The impending release of Amazon’s new Kindle Fire on November 15 has many home-based and other small business opportunity and franchise owners wondering if this new tablet has what it takes to compete with Apple’s iPad. With a price tag of just $199 as compared to the iPad’s base model at $499, it sure would be nice to think so. As is true of most things however, you get what you pay for. And at Kindle Fire’s $300 cost savings, something’s got to give.
A closer examination of the more simplified features offered by the Kindle Fire makes it obvious that this latest tablet offering is not designed to go head-to-head with the iPad when it comes to meeting the needs of many small business owners. However, for those specific types of businesses where the more slimmed down tablet option will suffice, the significantly lower price tag makes the Kindle Fire worthy of a second look.
Here’s a quick overview of how the two stack up:
Screen Size and Weight―The iPad wins when it comes to screen size, coming in at 9.7 inches versus Kindle Fire’s 7 inches. However, a smaller screen means Fire is 50% lighter than the iPad, which is great when you or your people are on the go.
Video and Sound―The Kindle Fire has no camera, so there’s no video chat capability, no Skyping. It also has no microphone for voice recording. The iPad has it all on these two fronts.
GPS―Kindle Fire has no GPS capability, while the iPad does.
Roaming Capability/Internet Access―While the iPad is available in a 3G mobile version (albeit for significantly more money and the cost of a monthly data plan), Kindle Fire users must rely on WiFi for all their Internet access.
Usage Time―The iPad can run for 10 hours on a full charge while the Kindle Fire can go for 8 hours.
Storage―The Kindle Fire’s standard 8 GB of storage seems minimal when stacked up against iPad’s 16 GB, and that’s iPad’s standard on its low-end model. However, the Kindle Fire makes up for the discrepancy by offering free cloud storage with Amazon. Digital content is then always available for re-downloading anytime thanks to Amazon Cloud’s Worry-Free Archive.
Apps Selection―In addition to its roaming and access challenges, Kindle Fire’s comparatively small apps selection is the other factor that might constitute a deal breaker for many small business owners. While it’s true that Amazon’s
Android app store carries more than 200,000 options, Apple is still the biggest game in town at well over 400,000.
Amazon Perks―It’s no surprise that Amazon is maximizing the Kindle Fire’s appeal by ensuring all of its considerable digital content is available to its users, including more than 100,000 movies and TV shows from Amazon Instant Video; over 17 million songs from Amazon MP3; more than 1million Kindle books; and much more. Additionally, new purchasers will enjoy a free month of Amazon Prime, which includes unlimited, commercial-free instant video streaming and two-day free shipping on millions of items from Amazon.com.
As of now, the iPad absolutely dominates the tablet market, representing more than 95% of all tablet traffic to date. No other tablet that has surfaced to take its place has even come close.
Many experts believe the Kindle Fire will be a bit of a game changer and actually give the iPad its first serious run for the money. For the average consumer who is constantly seeking the next best thing when it comes to inexpensive media consumption, that may be true. However, when it comes to whether or not the Kindle Fire can hold a candle to the iPad in meeting the more involved needs of home-based and other small business opportunity or franchise owners, the jury is still out.
Click here for more information about Amazon’s November 15 release of the Kindle Fire now.