Staying Neutral - Our Lowdown on the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet

There was so much buzz around the Amazon Kindle Fire when it was first announced back in September that I even considered buying one for myself. I think that we at Accessory Genie may have noticed it more than others, especially when most products that were compatible with the Kindle Fire suddenly started flying off the shelves.

Regardless of the lack of news coming from Barnes & Noble, I always had a hunch that they weren't about to let the Kindle Fire take over the "e-reader gone tablet" scene. And low and behold, turns out Barnes & Noble had a little announcement of their own, telling the world of the new Nook Tablet a week before the Amazon Kindle Fire.

And so the competition began, or at least from what we, the public, saw. Barnes & Noble didn't stop there. The Nook Tablet just happened to be available to the public the same week as the Kindle Fire was sent out. Oh, and remember how the Kindle Fire was shipped a day ahead of schedule? Barnes & Noble decided that their customers would receive their Nook Tablets TWO days ahead of schedule.
With all of this evident competing, it's no wonder why almost every tech and news site out there is comparing either tablet to the other. And from what I've personally seen and heard, the competition is pretty close.

Both budget-friendly tablets are designed serve their purpose in the most simple and efficient way. Physically, neither tablet is especially different or particularly appealing; the Nook Tablet used the same design as the Nook Color, and the Kindle Fire just looks like the regular 7-inch Android tablet.

With such closeness in price, the only reason I can see to prefer one tablet over the other is whether you're an Amazon/Kindle person or a Nook person. Aside from being $50 cheaper than the Nook Tablet, the Kindle Fire is really designed around Prime. Prime is like the VIP of Amazon, costing members $79 a year and allowing them to enjoy unlimited videos, free and quicker shipping, and what is essentially a free library where users borrow and read books a month at a time.

However, if you're not a fan of Prime and don't mind the extra $50, why not give the Nook Tablet a chance? Although not by much, the Nook Tablet's specs were generally better than the Kindle Fire's, after all.

Whatever tablet you choose, make sure to check out our speakers and cases compatible with both the Nook Tablet and the Kindle Fire. Clearly, we chose to not be involved in this continuous battle between the extremely similar e-readers-turned-tablets.

-Jinni