Overall Findings
Design: Kindle Fire Is More Comfortable
There are several factors to consider when looking at the design of the tablets. The first is the size and weight of the device. Both weigh nearly the same with the Nexus 7 being a fraction thinner and a bit lighter. Holding the two side by side, it’s difficult to tell the difference. The Nexus 7 is a bit taller when held in portrait mode while the Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch is a bit wider. This makes the Nexus 7 better suited to holding it in landscape mode for video. The Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch is more like a book for reading. In terms of the construction, the Kindle Fire HDX has a slightly better overall feel due to its composite and nylon construction with angled edges that fit well in a hand. In contrast, the Nexus 7 back has switched away from a rubber-coated plastic to a matte plastic that doesn’t have the same level of feel and grip as the original Nexus 7.
Performance: Kindle Fire Outperforms
Display: Nearly a Dead Heat
This is probably the toughest comparison between the two tablets, as both have great screens. Each offers a 1920x1080 display resolution with a wide color gamut and bright color. Even if these devices are side by side, many people may have difficulties deciding which of the two is better. If you look hard or happen to have equipment for measuring, the Kindle Fire HDX edges out the Nexus 7 in both color and brightness levels. Still, each tablet offers a full sRGB color gamut, so these are both great for the average user.
Cameras: Nexus 7 for Photo Enthusiasts
This is one of the easiest comparisons of the two. Since the Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch doesn’t have a rear-facing camera, the Google Nexus 7 is for anyone that wants to take pictures or video with a tablet. The Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch isn’t completely devoid of any cameras as it has a forward or web camera on it. It has only slightly less resolution than the Google Nexus 7, but in terms of functionality, both work well enough for video chats.
Battery Life: Kindle Keeps Going and Going
With the size of the tablets and the features available on each one, you would expect that the two would have a similar battery life. The testing of the tablets shows a different experience. In digital video playback tests, the Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch ran for over ten hours compared to the Nexus 7 at eight hours. So if you need a long-running tablet, the Kindle Fire provides roughly 20% more usage than the Nexus 7. This applies only to video playback. Usage of the two as dedicated e-readers or as gaming platforms can have different results.
Software: Google Nexus for Maximum Flexibility
Software is where the two tablets differ the most. The Nexus 7 is a plain Android installation. This means that it doesn’t have any of the skins or extra software that the other tablet companies put on top of the Android operating system to make theirs different from the rest. In general, this makes it more responsive, faster to get updates to newer versions of Android, and gives users more flexibility to customize their experience.
