Kobo Arc vs Amazon New Kindle Fire HD
Amazon’s latest Kindle Fire HD and the Kobo Arc are the newest gadgets we chose for our “Versus” war today. They are some of the most reputable tablets today.
Compared to the $159 Amazon Kindle Fire HD, the Kobo Arc costs $199 (for the 8GB model) and $249 (the 16GB model version). This certainly makes Amazon’s creation more appealing from the first.
The specifications
The specs that were included on each of these devices are different. The Kobo Arc has a 7″ IPS HD touchscreen, a dual-core 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4470 CPU, a 1.3-megapixel HD camera (on the front) and an Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS. Its body weighs 364g and measures 189mm x 120mm x 12.4mm. Even if the operating system here is still the Ice Cream Sandwich one, the company announced that they will bring the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean sooner rather than later. That is not saying much, but at least they announced beforehand.
The specs on the new Kindle Fire HD are the following: a 7″ touchscreen, a dual-core 1.2GHz TI OMAP 4430 processor, 1GB of RAM, 1,024 x 600 pixels and 8GB of internal memory (that cannot be expanded). The Kindle Fire HD measures 190mm x 120mm x 11.4mm. Its weight is 400g. Which means that the Kobo Arc is lighter, but not thinner. So in terms of thinness, the Amazon device wins.
The design
Compared to Amazon’s latest tablet, Kobo’s has a new design. The plates, for instance, come in difefrent colors. On the other hand, the Kindle Fire HD looks the same as the original model. Which is not always bad, but if you want something that looks more 2012, the Kobo Arc is the one for you.
Neither of the two products ships with a microSD slot. But, compared to the Arc, the Kindle Fire HD has no GPS, Bluetooth and camera. Unlike the Kindle Fire, the Kobo Arc has both a power and volume control button, with the latter being placed on the right side of the tablet.
If we were to compare the devices from a processing speed point of view, the Kindle Fire HD is the winner. Because it provides less lags and superior speed. Which is one of the most important things in a gadget.
The Kobo Arc sports Google Play. This offers users all sorts of ways to entertain himself without an eBook. The Amazon Kindle Fire HD, though, has a lot of multimedia content compared to its rival. But Google Play still rules, because it boasts the possibility to open apps and enjoy them directly, without any stress at all. Or wasted time trying to figure out what to do.
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The operating system
The operating system on the Kindle Fire is a forked one. Which practically means that you can access whatever application you want to from the Play Store without limits. And you can enjoy what you read, watch and so on on the display in a very pleasant way. That’s due to the fact that the user interface is a great addition to this tablet’s list of features. Not to mention that navigation is very easy to perform. The same as with the interface on the Kobo Arc.
Since we are mentioning the Arc, we should also add that this gadget sports something that isn’t featured on other devices like itself. This model can take info from the World Wide Web easily and then splash it on its display. Anything from clips on YouTube, photos, articles in Wikipedia and a lot more varied content on the Internet. Just like that. The Kindle Fire HD does not have this advantage. But then again, not all consumers want this kind of offering.
Like we already mentioned, applications on the Amazon Kindle Fire HD are easy to gain access to. Even the ones that are loved by many. And even if their number is limited. However, if someone considers buying this tablet, then they need to know the following: all of its goodies and other elements are not easy to remove in case you get rid of them. The Kobo Arc is way more flexible than the Kindle Fire HD from this point of view.
The Kobo Arc comes to stores at the middle of November. Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD is scheduled to land this month on the 14th.
