Kindle Fire vs Ipad?

I have the Kindle Fire and love it. From what I can tell from using my brothers Ipad my fire can do pretty much the same stuff.

Kindle Fire - Have one and LOVE it. My 5 year old loves it too. There are many educational games you can download for free (or very cheap).

Neither the Fire nor an iPad is a toy for a 4 year old. All it takes is one angry moment and it is dropped to the floor. Unless you're willing and able to throw money out the window, find a less expensive solution.

For reading, I recommend the $69 Kindle, not the Fire. Three reasons: e-ink is easier on the eyes, this model has page turning buttons on the side, making reading one-handed super easy, and they are inexpensive so if you accidentally drop or spill the damage is less.

Alternately, the Paperwhite version offers internal lighting so you can read during night nursing without turning on a light. You have to tap the screen to change the page, but that shouldn't be hard to get the hang of doing one handed.

It truly depends on your needs. If you want it mainly for reading then you should get the kindle as it won comparisons against the iPad for visibility in all sorts of light conditions. iPad did not do well in outdoor situations. If you want a "light" laptop replacement for some "light" office-type work then iPad is better since it has more memory for storage. The kindle is mainly for cloud-base use though everyone is not moving toward that technology. Oh, this past year the came out with the new Kindle Fire HD that has more memory so it can also work as a "light" laptop and it is cheaper than iPad.

The other thing to think about is are you a google-user? Do you use a lot of google apps like email, calendar, drive (documents/file storage), picasso (photos), etc? If so then go with the Kindle as google is more android-base and easy to use with google products. If you use Apple products and have lots of iTune files then go with the iPad.

Apple files (music, books, etc) do not play friendly with anything other than other apple products as my fiance found out when he tried to convert his iTunes music to play on our Kindle. For me I use Amazon to purchase all my e-books, movies, and music and it's AWESOME! In fact, now Amazon has a deal where any CDs you purchase you automatically get an mp3 copy for your devices. CDs that I purchased 10 years ago form Amazon are now available on my Kindle and other devices that have that have the Amazon app. Now that's great customer service!

I have an android phone, kindle fire, kindle fire HD and iPod. I have to say that I always lean toward anything non-Apple as I can use the same micro-USB connector to charge and connect each device. Apple products have proprietary connectors and do not always play well with others. Go figure...

What percentage of the time are you going to be using it vs your son? If it's 50-50, or higher on his part, I would recommend a Nabi 2. We got one for our 3.5 yr old for Christmas and she loves it.

It has a bunch of free kid friendly games, books, educational activities, etc. It also comes with a food-grade silicone bumper to protect it from drops. Best of all, it has a "kid mode" and a "parent mode." She can't make purchases, download things, etc when it's in kid mode. I don't have to worry about racking up random purchases I don't know about (because you know kids find a way to get to that stuff by accident!)

On the other hand, I can enter a password to flip it to parent mode and have a fully functional android tablet. I don't read on it (I use a Sony Reader for reading), but I have used the Nabi for Netflix, Facebook, and web browsing/games.

Fire is better for reading-I have both and do all my reading on the fire b/c its lighter. Your 4 yo will be ok with both. Fire does have a great new app thing for kids that you can install that has a ton of really great features for little kids...forget the name now. My kids are too old for it.

My kids (both teens) have iPads and my fiance and I have Fires. Since you plan on reading (assuming books?), I would go with the Fire. Android has a lot more free apps than the iPad available.

I had a Fire, returned it and got an iPad. Love my iPad, much easier navigation than a Fire especially if you have an iPhone. I didn't like the Fire's browser, found it a pain in the butt to delete apps and things I no longer wanted, and had several problems with the thing crashing. My 9 yo now has a Fire and loves it, but she pretty much just watches videos (we are amazon prime members) and plays the occasional game.

ETA - I primarily read on my iPad, but also use it to surf the web, Pinterest, and pull up recipes for cooking. Much better for recipes than the Fire, the screen on the Fire was too small for me to easily read in the kitchen.

Well I have the Kindle Fire HD and LOVE it...and so does my 2.5 year old daughter! I didn't get it for her...but anything mommy plays with, she wants to too, obvisouly. So I put some educational apps on it and let her have at it. I don't see anything wrong with it!

The reason I went with the Kindle Fire was mostly because of the price difference. They have ALOT of the same features, but the Kindle is less than half the cost. However, if you are looking to do lots of pictures/videos and use it more like a laptop...then the iPad is the way to go. If you just want to play some games, reads some books, and do some facebook browsing...save your money and get the Kindle...I LOVE mine.

Also, if you're an Amazon Prime member, you get some Kindle benefits such as borrowing books/videos from their 'library' and reduced costs of books. (Altho you can get the kindle app ON the iPad and get these same benefits..)

So basically up to you as both are pretty great...depends on your budget on what you are going to be doing on it.

ETA: Will also add that my daughter MUCH prefers my kindle to her Vtech Innotab. They are somewhat similar looking, so I thought she would love it...but of course kids always want what's in YOUR hands lol

Call me crazy, but if the main purpose of getting it is so that you can read to your 4 year old while nursing the baby, why not just get books? You know... Dr. Seuss, Bernstein Bears, Franklin, Frog & Toad, Henry & Mudge, etc...

Your son will enjoy holding the books and turning the pages (and you won't have to worry/stress about him dropping it or anything). And, when he learns to read, he can take the books and read them on his own. And read them to the baby, etc.

Obviously, if you want a Fire or Ipad for yourself for other reasons, go for it. But I wouldn't base the decision solely on having something to read books to your 4 year old on.

My daughter is 11 and has always been an avid reader (since she was 4.... she was reading 2nd grade books on her 4th birthday). She begged for a kindle for Christmas 2 years ago. I let her download a book onto mine and take it to school (she is very responsible) and she came home and gave it back, saying she didn't like reading on it. Then this year she asked for a Nook, since the school will allow them to bring in "readers" but not "tablets"... I opted against it. (Husband bought me and ipad mini though--totally unrelated, and I really don't use it to read). Daughter prefers holding a book and turning the pages. Always has.

I'd suggest that your 4 year old will, too. To be sure, he'll enjoy getting to hold and play on a tablet. But for actual reading, he will probably prefer an actual book.

Kindle Fire -- you can program it to limit access and time used with the Free Time app. Much cheaper, too.

ETA: Am I missing something? I only saw one saying anything remotely interpretable as judgmental, and it was reasonably stated. I think you're being overly sensitive, and if I was asking something that others thought I needed to know was wrong on its very premise, I would hope someone would tell me.

Well, I have to say, there are much better kids apps for the Ipad. We got my almost 5 year old a Google nexus for xmas, and I am very disappointed with the educational games avaible. The Ipad, otoh, has great kid apps.

Just make sure you are rules about it's use --you must be sitting here, you cannot use it without asking mommy, etc. I let my 2 year old play with the Ipad all the time. He takes super care of it, and I don't feel any need to monitor his use now that he is 3.

With that said, I prefer to read on my Kindle. Could you afford an Ipad and a cheap Kindle? I love the kindle because it's super small and fits in my small purse, so I can take it along with me. I really appreciate that. Also, the e-ink is really gentle on the eyes.

We are an apple family. I'd go with the iPad. I have heard mixed reviews about the Kindle from friends who own one. Congrats on the baby!

Personally I find the iPad much more intuitive and easier to use but then again I have been a Mac user for ages. But how much money do you have? Kindle is much much cheaper.

It's amazing how many replies are simply judgements about what you are asking, and don't give any helpful advice! Ha!

Anyway, just bought an iPad mini for my 7 year old. He loves it! And the 4-yr old really likes borrowing it too.

We too were debating between the Kindle & iPad and decided on the iPad for several reasons: 1) the ability to Facetime with Dad and his apple products (he's in the military so travels often), 2) the availability of apps (I really like the apple options way better than the amazon ones), 3) the reliability and product quality.

Something else to consider if you get an iPad, is purchasing it through your cell phone provider. For example, I learned that VZ has a $10/month option for adding the iPad to your existing plan. And they have a cool gadget for allowing wi-fi for up to 4 devices in your car. Just something I wish someone had told me before I bought the iPad where I did.

Good luck with your purchase and new baby!

I don't have a Kindle Fire, but we do have a Nook Color (which I love) and an iPad (which I also love)! The nice thing about the iPad is that you could read Kindle or Nook books on it as the apps are both free. What I love about the Nook is that you can 'share' some books with other Nook users.

Another plus of the iPad is that there are tons of children appropriate apps! I have 6 and 2 year old daughters and I will be thankful for the iPad when we travel!

And if you are really concerned with it being dropped, we splurged and got an OtterBox case for the iPad. It's been dropped several times already and it's just fine! It's kid proof!