The Amazon Kindle Fire(video to kindle fire) and the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet(video to Nook Tablet) both have a few months under their belts.
Amazon Kindle Fire review
8GB of storage
Even after a handful of software updates from both manufacturers, we’re still awarding the Nook Tablet a slightly higher rating, thanks largely to its hardware advantages: a better screen, expandable storage, and the inclusion of some convenient physical controls such as a volume control and a home key.
The Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet review
The Nook Tablet’s screen uses the same 1,024×600-pixel resolution found on the Kindle Fire, but it looks better to our eyes. Just like on the Nook Color, Barnes & Noble made an effort to eliminate the gap between the LCD panel and the glass above it, giving images and text a crisper look. Apps also appear to fit the screen’s resolution better than on the Kindle Fire, perhaps because of the differences in how the devices eat into the screen real estate with their own menus and navigation elements. The Netflix app, in particular, looks much better on the Nook Tablet than on the Kindle Fire, though this may change as updates roll out.
Pros of Kindle Fire:
“Free” videos and books (Kindle Owners’ Lending Library) and free two-day shipping on Amazon orders are included for the first month at no cost, but it costs $79 per year to maintain. If you’re already hooked on Amazon’s Prime service then the Kindle Fire is an easy recommendation to make.
Some, though not all, of Amazon’s digital video library can be downloaded for offline playback.The Kindle Fire’s radically simple user interface behaves nothing like a smartphone or a computer, and for many, that’s a good thing.
For the Kindle Fire, the “cloud” is more than just a promise to let users redownload their purchased content. Customers are given a free 5GB Cloud Drive account to which they can upload any music, photos, videos, or documents they want access to. Additional cloud storage can be purchased at reasonable rates.
Cons of the Kindle Fire
Not much storage space: Books and documents take up very little room, but if you have your heart set on stocking the Kindle Fire with your personal music and video library, you should keep your expectations low.
The maximum amount of video content we were able to successfully load onto the Kindle Fire was 5GB. Depending on the resolution of the video files involved, that could be three or four 720p movies or a season’s worth of a standard-definition TV show. Either way, the Nook Tablet is designed to accept up to 32GB of microSD card storage, and is a clear winner when it comes to file hoarding.
Pros of Nook Tablet:
The Nook Tablet doesn’t hand over all of its storage capacity to user content. The 8GB version only reserves 4GB of space for dragged-and-dropped user content (basically audio and video files), while the 16GB model currently offers only 1GB of storage for user content. Barnes & Noble has stated that owners of the 16GB model will be offered an option mid-March to increase the Nook Tablet’s memory allocation up to 8GB for side-loaded content.
Barnes & Noble has championed color e-books for kids since the introduction of the Nook Color in 2009. The Nook Tablet’s integrated microphone allows parents to record as they read to their children.
The selection of subscription and single-issue magazines on the Nook Tablet looks better than what’s available through Amazon. Most of the available magazines preserve the design of the print edition’s layout, creating a reading experience closer to the real thing.
A more traditional tablet interface: As with most Android tablets, the Nook Tablet’s home screen acts like a virtual desktop that you can customize with your favorite items and spread across multiple pages. The Kindle Fire doesn’t allow as much home screen customization, though some may prefer the simplicity of its one-page home screen.
Battery testing is still in progress but it would seem that Barnes & Noble has a decisive lead.
Walk into any Barnes & Noble store with your Nook Tablet and you can take advantage of pricing specials, book previews, free Wi-Fi, and in-person support.
Cons of the Nook Tablet Continue reading →