Amazon says Kindle Fire HD has comparable screen, lower price tag than iPad

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Internet shopping giant Amazon is taking the iPad head-on in a new commercial by pitting Apple's tablet against the Kindle Fire HD, suggesting the two devices have comparable screen resolutions, but vastly different price points.

Kindle Fire HD Ad


While Amazon's latest ad offers little in the way of specific details, it does relay the message that the starting price of the Kindle Fire HD is $200 less than a similarly equipped iPad.

In actuality, Apple's iPad bests the Fire HD's display in both size and pixel density, with a 9.7-inch panel boasting a resolution of 264 pixels per inch. As noted by BGR, Amazon's tablet uses an 8.9-inch LCD built at a slightly lower-resolution 254ppi pixel density.




Source: Amazon's Kindle YouTube Channel


A report on Tuesday found that Amazon's share of the North American tablet market crept up to 7.8 percent at the end of January, making the Kindle second only to Apple's iPad, which garnered an 81 percent share over the same period.

Apple is rumored to be preparing a high-resolution 324ppi Retina display for the next iteration of the iPad mini, the company's 7.9-inch tablet that carries a price more in line with Amazon's Kind Fire HD.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 55


    While Amazon's latest ad offers little in the way of specific details, it does relay the message that the starting price of the Kindle Fire HD is $200 less than a similarly equipped iPad.


     


    That's the only message that any of these fools ever push. Same with Dell, HP, and that lot. "It's cheaper. Shut up and buy our stuff instead."

  • Reply 2 of 55


    Because they do, and it does.


    How is this news?

  • Reply 3 of 55


    Amazon is winning the race to the bottom of the not-quite-9.7" tablet market.

  • Reply 4 of 55

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Cash907 View Post


    Because they do, and it does.


    How is this news?



     


    AppleInsider will combine a few molehills like this together and post an article stating how Apple is losing its "cool factor" or some such nonsense.

  • Reply 5 of 55
    shenshen Posts: 434member
    Of course they are comparable. And when I compare them I see that the iPad is better. How is this something to brag about?

    Might as well say that having an unexpected phone call from the wife is comparable to a weeklong vacation with her on the beach in costa rica.
  • Reply 6 of 55
    Ford says Mondeo has 2L engine just like 3 series BMW, but is much cheaper.
  • Reply 7 of 55
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member


    Wait, there's stuff out there cheaper than Apple devices? STOP THE PRESSES! APPLE IS DOOMED!

  • Reply 8 of 55


    On my iPad, I can get Kindle, Barnes and Noble and iBookstore books. Plus the iPad has a far larger selection of tablet specific apps than any Android based tablet. I guess they ran out of time in the commercial to mention that.

  • Reply 9 of 55



     


    The car on the left drives to the store. The car on the right drives to the store. Cheaper does not mean better.

  • Reply 10 of 55
    Wall Street likes cheap and can see no difference between a tablet Amazon sells and a tablet Apple sells. In theory, they both do pretty much the same thing but one costs $200 less which means Amazon should be able to sell twice as many Kindle Fires than Apple can sell iPads which should ultimately lead to greater market share. Greater market share is the only thing that matters to Wall Street. Things like higher quality and better customer service mean nothing. As far as Wall Street is concerned, Apple is just throwing away money trying to build a better product.

    If it was up to Wall Street all luxury car companies should get out of the business because any of those higher cost vehicles could easily be replaced by low-priced Kias and Toyotas which basically do the same thing as luxury vehicles do. Wall Street's motto is "We'll happily settle for lower-quality products as long as you can sell a lot of them." Wall Street believes Apple is doomed because it can't have the largest market share due to charging too much for its products.
  • Reply 11 of 55
    irnchrizirnchriz Posts: 1,616member
    This is why Apple make profit and Amazon turns in a loss. How are Amazon still in business???
  • Reply 12 of 55
    How much AAPL will drop tonight on this news ?
  • Reply 13 of 55
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


     


    That's the only message that any of these fools ever push. Same with Dell, HP, and that lot. "It's cheaper. Shut up and buy our stuff instead."



    But they forget to tell you that there aren't many decent apps for these other competing products and when you get them there isn't much you can do with them.

  • Reply 14 of 55
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    Since Wall Street loves margins so much, how much is Amazon's margin on this tablet again?

  • Reply 15 of 55
    @shen How about a weeklong vacation with the hot office secretary and an unexpected call from the wife?
  • Reply 16 of 55
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Since Wall Street loves margins so much, how much is Amazon's margin on this tablet again?



     


    When it comes to Amazon's margin, Wall Street doesn't give a shit, strangely. Wall Street also still doesnt get that Apple doesn't make a new product just for the hell of it, in pursuit of marketshare. Short-sighted, as always.

  • Reply 17 of 55
    ifij775ifij775 Posts: 470member
    My co-worker bought the first Kindle Fire, but was looking to get the Samsung for an upgrade. I'll bet customer loyalty on all Android devices is practically zero, and price is heading in the same direction. This is good and bad for Apple.
  • Reply 18 of 55


    why do i feel like i stepped back in time?

  • Reply 19 of 55
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Wall Street likes cheap and can see no difference between a tablet Amazon sells and a tablet Apple sells. In theory, they both do pretty much the same thing but one costs $200 less which means Amazon should be able to sell twice as many Kindle Fires than Apple can sell iPads which should ultimately lead to greater market share. Greater market share is the only thing that matters to Wall Street. Things like higher quality and better customer service mean nothing. As far as Wall Street is concerned, Apple is just throwing away money trying to build a better product.

    Several problems with that.

    1. Even at a lower price, Amazon is not selling twice as many. In fact, Amazon is only selling a fraction as many Kindles as Apple is selling iPads.

    2. Even if Amazon WERE selling more Kindles, it's hard to see how that gets investors excited. Selling millions of tablets with a nice profit or twice as many at break-even or much lower profit? You'd think that they'd learn.

    It just doesn't make sense. AMZN has far lower profitability and worse future projections yet they're trading at a huge premium in terms of every parameter - P/E multiple, multiple of assets, multiple of book value, multiple of sales, multiple of shareholder's equity, etc. There's just not rational explanation.
  • Reply 20 of 55
    They're trying to make the sales to people who don't know about tablets. While people who post on sites like this will have all kinds of data about the differences between the two platforms and various products, most people haven't a clue. So Amazon is giving them a clue, 'We're comparable at a much lower price.' Since there is no set criteria for what is 'comparable' they won't be sued. While the car metaphor is apt, it doesn't work for a lot of people because they don't make that cognitive leap.

    When I tell people about the virtues of buying an Apple product, they often bring up the matter of price. Even being the cheap bastard that I am, I fail to make that cognitive leap. Having only purchased Apple computers, I always figure that the price paid is simply what computers cost. Those $300-$400 computers in the ads don't register as computers to me.

    Owning an iPad and having picked up a Kindle Fire, the ad pisses me off. The experiences and the devices aren't comparable. I feel the same way about Samsung products, but I recognize that as my own prejudice, since I, like everyone else, will subconsciously seek out data to support what I already believe to be true.

    I know some people will see the commercial and believe the Kindle is a better buy. Good on them. Other people will know better. Good on us.
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