And the Winner is . . .

TA - DA.... Wait. Before I tell you my decision, I must paint the picture...tell the convoluted story.

In my last blog I left you breathless with anticipation of what I was going to do about my extravagant indulgence. I agonized about what to do, loaded my package in the car twice to return the items, but just never quite had time, or the desire to part with my treasures...racking up 18% interest each day I held on to the little beggars.  Then two days before Christmas, a wonderful twist of fate.

As I've explained or complained, hubby is officially retired...and bored. I try to keep the sink piled with dirty dishes for him to wash in the morning and laundry piled to an impressive height to give him something to do in the afternoons. Even the dog helps out by pushing his 80 lb body through the door whenever it's carelessly cracked open larger than two inches, making a mad dash for my office and leaving a trail of large paw prints across the tile floor. But despite our efforts, hubby still manages to find large blocks of time to peruse various sites that "sell stuff." I threatened to put passwords on all the computers after he found his "sensational deal" and purchased a second Harley Davidson off Craigs List.

His latest cyber hangout...eBay.  Unfortunately, hubby isn't as "seasoned" in the bidding game and learned about the "buy it now" feature the hard way. He was eyeballing a new guitar (he's been in a rock band ever since I've known him) and happened to put in an "offer." The guitar disappeared off the site a few hours later when he got up the nerve to show me. The next morning he checked his emails and guess what? He won his guitar!

Yep. God moves in mysterious ways. Hubby was ensnared in his own trap and had to pay the piper. Guilt, remorse, and eyes begging forgiveness for his impulsive behavior stared at me. Of course being the loving, understanding spouse that I am, I consoled him while my inner goddess donned her dancing shoes. Christmas morning...I pulled out my purchases. "Santa" couldn't say anything, especially when I handed him the printout confirming his PayPal purchase and shipment date. A few chords from the Hallelujah chorus echoed in my brain when he conceded his defeat and said I could keep whichever one I wanted.

The problem still remained, however...which one? After a week of research, including several discussion forums and a membership to Consumer Reports, I made my decision.  Drum roll please...




http://http://www.amazon.com





Kindle won over iPad Mini...on the following points.  Besides the Dolby speakers and awesome HD screen - and it is beautiful... here's the differences that swayed my decision. With the latest "ice cream" software technology, the graphics on Kindle Fire HD are sharper, no glare when reading, even with the clear screen due to no layer of air between screen and tablet itself.  Apple products have "airspace." I watched a product video on the Apple site to confirm this.  Kindle Fire HD has 1G memory, iPad Mini has 516 MB of storage.  Kindle Fire HD's processor is faster - 1.5GHz vs. 1.0GHz from iPad Mini.  I experienced this with a friend's iPad Mini - had to wait for things to download and there were dead spots in the WiFi. My Kindle downloaded faster and there were no dead spots in my office with the WiFi.

The other thing that Amazon's Kindle Fire HD can do that Apple's iPad Mini cannot, is multitask. I can have my music going, a book open, along with my email and Facebook without any issue. The iPad Mini can only do one function at a time. And lastly, Apple can't support sites that use Adobeflash (which is the latest platform used). The two features that made it hard to give up the iPad Mini were the front and back camera (Kindle only has a front facing, but you can turn it around for video or buy an adapter with a rear-facing camera) and the "Facetime" feature. However, Kindle Fire HD does have Skype. I even found a way to side load my iTunes onto the Amazon Cloud and play them on my Kindle Fire. So far I've found all the apps I want and a few new ones. All my email accounts loaded effortlessly and my Netflix movies are awesome in HD.

If you are an Apple diehard, I'd wait until this fall to get your iPad Mini.  That's right.  Apple already has the iPad 5 coming out in April and an updated iPad Mini slated for September, which is supposed to have the retina display screen. Well worth the wait. I know 7 inches shouldn't make a difference, but it does. I didn't realize I'd bought the 8.9 size Kindle Fire HD until Christmas morning and I'm so glad I got the larger size. Worth the extra bucks. As far as the complaints about the advertisements, I only have one ad (picture only) on the screen when I turn it on.  There are the "recommended for you" displayed below your sections, however, under Device Settings, you can turn off that option.  Voila, no hassles - at least with my version.

Okay, I'm stepping off my Amazon soapbox. No compensation given for my blog-infomercial. Just my preference. I'm still pinching myself. For me, this was the best choice. For someone else, it might not be. I will admit the Bestbuy salesclerk had to pry the iPad Mini box from my hands. I felt like I dropped off an unwanted kitten to the pound. I hurried home and downloaded two new books, ordered a bright red cover, and uploaded the cover to Designer Genes...but that surprise will have to wait until next time.

Later friends. Thanks for stopping by!
http://www.harleybrooks.com