Amazon is totally freaked out by the iPad mini

Amazon’s third quarter earnings just hit, and weirdly enough, the online retailer/hardware manufacturer reserved a decent chunk of its report to rail on the just-announced iPad mini and explain why its Kindle Fire is better.

Clearly, Amazon is a bit freaked out by Apple’s latest product, which starts at $330 and might be more palatable to average consumers than the $500 base price of the full-size iPad.

Both of Amazon’s newest Kindle Fire units cost even less. Amazon writes:

Highlights

• Compared to the iPad mini, Kindle Fire HD 8.9″ has: 193% more pixels (2,304,000 pixels vs. 786,432 pixels)
• 56% more pixels-per-inch (254 vs. 163)
• Watch HD movies and TV – cannot on iPad mini (iPad mini is an SD device)
• Better audio with dual stereo speakers and Dolby Digital Plus
• Wi-Fi with dual band, dual antennas + MIMO
• Costs $30 less
• Compared to the iPad mini, Kindle Fire HD 7″ has: 30% more pixels (1,024,000 vs. 786,432 pixels)
• 33% more pixels per inch (216 vs. 163)
• Watch HD movies and TV – cannot on iPad mini (iPad mini is an SD device)
• Better audio with dual stereo speakers and Dolby Digital Plus
• Wi-Fi with dual band, dual antennas + MIMO
• Costs $130 less

Shareholders were not impressed with Amazon’s results or its pleas about how much better the Kindle Fire HD is than the iPad mini. Its stock was trading down about 9 percent in after-hours trading, but it is now down about 2 percent.

Jeff Bezos photo: Jennifer Van Grove/VentureBeat