What’s the difference between the Amazon Kindle Fire, the iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Blackberry Playbook

Posted on September 29, 2011 | 9 Comments

Well, you can see how they compare here, thanks to this nice chart from here: Tablets comparison | Pic | Gear

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9 responses to “What’s the difference between the Amazon Kindle Fire, the iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Blackberry Playbook”

  1. Archimedes Trajano | September 29, 2011 at 8:00 pm |

    Thanks for the info. The new Amazon sounds tempting.

    • smartpeopleiknow | September 30, 2011 at 9:46 am |

      It does, Archie! I am waiting for the next shoe to fall and see all the tablets drop in price.

      Over my long career I have seen this happen over and over. Eventually someone says: ya know what, we can make this thing for half the price. And they do. And everyone else has to follow them or quit.

  2. J.MacDonald | September 29, 2011 at 10:00 pm |

    Thanks, Bernie! This post couldn’t be more timely!
    I was just reading about the Kindle Fire earlier today (actually at 3:00 in the morning! Ugh!) and I was tempted to ask your opinion about what’s best out there in the current market!

    • smartpeopleiknow | September 30, 2011 at 9:45 am |

      I would get a Kindle Fire if you could get one for Canada. Not yet available here, but other Kindles are, so I expect to see one soon.

  3. J.MacDonald | September 29, 2011 at 10:20 pm |

    Wow! Looks like Kindle’s Fire wins by a long shot!
    Just one question….is Android as good as other operating systems, like
    Linux? (Which btw, I understand is not truly an OS, but a “kernel” of GNU)

    • smartpeopleiknow | September 30, 2011 at 9:44 am |

      Android is very good indeed. It comes from Google, and it is allowing other mobile device makers to have a chance to compete with Apple and it’s iOS operating system. It is highly debatable which one is better: like most IT, they have their strengths and weaknesses. But Android definitely has alot of strength.

      Speaking of debatable, I would also add that for Linux/GNU controversy. You can read more about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU/Linux_naming_controversy. In the end, it’s all UNIX. My own personal feeling is that I like Linus Torvalds more than Richard Stallman, so I prefer to give the credit to Linus! 🙂

  4. SSMITH | October 11, 2011 at 7:59 am |

    Is the processor memory (8G on the Kindle Fire vs 16, 32, and 64 elsewhere) an issue – or will it become an issue as the tablet gets loaded with more and more “stuff”? And why does it not have 3G? This means I can only use it in WiFi compatible places rather than getting internet anywhere, right? Will that be an issue? And will they add that to the NEXT generation of Kindle Fire?

  5. Aaron | October 19, 2011 at 3:07 pm |

    I’m late for this discussion, but wanted to chime in. I think the most important thing to understand when assessing what tablet to buy is that this is very different from buying a TV. Buying a tablet is more like buying a TV along with a cable package, as you are automatically taking the platform with your purchase. From that perspective, I think the iPad has no real competition currently. For the majority of users, buying tablets where usability is low, or the number of available apps are limited, or the range of potential use cases is narrow will mean getting less than what’s possible.

    Take a look at this article:

    http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/mobile-accounts-for-7-percent-of-web-traffic-report-says/

    iPads represent 75% of the tablets sold, but they account for 97% of all tablet web traffic in the US. This means that all those other tablets (25%) together account for only 3% of people browsing. I can easily imagine the other tablets collecting dust, even with better prices, processors, screens and overall features. It’s like having a super HD, 90-inch TV that can only show 2 or 3 channels, or one that’s so cumbersome to use that you end up missing your old TV.

    Having said all that, I do think that specialized users may find niche use cases where the other tablets are better than the iPad, and I do think the iPad dominance can only go down from where they are at. But if you are looking for a tablet to buy now, and are a “normal” user, I definitely recommend the iPad, even the first generation one.

  6. Linda | October 23, 2011 at 6:39 pm |

    That’s what I want to know. Why not 3G? If they put out one next with 3G, I will be sorry I bought now.