Amazon just unveiled their new line up of Kindle Fire tablets and as with any game-changing product (see here for a full review), we like to compare it to existing, and sometimes rumored devices. Today we’re looking at how Amazon’s Kindle Fires stack up to the reigning champion, the iPad, as well as the first Kindle Fire, the Nook tablet, Microsoft’s upcoming Surface tablet and Google’s Nexus 7. So, here we go!

Screen Size and Display

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Kindle Fire: 7” 1024×600 pixel (169 pixels per inch)

Kindle Fire HD series: 7” 1280×800 resolution , 8.9” 1920×1200 (254 ppi) – HD display with polarizing filter and anti-glare technology for rich color and deep contrast from any viewing angle

iPad: 9.7” Retina Display with 2048×1536-pixel resolution (256ppi) with Fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating, LED-backlit
Surface Tablet: 10.6” ClearType Full HD Display

Nexus 7: 7” 1280×800 HD display (216 ppi), Back-lit IPS display, Scratch-resistant Corning glass

Nook Tablet: 7-inch VividView™ Color Touchscreen 1024 X 600 resolution (169ppi), Fully laminated with no air gaps for remarkable clarity and reduced reflection & glare-read indoors or outside

Weight

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Kindle Fire: 400g

Kindle Fire HD series: 7” 395g, 8.9” 575g

iPad: WiFi 652g, WiFi+cellular 662g

Surface Tablet: RT 676g, Pro 903g

Nexus 7: 340g

Nook Tablet: almost 400g

Memory/Storage

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Kindle Fire: 8GB

Kindle Fire HD series: 7” 16 and 32GB, 8.9” 16 and 32GB, 8.9” 4G 32 and 64GB

iPad: 16, 32, 64GB

Surface Tablet:  RT will be available in 32GB and 64GB while the Pro will be available in 64GB and 128GB.

Nexus 7: 8 or 16 GB, 1GB RAM

Nook Tablet: 8 or 16GB, can add up to 32GB via microSD

Battery Life

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Kindle Fire: 8.5 hours continuous use

Kindle Fire HD series: 7” 11 hours continuous use, 8.9” —

iPad: 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video or listening to music

Surface Tablet: RT features a 31.5 W-h battery while the Pro features a 42 W-h battery.  No data yet as to how long these batteries last

Nexus 7: 9 hours of HD video playback, 10 hours of web browsing, 10 hours of e-reading, 300 hours on Standby

Nook Tablet: 11.5 hours of reading or 9 hours of video without recharging

Processor

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Kindle Fire: Dual-core, 1.2GHz OMAP4430

Kindle Fire HD series: 7” Dual-core 1.2GHz OMAP4460, 8.9” Dual-core 1.5GHz OMAP4470

iPad: Dual-core Apple A5X custom-designed, high-performance, low-power system-on-a-chip with quad-core graphics

Surface Tablet: Nvidia Tegra ARM chips for the RT version and Intel Core i5 for the Windows 8 Pro version.

Nexus 7: Quad-core Tegra 3 processor

Nook Tablet: 8GB 1GHz TI OMAP4 (dual-core) processor with 512MB RAM, 16GB: 1GHz TI OMAP4 (dual-core) processor with 1GB RAM

Wireless

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Kindle Fire: Single-band Wi-Fi. Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks

Kindle Fire HD series: Dual-band, dual-antenna Wi-Fi (MIMO) for faster streaming and fewer dropped connections than standard Wi-Fi. Supports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use the 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n standard with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks

iPad: WiFi Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) and Bluetooth 4.0 technology; WiFi+Cellular Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0 technology, UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 4G LTE (700, 2100MHz) US and Canada only, Data only

Surface Tablet: 2×2 MIMO Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n)

Nexus 7: WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth

Nook Tablet: Wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi® (802.11b/g/n), FREE Wi-Fi® in all Barnes & Noble stores

Camera

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Kindle Fire: None

Kindle Fire HD series: Front-facing HD camera

iPad: 5-megapixel iSight camera, VGA FaceTime camera

Surface Tablet: front LifeCam for chatting and the rear LifeCam angled at 22⁰ so users can flip out the Kickstand and record meetings and events hands-free.

Nexus 7: 1.2MP front-facing camera

Nook Tablet: None

Input/Output

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Kindle Fire: USB 2.0 (micro-B connector) port for connection to a PC or Macintosh computer or to connect to the Kindle PowerFast charging accessory, 3.5 mm stereo jack and integrated stereo speakers

Kindle Fire HD series: USB 2.0 (micro-B connector) port for connection to a PC or Macintosh computer or to connect to the Kindle PowerFast charging accessory. Micro-HDMI (micro-D connector) port for high definition video output to televisions or A/V receivers, 3.5 mm stereo jack and integrated stereo speakers with exclusive Dolby audio engine. Stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) support for streaming audio to compatible headphones and speakers. Built-in microphone.

iPad: WiFi 30-pin dock connector port, 3.5-mm stereo headphone mini-jack, Built-in speaker, Microphone; WiFi+Cellular 30-pin dock connector port 3.5-mm stereo headphonemini-jack, Built-in speaker, Microphone, Micro-SIM card tray

Surface Tablet: RT features microSD, USB 2.0, Micro HD Video, 2×2 MIMO antennae while the Pro features microSDXC, USB 3.0, Mini DisplayPort Video, 2×2 MIMO antennae.  Both features speakers and dual microphones tuned for Skype. Multi-touch screen, Touch Cover, Type Cover and the Surface Pro comes with Pen with palm block

Nexus 7: Micro USB, Microphone, NFC (Android Beam)

Nook Tablet: built-in microphone, 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack, Charging port, Expandable microSD slot

Sensors

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Kindle Fire: No Information

Kindle Fire HD: No Information

iPad: Accelerometer, Ambient light sensor, Gyroscope

Surface Tablet: Gyroscope, Accelerometer

Nexus 7: Accelerometer, Magnetometer, Gyroscope

Nook Tablet: No Information

Location

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Kindle Fire: No Information

Kindle Fire HD: No Information

iPad: WiFi Wi-Fi, Digital compass; WiFi+Cellular Wi-Fi, Digital compass, Assisted GPS and GLONASS, Mobile
Surface Tablet: No Information

Nexus 7: GPS

Nook Tablet: No Information

Operating Software

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Kindle Fire: Customized Android 2.3 Gingerbread

Kindle Fire HD: Customized Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich

iPad: iOS 5

Surface Tablet: Windows 8 and Windows RT

Nexus 7: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Nook Tablet: Android 2.3 Gingerbread