Last week, Amazon unveiled its newest addition to the Kindle Fire HD lineup, the high-powered Kindle Fire HDX. While there is an iPad 5 on the way, currently the only full-sized Apple tablet available is the iPad 4. Let's compare the newest offering from Amazon to see how it stacks up against the most popular tablet line in the world.
Screen
The Kindle Fire HDX, especially the 8.9-inch model (which we'll compare against the iPad 4 because it's the closest in screen size), has an impressive screen. The Kindle Fire HDX has a super-high definition display with a 2560 x 1600p resolution, giving it 339 pixels per inch pixel density.
That beats out the iPad 4's Retina screen, which sports a resolution of 1536 x 2048p for its 9.7-inch screen.
That gives it 264 pixels per inch, which is still amazing for a 10-inch screen that came out in October 2012, but it isn't as brilliant as the Kindle Fire HDX, which also sports an ambient light sensor that automatically changes its contrast to always be vivid and readable in any light setting.
Power (Battery and Processor)
The iPad 4 comes with a dual-core Apple A6X processor, clocked at 1.5GHz with 1GB of RAM. That has done the iPad 4 well, but the Amazon is bringing the heat with its new lineup. The Kindle Fire HDX is powered by the latest bleeding-edge processor, the quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, clocked at 2.2GHz with 2GB of RAM.
Similarly, the Kindle Fire HDX beats the iPad 4's battery life, giving you 12 hours of mixed use and up to 17 hours of reading time, while the iPad 4 gets only about 9 hours of use before it's kaput.
Size
Size is important with tablets. No one wants to lug around a tablet that's the same size and weight as a laptop, because what would be the point? The Kindle Fire HDX actually manages to be lighter and smaller than previous Kindle Fire HD models though, with dimensions of 231 x 158 x 7.8 mm and weighing, in its heaviest version, 384 grams.
The iPad 4 feels like a heifer compared to that, with dimensions of 241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4 mm and weighing nearly one and a half pounds, at 662 grams.
Other Features
Of course, the apple iPad 4 has Apple behind it, so you can get iOS 7 on the machine, (if you're steeled against seasickness). It also means it works in the Apple ecosystem of devices, like the Apple TV with AirPlay, iCloud, and other perks of being an Apple user.
Meanwhile, Amazon has introduced its own perk: Mayday. Mayday is a 24/7 interactive, live-video technical support and concierge service that can show you directly on your screen what you need to do.
Having a live person's face pop up on your screen at a touch of a button is a little strange to think about, but for those who are not technically savvy, it might be just the killer app for the Kindle Fire HDX.
As far as other features, both the Kindle Fire HDX and iPad 4 offer similar storage options (up to 64GB with no external expansion, though each has a cloud storage and media store ecosystem and for an exorbitant amount of money, you can get a special 128GB iPad), as well as LTE and WiFi-Only versions of their tablets. Amazon dropped the HDMI port out of the HDX from the previous Kindle Fire HD, and that may be a disappointment to some.
Release Date and Price
The Kindle Fire HDX 8.9-inch will begin shipping on Nov. 7. Its cheapest base model - a 16GB 8.9-inch tablet with ads on the lockscreen and WiFi only - will cost $379. The LTE version costs $100 more, and if you don't want ads on your lockscreen and do want 64GB of storage, it can cost up to about $600.
The iPad 4 has, of course, already been out for about a year now, and costs about $500 for a 16GB WiFi only version and over $600 for a LTE 16GB option, and it ranges up to $1000, depending on what options you add.
That makes the brand new Kindle Fire HDX much cheaper than the iPad 4. However, you will likely be able to find some price breaks whenever the iPad 5 is launched, so keep that in mind.