If you solely want to use your kindle as a tablet pc when WiFi is available, then yes you’re better off with the Amazon product.
However, I have seen many people get hooked on the wireless availability offered by the 4g providers and hate waiting for open networks.
But if that is not an issue then yes I would go with the Fire. Either way you go I’m happy you see the sheer ridiculousness of purchasing an Ipad. It’s purely a status symbol.
There speaks a person who HAS NOT USED ONE. You, JosephMama, do not know what you are talking about... you have not compared the experience of the tablets you are recommending with the tablet you claim is "purely a status symbol."
You must not have ever used an iPad. My IP1 has 60 books (1/2 Amazon, 1/2 iBook), a slick app for free rentals from my local library, a document manager app that allows me to carry around about 1000 pages worth of technical journals that used to occupy it’s own separate brief case, 1500 or so photos, a complete set of construction documents for the home I am building, 3 email accounts, 2 calendars, a shared drop box with my house contractor that shows me progress reports, photographs, and budget status.
It has never crashed, never failed in anyway, the battery lasts all day, all for 499.00.
Status symbol? Try indispensable.
I have a 2nd gen kindle with 3g — great for international travel, batteries last forever on long trips, very light. But also have Kindle (and Nook) on iphone and ipad. I resisted getting an ipad but now have one and love it. One way or the other, ebooks are wonderful. I buy antique or special “keeper” books on paper though.
“Either way you go I’m happy you see the sheer ridiculousness of purchasing an Ipad. It’s purely a status symbol.”
LOL! Yep, the 40 million or so folk that have bought an iPad were all just that stupid...
No, actually it’s a great device that’s a pleasure to use and which has far more apps than any competitor - and any comparable device is right at the same price point.
Watch the iPad 3 with Retina Display continue to blow away the competition over the next year or two.
(BTW, a particularly interesting conversation lately was with a sailor who said the iPad has become quite popular as a navigational aid using its built-in GPS.)