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When Apple first released the iPad, the device was peerless in its capabilities. Now, othermanufacturers have come forward with their own devices to give consumers more choices in thetablet computer market. Among these is Amazon's latest version of its Kindle eReader, the KindleFire. The device does not have all the features and powerful hardware of an iPad, but matchesmany of its features with a substantially lower price tag.

OperatingOperatingOperatingOperating SystemsSystemsSystemsSystems

The iPad, like Apple's other mobile devices, uses the iOS mobile operating system while theKindle Fire uses a modified version of Google's Android operating system. Without violating thedevice’s terms of service, you can only download apps for your iPad from Apple's App Store. TheKindle Fire’s Android operating system allows you to get apps from Amazon's App store ormanually install them by sideloading APK packages. It is technically possible to install apps fromthe Google Marketplace onto your Kindle Fire, but Google requires you to have your deviceregistered with a Google account. The Kindle Fire does not give a standard method for registeringyour device to a Google account, so installing apps from the Google Marketplace is technicallypossible but practically difficult. The Kindle Fire's operating system also allows you to use thedevice without ever connecting it to a computer, whereas the iPad requires you to use a computerfor certain configuration and maintenance tasks.

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UsesUsesUsesUses

Both the Kindle Fire's Android operating system and the iPad's iOS are app-centric, so many oftheir uses overlap. The Kindle Fire's function as an eReader is mirrored by the iOS Kindle app,which lets you read any of your Kindle books on your iPad. The iPad can also download apps topurchase and read ebooks from Amazon's competitors. The devices' ability to use major socialnetworking sites, play games and use professional productivity software also comes from the appsyou can download from the device's respective app store. Apple's app store has a larger selectionof apps, which allows you to use your iPad for more purposes than the Kindle Fire, but Amazon isworking on increasing its own store's offerings to expand the Kindle Fire's functionality.

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One of the major draws for both the iPad and the Kindle Fire is their ability to store and streammultimedia content. In addition to third-party apps that allow you to stream music or video from avariety of sources, both devices have their own interface for using your music, movies or TVshows. The iPad synchronizes your multimedia content through iTunes, which lets you selectwhich items from your iTunes library you want to put on your iPad to play later. The Kindle Firelets you sideload music and videos through a USB port, stream music from your Amazon CloudDrive and stream movies or TV shows from your Amazon media library. You can play media thatyou physically stored on your device anywhere, but if you want to stream your media from theInternet, you will need to either connect to a Wi-Fi network or have a mobile broadband-capabledevice. You can choose between a Wi-Fi only or broadband-capable iPad, but the Kindle Fire onlycomes in Wi-Fi models.

HardwareHardwareHardwareHardware SpecsSpecsSpecsSpecs andandandand PricePricePricePrice

The Kindle Fire does not try to compete with the iPad on hardware specifications. The iPad is alarger device. It also has an LED screen, compared to Kindle's IPS screen; a ten-hour battery life,compared to Kindle's eight-hour battery life; and its smallest hard drive size is twice the size of theKindle Fire's 8GB drive. Unlike the iPad, the Kindle Fire does not have a camera and the KindleFire's 1GHz dual-core processor is not as powerful as the iPad's 1GHz dual-core processor. Thearea where the Kindle Fire competes with the iPad is in its price. For similar features, the KindleFire costs about $200, whereas the iPad can range from about $500 to more than $800. The iPadwas not the first consumer tablet computer to go on the market, but it was the first one to meetwith wide commercial success. The device's hardware and price reflect its target market ofconsumers who want the most technologically advanced tablets and are willing to pay accordingly.The Kindle Fire specifically sets itself apart with its price to target consumers who want thecapabilities of a tablet computer, but would prefer to forgo having the latest and greatest hardwareto save hundreds of dollars.