Ok have a question for everyone

[G+_Evan Black]

Ok have a question for everyone. As we know the holidays are around the corner my dad has the first gen iPad I'm thinking of getting him the Kindle Fire or a Nexus 7. He's not as techy like he use to be and wouldn't need a lot of power. The fire is simple plus it has the mayday button which I'm going to love because he's going to ask me how to use the tablet lol. But the nexus is pure android and has more options. What do you guys think would be best?

[G+_M. Li]

Give him the Kindle. If he doesn't care about pure Android and doesn't need the power or customizability, why give him that? Give him the one that makes it easy for him to use.

[G+_Brandon K.]

Especially if he's an old pervert. That Mayday button would help cure boring nights around 1:00am.

[G+_Tommy Pratt]

Nexus 7. Amazon appstore on the Kindle Fire represents a real and unnecessary limitation, even for casual users.

[G+_Tommy Pratt]

And Fire OS is way too dumbed down, feels like a Fischer Price toy

[G+_Evan Black]

Tommy Pratt that is what I was thinking

[G+_M. Li]

Here's an idea - why don't you ask him what he wants. Or, hell, get him another iPad. At least you'd know there'd be no learning curve there.

[G+_Brandon K.]

Agreed with M. Li. Just ask him. Not like Santa hands out presents to parents.

[G+_Claudio Golia]

Assuming an iPad is out, I would go with the Fire. The casual user will not care about pure Android or limitations of the Amazon store. The Kindle does a decent job as pure media device. I can't imagine your dad would require much more. I know plenty of folks who fits your dad's description that are quite happy with the Fire. Good luck.

[G+_Evan Black]

Claudio Golia thanks for the feedback

[G+_Claudio Golia]

Evan Black Welcome.

[G+_Luis L (monkeyplague)]

I would go with the kindle fire. If he's non-techy then the AppStore is a non-issue. And I actually think the AppStore is great. It's curated and safe and it has most major apps, I haven't seen any that aren't in there. Many people here are thinking what's best for them, they don't think from the perspective of the potential user. I would get my dad the kindle fire also, never a nexus.

[G+_Luis L (monkeyplague)]

Tommy Pratt You're not putting the potential user in mind. Your dislike of a product doesn't mean it isn't right for someone else.

[G+_Tommy Pratt]

Luis Lauranzon Claudio Golia I suppose it REALLY comes down to what he uses it for, but speaking as someone who has worked with both... The first gen is still incapable of running Facebook. No Instagram on any of them. The web browser is kind of dreck. They JUST got Candy Crush Saga. Your cable company probably doesn't have a streaming app for it. My sixty year old mother has a Kindle Fire, is about as low tech as it gets, and even she runs into moments of frustration where she can't get some app one of her friends told her about, or she can't do something she wants to do. I am thinking about the low tech user, I'm actually thinking about a very specific one... My mother is a nontechie and the appstore is still an issue.?

[G+_Tommy Pratt]

You've got Windows Phone levels of app selection on Fire OS?

[G+_Tommy Pratt]

Do you have a really clear idea of what he uses for it?

[G+_Evan Black]

Tommy Pratt browsing the internet and showing pictures off

[G+_Cindy Siebert]

I'm just going to throw another idea out there, the Nook HD+.  My mom used to be quite techie but then she had a stroke at the beginning of 2011 and has had a hard time using a computer since then.  My sister and I got her a Nook HD+ for Mothers Day since it now has the Google Play store.  She uses it every day and loves it.  It's at a great price right now and you get a larger screen. 

[G+_Lucas Nichols]

That's a hard call to make. The nexus 7 is so cheap it's easy to justify giving it to anyone. I got both my step kids one for each for Christmas last year. They could care less about pure android and about 99‰ of everything else that makes it special. All they want is to play games and browse the Web. And it's good enough for that. They were really disappointed that it didn't have a rear facing camera though. Of course the new one has that though.

[G+_Evan Black]

Cindy Siebert thanks I look into it

[G+_Randy Medlin]

You might can check with your local Target I hear they are giving $200 store gift cards for 1st Gen iPads thur this Sat 11/9/13. Then he can trade up to new one at a great price.

[G+_Dave Leyland]

I would go with the Kendal Fire. It ssem simple, but more than adequate for the types of uses you've described.

[G+_Tommy Pratt]

I've never had a nook tablet myself so everything I say is just things I've heard from friends.  I like that they've finally just moved to using the Google Play Store, I view that as a huge plus.  That said the criticism that I've always heard about Nook tablets is, underpowered/not-terribly-responsive compared to other devices in that price range.  Like I said though, never had one myself.

[G+_Tommy Pratt]

Maybe the current generation is a lot better though...

[G+_Alasdair Graham]

This is a tricky call, and for me depends on two things:

 

- Limitations of the Amazon appstore. I've installed it on my S4 and browsed yesterday, and it was amazing how many apps I use regularly just weren't there. If all your dad wants to do is browse the net and show pictures then the Kindle would be fine, and the screen sounds impressive, but what if he hears about an app and wants to install it? That could be disappointing.

 

- Value of the Mayday button. This was a great move by Amazon and should be useful to the user base likely to buy their simplified and curated version of Android. If it's a big help for your dad, or saves you a lot of time, then this favours the Kindle.

 

Of course, you could do a deal with your dad: you setup his Nexus 7 and provide occasional tech support as long as he promises not to tell any embarrassing stories about your childhood. I should do the same thing with my mum! ?