The holiday season is the perfect time to buy devices. The discounts are great and since it’s the end of the year, you can actually leave the store (online shop) with the best technology at the best price. 2012 was a great year for small tablets, but that means it’s all the more challenging to choose the best tablet for your needs. It’s time to check out the reviews and place your order, so your newest tablet will be under the Christmas tree all wrapped up just in time for the “grand” opening of the presents.
Technology in tablets has evolved a lot over the past year and the screen quality has become a great selling point. But if you’re buying tablets on a budget, Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7” (16GB, Wi-Fi) becomes a viable choice, when looking at OS, screen quality, battery life, processor and Internet connectivity.
The second-generation of Kindle Fire is better built, lighter and slimmer with round corners and a better grip. The Power button however was moved from the bottom to the right side panel, right next to a hardware volume rocker. But it’s the screen that got raving reviews. Pc Mag notes that the screen on this budget tablet is “gorgeous”. It features a 7-inch IPS LCD with a resolution of 1,280 x 800 and non-reflective screen that betters that of Nexus 7.
The 7-inch Kindle Fire runs on Amazon’s own version of Android 4.0 which has an interface quite different from other Android-based tablets. Pc Mag notes it “is compatible with most third-party Android apps). It runs on a Texas Instruments OMAP4460 Dual-Core 1.2GHz processor, but web browsing with Silk isn’t as fast as Amazon promises.
pros
Battery life of 7 hours 00 minutes
Free unlimited cloud storage for Amazon content, access to Prime Instant Video and Kindle Free Unlimited for Kids
The dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi downloads and streams content 40% faster
Custom Dolby audio and dual-driver stereo speakers for crisp audio
cons
The 1MP video camera is compatible mostly with Skype and Evernote
The battery isn’t removable
No memory card slots
When Kindle Fire HD 7” first hit the market, it lived to Amazon’s selling pitch as the “world’s most advanced 7” tablet”. However, things have changed a lot in the small tablet market, and while Kindle Fire HD 7” remains a virtually inexpensive choice ($199, 16GB, Wi-Fi), reviews read that it’s been outpaced by the slightly more expensive tablets, such as Google Nexus 7. So, if you’re not necessarily out to buy an Amazon tablet, you’ll get more bang for your buck with Nexus 7.
