Kindle HDX vs. iPad Air

Luxury tablet market rivals are a threat to Apple. The high-end tablet market is more sophisticated and competitive than ever before. The 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDX tablet device is available for $379 at Amazon.com. Key features are its camera which has a 8MP rear-facing camera that includes an LED flash for taking high-resolution pictures. Kindle Fire HDX 1080p HD video is also built in with a front-facing 720p HD camera,  ideal for Skype video calls and more.

The Kindle Fire HDX high-resolution 8MP camera and front-facing HD camera can take photos within seconds. Electronic Image Stabilization and High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging are also included. The camera has a compatible photo editing app for download. The Origami Cover for the device is a camera-ready case with a custom slide feature. The device is very social friendly, making it easy for Android camera lovers to share camera photos.

Amazon’s Android new tablet device runs on a Quad-Core Processor and are the first tablets ever to be powered on a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor. The device has more than 3x processor power than that of its previous versions. The Kindle Fire HDX has 2GB of RAM providing faster speed and loading times for Android users.

Kindle Fire

Battery time is approximately 12 hours with mixed use and 18 hours when reading. The 9.7-inch iPad Air is priced at $499. Pixel screen density is different between these two devices. The iPad Air has 339 pixels per inch while the Kindle Fire HDX has only 264 pixels. Kindle Fire HDX has great video but its pixels are smaller which makes a difference in reading clarity compared to iPad Air. Battery power will make HDX run longer when a user is reading.

"A new iPad launch always piques consumer interest in the tablet category and traditionally that has helped both Apple and its competitors," stated Tom Mainelli, Research Director, Tablets at IDC. "With no new iPads, the market slowed for many vendors, and that's likely to continue into the third quarter. However, by the fourth quarter we expect new products from Apple, Amazon, and others to drive impressive growth in the market."

The iPad Air has had modest changes to its device. Camera functionality still remains the same. Apple being at the forefront, has remained innovative within the sector yet also remains a traditional hardware technology company. Apple had reached its lowest level due to growth worries earlier this year since late 2011. Apple still was resilient as it is the world’s largest company by market capitalization. Apple is still flawed but poised to compete in tablet’s market.