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  • Nook, Fire, or iPad: Which Should You Choose?
Technology Articles > Gadgets > Tablets > Nook, Fire, or iPad: Which Should You Choose?

Tablet PCs and eReaders are exciting new devices, that can revolutionize the way we access information and media while on the go. With three top competitors, it can be difficult to know which device will best suit your needs.

If you are looking for a simple eReader, then the Nook Tablet is the best choice for your needs and wallet (as many have discovered). However, if you're looking for a device to browse the web, send emails and function as an eReader, then the iPad 2 is the right do-it-all choice for you.

Nook Tablet

The biggest advantages of the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet, include its 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage space, both significantly more impressive than Amazon's Kindle Fire. The Nook Tablet starts out at $249, about $50 more expensive than the Kindle Fire. It features a 7-inch touch screen display with built-in WiFi and a microSD expansion slot.

Barnes & Noble offers a wide selection of digital books and magazines through the Nook Tablet, in addition to the developing Nook Store, which features thousands of apps including Netflix and Hulu Plus video streaming. The major down-side of the Nook Tablet is the lack of access to the full Android Market. If you require more storage space and selection is less of a priority, then the Nook Tablet will work great.

Kindle Fire

Amazon's Kindle Fire is a worthy competitor of the Nook Tablet. Although it has less storage space and RAM, the Kindle Fire holds a slight advantage in price and access to the Amazon marketplace. For $199, users can access Amazon's large digital collection of music, books, video and magazines. An Amazon Prime subscription will allow users to access even more features and content.

The Kindle Fire also offers impressive web browsing abilities, and access the the Android app store and its top streaming services, like Hulu, Netflix and Pandora. The only major down side to the Kindle Fire is its limited storage space, maxing out at 8 GB, less than half of the space provided by the Nook Tablet. If you require more selection and less storage space, then the Kindle Fire will work very well for your needs.

iPad 2

It is a bit difficult to compare the iPad 2 to the Nook and Kindle Fire tablets. All three are tablet PCs, but the iPad offers so much more than these glorified eReaders. The iPad runs on iOS 5, which claims to be the most advanced mobile operating system in the world, with dozens of built-in apps and more than 140,000 iPad apps available at the Apple App Store.

This groundbreaking tablet PC also includes two built-in camera lenses for video chat and photography. Because of these additional features, the iPad starts at double the price of the more expensive Nook Tablet, with a $499 price tag. If you're looking for loads of features and abilities and price is not an issue, then the iPad 2 is the perfect tablet for you.