Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet – iPad Killers or Simply Second Best?
While the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet may considerably undercut the Apple iPad when it comes to price, buyers are being advised to expect a number of trade-offs for the privilege of high-affordability. True, both newcomers to the tablet PC world retail for less than half the cost of the iPad, but in return offer smaller screen sizes, fewer available apps, slower processing speeds and significantly shorter battery-life.
Ever since its release back in 2010, the iPad has been the supreme heavyweight champion of the tablet PC game, defeating all-comers without ever receiving so much as a glancing blow. Of course, the list of major manufacturers and their attempts to dethrone Apple has been extensive to say the least, with the likes of the Motorola Xoom, the BlackBerry PlayBook, the HP TouchPad and countless more all falling short at the first hurdle – all equally devoted to taking their own slice of the lucrative $10 billion tablet market
Needless to say, the two latest competitors have the potential to really hit the iPad where it hurts – which is right in the price tag – but is the buyer really sacrificing too much to justify the affordability?
Well, the short answer is that with the Kindle Fire at $199 and the Nook Tablet at $249, both tablets really have to offer very little in order to justify their costs. Thankfully, even given the aforementioned setbacks, both still offer around 80% of the functionality of the iPad for those willing to forego the luxuries.
The bottom line is this – if you’re looking for a fully-fledged tablet PC with all the imaginable bells and whistles to last the best part of a lifetime, the iPad is the clear winner. However, if you’re looking for simplicity, excellent entertainment and pocket full of extra cash, the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet take the cake in a rather big way.
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