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  • Amazon Kindle Fire 7-inch HDX $ 229.00
  • Google Nexus 7 (Second Generation) $ 332.00 (Lowest Price) via Mwave.com

Sure, sure. The tablet market is teeming with options, but are you seriously going to buy Sony’s Xperia Tablet Z? Or Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10.1, the 2014 edition? No, you’re not. That’s Because the tablet market has Conveniently divided itself into two distinct product categories, with marquee devices on one side and “budget tablets” (see also: low performing) on ??the other. Thankfully, the truly great tablets do not cost much more than the wannabes, so you do not have to pay a high price for high-end hardware.

If you’re interested is something smaller, you might be looking straight at Google’s updated Nexus 7 or Amazon’s new Kindle Fire 7-inch HDX model. These tablets lead the 7-inch pack, And they trumpeted Apple’s iPad mini (for now). Aside from having a black chassis, the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire HDX are nothing alike-and Choosing between them is a challenge Because Their features and software ecosystems are worlds apart. Do you care about open-source software or one-touch customer service? Do you want to purchase all of your media from Google Play or from Amazon? Let’s you in, and figure out Which tablet is a better match for your needs.

Chart: Mike Homnick

Design

The 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX is smaller than last year’s Fire HD, and more compact than the Nexus 7. Its smaller size leaves a bit of extra room in your purse or bag, and it’s easy to hold and use one-handed, both important elements to Consider in this consume-while-you-commute world. The HDX is noticeably heavier than the Nexus 7, however, and the volume and power buttons are awkwardly placed on the back of the device. The Nexus 7′s recessed buttons are no better, though, and both devices seem to have sacrificed comfortable buttons to Achieve thinner bodies.

IMAGE: Michael Homnick

Winner: Tie. Both the Nexus 7 and the Fire HDX are stylish-looking devices withtheir own little quirks.


Display

Both the Fire HDX and the Nexus 7 have 7-inch, 1080p displays with the same pixel density. Their high-resolution displays and pristine viewing angles make watching videos, perusing the Web, reading ebooks, and playing games on either one a pleasant experience. But the Kindle HDX shows ivory whites and slightly saturated colors, while the Nexus 7 exhibits a bold color palette against a whiter background. Though neither the tablet’s screen displays a true black, the Kindle makes a much better reading device Because of its softer-albeit dimmer color palette.

IMAGE: Michael Homnick On the left is the Nexus 7, with its starker whites, and on the right is the Kindle Fire HDX, with its softer colors and saturated reds.

Winner: Google Nexus 7. Its colors are more true-to-form than the Kindle HDX, though the Kindle’s screen husband ebooks Easier to read.


Performance

Quad-core processors are alreadycreated the norm for most top-tier Android tablets, and both the Nexus 7 and HDX have ‘em. The Nexus 7 uses a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro with 2GB of RAM, a beefed-up version of the processor in the now-antiquated Nexus 4 phone while the Fire HDX is fueled by a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 with 2GB of RAM. Both devices are speedier than most of Their similar-sized rivals; They launch apps and games without any law, and the Fire HDX’s new processor seems to have taken care of the problems responsiveness That plagued its predecessor.

Winner: Tie. Though the Fire Technically HDX has a more powerful processor, both tablets are speedy and responsive.


Camera

Florence Ion, reporting live from a Kindle Fire HDX near you.

The Kindle Fire HDX comes with a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera-Sufficient for video chatting-but no rear-facing camera. The Google Nexus 7, meanwhile, comes with both a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

My review of the Nexus 7 noted That the photo quality, while far from pristine, was passable for sharing photos online and snapping quick shots of the mammals in your life doing silly things. Amazon May have Considered it an Unnecessary feature, but That rear-facing camera can be a real bonus if you’re live casting the family to grandparents far away.

Winner: Nexus 7. It’s nice to have rear-camera functionality When You need it.


Battery Life

After three days of reading, checking things on the Internet, downloading content, and watching a movie on the train ride home, I finally got a request from the HDX to plug it into. It took about 5 hours of constant video playback to reduce the HDX Kindle’s battery life to 50 percent-but even when i left it in my backpack for a few days at a time the HDX did not burn through much of its battery life.

The Nexus 7 is just as long-lasting, and it can handle almost 9 hours of constant video streaming before it peters out Entirely. It managed Several days on standby without needing a charge, too. Overall, both devices Performed similarly; and if you keep the screen brightness at dim, they’ll get through a day of constant usage.

Winner: Tie. The HDX May last a little longer, but both tablets will hold up for Several days of moderate use or a full day of heavy use on a single charge.


Interface