I own the nexus 7 and can't recommend it enough. Especially if she already has a droid, it will be almost identical. You can't beat a $200 tablet that has some of the best specs on the market

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

I'll second the Nexus. The thing I like about it the most is the software isn't locked down like Kindle. You can hack the Kindle to operate the same as the Nexus but that is outside most peoples comfort zone.

 

I have a Kindle Fire. There are better things out there. This one was on an approved list for crap my kid could use at school. All it ever gets used for is books, netflix and a few silly little game apps. I'm happy with it and when I upgrade him, I'll still be happy as I can use it. I'm not much of a tech guy away from work, anymore. That being said, the bottom is falling out on tablets and there are a bunch of good ones under $200 as of late.

 

Nexus......

I bought two for my wife and myself back in September. We have been very pleased even though mine had a flaw and had to be exchanged through Google. I posted a thread on that experience. It was refreshingly painless.

I have purchased two more for the older two kids for Christmas. I bought them through Walmart and sprung for the protection plan for an additional 19 bucks each. Two years complete coverage. Water damage, screen breakage, power surges, etc......

The Nexus is fast and has the latest android operating system and complete compatibility with Google Play.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

Another Kindle Fire User. I use mine to surf the net, download books, movies, and music from Amazon. Simple to use.

 

Let me also add that I like the nexus better. My needs steered me into a Kindle at the time. I would have bought something different, but I'm not dissatisfied at all with the Kindle. As a matter of fact, I love the way I can lock it down for my kid without completely making it unusable.

Like I said, take it with a grain of salt. I'll watch some netflix occasionally, read a book or light web browsing. Outside of CSC, most of my personal time hobbies don't need no stinking electronics...other than an occasional google session when I'm stumped on something.

 

If you go with the Nexus I also recommend picking up the Blurex case for it. I just got it to replace the first case I bought (Greatshield Keyboard case).

The Blurex is very light and low profile, but provides very good protection. Also helps that it's one of the less expensive ones out there at 14.95 via Amazon.

 

My wife loves her Kindle Fire. She uses it mostly for reading books and playing games. My 5yr old likes to play games and watch videos on it. All I know how to do is turn it off when he has been on it too long.

 

Some additional things to consider/tips:

1) You can download the Kindle app to the Nexus and read Kindle book/magazine content on the Nexus. I got a Kindle E-reader last year and have a pretty good collection established so that is a nice feature for me. If you're starting from scratch, you can pretty much get the same books through Google Play Books or you can go with Amazon and the Kindle App. Either works.

2) You cannot access Amazon Instant Video on the Nexus. That was a bit of a disappointment for me as I'm a Prime Member and use Instant Video on our TV set top boxes and laptop. But, it's understandable that Amazon won't license an app for that for the Nexus since it threatens their Kindle Fire business. You could access access it through the Chrome for Nexus browser if it supported Flash content. It does not. There is supposedly a hack for that but I haven't attempted it. It's really not that important to me. I have Netflix on mine and I also downloaded Flixster which allows you to access any movies you have in your VUDU or Ultraviolet accounts. A nice feature considering you can have your old DVD's converted to Ultraviolet for a nominal per-movie fee. I plan to do that with a bunch of mine soon. I've purchased several recently that had Ultraviolet copies included and already have them in that account.

3) You can't access Flash content in the Chrome browser on the Nexus. (see above). Adobe isn't supporting it for some reason. Haven't researched the backstory on that, maybe someone else can chime in.......

4) As others have already indicated the App support for the Kindle Fire is less than the Google Nexus due to the somewhat limited version of Android the Fire runs. That's not to say that there isn't a good selection for the Fire. There absolutely is. There's just more for the Nexus and given the pace at which they are selling expect that to increase over the next year.

5) There is no removable media slot on the Nexus. You are limited to the internal memory of the device (16 or 32 GB, up from 8 and 16 when released) and cloud storage. There is supposedly a hack and there is a cord/device/dongle thing that allows you to use a USB stick through the micro usb charger port. I haven't really investigated that yet. I have one of the older 8GB devices and have plenty of space even after downloading a half-dozen or so media intensive games and quite a few apps. Not sure what the Fire offers there. Maybe Fire users can chime in. I think the Fire has an SD slot???

Just some things to think about.

 

i bought my wife a samsung tab 2 7" to replace her old kindle. hope i made a good choice as it seemed like a good one from the reviews i read.

 

Some additional things to consider/tips:

5) There is no removable media slot on the Nexus. You are limited to the internal memory of the device (16 or 32 GB, up from 8 and 16 when released) and cloud storage. There is supposedly a hack and there is a cord/device/dongle thing that allows you to use a USB stick through the micro usb charger port. I haven't really investigated that yet. I have one of the older 8GB devices and have plenty of space even after downloading a half-dozen or so media intensive games and quite a few apps. Not sure what the Fire offers there. Maybe Fire users can chime in. I think the Fire has an SD slot???

Here's a link on how to do the usb memory stick but root is required.

http://www.androidcentral.com/how-use-your-usb-flash-drives-nexus-7-root

 

I would pass on the Kindle. The Nexus is a great device but as has been said it lacks storage expandability. Now at the same price point is the Samsung Tab 2 with the ability to expand up to 32 Gb with a micro sd card for as low as about $20. Plus with the android based tablets you have the Kindle and Nook apps to take advantage of those services with them.

 

I would pass on the Kindle. The Nexus is a great device but as has been said it lacks storage expandability. Now at the same price point is the Samsung Tab 2 with the ability to expand up to 32 Gb with a micro sd card for as low as about $20. Plus with the android based tablets you have the Kindle and Nook apps to take advantage of those services with them.

hmm. I was about to say I was leaning toward the Nexus since it was 16GB....but I just reread your post and see that the Samsung can be upgraded with the Micro SD card. That may be the way to go.

But how does the Samsung perform against the 1.2 Ghz QUAD core Nexus processor??

DS

 

is there flash on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2??? Someone posted that they couldn't play facebook games b/c of no flash in a review I read.

DS

 

Nexus 32gb staples 249, 16gb 199. Samsung 8gb 199

Got the nexus Saturday love it, better resolution than Samsung surprisingly



Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

Got the fire hd. If you do amazon prime at all, it's the device to get.

You can do just about everything but widgets with it. Anything that isn't in the amazon market is available in 1market.

As said before, you can only stream video for prime with the kindle.

 

And there are instructions on web to load flash using dolphin browser on the fire hd.

 

Wife has a fire and we have prime, amazon runs like apple a bunch of controlling tablet Nazis . if your gonna read and watch a movie fine but the lack of the play store unless you root is crazy

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

Nexus 32gb staples 249, 16gb 199. Samsung 8gb 199

Got the nexus Saturday love it, better resolution than Samsung surprisingly

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Yea, trying to decide between the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 8GB for $179 (Walmart) or the Nexus 7 16GB for $199. I noticed that the resolution specs are better on the Nexus, but on a 7" device I don't know if you can tell unless you had each device side by side...meaning the Samsung will still look good. I like the fact of expandability with the Samsung. But I noticed that the Samsung only has a rear camera and not a front facing one. So you can't skype with the Samsung but you can with the Nexus? right

DS

 

Yea, trying to decide between the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 8GB for $179 (Walmart) or the Nexus 7 16GB for $199. I noticed that the resolution specs are better on the Nexus, but on a 7" device I don't know if you can tell unless you had each device side by side...meaning the Samsung will still look good. I like the fact of expandability with the Samsung. But I noticed that the Samsung only has a rear camera and not a front facing one. So you can't skype with the Samsung but you can with the Nexus? right

DS

Yep. You can Skype with the Nexus and not with the Galaxy.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

Correct you can't Skype with rear camera. I wanted both cameras but realized I will not tote it for pictures. The resolution is 1220 x 600 on Samsung and 1220 x 800 nexus.

The built in storage i have never filled my phone up with 32 card so i didn't concern the lack of expansion capacity.

The best thing is the pure Android experience on nexus no preloaded manufacturer programs, if I owner another Android phone it will be a nexus so that it receives timely updates and is not bombarded with phone carrier garbage.

Samsung is notorious for late software updates and poor product support.

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got to play with the Nexus 7 and Galaxy Tab 2 today along with a Lenovo ideapad at Office depot and Staples. Didn't like the Lenovo at all. The Galaxy was ok, but I didn't like the samsung crap on there and resolution wasn't as clear/bright as the nexus 7. Played with a Kindle HD which I really like. Resolution was awesome....to me it was better than the Nexus 7. But I went with the Nexus 7 16GB for the Mrs. for Christmas. I like how responsive it was and I think she'll like it as she will be familiar with the droid os. It will be like a bigger phone but without the calling app...lol

thanks guys

DS