b) have everything in your multimedia life going through Amazon.

If you don't have an iPad or you can manage your expectations better than a gadget-addicted junkie who expects the best out of every little thing, it's a great device at a steal of a price. 

P.S. The Fire has Flash support, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Flash on a portable device is slow, a battery hog, and generally an unenjoyable experience (the joys of waiting for it to load when HTML 5 would've already been ready). There's a reason (several, really) that Adobe is stopping development on mobile Flash (and making everything on the desktop side convert to HTML 5).


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Frankly, as someone with an iPad1, I wouldn't compare the iPad to the Fire...I don't think they're targeted at the same functions or audience, although there is some overlap.  *shrug*  But I agree if one purchases a Fire expecting it to be an iPad,  you will be disappointed.

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

See, in my mind, a Fire and an iPad are very different devices.  I mean, they're completely different price points with very different feature sets.  I can completely conceive of having both and finding one or the other more useful depending on the task.  I can also understand people who feel like one OR the other is enough and there's no need to have one of each.

FWIW, Kindle books on the Fire, to me, work just great.  I have no problems with it. . . page turns are crisp to me and the layout options (type size, font style, color, margins, etc.) are really nice.  More, I think, than I get when I use Kindle on my Xoom.  And with my newspaper, if there is a link, I can click it directly -- that's not available when you just use the Kindle for Android App on the Xoom.  And the browser opens quickly and if I double tap the page it zooms and realigns the text with the edges of the screen so there's no panning. When I'm done, I can go back to the newspaper.

Over all, I've been very happy with my Fire so far. . . . I'm already using it more than I do the Xoom.


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## parakeetgirl (Feb 27, 2009)

I have an iPad 2 that I love but I love my Fire too. Portability wise, it's working better than the iPad. I also think the Fire has a nicer screen than the iPad and I am very invested in the Amazon ecosystem. Someone here had posted a way to tweak the settings on the Fire so the browser was quicker so no issues there.


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## KozysMom (Dec 26, 2010)

Can your iTunes music and movies be copied into the Fire?  How is it reading on the Fire versus the older Kindles with the e-Ink?  I was considering getting an iPad so I would have a device that did everything, but now I'm not so sure.  I have a MacBook, but would like something to check email during the day, etc.


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

I don't use iTunes, but DH does for his iPad, and DS does for his iPhone. I'm ok wiith Windows Media center for my music.

When I got my Fire, I uploaded all of the music from my PC and laptop to Amazon's Cloud. It took all of the iTunes music as well as my WMC. I can now listen to songs that DH or DS had bought via iTunes right along with my WMC music, and I just bought my first 2 albums via my FIRE from Amazon (Irish Tenors & Celtic Women). I stream music directly from the cloud most of the time when I am doing most anything.


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## TerryS (Mar 29, 2011)

I would never compare the Fire to an Ipad. I have an Ipad, a Xoom and a friend brought the Fire over. Until I see what Amazon does with their version of Android apps, Ipad wins in every category but being a little less portable. And no I'm not an Apple fan.Most times I can't stand them, but a good product is a good product. Not saying the Kindle Fire isn't. Compare it to the Nook Color.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

I wouldn't compare the Fire with an iPad either. The Fire is primarily for media consumption (tv shows, movies, audio books, music) while my iPad has become my primary computer. I'll often have both going.. Love, love, love that I can stream shows for free (long, long time Prime member) on the Fire while I surf the Internet or play Angry Birds on my iPad.


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