Value Comparison - What do you get in a tablet for $199?When it comes to these seven inch $199 tablets, there is always something being sacrificed in order to keep the price $199. Each of the tablets has its own positive and negative aspects. The truth of the matter is that one simply cannot have it all for $199 and they have to decide what is important to them in a tablet. Once that is done, one can choose the tablet that is best for them.
In addition to paying $199 for these tablets, it is important to remember that the Nook HD is only an 8GB tablet with 5.44GB of usable space, while the other two tablets are 16GB tablets with about 13GB of usable space. One could purchase 32GB microSD card from Kingston for $43 and up the storage to 37GB, but this would essentially make it a $249 tablet (same price as 32GB Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire).
What should also be taken into account is that only the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD have front-facing cameras while the Nook HD does not. This may be a deal breaker for some that intend to use their tablet for video chatting on the go. However, remember that all of the $399 tablets have both front and back facing cameras, so again something is being sacrificed in order to get a $199 tablet.
Conclusion - Which Tablet Should You Get?When taking into account all of the different aspects that we have analyzed with these tablets, the choices are very clear. The Nook HD is the best looking, lightest tablet with the best display and raw performance but lacks good applications and video content as well as storage space for that video content, not to mention it does not have a camera. In order to get more space for that content, a microSD card would have to be purchases at extra cost. The Nook HD is for bookworms that might also like to watch movies on their tablet due to its resolution and relative lightness.
When it comes to the best overall content and WiFi performance, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD is definitely the winner. However, we did notice some issues with the quality of the display; there is some backlight bleed around the edges which can be an issue for some users in darker settings watching videos with lots of blacks. We actually spent the most time using the Amazon Kindle Fire HD and initially we really disliked its rigid UI and 'limited' app availability, but upon further investigation we realized that the app selection was fairly large and ample, albeit not as good as the Google Play marketplace. Our biggest disappointment was the browser for the Kindle Fire HD, which is surprising when considering how much time and effort was put into the WiFi antenna.
The Nexus 7 is the best tablet in terms of OS as it will always have latest version of Android, with the best customizability and access to one’s own content. Google makes it easy to install any apps or load one’s own content. The freedom feels nice and the Nexus 7 performs pretty much down the middle in most of our tests. A strong suit for the Nexus 7 beyond running Jelly Bean with Google Now and improved Voice Search is the gaming performance. The Nexus 7 runs 3D game graphics better than the other tablets. As mentioned earlier in the article, in addition to all of the pros and cons of the tablets it is important to consider that the Nexus 7 can still install the Nook and Kindle apps for Android, which effectively gives it access to all of the books and magazines in each of those marketplaces. This, in our opinion, gives the Nexus 7 the slight edge, since the consumer is not necessarily forced into one marketplace for content.
Based on our findings, we put the Nexus 7 in first place followed closely by the Kindle Fire HD and then the Nook HD. This completes our $199 tablet review, with everything one might ever want to know about any of these tablets. Hopefully this enables consumers to easily compare the Google Nexus 7, Amazon Kindle Fire HD, and Barnes and Noble Nook HD. We also want to note that the Nook HD is the only tablet that is
currently out of stock and will not be available again until November 23rd, so they appear to be selling well. The Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire HD are not sold out, but they have also been on the market for a bit longer.
Our editor's choice goes to the Nexus 7
We also wanted to award Amazon for the Kindle Fire's impressive WiFi antenna and daring to attempt a new browser
© 2009 - 2013 Bright Side Of News*, All rights reserved.
