Tablet Holiday Shopping Guide (Part 2)

Kindle Fire HD

Another great entry into the 7" market and the ones who started the demand for them is the Amazon Kindle Fire. Now they introduced an HD version for the same price point of the original. The new Kindle Fire HD sports a 7" 1280 x 800 display, Dolby audio speakers, dual Wi-Fi antenna for faster speeds, and a dual-core 1.2GHz TI OMAP processor. Now the device runs a heavily modified version of Android 2.3 to the point that it's not recognizable as an Android tablet. This however, isn't necessarily a bad thing. Amazon replaces all of Google's services with their own, the most obvious difference being it doesn't come with the Play Store instead having the Amazon app store. If you have an Amazon Prime account already and have previously used their app store this shouldn't be a problem. In fact their Prime integration is phenomenal allowing access to the entire instant streaming collection as well as the Prime e-book library. Their app store also has most of the big name apps for example, Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Now what does this all mean? This is first and foremost a content consumption device. Don't expect to do a lot of work on this thing, but do plan to watch videos, read books, listen to music, browse the web, and play games on it. It's well suited to the task and should handle all your media well. The speakers on it are quite impressive. Who is this for? Anyone who's just looking to handle media and lots of it. But anyone with an Amazon Prime account or who actively uses their app store will benefit the most from the device. Amazon has done a good job on integrating their services. The best part is the 16GB version starts at $199 and $249 for 32GB. However, at these prices ads and offers will appear on your lock screen. You can either spend $15 extra for an ad free experience at checkout or later on as an additional purchase through the device. Either way hard to beat the price.

iPad Mini

Apple also released their own competitor for the 7" market in the form of their iPad Mini. It features a 7.9" 1024 x 768 display making it the lowest resolution 7" tablet discussed here. It's powered by an older A5 dual-core processor and has a Face time HD 1.2MP camera, and a 5MP iSight camera on the back capable of 1080p HD recording. It also has the new lightning connector requiring you to buy the $29 adapter to use your old accessories with it. It ships with iOS 6 and will be able to run all your standard iPad apps scaled down to size. Now what does this mean? It means it's intended more for the on the go media consumption, but should handle most tasks you throw at it. However Apple priced it at a premium over its competitors, starting at $329 for the 16Gb, $429 for the 32GB, and $529 for the 64GB versions. An LTE version is also available on Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T for an additional $130, thus bringing the starting price for 16GB with LTE to $459. The significant price difference between its competitors makes this a difficult product to recommend. So who is this for? People who are already invested in iOS 6 and the Apple ecosystem. If they already own an Apple product, use iTunes, or own an iPhone, and are looking for a 7" tablet this will be the product for them. Also those searching for a simpler easy to use interface will benefit from iOS.

Surface with Windows RT

And last but not least are the slew of Microsoft RT tablets coming to market particularly the Microsoft made Surface tablet. Now it runs Windows RT which is a tablet specific version of Windows and won't be able to run standard programs only those coming through the new Microsoft Store. It's priced to compete with the iPad coming in at $499 for the 32GB flavor. Now when you first see it, it's quite impressive and everything about the device screams premium. It features a 10.6" 1366 x 768 HD display, a built in kickstand around back, the body is a VaporMg casing making it durable yet light. It offers up a microSDXC card slot for up to an additional 64GB of storage. It has a full USB port, and dual Wi-Fi antennas. It has front and back facing camera's both of which are capable of filming in 720p HD. It's powered by a dual-core NVIDIA processor along with 2GB of RAM. What does this all mean? It's a premium device with a premium price. It looks and feels great and runs buttery smooth. However, because it runs Windows RT it is restricted to apps and can't run full desktop programs. It does come pre-loaded with a full version of Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013. Which is made all the more useful by the optional touch covers which transform from screen covers into full blown keyboards with track pads. I have to admit that the keyboard works much better than I thought it would. However if you absolutely need a full version of Windows 8 Pro you're better off waiting for the Surface Pro. Who is this for? People who mainly want to use apps and have a great mobile touch friendly interface but need to do some serious work occasionally. Students will also make great use of this device with the included Office software. however the Touch cover which brings this together and makes it productive will run you an additional $119, which may deter some consumers. Overall Microsoft has done a good job creating a mobile touch optimized OS that is also useful for working on. The touch cover is truly phenomenal and adds much value to the device.

Well I hope you all enjoyed my little guide and find it a little easier to get the right tablet for the right person. Have fun shopping!

P.S it would mean a lot to me if you checked out this person's blog here. She's awesome and writes about life and cool stuff. You'll also possibly get a cookie too! 
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