The induction is much more powerful, However, make sure your pot is induction capable before buying the induction burner. If a kitchen (or other) magnet grips tightly to the bottom, you are good to go..

I need a second opinion to be sure.

Also, will there be a significant difference in power between a 1300 and 1400 watt induction burner?

I think its worth it to go the extra dollars if you can for the most powerful portable you can find. I have a cooktek 1800 watt and while it boils water much faster that my 15000K gas burner, I can't wait to get my built in so I have more power. If you dont want to spring for the cooktek, get the 1400 sunpentown.

I have cooked on the top of the line Mr. Induction (same as SunPentown) for about a year. It is not necessarily faster than an electric burner. The size of the hob is small, and with a large pot, like a 12 qt canning pot, the bottom of the pot is far beyond the hob. In a race to boil water, the large coil burner on my nearly dead stove boils a big pot of water faster than the induction. Sorry, I cannot be of any help with the electric or gas single units.

I just got a 1300W Fagor Portable Induction unit to use during my kitchen remodel but also to have as a spare burner. I did do some testing of the unit for boiling water. You can read my results at my post here:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg0409504031358.html

Basically I think a full powered induction unit with 1800-3600W would have no problems boiling 12 qts of water. The portable units however, will take a lot more time and may not accommodate the pot size you need. My portable unit's hob can take up to a 10 inch diameter pot. I was able to boil 6qts of water in an 8qt pot in about 20 min but that is certainly not what I would call speedy.

I love the induction and can't wait to get my full size drop in Thermador unit installed later this month. For the purposes you are looking to use a portable unit for, I would definitely look for the higher wattage units even if it costs a little more.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Fagor Portable Induction Unit

I second the vote for induction over a portable electric. I have a Viking 1800 watt that I bought refurbished, it's 1800 watts, which is the highest power that will plug in to a wall outlet. It beats the living daylights out of all but the biggest burner on my Jennair smoothtop. I love cooking on induction, it's fast and clean and incredibly responsive. You wouldn't want to use a portable for canning, but for cooking food while you use your regular stove for canning, I'd say it would work just fine.

Cj