5 Alternatives To Amazon's Kindle Fire

Consumer Electronics Show 2012 showcased the technology trends of the year. A range of tablets were showcased at the event, which are expected to pose a tough fight to the existing options. Last year was the year for Amazon's Kindle Fire. Of course, iPad ruled the market but Kindle Fire was able to make a strong mark for itself despite being launched so late in the year. The device is still enjoying the fame and is being perceived as an important option in the tablet market. However, contrary to such beliefs, the tablet show at CES gave a strong impression that Kindle Fire may be dethroned soon. A lot many Android based tablets were showcased at the event, offered in a similar price range with some unique features.

Here are a few options which are poised to give a tough fight to Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet:

Lenovo IdeaPad S2 7

Lenovo showcased IdeaPad S2 7 at the CES 2012. The 17.8-cm (7-inch) tablet offers a resolution of 1280X800 pixels along with a dual-core 1.5GHz Snapdragon processor. The tablet runs on Android 3.2 Honeycomb and offers Bluetooth, WiFi and 1GB of RAM. The speciality of the tablet is that the device offers wireless HD streaming capability (WHDI). Lenovo has included the feature after it partnered with Amimon, which offers an incredible HDTV streaming experience.

Pantech Element

Pantech debuted its Android tablet Element at CES. The speciality of the tablet is that it comes with waterproof features. The 20.3-cm (8-inch) tablet comes with 1024 x 768 pixels display resolution, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with flash and 4X digital zoom, along with a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chat. The tablet runs on Android 3.2 operating system, but the company has promised an Android 4.0 upgrade for the device soon. The Element tablet is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 16GB of internal memory and an empty microSD card slot, which can be expanded up to 32GB. The unique feature of the tablet is its IP57 certification. This tablet is waterproof to a great extent. It can be submerged in up to one meter of water for 30 minutes, provided all its ports are tightly closed.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7

Samsung revealed Galaxy Tab 7.7, which is poised to be the thinnest and lightest tablet released by the company so far. The 19.6-cm (7.7-inch) tablet sports Super AMOLED display along with a 1280X800 pixel resolution. The tablet runs on Android 3.1 Honeycomb and is capable of acting as a smart TV remote control. The device is expected to get an Android 4.0 update. It is sleek and has dimension of 196.7 X 133 X 7.89mm. It weighs just 340 gms. It is powered by 1.4 GHz dual-core processor with 1GB RAM and Exynos chipset.

ASUS Eee Pad MeMO

ASUS showcased a budget tablet called Asus Eee Pad MeMO, which is poised to compete with the likes of Amazon Kindle Fire. The Android-powered tablet is likely to be priced at around $249. This small tablet is powered by NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad core processor and Android Ice Cream Sandwich. The 17.8-cm (7-inch) device is already being seen as a tough competitor in this size segment. The device will feature IPS LCD capacitive multitouch display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It offers up to 32GB of internal storage and comes enabled with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

ViewSonic ViewPad E70

Here is another device which can give tough competition to Amazon’s Kindle Fire. ViewSonic showcased its Android 4.0 powered budget tablet device ViewPad e70. This device stands a better chance as compared to its competitors because it sports Google’s latest Android Ice Cream Sandwich. The ViewPad e70 sports a 17.7-cm (7-inch) screen display with a low 800x480 pixel resolution and runs on a (unidentified) 1 GHz single core processor. It reportedly has a fairly responsive capacitive touchscreen and comes packed with a microSD card slot, microHDMI port and 4GB of storage. Reportedly, the ViewPad e70 tablet will come in the Android Market but will have Amazon Appstore and Amazon Kindle app. The company touts it as a wallet-friendly, portable device which lets the users enjoy multi-media mobile entertainment, check e-mail and read e-books. It is priced at $169 and will be available in the coming months.

-- Diksha P Gupta