The argument of who has the best $200 tablet has been easily won by the Google Nexus 7 over the Kindle Fire until now with the release of the Kindle Fire HD. From the start we will go ahead and say we still feel the Nexus 7 is the best low budget tablet even with the release of the new Amazon HD but the race is much closer. In fact its down to what you use it for and personal opinion as of yesterday.
Below we will compare some of the major features of each device, mostly from a hardware and overall software stance.
What is better about the Google Nexus 7 than the Amazon Kindle Fire HD:
First and formats the Nexus 7 comes with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean while the Kindle Fire HD will be loaded with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. If we know anything about Amazon they will likely never update to Jelly Bean for the simple fact that their version of the Android OS is so highly customized. Second major difference where the Nexus 7 wins is with its Tegra 3 quad-core processor while the Kindle Fire HD will be using the older dual-core OMAP processor. The Nexus 7 is also a lighter device weighing in at 340 grams with the Kindle Fire HD coming in at 395 grams. The Nexus 7 has Google Play and its 600,000 plus apps along with the ability to install the Amazon App Store while the Kindle Fire HD will only have access to the Amazon App Store’s 50,000 apps. A few of the other smaller features that the Nexus 7 will have over the Kindle Fire Hd is Google Now, NFC, Voice Commands, and a few others.
What is better about the Amazon Kindle Fire HD than the Google Nexus 7:
The one major positive hardware feature that the Kindle Fire HD has is its initial 16GB of storage capacity where the Nexus 7’s $200 model only comes with 8GB. Even when upgrading the Nexus 7 has up to 16GB of storage and Kindle Fire HD can hit 32GB. The Kindle Fire HD gets about 1 hour more from a full charge at 11 hours while the Nexus 7 lasts about 10 hours on one charge. Some of the other features that the Kindle Fire HD has that you will not see on the Nexus 7 is Dolby Digital Plus, and HDMI output, and a few other small ones.
What do the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD have in common:
One of the key features in a tablet is its screen resolution and both the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire Hd have a 7″ screen with a 1280×800 screen resolution. The difference is type with the Nexus 7 having a 1280×800 HD 216ppi and the Kindle Fire HD with its 1280×800 HD LCD IPS display. Both devices come with 1GB of RAM and a front facing camera. We aren’t sure what the camera on the Kindle Fire HD it but can assume it will not be much better if at all than the Nexus 7’s 1.2 MP camera. Both have about the same dimensions with the Kindle Fire HD about .15 mm thinner but 17 mm wider.
When choosing between the Nexus 7 or the Kindle Fire HD it will all come down to what you want to do with your Tablet. Those that are into gaming or molding will be better off with the Nexus 7 although if your reading books and watching movies the Kindle Fire HD may be the right tablet for you. Either way you will have a great piece of hardware. We personally like the Nexus 7 due to the pure Android experience and speeds but not all users will notice this.