Kindle Fire Matches iPad 2 In Web Surfing, Beats It In Netflix, Say Reports

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A strange story hits today about the unusual results of some head to head testing between the hotly popular iPad 2 and the up and coming tablet known as the Kindle Fire from the crew out at Amazon. While no one ever really expected the Kindle Fire to be a competitor with the iPad 2, it’s not only a competitor in two areas important to many, but also in one area, a clear victor.

The Kindle Fire and the iPad 2 were put through a few different tests (video of said tests is below from the folks at iDownloadBlog), and the iPad 2 won early honors by booting up a whole lot faster than the Kindle Fire. But that was the end for the clear victories on the Apple side of things, as the next set of tests revealed the unexpected results. A comparison of web surfing shows that the Kindle Fire kept up nicely with the iPad 2, and when the time came to test some Netflix results, the end result went clearly in favor of the Kindle Fire.

Now, not surprisingly, this wasn’t exactly a scientific test. It was basically just a head to head eyeball check, but the results are reasonably telling. The Kindle Fire’s Silk browser, which we’ve discussed here previously, gave the Kindle Fire a surprising edge, which allowed it to keep up pretty well with the bigger and more powerful iPad 2. Plus, the Kindle Fire has the newest version of Netflix, while the iPad is still operating under the original version, which could account for the differences in the experiences between the two platforms.

But still, considering the differences in the Kindle Fire and the iPad 2, just in terms of what’s under the hood, seeing the Kindle Fire do better than the iPad 2 in anything is something of a shock in its own right. Still, with one upgrade in the Netflix experience on the iPad 2, that advantage may be pulled. Still though, something like this might sway undecided tablet buyers, especially given the lower costs involved in the Kindle Fire.

So what do you guys think here? A minor test that means little in the long run? Or a serious question of user experience for Apple? No matter what you think, we definitely want to hear from you, so head on down to the comments section and tell us what you think about this!