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So... hmmm, as far as (lack of) customization and the iPad, what kind of things are you referring to? Can you give me some examples, please?
And also, what would be some situations where the iPad's not supporting Flash would be a disadvantage?
Again, thank you!
Simply stated, the iPad 2 cannot (yet) be jailbroken. And in my opinion it may never be possible to do so, at least conveniently. In contrast, if you care to do so, the KF accepts downloads (.apk files) from the Android Marketplace. And if that is not enough customization for you, the KF can be "rooted" (the rough equivalent of jailbreaking an iPad) to provide almost unlimited customization possibilities. These include custom launchers, flexible arrangement of screens, addition of "widgets" (live apps that run in the background and update your screen, and of course many apps that
Amazon has not chosen to include in its own "app store."
Much of this may not be important to you. Frankly, it's not to me despite (or perhaps because) I have extensive experience "customizing" pc's and smartphones to meet my (and others') specific requirements. I do much of that work on various devices (I'm in the software business) and don't really care to invest my time managing a tablet. So I'm willing to put up with the restrictions (some of them very annoying) that Apple imposes on the iPad. But there are times when the annoyance really gets to me. I can set up a "space" on the KF, for example, where my seven year old can have her games and other apps and not run the risk that she'll mess up the settings of the KF. That's impossible on a stock iPad.
As far as "Flash" is concerned, that's a topic that has been beaten to death ever since the iPad was released. Suffice to say that for good technical and bad political reasons Apple elected not to support Adobe Flash on the iPad. This means that many websites with flash enabled video are difficult or impossible to view on the iPad. There are workarounds in the form of some browsers that do a terrible to tolerable job of getting around that limitation but it's a limitation, nonetheless. And you'll run into it if you do a lot of web browsing.
On the other hand, Adobe Flash is being replaced with newer software technology that is not so power draining and more flexible. In another couple of years few websites will likely use Flash enabled video or animation features. Even now, I wouldn't say it's a major weakness. In fact, it mainly shows up in internet commercials that I don't care to watch anyway. But some people, especially those who play online games that require Flash find it problematic on the iPad. And if you're a YouTube fan, you'll find that some videos are difficult or even impossible to access on the iPad. (But frankly, it's not a big deal imo.)
Bottom line is that there is simply no question that for most consumers the iPad provides a better user experience than any Android device (the KF included.) But at least for the present, if you are looking for a more portable device than the iPad and a bigger screen than a smartphone the KF leads the pack as a reasonable media consumption device. I like ours very much. I wouldn't replace the iPad with a KF but it makes a great companion device in our household.