Do you mean the iPad, or the iPad Mini ? IIRC, the iPAD Mini failed to impress anyone. The question asked was for 7" tablets.
Sorry, missed that bit at the end. But, overall I would even say the iPad Mini.
It misses on certain things, but is better on others, when rounded out I think it comes out on top. It'd be nice to see a retina one, but can't see it in the price range it currently is.
I would say the Kindle Fire HD, Nexus and iPad Mini are all very good devices, each has their annoyances and each has some great features the others don't. The Kindle Fire HD is a bit more focussed as an Amazon vending machine rather than general tablet and I still think Android is suffering on the tablets due to a lack of good design and development for their apps (it still seems to be phone apps upscaled rather than designed for the device).
If someone was on a very strict budget and would only every use a tablet for casual browsing or play some games, I'd say the Nexus. But it's nice to have the flexibility of some good, decent apps so that you use the tablet a bit more and most people I know (not a great sample I admit) start off with casual use, but soon end up putting on apps for various things (kids, reminders, productivity, etc) and that's where the iPad is the better device.