Google Nexus 7 vs Amazon Kindle Fire HD (7 inch version)

Google and Amazon have been in a tight competition ever since they released their Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD (7 inch version), respectively. Today we will make a comparison between these two gadgets and see which one is better.

While Google’s Nexus 7 costs $199, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD has a price tag of $299 (it can reach $499). So at least from this point of view in this vs battle, the Nexus 7 wins.

The design

In terms of looks, the Nexus 7 has the following measurements: 198.5 mm x 120 mm x 10.5 mm. Its footprint is smaller. On the other hand, the Kindle Fire HD is 193 mm x 137 mm x 10.3 mm. These measurements make it thinner than its rival. Overall, though, the design is almost the same. Meaning it’s characterized by both class and solidity. The Kindle Fire HD is not as light as the Nexus 7: 13.9 oz. versus 12 oz.

The kind of touchscreens featured on the the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire HD are not at all different. At least not in inches and the number of pixels they sport: 7″ and 1280 x 800. Another similarity is given by the aspect ratio: 16:10 for both display. Moreover, both of the touchscreen are IPS LCD ones. Up until now, there are no reports on whether or not the displays resist sun’s rays and not show glare. The touchscreens are perfectly capable of delivering good quality on both tablets.Google-Nexus-7-vs-Kindle-Fire-HD

The memory

In the memory department, The Google Nexus 7 boasts a total of 8GB of internal memory. Unfortunately, it cannot be expanded. On the other hand, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD comes with 16GB of internal memory. But this, too, is non-expandable. There is no microSD card in neither tablets.

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Both of these devices ship with Bluetooth. And a cam on the front. In terms of output, the Nexus 7 has none. The Kindle Fire HD has one HDMI-out.

The processors that are used on either of the gadgets are different. While the Nexus 7 has a quad-core 1.2GHz Nvidia Tegra 3, the Kindle Fire HD has a dual-core 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4460. That kind of CPU is a rarity on an affordable tablet such as the Nexus 7. Which makes it an attractive option if you want a cheap device that does not lag as frequently as other similarly priced tablets these days. Compared to that, the TI OMAP 4460 offers a PowerVR SGX540 graphics processor that is overclocked to 384 MHz. Which makes it the same one used on the Google / Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Either way, if we compare the performance of the two processors, the one thrown into the Amazon creation is faster than the one Google chose for its new tablet.

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Amazon Kindle Fire HD

Next in our list is NFC capability. The Kindle Fire HD does not have it, but the Nexus 7 does. And that is another pro for the Google tablet. Wi-Fi in the case of the Nexus 7 means 802.11 b/g/n. As for the Kindle Fire HD it means the same, but that model includes dual-band MIMO.

The operating system

The operating system on the Nexus 7 is an Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The OS on the Kindle Fire HD is the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Which means more points for the Nexus 7 tablet. Because the Jelly Bean version has a lot more in store than the older version. However, what you can do with the Android 4.1 will drain the processor of its already limited power. So in the end it’s better to have the Ice Cream Sandwich on a faster processor, even though it means less goodies to enjoy.

The Kindle Fire HD is somehow limited to the content available at the Amazon Appstore. This can be an advantage because the processing requirements will be much decreased compared with other Android based tablet.

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Google Nexus 7

In the apps department, the Nexus 7 has Google Play, which means around 600,000 applications. The Kindle Fire HD has an Amazon Appstore with around 50,000 apps. Also, the Nexus 7 has GPS, while its competitor doesn’t come with something like that.

The battery featured on the Kindle Fire HD provides 11 hours, while the Nexus 7 is capable of 10 hours and a half. Sound on the latter is delivered by mono speakers. Amazon’s latest tablet sports stereo speakers.

In the war between Google and Amazon, it’s hard to name a winner. The Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire HD both have their pros and cons. It all depends on the consumer in the end and what he wants from a tablet.