Kindle Fire vs. Nook Color spec breakdown
Compare the specs and features of the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet and the Barnes & Noble Nook Color.
Donald Bell Senior Editor / How To
2 min read
Update (11/07/11): You can find a comparison between the Amazon Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's Nook Tablet on CNET's Android Atlas. The following piece compares the Kindle Fire to Barnes & Noble's older touch screen reader, the Nook Color.
In the aftermath of Amazon's Kindle Fire announcement, the world of budget-priced Android e-reader tablets just got a whole lot more interesting. If you're curious to see how the Kindle Fire stacks up against its closest competitor (the Barnes & Noble Nook Color), here's a handy spec-by-spec breakdown.
Related stories:
• Kindle Fire sets a new (low) price point for tablets
• Kindle Fire leads Amazon onslaught (roundup)
• Amazon unveils Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire tablet
| Kindle Fire | Nook Color | |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 7.5 x 4.7 x 0.45 inches (HWD) | 8.1 x 5 x 0.5 inches (HWD) |
| Weight | 14.6 ounces | 15.8 ounces |
| OS | Custom Android fork | Custom Android fork |
| Processor | (Unknown) dual-core | ARM Cortex A8-based Ti OMAP 3621 @ 800 MHz |
| RAM | 512Mb | 512Mb |
| Storage | 8GB | 8GB |
| Front camera | No | No |
| Rear camera | No | No |
| Battery | 8 hours (Wi-Fi off) | 8 hours (Wi-Fi off) |
| Charge type | Micro-USB; computer charge OK | Micro-USB; requires wall adapter |
| 3G | No | No |
| Wi-Fi | 802.11 b/g/n/x | 802.11 b/g/n |
| Bluetooth | No | No |
| Screen size | 7 inches (IPS) | 7 inches (IPS) |
| Pixel density | 169 dpi | 169 dpi |
| Resolution | 600x1,024 | 600x1,024 |
| Book store | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |
| App store | Amazon | Barnes & Noble |
| Book formats | Kindle (AZW), TXT, PDF, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively, DOC, DOCX, Audible (Audible Enhanced (AA, AAX)) | EPUB, PDF, DOC, TXT, DOCM, DOCX |
| Unsuported | EPUB, LIT, LRZ/LRX (Sony) | LIT, AMZ, LRZ/LRX (Sony) |
| Video formats | MP4, VP8 | MP4 |
| Music formats | Non-DRM AAC, MP3, MIDI, OGG, WAV | MP3, MP4, AAC |
| Photo formats | JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP | JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP |
| MicroSD | No | Yes |
| Adobe Flash | Yes | Yes |
| Other features | Cloud storage backup, Wireless sync, Media bookmarks, Whispersync, Amazon Silk Web browser, Free month of Amazon Prime, Video rental | Nook Friends, in-store specials, Newsstand, unique e-book content for children |
| Price | $199 | $199 |
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