When comparing Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet vs Amazon Fire 7 (2017), the Slant community recommends Amazon Fire 7 (2017) for most people. In the question“What are the best tablets to read e-books on?” Amazon Fire 7 (2017) is ranked 1st while Sony Xperia Z4 Tablet is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose Amazon Fire 7 (2017) is:
The Fire 7 is only around $50, but in terms of build quality and performance, it is easily comparable with $200+ tablets. The chassis is durable, and it will easily survive a fall to the ground. Apps load fairly quickly; streaming videos and playing games, for the most part, works very well, although it does occasionally feel sluggish.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Waterproof
You can submerge the Z4 tablet in 1.5m of water for up to half an hour (fresh water only). You don't have to worry about getting it wet, and it also stops dust in its tracks.
Pro Good screen
The 2560x1600 resolution display is very crispy and has 299PPI which is very good for a tablet. It uses a more rectangular aspect ratio which is great for movies, but can make it a bit awkward to hold in portrait mode (which you'll need to do from time to time because some Android apps don't rotate to landscape.
Pro Great audio
The stereo speakers are tucked away along the front edge on either side of the screen. Sony is known to have good audio quality, and the Z4 Tablet doesn't disappoint. It gets pretty loud, and remains surprisingly good quality without going tinny at peak volume.
If you prefer to use headphones, the Z4 has high-res audio support, a very customizable equalizer, surround sound effects, and advanced noise canceling technology (if your headset has noise canceling capabilities.
Pro Playstation Integration
If you own a PS4, you can stream games from the PS4 directly onto the Xperia Z4 Tablet. Sony calls this 'Remote Play'. Just download the PS4 Remote Play app and hook the tablet and PS4 together. It's highly suggested that you sync a controller to the tablet, otherwise you'll be stuck with a bunch of on-screen buttons.
You'll also need a fast network, otherwise the game streaming will be slow and unresponsive.
Pro It offers amazing value for the money
The Fire 7 is only around $50, but in terms of build quality and performance, it is easily comparable with $200+ tablets. The chassis is durable, and it will easily survive a fall to the ground. Apps load fairly quickly; streaming videos and playing games, for the most part, works very well, although it does occasionally feel sluggish.
Pro Battery life is decent
One charge lasts for about 8 hours of normal use, which is on par with more expensive 200 and 300 dollar tablets.
Pro It's a great tablet for basic everyday tasks
This tablet has you covered in terms of basic functionality. You can browse the web, read books and articles, and listen to music and audiobooks. It also comes equipped with Amazon's virtual assistant - Alexa. You can ask her to set an alarm, check the weather, jot down a shopping list, and so on.
Pro The display works very well for reading
The Fire 7 has a decent 1024 x 600 display with good contrast that makes the text of a book look clear and sharp.
Pro Portable
This tablet is only 7 inches in diagonal, it won't take much space in the bag and you might even fit it in the pocket of your jacket.
Cons
Con Very expensive
The Z4 Tablet is priced at more than it's worth. If you can find a sale of some sort, this is an easy recommendation...but at it's current price it's a tough sell.
Con Hard to find
In North America at least, Sony's mobile presence is almost non-existent. Most people want to try out tech before they spend nearly $600 on it, and that will be very hard to do with the Z4 Tablet.
Con The overall performance is sub-par
The Fire 7 deals pretty well with some basic tasks, but it's not the best choice for every-day use. With a quadcore 1.3 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM, it's not going to work for watching films or gaming.
Con It's very basic
For an entry-level tablet, the Fire 7 offers a lot of bang for the buck, but there's nothing spectacular or special about it.