Ipad Air v Kindle Fire HDX

[Rotted]

So as my Christmas present, I get a new tablet, I'm in two minds which one to get. I was leaning towards the kindle as its specs are higher, but theres negative reviews about the kit than the airs. Additionally, its only got the amazon app store.

Generally, I want the tablet to last at least three years,
Easy open office documents
Main purpose of it is for lectures, note taking, recording lectures etc

I'm also in the UK so if I do get a kindle, we don't have access to Amazon instant, which is also one of the main features of the kindle

So which do you guys prefer, or think is best the kindle or air?

(while I appreciate replies, can we try not to turn this into a fan boy war of whos the best and whos the devil company)

[dense]

i was thinking about getting a tablet too. But i decided against ipads/kindles because of their operating systems. I'm afraid i might not get printer drivers and other stuff for it, so I thought about a win 8 tablet.

[Rotted]

I almost went for the surface as well, but the deal breaker was a review I watched about it, its bit more bulky and awkward to hold, its more of a use at a desk tablet than relax in a chair, also when I went into details looking into opening office documents, which ofc it does, but it reverts the tablet to a windows 7 desktop style. It just meh. But for printing, I've got my desktop / laptop and so far this year, I've done all my printing in the libary / ict rooms

[kail]

If it's between those two, I'd advise the iPad. The App Store itself makes it the winner.

[Yuyuli]

I almost went for the surface as well, but the deal breaker was a review I watched about it, its bit more bulky and awkward to hold, its more of a use at a desk tablet than relax in a chair, also when I went into details looking into opening office documents, which ofc it does, but it reverts the tablet to a windows 7 desktop style. It just meh. But for printing, I've got my desktop / laptop and so far this year, I've done all my printing in the libary / ict rooms

You may actually want to look at a Surface 2 in a store, if you were talking about a Surface RT i would agree though because it's quite heavy, making it incredible straining to hold, the Surface 2 is very different though, it's slimmer and feels very leightweight, and oh the Device and display look incredible
But you need to weight on how you want to use a Device, on the Surface you can basicly use the snap feature so you can look at more than one thing at once, but the device itself is also wider making it less ideal for Website browsing, the 4:3 form factor of the iPad is pretty much ideal for the Web. And oh apps, there are definitly still more iPad apps If there is one thing that would make a Surface 2 purchase not work out though, it's very hard to get this device right now.

If you have no plans to ever use that Kickstand of the surface 2 though, i wouldn't get it, the iPad Air while more expensive is still the better "couch" device. This device may also be worth checking out http://www.dell.com/uk/p/dell-venue-8-pro/pd?oc=cnv8p01

[yurano]

I've been looking into tablets recently and the general consensus is that Kindle is the worst version of Android.

TL;DR - Buy into a tablet operating system based on: (1) productivity (Windows) vs entertainment (Android/iOS) and (2.1) full productivity (Windows 8.1) vs light MS Office productivity and entertainment (Surface 2) OR (2.2) flexible OS (Android) vs polish (iOS).

Android and iOS are the best choices for "entertainment" tablets, basically any "tablet-like" uses such as games and videos. iOS is more polished, but Android is more flexible. For Android, Nexus 7 is considered the best "small" (7-8") tablet. At 10"+, the Galaxy line is a solid choice as is ASUS's new TF701T (optional keyboard dock). The $100 more for a Galaxy Note (over Galaxy Tab) buys a very high quality active digitizer which is excellent nice for taking notes or drawing. Unfortunately, both iOS and Android lack when it comes to productivity (e.g. viewing and modifying powerpoints for class).

Windows tablets are more designed for productivity use. Windows 8.1 tablets can run full desktop programs; with a mouse and keyboard, W8.1 tablets can replace laptops. Big hit W8.1 tablets include:

Dell Venue 8 Pro - considered best choice at 8", active digitizer capable but lower quality than Wacom found in Samsung (1280x800)
ASUS T100 - budget-class and with keyboard dock (1366x768)
Dell Venue 11 Pro - 11", optional keyboard dock available, also active digitizer capable (1080p)
HP Omni 11 - 11", no keyboard or active digitizer available, (1920x1200)

Tablets with OEM keyboards are great because hinged keyboards allow the tablet to act as a laptop, as compared to a floppy third party bluetooth keyboard.

Surface 2 has improved greatly over its predecessor: higher resolution display, two position kickstand, much better gen 2 keyboards, and better touch support. The Surface 2 sits in the middle between Windows 8.1 tablets and Android/iOS entertainment tablets. On the productivity side, the Surface 2 has full MS Office support, but can only run Windows RT store apps. On the entertainment side, the Surface 2 is more geared towards touch use and RT apps, but the Windows RT store is a little sparse. Optional keyboard docks are available, but they aren't hinged.

I've got my desktop / laptop and so far this year

Wouldn't it be nice if you didn't need to carry around both a laptop and a tablet? Thats what Microsoft is going for.