It’s one thing for a major competitor to make up rumors about how it’s going to pay a $1B fine in nickels…

Mocking Apple’s latest tablet on your homepage, now that’s a gutsy move. But if you go to Amazon.com right now, you can see a side-by-side comparison of the Kindle Fire HD and the iPad Mini… in which Amazon asserts that the iPad Mini is “much less” for “much more” money.

It’s a fairly unexpected shot directly across Apple’s bow, at a time when the holiday tablet wars are at DEFCON high alert. I’m wondering how customers will react, both Amazon’s and Apple’s?

When you think about it, a lot of Apple brand loyalists are regular Amazon customers, so it will be really interesting to see what kind of a controversy this move will spark. How does it strike you? Do you like what Amazon’s doing here?

It’s no secret that some in the tech media were unimpressed with Apple’s latest unveiling, including a writer at Gizmodo that Amazon quotes in the comparison chart! Check it out:

“…your [Apple's] 7.9-inch tablet has far fewer pixels than the competing 7-inch tablets! You’re cramming a worse screen in there, charging more, and accusing others of compromise? Ballsy.”

Of course, the seemingly objective comparison chart uses words like “stunning” when describing Fire HD’s display…  so it pretty much fails to meet the objective standards of the fourth estate.

The chart does make a fairly persuasive argument, though, when it points out the iPad Mini’s shortcomings. For example, the fact that the iPad offers a significantly lower resolution than the Kindle Fire HD is pretty surprising. The price, too, is persuasive with the Fire HD at $199 while the iPad Mini starts at $329.

Clearly, Amazon is serious about competing with Apple in the tablet market this year, by offering a much more versatile tablet with a built-in media catalog. Last year’s Kindle Fire proved to be a weak competitor.