Amazon Kindle Fire HD vs Google Nexus 7

After announcing that the new Kindle Fire HD would be making its way to the UK next month, Amazon instantly made choosing an Android tablet just that little bit harder. Last week, it would have been a no-brainer: Google’s Nexus 7 was the undisputed king of budget Android devices. Now, the similarly priced Kindle Fire HD has the potential to steal Google’s thunder, just in time for Christmas.

In order to work out which tablet deserves your cash, we’ve taken a close look at both, comparing them across a range of categories. Read on to find out which is best.

DISPLAY
Both tablets have a 7in, 10-point capacitive touch display with a 1,280×800 resolution. The panels both use IPS technology, creating fantastic viewing angles and vivid colours. They also both use Corning’s reinforced Gorilla Glass, which is more resistant to scratches than untreated panels.

The main differences lie in the anti-glare treatment and polarising filters used to reduce light reflections and improve image quality in bright light or direct sunlight. Amazon says it has done this by laminating the touch sensor and LCD together in one piece of glass, eliminating the air gap between the two which reduces internal reflections. However, this technology isn’t new – in fact, it’s already available on the Nexus 7. Asus, the tablet’s manufacturer, calls this system TruVivid, but the two are very similar.

In all likelihood, the panels come from the same manufacturer and there will be very little variance between the two tablets, but we won’t know until the Kindle Fire HD launches in October.
Winner: Google Nexus 7

HARDWARE
The Nexus 7 is powered by a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor running at 1.3GHz. Part of this chip also handles graphics performance, and has access to Nvidia-only special effects and graphical features. A number of games currently available in the Google Play store support this extra level of detail, giving it the edge over competing tablets.

The Kindle Fire HD uses a slower 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, along with an Imagination PowerVR graphics core for games and multimedia. It’s still a fast chip, but it isn’t able to use the same extra features when it comes to games.

Both chips are able to play high definition video at 720p, the native resolution of their 7in displays, and have no trouble running the Android operating system.

The Nexus might be slightly thicker than the Kindle, but it manages to squeeze this extra power into a narrower chassis which weighs almost 50g less. It also has a slightly smaller screen bezel, giving the appearance of a larger screen even though that isn’t the case, and a leather effect finish versus the Kindle’s plastic.
Winner: Google Nexus 7

CONNECTIVITY
The Nexus 7 is rather sparse when it comes to connectivity, with only a micro USB port and a 3.5mm audio jack on the bottom. There’s no video output whatsoever, making the 7in screen the only way to enjoy your content.

On the other hand, the Kindle Fire HD has both micro USB and 3.5mm audio, plus a micro-HDMI video output for connecting to a TV or other external display.

Both tablets support 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, although the Kindle has a dual-band, dual-antenna design that should result in fewer dropped connections over conventional Wi-Fi. It’s a close call, but the Kindle just edges a win.
Winner: Kindle Fire HD

BATTERY LIFE
Amazon claims the Kindle Fire HD will last up to “11 hours of watching videos, browsing the web, playing music, or reading”, and until we get one in the building we can’t prove them otherwise. We don’t know the capacity of the battery either, although the original Kindle Fire used a 4,400mAh model so we would expect to see something similar here.

The Nexus 7 has a 4,326mAh battery, which lasted ten hours and twenty minutes in our video loop test. This suggests there won’t be a lot between the two tablets in terms of battery life, although the Kindle has a chance to come out on top if its dual-core processor is more energy efficient than Nvidia’s Tegra 3.
Winner: Google Nexus 7 – for now

AUDIO
Google’s tablet has a pair of stereo speakers, which are located at the bottom of the tablet and fire audio downwards. It doesn’t create much of a stereo effect as they are located so close together.

Amazon one-ups the Nexus in this department, as the Kindle Fire HD has four speakers arranged in a 2×2 layout at either side of the tablet. This should not only help create louder, more balanced audio, but create a more believable stereo sound scape too.,
Winner: Kindle Fire HD

CAMERA
Amazon has yet to reveal the number of megapixels the Kindle Fire HD’s front-facing camera has, only saying it’s an “HD” model. Most likely it will be a 1.2-megapixel snapper that’s best suited to Skype video conversations rather than taking pictures.

We know the Nexus 7 has a 1.2-megapixel front webcam, which again isn’t particularly well suited to taking photos. There’s not even a dedicated camera app installed, so you would need to find one on the Google Play store if you were really determined. It does however work well for video calls.
Winner: tie

OPERATING SYSTEM
Both tablets use Google’s Android operating system, but in vastly different ways. The Nexus 7 is a completely vanilla Android experience, with none of the custom skins or interfaces you normally see from smartphone manufacturers. It’s also running the latest 4.1 version, otherwise known as Jelly Bean. It’s a major upgrade over Ice Cream Sandwich, thanks to a reworked animation engine that makes everything appear much smoother and responsive than on previous versions of Android.

Amazon uses Android 4.0 as a base for its custom interface, with a heavily modified custom overlay on top. It’s much more geared towards Amazon’s own content stores, but is also far more user-friendly for anyone that’s never picked up an Android tablet before.
Winner: Google Nexus 7

CONTENT
Unsurprisingly, given the custom interface it uses, the Kindle Fire HD has been stripped of the Google Play Store and given the Amazon Appstore instead. Like other third-party app stores it has fewer apps and games than the official store, but the Amazon brand has already attracted several big-name developers such as Rovio. Angry Birds fans will still be able to get their fix, but Nexus owners will have more variety.

The reverse is true when it comes to films, TV and music. Amazon’s marketplace is much more expansive than the Google Play store, so if you’re looking to rent the latest releases or add to your album collection, you’ll probably have better luck finding your favourites with a Kindle Fire HD.

If you want to be able to play the latest games or use the newest apps, the Nexus 7 will be your best bet, but if you’re more interested in content, the Kindle Fire HD nudges it.
Winner: tie

STORAGE
The basic Nexus 7 has 8GB of internal memory, with no microSD card slot for upgrading it later. You can also get a 16GB model, which again has no expandable storage.

Amazon’s entry-level tablet starts with 16GB of internal memory – twice that of the similarly priced Nexus 7. If that’s not sufficient, you can opt for the larger model, which as 32GB of storage.
Winner: Kindle Fire HD

PRICE
If you were just looking at price alone when choosing between the Kindle and the Nexus, you would have an almost impossible task, as they both cost the same. It’s only when you take other specifications into account that value becomes clearer. Google’s tablet starts at £159 for an 8GB model, jumping up to £199 for the 16GB version.

Amazon has been very aggressive with its pricing, letting you pick up a 16GB Kindle Fire HD for the same price as an 8GB Nexus, just £159. If you want more storage, the 32GB model costs £199, the same as the 16GB Nexus 7. Of course, both are significantly cheaper than Apple’s iPad.

There’s no question that you get more storage for your money with a Kindle, so it wins here.
Winner: Kindle Fire HD

WHO WINS?
Adding up the scores, it looks like a tie between the two tablets. There’s really not a lot between them, but the few differences could make your decision easier. We personally prefer Google’s Nexus 7 because it’s more open to customisation, thanks to its stock Android interface, and has more apps and games available to download through the Google Play store.

Amazon’s tablet is much more locked down, but it has more storage for the same price, potentially better speakers and much more video and music content than Google currently offers. Its interface is also a lot more user-friendly for anyone that isn’t already familiar with Android.

Crucially, you’re getting excellent value for money with either tablet, so you’re unlikely to regret buying either one.