Just as Amazon is offering a student discount this weekend on the Kindle Fire HD 8.9, we thought it would be a great time to compare this excellent tablet to the iPad 4. While the latter may have better specs, the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 is easily a better value, especially if your primary purpose for buying a tablet is consuming multimedia. Let's take a look at both tablets.
Price
Before we compare the other aspects, it is important to note that a 16GB Kindle Fire HD 8.9 costs $299, with a 32GB version selling for $369. The 16GB iPad 4 runs for $499 and the 32GB version costs $599.
Build and design
The Kindle Fire HD, weighing 20 ounces, has beveled bottoms and is very thin. In the middle of the top portion of the bezel sits a 720p Web chat camera with a nearly invisible ambient light sensor sitting to its left. The bezel itself is surrounded by an outer plastic shell for added protection.
The bottom houses Micro-USB and Micro-HDMI ports. The right edge houses a headphone jack, volume rocker and power button. The microphone pinhole is on the top edge. The fantastic speakers are on the outer edges of the back of the unit.
The iPad 4, weighing 23.35 ounces, isn't much different from the previous two versions. It does weigh more and you can feel the extra weight, especially when holding it with one hand. The iPad 4 has a more professional build that has a rectangular shape with rounded corners and edges. However, unlike the Kindle Fire 8.9, the iPad 4 certainly feels like it would break into pieces if you dropped the device.
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