Amazon Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2

Personally I own both, enjoy and use both, and think that comparing the two is a mug's game. They're aimed at completely different use cases.

Is it really worthy of so much virtual ink (not just in the linked article, everywhere) to note that a $200 device is slower and less capable than a $500 device? What in the world were you expecting?

That said, Amazon needs to get its act together wrt developers. That process needs a LOT of improvement.

All this is is the author reaffirming his normative value judgments. I could just as easily compare iPad2 unfavorable with my Toshiba netbook...

Price: $230 (with RAM upgrade) vs. $500 Apps: The entire internet and every piece of Windows software vs. 500K apps Features: A keyboard that lets me type emails and chat with people and type posts on Hacker News vs. a virtual keyboard that's good... relative to other virtual keyboards Accessories: Doesn't require accessories to protect it vs. Often used with an expensive case Apps part 2: Excel and Exchange vs. no Excel/Exchange, so that I need another device to respond to work

etc. etc.

I don't know if you noticed, but even after calling it garbage, he uses an affiliate link pointing to the Kindle Fire at Amazon :) Like saying "well, if you're that stupid I want a piece of your wallet too!"

Oh, those entrepreneurs...

I've used it, and I didn't mind it.

I'm not an iPad owner nor do I ever plan on shelling out $500 for a consumption device. $200 on the other hand is low enough for me to seriously consider it.

I've had the iPad, and currently have the HP TouchPad and Amazon Fire. Of the 3 I prefer the Fire. By a long shot. I find the 7" size far more portable than the larger tablet sizes.

It's easily as useful a comparison between any smartphone and a mainframe.

The Kindle Fire does have a terrible home screen, but my understanding is that it is patently illegal to use a grid or any non-cluttered design.

This pretty much nails it. It's so bad. It's my first experience with Android, and the UI is heinous. I'm not sure how it was ever released.

I use my iPad most days. This comparison doesn't make the Fire look less appealing to me. If it weren't Christmas...

acting like a butthurt child. I have a Fire.. not a fanbou by any stretch.. its a fun device because of my use cases.