Apple’s New iPad Air ‘Kindling’ Amazon’s Fire

Internet retailer Amazon isn’t shying away from its own recently refreshed Kindle Fire Android tablet after Apple’s announcement of the fifth generation iPad tablet known as the iPad Air. So what is Amazon to do? The company has launched a new ad on its website highlighting that the Kindle Fire HDX is “lighter than Air,” a direct reference to Apple’s iPad Air slate.

Amazon’s latest ad was first reported on AppleInsider. 

While the Kindle Fire HDX is in fact lighter than the iPad Air, the reference may not be an accurate one as Amazon’s tablet comes with a smaller display size than Apple’s 9.7-inch iPad Air.

During the keynote presentation earlier this week, Apple had announced that the iPad Air is both thinner and lighter than its predecessor, the outgoing iPad 4. Apple’s ad for the tablet shows that the tablet is as thin as a pencil. The iPad Air is now about 0.5 pounds lighter than the previous model so the slate now clocks in at a little under 1 pound. In comparison, the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDX weights just 0.82 pounds.

Additionally, the new iPad mini with Retina Display is also a bit heavier than the 7-inch Kindle Fire HDX. The iPad mini has a 7.9-inch display, so it is a little bit bigger.

Another key difference between the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX series and the Apple iPad series is that Apple’s slate is made of aluminum whereas Amazon’s Kindle Fire is mostly built with plastic.