If not the ipad then what instead?

[rocketpig]

Metallicube said:

I've been wanting to get a tablet for awhile also to occupy my long boring hours on the train, but not sure of which to take the plunge on.. I've been pretty dead set on the Ipad for awhile, but hearing/reading some info lately, this topic included, I'm starting to get the impression that there are plenty of suitable tablets that are comparable or even superior to the Ipad in many ways while being a fraction of the price.

I think after skimming through this topic I'm torn between either the Kindle Fire at $200 or a refurbished Ipad 2 at $350. Until my summer job starts up I'm on a pretty limited budget so obviously the Kindle Fire seems like the better choice from that perspective. I also appreciate its slightly more compact nature. But on the other hand, it seems like the Fire is better suited for reading books/magazines, and my main purpose for a tablet is going to be for web browsing, movie watching, and maybe the occasional gaming, which is seems like the Ipad is more designed for, so I'm pretty split. In anyone who has used both/either device can give their take with these factors in mind I'd appreciate it. Like is the Kindle Fire pretty simlar to the Ipad in quality, at least considering the price?

Spend the extra $150 and buy the iPad. I cannot stress this enough, especially since you'll want that extra screen for browsing.

The Fire is great but its hardware in inadequate and it's not even running a tablet version of Android. If you can afford more than $200 and want to do more than read books on the thing, there are vastly superior options available.

Hell, if all you want is something for browsing, you can find Moto Xooms out there for $250-300. At least that is a Honeycomb tablet, though don't let anyone tell you it's a better tablet than the iPad. It's not. There isn't a better tablet out there than iPad.