If you're shopping for a tablet and aiming to avoid the expensive iPad and iPad mini devices from Apple, the selection is vast on the Android side of the market. There are many cheap Android tablets that you can look into. For this feature, we'll take a look at Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD.

The Kindle Fire HD and the Galaxy Tab 2 have different target users. The truth is, there is no perfect tablet for everyone. At the end of the day, you need to choose the tablet that best fits your requirements - specs, budget, and touch factor.

There are five assumptions for this tablet shopping guide: One, you want the bigger, full-size tablets (9-to-10 inches screen display). Two, you don't like the Apple iPad devices. Three, you want to stick to a certain budget. Four, you'd rather go Android than Windows. And five, you're a light to average user who is buying a tablet for the first time (or upgrading from a previously bought lower-end devices).

The Kindle Fire HD and the Galaxy Tab 2 are both under AU$550 on Australia's MobiCity. The 8.9-inch Amazon tablet (32GB Wi-Fi only) costs $539.95. Samsung's 10.1-inch (16GB 3G-ready) is $459.95. The Kindle Fire 3G 32GB model costs $639.95. In contrast, Apple iPad 4 (4G, 32GB) costs $869.95.

Tablet Size Matters: Small Handy Tablet or Near Netboook Screen Size?

When news of Apple iPad first came out, the common reaction was: "It's just like a big iPhone or iPod touch." The rest is history. Apparently, many gadget buyers want to browse, read and view media content in bigger screens.

Both Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD have smaller variants. The former sports a 1280 x 800 WXGA display. The latter features a 1920 x 1200 pixels screen resolution. It's 149ppi vs 254 ppi, in favour of the Kindle, which also has a bigger storage.

But what the Tab lacks in pixel density and internal storage, the Samsung makes up for with expandable storage provision and a wider app store (Google Play). Amazon has a wide enough selection of shopping items, but the apps are limited compared to what the Apple App and Google Play stores offer to users.

The full-size Kindle Fire HD is lighter than the Galaxy Tab. It also has an 8-MP camera as opposed to the Tab's 3-MP. You just have to pay a little more for the 3G variant. If you're a frequent Kindle Store and Amazon Prime shopper, the Kindle is a highly recommendable device.

If you don't care much about the rear camera, and the barely noticeable 20g, you'd do well with the cheaper Galaxy Tab 2. Both come with dual-core processors and 1GB of RAM. The batteries run just about the same for both devices, so you are to decide on budget and the specs you really need to have.

VIDEO: How to download apps via Google Play on Samsung Galaxy Tab 2

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