iTouch or Kindle Fire

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

iTouch or Kindle Fire -- Which one is the best gift for a 10 or 11 year old?

I'm choosing between these 2 items for my DD11 and DS almost 10 for Christmas as their big gifts (each would get their own).

We are an apple family -- I love my iphone, we have macs, DD13 loves her itouch. But, I also have a kindle that I love.

Both kids are BIG readers and they both enjoy the apps they have used on the iphone and itouch. I'm torn between which would make a better gift. Any thoughts?

Just trying to figure out which is the best use of our money...

 

[DebMcDonald]

i don't think you can compare the two, and for that reason I am mainly thinking about the music aspect. The ipod can be in a jacket pocket, etc and they can be plugged in. But I also think the Fire has some great benefits - maybe the kids not needing glasses sooner rather than later by reading on it All joking aside I think the fire has great benefits just in the size itself when it comes to playing games, reading, etc. we're also a huge Apple family, kids currently have Nano's but we're getting the Fire as a family present (which will probably be a huge issue - just because of sharing).

 

[Mickey Fliers]

I would probably go with the Touch mainly because I wouldn't want to have to re-buy apps that I already purchased for my iPhone or other iTouch.

 

[merekc]

We do not have a kindle so take this with a grain of salt. At this age, I think they will get much more use out of itouchs than kindles. The itouch can do so much and is more portable. Music, movies, games, etc.

I had no idea how great iTouchs were until my kids had them. We get a ton of use out of them. In fact I just commented to my DH that the kids hardly touch their DS's anymore.

 

[minushka72]

I do not have any of the apple family products so please forgive my ignorance, but with an Itouch wouldn't you need a monthly service plan?

The Kindle Fire is just the purchase price and then the price of any apps. No monthly charge. (Of course it is only wifi so you would not be able to use the internet part everywhere--my only concern as I wonder how quickly they will come out with the 3g version and what it would cost...)

 

[RitaE]

Neither the Kindle or the iTouch need a monthly service plan. Here are the differences

Screen Size - smaller iTouch vs 7" Kindle Fire. If they are going to watch movies or read books, the Kindle wins. If they primarily play music, iTouch wins. If they want something they can stick in their pocket and carry around, iTouch wins.

Compatibility with what you already own. Both Apple and Amazon are gearing up Cloud streaming. You can put your previously purchased iTunes songs into the Amazon Cloud, but you might have to mess around with DRM removal and/or file conversion depending on what you bought and when you bought it. If you have movies or books in your iTunes account, those won't go to Amazon. Conversely, Amazon music purchases are much easier to transfer to your iTunes library.

Any Apps you've bought from iTunes will not transfer to a Kindle. However, the Kindle Fire has the Amazon App store and from what I understand you will also be able to access the Google Android Marketplace - so just as many really.

On Board Storage. Kindle only comes with 8GB. iTouches go up to 32GB (I think, have they come out with the 64GByet?) If you are often out of WiFi range and like lots of movies, this is important.

 

[mrseace711]

iPod Touch =) Ease and portability