Amazon Kindle Fire HD vs Nexus 7

We see whether Amazon’s low-price Kindle Fire HD can compete with Google and Asus’ similarly economical Nexus 7.

Form

Amazon Kindle Fire HD - 193 mmx137mmx10.3mm, 395g

Nexus 7 - 198.5x120x10.5mm, 340g

The Nexus 7 has a few individual styling elements not too commonly seen on tablets. For one thing the bezel along the two longer sides of the screen is very narrow by typical tablet standards and gives the device a distinctly smartphone-like silhouette.

It’s very light, as 7-inch devices tend to be, but it still feels solid thanks to Asus’ penchant for quality construction and materials. Around the outside edge there’s a sturdy metallic bezel and the back panel is coated with textured rubber for better grip.

While the corners are rounded-off they’re a little sharper than those on Amazon’s device and the whole tablet has a stetched-out D-shaped cross-section as the back panel curves inwards gently from every edge.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD has much softer corners with a more pronounced curvature, it also looks a bit bulkier as the screen bezel is substantially larger and evenly proportioned all round the outside edge of the display.

The back panel is curved and rubberised like the Nexus 7’s, although it isn’t textured, and has a black band around the bottom half bearing the Kindle logo.

Overall there’s something a bit HP Touchpad about the Kindle Fire HD but that’s no bad thing in our book.

We have to say that both Asus/Google’s tablet and Amazon’s are attractive and very well put together pieces of kit and the external build alone isn’t going to be enough to distinguish which is the better product.

We’re calling this one a draw.

Winner - Draw

Display

Both devices sport 7-inch capacitive multitouch IPS LCD displays with a 1280x800 pixel resolution, a pixel density of 216 pixels-per-inch (ppi) and, in the case of the Nexus 7, Corning Gorilla Glass reinforcement.

Each should deliver some very sharp visuals by tablet standards.

The Kindle Fire HD has some added tricks up its sleeve with advanced polarization, wide viewing angles and the use of laminated touch sensor technique during its production.

This combination means it’s sharper, has better contrast and glare reduction in bright sunlight by as much as 25 per cent compared to ordinary LCDs, according to Amazon.

Winner – Amazon Kindle Fire HD

Storage

This is where the competition really heats up, but it’s not so much on available storage as the amount of storage you get at specific price points.

The Nexus 7 is available with 8GB of onboard storage for £159, but the same money will get you the 16GB variant of the Kindle Fire HD.

The 16GB Nexus 7 will cost you £199, which you could instead use to buy the 32GB Kindle Fire HD.

Neither device has Micro SD capability, which is something of a let-down.

However, taking things as-is the Kindle Fire HD is a clear winner on the value-for-money front.

Winner- Amazon Kindle Fire HD