People love their tablets. The devices have only been a hot consumer gadget for about three years, but already they’ve changed so much about how people read, browse the Web, watch video and get work done. Apple still leads the pack, having sold more than 15 million iPads in the last quarter alone, but Android-based tablets like Amazon’s Kindle Fire are selling like crazy as well.
For all of the delights that come with unboxing and using a new tablet, these gadgets are by no means perfect. Kindle Fire owners have experienced issues that made headlines, while the iPad has its share of imperfections. A recent study by Q&A help site FixYa outlines some of consumers’ biggest gripes about both the Kindle Fire and the iPad 2.
Not surprisingly, users report more issues using the Kindle Fire than they do with the iPad 2. Some of these are widespread to have received serious media attention, and Amazon has been doing their best to resolve the problems via software updates.
The biggest complaint people have about the Kindle Fire is that it’s too easy to make one-touch purchases without having to verify one’s Amazon password. The login credentials are stored on the device and all it takes to buy something is a single tap of a finger.
This helps Amazon do what they built the Kindle Fire for – sell more physical goods and digital media – but for consumers, it’s an issue. Anybody who’s ever handed an iPad to a five-year-old knows how easy it is for them to find their their way to the “purchase” button within an app or in the App Store itself.
A related issue for Kindle Fire users is the limited parental settings available on the device. Since it’s primarily a media consumption device, the Fire is naturally shared among households, including in families with young children. For parents, the option to limit what content the youngsters can access is a big deal.
Other common problems include connecting to the Internet and connecting the device to one’s computer. The latter issue was not particularly widespread, with only 10% of users reporting it.
The iPad 2’s most common issue is the trouble it sometimes has connecting to WiFi, not unlike the Kindle Fire. The iPad at least has 3G models available, which can alleviate connectivity issues. Thirty-five percent of respondents reported such connectivity issues, with another 15% complaining about backlight bleeding on the LED display.
Poor microphone quality also ranked relatively high on the list of iPad 2 complaints, followed by USB connectivity issues and other problems with the screen.
Do you have any major complaints about the iPad 2, Kindle Fire or another tablet device you’ve used? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
