Spec-By-Spec Comparison: iPad vs. iPad Mini vs. Kindle Fire vs. Kindle Fire HD
At today’s Amazon event, Jeff Bezos dropped some whoppers on the industry: not only an upgraded Kindle Fire, but the Kindle Fire HD, a mother of a tablet that has a Retina-caliber display, serious horsepower, and a super low price starting at just $199 for the 7-inch model, $299 for the 8.9-inch model and $499 for a 32GB 8.9-inch model with LTE. Without a doubt, it’s clear Amazon is gunning for the iPad and the upcoming iPad mini, but how do the new Kindle Fires really stack up?
Below, you’ll find a chart comparing the third-gen iPad, rumored iPad mini, Kindle Fires and (just for comparison’s sake) the Galaxy Nexus 7, spec-by-spec. Please be aware that this chart is still in flux, and is based in the case of the iPad mini on rumors, and in the case of the new Kindle Fires on incomplete information which we have supplemented with reasonable speculation. We will be updating the chart as we get new information about the exact specs of Amazon’s new Kindle Fires, but for right now, we think this is a good resource in how all of these tablets compare against one another.
| New iPad | iPad Mini (Rumored) | Kindle Fire (2011) | Kindle Fire (2012) | Kindle Fire HD (7-Inch) | Kindle Fire HD (8.9-Inch) | Galaxy Nexus 7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | iOS 5/6 | iOS 6 | Custom Android 2.3 Gingerbread | Unknown Android Build | Custom Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich | Custom Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich | Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean |
| Display | 9.7-inch Retina (2048×1536) | 7.85-inch IPS LCD (1024 x 768) | 7-Inch Display (1024 x 600) | 7-Inch Display (Unknown) | 7-Inch IPS Display (1280 x 800) | 8.9-Inch IPS Display (1920 x 1200) | 7-inch IPS-backlit LCD (1280 x 800) |
| Processor | 1GHz Dual-Core A5X | 1GHz Dual-Core A5 | 1GHz Dual-core ARM Cortex A9 | Unknown | 1.2GHz OMAP TI4470 dual-core ARM Cortex A9 | 1.5GHz OMAP TI4470 dual-core ARM Cortex A9 | 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex A9 |
| RAM | 1GB | 512MB | 1GB | 2GB | 2GB | 2GB | 1GB |
| Storage | 16GB, 32GB, 64GB | 16GB, 32GB, 64GB | 8GB | 8GB | 8GB, 16GB, 32GB | 16GB, 32GB, 64GB/td> | 8GB, 16GB |
| Camera(s) | 5MP (rear) + VGA (front) | Unknown | None | None | 1.3MP (front) | 1.3MP (front) | 1.3MP (front) |
| Video Capture | 1080p | Unknown | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Wireless | UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, GSM, CDMA, LTE | Unknown | None | None | None | HSDPA, LTE (only high-end model) | None |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth 4.0 | Bluetooth 4.0 | None | Unknown | Bluetooth | Bluetooth | Bluetooth 3.0 |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11b/g/n @ 5GHz | 802.11b/g/n @ 5GHz | 802.11a/b/g/n @ 2.4GHz | 802.11a/b/g/n @ 2.4GHz | 802.11 b/g/n @ 5GHz (dual-antenna) | 802.11 b/g/n @ 5GHz (dual-antenna) | 802.11a/b/g/n @ 2.4GHz |
| Dimensions | 9.50 x 7.31 x 0.37 inches | Unknown | 7.5 x 4.7 x 0.45 inches | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown (0.31 inches thin) | 7.81 x 4.7 x 0.42 inches |
| Weight | 653 grams | Unknown | 413 grams | Unknown | Unknown | 566 grams | 340 grams | Cheapest price | $499 | $299 | $199 | $159 | $199 | $299 | $199 |
John Brownlee is Cult of Mac's Deputy Editor. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his girlfriend and two parakeets. You can follow him 
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