Kindle, IPad or good old desktop?

I gave my husband an iPad 2 and he loves it, but he's a Mac kinda guy. I have a smaller (7") tablet that runs on an android platform and I'm more than happy with it (fits in my purse and has all my 'stuff' on it -- I like my stuff, too )

If you have a lot of 'stuff', be mindful that the Kindle Fire has 8 gigs of memory and isn't expandable (maybe not a big deal to most people). If you're even moderately tech-savvy, it wouldn't take much to break out of Amazon's walled garden, but there's still the limited storage capacity thing (Amazon does give you free access to their cloud, though).

There are so many options these days with the explosion in the tablet market. I'm sure you'll get tons of user recs -- or just browse the techy sites like endgadget and others that are constantly reviewing these devices and introducing the newest ones.

Check out CNET's buying guide and reviews for tablets and pads. They have test results and user reviews and comparisons between all the major brands.

Personally, I like something a bit bigger than a pad. I have a Sony Vaio laptop that I take with me everywhere. It plays my music, I watch DVDs on it, surf the net, type a ms entry and store it on a CD if I don't want to keep it just on the hard drive (or don't want to over-burden hard-drive memory). The battery pack, fully charged, gives me about two hours of stored power w/o need to plug it in anywhere. If an outlet is available, I generally do plug it in, however, just to keep the battery charged. Right now I'm having a McCafe at the local McDonald's in my neighborhood which offers free WiFi from ATT. You see me on the street, there's usually a canvas computer shoulder-bag I'm carrying.

Like I say, this is just a personal prference. Working on this lap-top feels pretty much just like working on a desk-top model. But, again, I'm no mayven on the subject.

I bought both the Ipad and Nook for Christmas presents this year so I've been doing some research. If you are going for a 7" tablet, get the Nook tablet for $250 instead of the Kindle Fire for $200. Better graphics, expandable memory, free support and any Barnes and Noble. The Ipad 2 is probably your best bet for a 10" tablet but the $400 ASUS Transformer is an Android platform tablet that plugs into a keyboard and becomes a netbook. Good reviews. I was very tempted for my wife but I know she will like the Ipad better.

Thanks guys..keep the good ideas coming.
I am leaning towards something bigger but not over bearing to pack around.
I also like the idea of something being expandable - I need lots of room for pictures alone.
I think Id really like the feel of something that could be like a laptop but be more easily portable.
Maybe keep looking for the next year till something catches up with what I'm looking for? hahaha.

If I finally upgrade my cell phone to something not so backa$$wards technology wise I think I may change my requirements for portable computer as well. Anyone have thoughts on that?

I love my netbook and picked it up off ebay for all of 80 dollars and it run anything that it big brother desktop is able to.

Im going to try not to buy crappy used crap off ebay for a while and just save for something new but..I hear ya.

]I been almost always completely happy over my purchases on ebay over the years.

Oh new is not away better even in electronic devices for example I far prefer the now very old Zen Xtra mp3 player with it large hard drive to any of the newer non hard drives mp3 players on the market or computers that come with XP rather then windows 7.

An ipad or android tablet would be perfect for this kind of use. I think a notebook/laptop is way too much if this is all you're going to use it for.

I prefer my Dell MP3 player but the thing is dead now so..Im at a loss and actually leaning towards an Apple product..someone shoot me.

I prefer XP as well

Thats my whole thing...should I go laptop for all my stuff and almost scrap my desktop completely or should i do a tablet or ipad thing...or maybe a combo phone ipad thing...I dont know. Sigh.

Laptops because of the design limits do not do as well as desktops in prolong and heavy use.

For one thing laptops run hotter then desktops by many tens of degrees and that alone shorten their life compare to desktops.

Laptops because of the design limits do not do as well as desktops in prolong and heavy use.

For one thing laptops run hotter then desktops by many tens of degrees and that alone shorten their life compare to desktops.

I think Kindles (ereaders) shouldn't be confused with tablet computers at all. I read books a lot. I use a Kindle for that these days. I also spend time on iphone or laptop doing things like this. I'd like to do that on a tablet, so will probably get one at some point. But it won't replace Kindle for reading books.

Well, like I said, if all of your stuff amounts to email, web surfing, music and pics, a tablet is the way to go.

Has anyone seen the laptop with the swivel screen that turns into a tablet? I've seen some cool things but - forget where and by who when I want to go back and find them.

That reminds me, Ugh... not only am I weak and unable to lift as much weight as I used to but my PC speakers sound like crap. Windows vista and my new motherboard did not like my old 2.1 speakers with a subwoofer so I'm using crappy old ones. Time for a nice new 5.1 system.

The Kindle Fire has expanded functionality more like an iPad. Full color, wifi, multitouch, etc.