Tablets Nexus 7 vs Kindle Fire HX 7

[Plutonius]

A friend wants to buy a tablet for a Christmas gift and wants a recommendation between the Nexus and Kindle (can't talk him into an iPad).

He wants to get a 32Gb one so which would be the best to get between the two ?

 

[mattbaar26]

Nexus 7 for sure

 

[kwajkat]

As a user of both devices in addition to ipads, my vote would be for the Nexus 7 as the better choice. Mainly because your friend would not be tied so exclusively to the Amazon eco system. There is more freedom with a regular tablet that you do not have with the Fire, Nook etc. The other choice which would be better still would be the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 with it's micro SD card slot.

 

[Count Blah]

Nexus 7

 

[Charliebird]

Both nice but it really depends which ecosystem he wants to invest in.

 

[donnaw]

I have the Kindle (don't have the Nexus). The questions I would ask are:
1). Is he planning on using it for anything except reading and Amazon videos?
2). Is he an Amazon Prime member?

Unless the answer to both is yes, then the Nexus would be the best choice. While I really like my new Kindle I have found that it's not the best for much else except reading and Prime videos. I really bought it because with the Kindle you can actually download the instant video (great for trips), and 'borrow' Kindle books. But browsing is a bit of a pain and you can't really personalize it much. And the few games I tried are stripped down. There is very little user control. For me it's pretty much perfect for the uses I bought it for. For everything else I just use my new iPad Air.

 

[EdwardC]

I have both and have not found anything the HDX won't do that I can do with my Nexus 7, all the same apps that I use are available on both. I'm not sure that the Nexus holds any advantage as the HDX seems to have a nicer display and the battery that lasts a little longer at least from from my experience. I would advise to buy the tablet that he can get the best deal on!!

Regards...Ed

 

[Rodster]

As a user of both devices in addition to ipads, my vote would be for the Nexus 7 as the better choice. Mainly because your friend would not be tied so exclusively to the Amazon eco system. There is more freedom with a regular tablet that you do not have with the Fire, Nook etc. The other choice which would be better still would be the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 with it's micro SD card slot.

^^^ This !

I own iPad's N7's and Kindle Fire HD. I only recommend the Kindle Fire HD/HDX to anyone only if you love Amazon and just want a device that opens to their store front. The Kindle Fire tablets are very limited in what they do.

Even though the HDX has better specs than the 2nd gen N7, it's a wash because the HDX is running the ForeOS which is pretty crappy and sometimes very buggy and tends to bog down the hardware.

The N7 runs vanilla Kit Kat and allows access to the Google ecosystem.

 

[haxrnick]

Nexus 7.

 

[blackhand1001]

As a user of both devices in addition to ipads, my vote would be for the Nexus 7 as the better choice. Mainly because your friend would not be tied so exclusively to the Amazon eco system. There is more freedom with a regular tablet that you do not have with the Fire, Nook etc. The other choice which would be better still would be the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 with it's micro SD card slot.

The galaxy tab 3 has a MUCH SLOWER processor and doesn't run vanilla android.

 

[gmanist1000]

A friend wants to buy a tablet for a Christmas gift and wants a recommendation between the Nexus and Kindle (can't talk him into an iPad).

He wants to get a 32Gb one so which would be the best to get between the two ?

I made a video about this on my YouTube channel.

Basically, if you want to be tied into the Amazon ecosystem, and have your Prime service with you all the time, the Kindle is an awesome tablet. It's fast, and the screen is beautiful.

The Nexus is also a great device, but it's much more customizable. Of course it runs pure Android so you can do basically anything you want. The screen is even with the HDX IMO, and they are both plenty powerful.

It really comes down to Amazon ecosystem, or pure Android.

 

[Rodster]

The amazon ecosystem has come a long way. The biggest selling points for the Kindle Fire tablets are:

1) e-reader

2) Amazon Prime - Free (TV Shows, Movies, Book Rentals)

3) Free daily apps and when they give away numerous free apps during the holidays.

 

[kevinof]

It's more than getting the best deal. As others have said if he only wants the amazon eco system then fine but he should understand that he won't get gmail, play store, youtube etc on the Kindle without some trickery.

I have both and have not found anything the HDX won't do that I can do with my Nexus 7, all the same apps that I use are available on both. I'm not sure that the Nexus holds any advantage as the HDX seems to have a nicer display and the battery that lasts a little longer at least from from my experience. I would advise to buy the tablet that he can get the best deal on!!

Regards...Ed

 

[EdwardC]

"It's more than getting the best deal. As others have said if he only wants the amazon eco system then fine but he should understand that he won't get gmail, play store, youtube etc on the Kindle without some trickery."

I don't understand this comment.....G-Mail is supported with the mail app and You Tube is supported with the included You Tube app which is already pre loaded. Yes you don't get the Google Play Store but get the Amazon equivalent. If there is an app that is not in the Amazon store it can be side loaded quite easily. I still say go with the best deal.

 

[0dev]

Kindle tablets are absolutely awful. Nexus 7 all the way.

 

[Fanaticalism]

I have the Kindle (don't have the Nexus). The questions I would ask are:
1). Is he planning on using it for anything except reading and Amazon videos?
2). Is he an Amazon Prime member?

Unless the answer to both is yes, then the Nexus would be the best choice. While I really like my new Kindle I have found that it's not the best for much else except reading and Prime videos. I really bought it because with the Kindle you can actually download the instant video (great for trips), and 'borrow' Kindle books. But browsing is a bit of a pain and you can't really personalize it much. And the few games I tried are stripped down. There is very little user control. For me it's pretty much perfect for the uses I bought it for. For everything else I just use my new iPad Air.

Even if the answer to both is yes, he can just downoad the Adobe APK and use a browser that supports flash like Dolphin browser and he can watch Amazon instant/prime videos (I'm an AP member).

 

[Lara F]

Even if the answer to both is yes, he can just downoad the Adobe APK and use a browser that supports flash like Dolphin browser and he can watch Amazon instant/prime videos (I'm an AP member).

It's doable (I have a Nexus 7 myself) but nowhere near as good an experience. For one thing, I've yet to hit the fullscreen button without Flash crashing. The picture quality's great but the stability's just not there since Adobe withdrew support for Android.

I only hope that now that Amazon can tout offline downloads as exclusive to the Fire they might be more willing to release on the Play Store. It's pretty galling not to have it when the Fire is Android based.

 

[mattopotamus]

I debated this same thing as a gift for a child. The main thing was access to the play store (I know I can sideload it). I wanted her to have access to my play movies and I do have amazon prime, but prime video can be accessed with a different browser. Overall, it just made more sense to get the n7.

 

[Ddyracer]

Question to fellow modders: if you put cyanogenmod on both which would you prefer?

 

[Mattjeff]

The amazon ecosystem has come a long way. The biggest selling points for the Kindle Fire tablets are:

1) e-reader

2) Amazon Prime - Free (TV Shows, Movies, Book Rentals)

3) Free daily apps and when they give away numerous free apps during the holidays.

I'm not familiar with Primes relationship with the HDX. Do you get these features only if you are a prime member or does an HDX come with these features?


I am not tied to either store (play or amazon) but I do love my kindle paperwhite. I have had iOS products since day one and I feel ready to jump on one of these for trips. I would use it for movies, web surfing, YouTube, photo library and email. Other than that, games here and there.

Side note, how's the durability on both? I'm a Marine and tough products are a bonus.

 

[mattopotamus]

I'm not familiar with Primes relationship with the HDX. Do you get these features only if you are a prime member or does an HDX come with these features?


I am not tied to either store (play or amazon) but I do love my kindle paperwhite. I have had iOS products since day one and I feel ready to jump on one of these for trips. I would use it for movies, web surfing, YouTube, photo library and email. Other than that, games here and there.

Side note, how's the durability on both? I'm a Marine and tough products are a bonus.

you only get the prime features if you have amazon prime ($79.99 annually, but includes instant video which is like netflix and free 2 days shipping). I would say you would definitely want a case if you are hard on your products.....neither will survive big falls undamaged.

 

[DavidMc]

I just gave my oldest son a 7" Fire HD (current gen) for his Birthday last month. The biggest reason I gave that to him over a device like the Nexus 7 was price and the Amazon ecosystem in regards to Kindle since he already had one of our old e readers. However, after setting it up for him I have learned I despise their UI and would never want one for me. My wife's iPad 2 is getting long in the tooth and I was thinking an 8.9 HDX but I don't think she would enjoy that UI. Other than that, it is a good device... it's just not for me

 

[Dontazemebro]

Don't know much about the Kindle Fire HX but I just picked up a Nexus 7 from Office Depot 30 mins ago. They were having an awesome deal for $179.99 plus a free $20 gift card. At that price point how can you not get one?

 

[F123D]

Office Depot has the 16gb Nexus 7 on sale right now for 179.99. If you purchase in store, they'll throw in a $20 gift card making the tablet $160. I had some unused store credit so decided to pick one up. $130 out the door.

 

[Dontazemebro]

Office Depot has the 16gb Nexus 7 on sale right now for 179.99. If you purchase in store, they'll throw in a $20 gift card making the tablet $160. I had some unused store credit so decided to pick one up. $130 out the door.

Bummer, the store rep told me the gift card was only for future purchases, no biggie though it was still a sweet deal. I paid $194 out that door.