Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire HD?
June 14, 2013 1:20 PM   Subscribe

Which is better for my non-technically inclined mother?

My mom is trying to decide between the Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire HD (she can have either one free as part of a promotion.) She is in her late sixties, has bad arthritis in her hands, and not especially techie. She doesn't have a computer, but she can use one and has learned to use her DVR and cell phone in recent years.

Her main interest is managing her Netflix queue, doing some online shopping, and possibly reading ebooks.

Thanks!
posted by fozzie_bear to Technology (14 answers total)
 
I have a Kindle Fire and, while I like it a lot, I don't find it very intuitive for tasks other than ebook reading.

No familiarity with the Nexus 7, but for general tablet computing I'd probably pick that over the Kindle unless she is already heavily roped into the Amazon media framework and a Prime member.
posted by Sara C. at 1:26 PM on June 14, 2013


I just got my Nexus 7 this week and I really like it. I let my non-techy mom borrow it yesterday and she was able to skim through the Kindle app I put on it and read her Stephen King books or whatever moms are into right now. I recommend some kind of case for it, I have one on the way from Amazon and I'm paranoid the slippery thing is going to slide to the floor in the meantime.
posted by Merinda at 1:38 PM on June 14, 2013


Nexus 7 so you two can Snapchat important messages to each other.
posted by oceanjesse at 1:45 PM on June 14, 2013 [1 favorite]


Ultimately the Nexus is probably the better bet because it's more flexible and thus more adaptable to what your mom likes/doesn't like, which can be hard to predict when exposing someone to a technology for the first time.
posted by selfnoise at 1:52 PM on June 14, 2013 [3 favorites]


We got my 89 year old grandmother a Kindle Fire HD for her birthday a few months ago, and by all accounts has taken to it reasonably well.

It may be worth noting that while I was setting it up for her I really didn't like it, but she says it makes more sense than when she's played with my mom's iPad before. Maybe because the Kindle has more words/explanations, while the iPad is just little pictures? I don't know.

I've never seen a Nexus in person so I can't speak to that, but if my grandma is managing to use a Kindle Fire, it can't be that tough.
posted by phunniemee at 2:10 PM on June 14, 2013


In my opinion the Google Play sore is superior on apps. Amazon is ahead on media but not necessarily on free media. Its easy to add Amazon to the Nexus, complicated or impossible to Google Play to the Kindle.

The Kindle is more locked down but a bit simpler to operate at first. The Nexus is far more open to customization.

Were I buying for my non-technically inclined mother I'd get the Nexus. But my non-technically inclined mother already has a galaxytab 7 that she took to very well. Much better than she did to a PC. (Not recommending the Galaxy, its a bit higher priced for not that much advantage)

Your Mom maybe should get a device similar to one owned by a helpful, technically inclined child or grandchild so that they can be helpful even by phone, by looking at a similar UI while Mom describes the problem.
posted by logonym at 2:28 PM on June 14, 2013


You have perfectly described my own mother to a T including arthritis etc. She has the kindle fire HD and loves loves loves it.
posted by chasles at 2:39 PM on June 14, 2013


If your mom has any problem with shopping or spending money on games, movies etc, I'd nudge her towards the Nexus. A friend of mine put it very well "The Kindle Fire is not a tablet - it's an Amazon product and services delivery device."
You've been warned.
posted by dbmcd at 2:51 PM on June 14, 2013 [2 favorites]


I'd go for the Nexus. Having used both, my feeling is that if she's really looking for an ereader, the Fire is the best choice, but if there's any thought that she'll be doing anything other than that with it, the Nexus is superior.

My non-techie mother-in-law, who sounds very much like your mother, has had a Fire since...Christmas, I think? She brought it over the other day (lives on the other side of the country, so I hadn't known about this before now) and literally the only thing she's managed to do is use it to read books on. It's -- I don't want to say that it's limited, because I'm sure that in the hands of someone who's fluent with tech, the Fire could roll over and do a backflip. But for someone who's moderately clueless, it seems to be pretty limiting. (This is probably especially true if your mother, like my MiL, has an Android phone and has gotten used to that.)

If you get the Nexus, you (or someone) will likely have to provide some guidance at first, but it can, in my opinion, do a lot more. Also, as noted above, basically everything is available for the Nexus, and on the off-chance that only Amazon has an app, or it's cheaper there, it's trivial to install the Amazon App Store to your Nexus. The only way to get the Play store on the Fire is by rooting it and then jumping through some hoops. I honest to god thought that my MiL was going to cry when she realised that I can play Candy Crush on my tablet and she can't.
posted by MeghanC at 3:11 PM on June 14, 2013


Having played around with both as demo models, and that friends owned i'd choose the nexus every time.

The kindle just doesn't work as smoothly, and somehow just feels cheaper. The interface is also a bit misleading/confusing at times, and as per MeghanC's example i could see someone who wasn't tech-inclined kinda getting walled in to just doing a few things with it and giving up.

It just genuinely felt more open ended and like i could get more done with it. And in a good way, not a daunting "oh god there's so many options" kind of way.
posted by emptythought at 3:24 PM on June 14, 2013


My kids - ages 1, 3, 6, 10, 12 - all use our two Kindle Fires. They can all start apps, watch Netflix shows, and read books.

If little kids can figure it out, I assume almost anyone can.
posted by tacodave at 3:36 PM on June 14, 2013 [1 favorite]


I just asked a question on AskMe about Android tablets, because I just got a Nook HD+. You might consider the Barnes & Noble Nook HD or HD+ because it's now been opened up to Google Play. The 9" HD+ is at $149 for just a couple of more days for Father's Day. This is even better than the Mother's Day special. (Go figure!)

Here's an article from CNET that calls it a steal for the hardware alone.

Article from Android Police.

This current pricing is hard to beat for the specs. Just something else to consider.
posted by Gerard Sorme at 5:55 PM on June 14, 2013 [1 favorite]


Nthing Nexus 7. I love mine. My completely tech-inept Mom can use hers with ZERO issue. It is very intuitive and easy to use. The touch screen is very responsive as well.

Even my Apple using fiance got one and she loves it, and she can be a hard sell with an OS outside of iOS.
posted by Twain Device at 4:50 AM on June 15, 2013


Love my Nexus 7, and my mom (in her late 60s and looking to buy a tablet of some kind) really liked it too. FWIW, she wants a tablet mainly for checking email, surfing the web, and reading books.
posted by Rykey at 9:20 AM on June 15, 2013


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