Kindle Fire HD 8.9: Can Amazon Stand Against Apple?

We all know that the new iPad is the reigning king of all tablets now in the market. However, you might start selling your iPad now because its brother is coming this month: The iPad Mini. Now that there are two contenders from Apple—not to mention, the newly released iPhone 5—can Amazon still defeat the King of All Gadgets? This November, Amazon has scheduled the release of the Kindle Fire HD 8.8 this November. Since the iPad 3 is getting older each day, will Amazon defeat Apple this time with its new tablet, despite the latter releasing its iPad Mini this month?

Operating System

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The operating system of the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is an adapted version of the Android 4.0, which is the Ice Cream Sandwich. This might be bad news for Amazon because the latest operating system of Android is 4.1, which is Jelly Bean. Moreover, the new iPad currently has iOS 5.1.1 operating system and can become iOS 6 if updated. This will be a good shot for Apple.

Processor and RAM

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The new Kindle Fire tablet from Amazon runs with OMAP4 4470, a dual-core processor which is manufactured by Texas Instruments. This processor is clocked at 1.5 GHz. On the Apple side, the iPad 3 runs in A5x processor (also dual-core), which is clocked at 1 GHz.

It is rumored that the RAM capacity of the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is about 1.5 GB. The new iPad however has a 1024MB of DDR2 RAM. The new model of Kindle Fire HD then can go up to 64GB. But then again, the new iPad has the same capabilities.

Display

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As the name suggests, the new Kindle Fire HD model has an 8.9-inch display which has 1920 x 1200 pixels resolution and 254 pixels per inch. Unfortunately, the screen has noticeable glare because it has no air gap between the glass and the display.

The display feature, of course, is better with the new iPad, which comes with a Retina Display screen, giving its users a resolution of 2048 x 1536 pixels in its 9.7-inch screen. It also has 264 pixels per inch, which is obviously more than the new Kindle Fire HD model’s.

Size and Weight

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The dimensions of the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 are 9.45 inches by 6.5 inches by 0.35 inches. Its weight is about 20 ounces. Compared to it, the new iPad is about 9.5 inches by 7.31 inches by 0.4 inches. The iPad 3’s weight is 23 ounces.

Camera

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The new Kindle Fire HD has only one camera compared to iPad’s two cameras. The camera of the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is good for video chatting with VoIP software like Skype, since it is facing the front.

Unlike the Kindle, the new Apple tablet has front 0.3 megapixel and 5 megapixel back cameras that can capture Full high definition 1080p videos at 30 FPS.

Network

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The Kindle Fire HD 8.9 has dual-band Wi-Fi and supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz signals. You can also choose the 4G service AT&T’s 4G LTE network. This feature goes to the new Amazon tablet because the new iPad has two models for networks: a Wi-Fi only or a 3G/4G model.

Pricing

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Of course, the iPad, as expected, is more expensive than any of its competitors. The 16GB model of the Kindle Fire HD 7 costs $199 while the 32GB has a price tag of $369. The 4G sets cost $499 for 32GB and $599 for 64GB. This is a lot cheaper than the Apple tablets: The new iPad 4G cost $629 for 16GB, $729 for 23GB, and $829 for 64GB.

Verdict

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Obviously, the new Amazon tablet can still stand against the new iPad. However, although it can stand on its own in this battlefield of the tablets, the iPad still reigns over them.

So, are you willing to sell your old iPad for the new Kindle Fire HD? Comment below.