Nexus 10 or Kindle Fire HD?

[Cheddar]

God the interwebs sucks these days (2 hours of google searches and tired of dealing with paid for ads).  I am looking to get a tablet for what light gaming/entertainment I have these days.  I have too many damned kids now to deal with a laptop and just want something light and simple I can toss aside when the latest baby needs feeding.

Looking for an Android based device which is compatible with a keyboard/gaming pad.  Also want a larger screen - hence the above.  I am leaning towards Kindle Fire as my experience has been very positive with the first two iterations (which my wife/19 kids own).  Problem is that Nexus 10 seems damned sexy also...

Experiences?  Thoughts? 

[luckton]

I don't know about the Kindle.  I know that I plan on investing in a Nexus 10 come summer time when my wife has to turn in her issued MacBook.  The multi-user support and pure Google experience are big pluses for me.

If you're into modding, either one could work with a CyanogenMod drop.

[Quinton]

N10 has a significantly more powerful CPU and GPU and a much higher density (as well as higher resolution and larger) display (2560x1600@10"-300ppi vs 1920x1200@8.9"-254ppi).

For video content the higher resolution doesn't buy you much (most HD content is 1920x1080 these days if not 1280x720), but for reading/web it can be nice.

The main Amazon thing you lose out on if you don't buy a Fire device is their Instant Video offering -- if that's important to you, you probably want to stick with their hardware.  The Kindle App, Amazon Cloud Music, and Amazon Store are available for all Android devices.

[Cheddar]

The main Amazon thing you lose out on if you don't buy a Fire device is their Instant Video offering -- if that's important to you, you probably want to stick with their hardware. 

This may be a selling point.  Let me look it up- ty.

[Sky]

Kindle is a walled garden. My fiancee likes hers, but it's a toy and I can tell she's frustrated it won't run a lot of android apps she wants.

Next tablet we get will be the best generic android we can afford.

[apocrypha]

Kindle is a walled garden. My fiancee likes hers, but it's a toy and I can tell she's frustrated it won't run a lot of android apps she wants.

Next tablet we get will be the best generic android we can afford.

This, absolutely. The Kindle is designed solely for consumption of Amazon content. If you're happy with spending money only on Amazon apps then OK, but the Nexus will give you about a billion times more options.

Have you considered the Nexus 7 rather than the 10"? Both my other half and I have the 7 and they're pretty nice. The screen is good enough that the only time I ever find myself wishing for a larger screen is when I'm reading comics on it. For gaming (which, frankly, is a bit pants on Android still, there's just a lack of the kind of games I like available) it's plenty big enough and a lot lighter and cheaper than a 10".

[Quinton]

The N7 absolutely beats the pants off the 7" Kindle Fire devices.  The only thing they give you that's not available on the N7 is (again) Amazon Instant Video.  The Amazon build of Android is indeed pretty limited -- you can install apps from the web, etc, but the Google apps (Play Store, Gmail, etc) are not included, and they've really made a mess of the standard system settings and a lot of the normal options/customization available on the stock platform.

[Sky]

Can you install apps from the web? I couldn't figure out how to get SongPop on her kindle.

[Nebu]

I was given a kindle fire as a Christmas present.  I NEVER use the thing.  "Walled garden" describes the toy perfectly.  I'd go with something much more versatile.  Myself... I'm replacing it with a good laptop.

[Polysorbate80]

I love my Kindle in part because it doesn't have all the other stuff my iPad has on it.  Thus, the kids never pester me about wanting to play with it while I'm trying to read...

[MisterNoisy]

Kindle is a walled garden. My fiancee likes hers, but it's a toy and I can tell she's frustrated it won't run a lot of android apps she wants.

Next tablet we get will be the best generic android we can afford.

This, absolutely. The Kindle is designed solely for consumption of Amazon content. If you're happy with spending money only on Amazon apps then OK, but the Nexus will give you about a billion times more options.

Have you considered the Nexus 7 rather than the 10"? Both my other half and I have the 7 and they're pretty nice. The screen is good enough that the only time I ever find myself wishing for a larger screen is when I'm reading comics on it. For gaming (which, frankly, is a bit pants on Android still, there's just a lack of the kind of games I like available) it's plenty big enough and a lot lighter and cheaper than a 10".

I picked up a 7 right after the holidays and quite like it - it's perfectly sized and dirt-cheap ($249 for the 32GB WiFi unit).  Build quality is somewhat indifferent and the speakers are pretty crap, but that's all I'd hold against it.

[Jimbo]

My girlfriend got me a Kindle Fire HD, I went to start it up and found out you have to have a wireless connection for it. Fucking bullshit. So I had to take it to work to start it up, total pain in the ass to use since I can't do anything in the house with it other than what I installed on it so far. Oh and stuff I bought on Itunes didn't transfer quite right so I only got part of my songs, none of my videos or movies. I wrote Amazon customer service about how I'm not happy with there device, they called and tried to show how to download stuff then slave it over, but it didn't work. At least they were concerned, but I'm wishing she would have just spent the money on something else.

[Quinton]

Can you install apps from the web? I couldn't figure out how to get SongPop on her kindle.

At least for the original (1024x600, clunkier) Kindle Fire, they hadn't removed the "Allow unknown sources" checkbox in settings, which is Android for "let users install apps from anywhere (web,email,etc) after warning them that this might be a bad idea".  You still get a prompt showing you all the permissions an app will have before it gets installed, but you're able to download and install from the web, etc, after checking it.  I haven't personally verified that the newer Kindle Fire devices still allow this, but suspect they do.

[Cheddar]

Google store is more important to me then the Amazon.

Nexus is now in the lead!  Question is- N7 or N10.

Isn't bigger better?  From what I read on specs difference is .3lbs, roughly.

[Trippy]

The difference in weight is 267 g or 9.42 oz so that's a lot more than 0.3 lbs. I haven't turned on my iPad 2 since I got my iPad Mini so I much prefer the lighter weight. Web browsing is not as good on the smaller screen but not bad enough that I'm willing to swap between the big one and the small one constantly.

[luckton]

Once again, if multi-user support is desired, you 'have' to get the 10.  If not, it's personal preference at that point. 

[Surlyboi]

 

[Quinton]

Once again, if multi-user support is desired, you 'have' to get the 10.  If not, it's personal preference at that point.  

N7 also supports multiuser.  Amazon could if they bother upgrading the platform someday.

Apple will tell you that you don't need multi-user because it's not magical and revolutionary. ^^

I'm with Trippy in that I find the 7-8" form factor devices much more convenient than 10".  For gaming, reading books, etc, they're smaller, lighter, more comfortable to hold longer.  The larger tablets you end up setting down while using.

[Viin]

My iPad is nice if I have a bluetooth keyboard and need to type up stuff (emails, blog posts, whatever) but don't want a laptop or need to use 3G internet away from a hotspot.
My N7 is nice if I want to carry something in my back pocket for reading email, books, or other random less-typing activities. I think the 7" form factor is just about perfect. The size is good for thumb typing like you do on your phone, so not terrible there either.

(I literally carry my N7 in my back pocket when I am hopping from meeting to meeting. I use it to keep up on email while attending endless parades of meetings and I keep notes/todo lists on it).

[luckton]

Well son of a bitch, N7 does do multi-user 

Go with whatever compensates for your manhood better.   

[Cheddar]

Got to toy around with a Galaxy 10 at work today. 

The weight was not bad at all.  Matter of fact, it felt very thin and light compared to the kindle fire. 

[Cheddar]

Love it so far!

[luckton]

Love it so far!

Did you actually buy something?

[Cheddar]

Love it so far!

Did you actually buy something?

Galaxy 10 tab.  HBOGo is awesome and I really like the kindle app.

[Arthur_Parker]

I'm looking at buying something along these lines, I read that you can do a custom install on the kindle fire of Android, but I really know crap all about this, phones aren't my thing and I haven't touched an apple product in the past 12 years.

Sorta leaning towards the N7 but need to read more about it, anyone have any advice on a good device if part of the reason I'm getting it is to distract a 6 year old?

[schild]

6 year old? Comic books cost less than a Nexus 7.

[Arthur_Parker]

Her school does IT and want us to get her more involved with that type of thing, the home laptop is a pain in the arse for that really.

edit actually nevermind, there's apparently a new version of the N7 due maybe next month and something called the Asus Memo Pad HD7, so I'm going to hold off a while.