Well, obviously the FIRE HD is smaller, but that's pretty much why I bought it, as I find the ipad V1 cumbersome to lug around and too heavy to hold in one hand comfortably.

The Fire HD is much easier to load apps on from places outside the Amazon store - it doesn't take jailbreaking the device, just some sideloading. (Which Amazon sternly warns you against, blah blah blah.) I was able to replace the browser, add Flash capability back in, load some of my favorite stupid Android games (mostly card, puzzle, crossword type stuff) that aren't in the Fire store. The Fire is really meant for a streamlined, non-power-user experience and it doesn't really want to allow a lot of customization. I see people screaming on Amazon because they can't change the screensaver or add themes and skins, and that is just not something I really give a ... whatever ... about.

Both of them come with only the usb cable to charge with, which takes freaking FOREVER to charge. Amazon offers you their "fast charger" wall wart for $10 when you buy the device - BUY IT, it's the difference between a 12 hour charge time and 3-4 hours.

I do prefer the way the Apple opens with a screen that is fully customizable to the horrible "Carousel" on the Fire HD, which is populated with the most recently opened or downloaded items, which have icons so huge you can only see about 3 of them without swiping to the left. Along the top is a swipeable ticker that offers you: Search, Shop, Games, Apps, Books, Music, Videos, Newsstand, Audiobooks, Web. (There is a video at Amazon that makes this all clear.) On the other hand, the Fire offers the chance to save the programs/apps you want to see to the "Favorites" screen, which is one tap away and bypasses the Carousel all together, which is A Good Thing.

The Fire HD has the same problem the ipad did when I first got it - there aren't a lot of apps specifically designed for it yet. The Amazon store doesn't do a particularly good job of telling you which apps are designed for the new Fire HD vs the old Fire, unless you are looking directly from the device.

Right now I use the iPad to read a few magazines (because of the larger screen) and it sits upstairs in a speaker doc to play the Spotify and Pandora apps when I am reading in bed. I used to travel with it, but between my Samsung Galaxy S3 and a Garmin GPS (and my netbook with a wifi hotspot from the Samsung), I don't see the point in bringing it with my anymore.

I chose the FIRE HD over the Mini mainly because of price point and similar features. The Mini is almost double (for the configuration I wanted) and it certainly isn't double the value, particularly since I am not locked into the Apple way of life. No doubt the Mini will be a more polished product, but a toy is a toy is a toy. For me, tablets are toys, not productivity tools - if I have work to do, that requires a laptop. Tablets are for reading magazines, reading the web, playing games, watching media and occasionally checking my webmail email while traveling.

I'm sure there are people out there who manage to get all their work done on an ipad, but I can't live without a regular keyboard, and by the time I add up the ipad, a keyboard, the AC power cable - the heck with it, throw in the 13" laptop and use it instead. A lot of the programs I run (ThinkorSwim, Trade Station, Telechart) have a really brain-damaged app version, compared to the full PC version. When I work, I don't want to sit in a coffee shop using an unsecured wifi, either.

The proprietary Apple cables drive me nuts, too. I'm happy to be able to carry ONE cable to charge my phone, Kindle ereaders and Fire HD.