Deciding Whether to Buy a Tablet or a Color E-Reader

Tablets offer a new way to browse the Internet, as the touch-sensitive devices can make reading, browsing and watching movies much more fun. However, they're expensive, with the most popular models like the Apple iPad and the Asus Eee Transformer starting around $500.

Over the last year, two of the biggest e-reader manufacturers have introduced new readers that take aim at the tablet market. The Kindle Fire and the Barnes And Noble Nook Tablet are both more tablet than e-reader, with full color touchscreens, web browsers and video streaming apps from services like Netflix. They're also much less expensive than standard tablets, as the Kindle Fire is $200 and the Nook Tablet is about $250.

However, there are a few key things to keep in mind when choosing between a tablet and a color e-reader like the Kindle Fire.

Power. First of all, neither the Kindle Fire nor the Nook Tablet are capable of running powerful apps, and although both can handle simple games like Angry Birds with no problems, they're not going to be able to do much more. The Kindle Fire has 512MB of DRAM and the Nook Color has 1GB of DRAM. Both use a dual-core TI OMAP4 1GHz processor, which really won't be breaking any speed records anytime soon.

If those numbers mean nothing to you, just realize that color e-readers aren't built for speed. They might occasionally lag during web browsing and they'll never be able to run the fastest Android apps, but they're more than sufficient for reading, listening to music and watching movies.

Functionality. There's also a question of functionality, although if you're looking for a truly versatile computer, you'd do best to get a laptop and avoid all of this tablet & e-reader stuff in the first place. Tablet-style devices tend to run Google Android and other simple, consumer-friendly operating systems, and while systems like Apple's iOS have inspired thousands of awesome apps, a standard laptop will have better overall functionality for computer users who know how to use them.

With that being said, many tablets have optional keyboards and can basically serve as netbooks if necessary. Don't expect to find optional keyboards for your e-reader. If you want to do anything productive or explore thousands of awesome apps, a tablet might be the better device for you.

Storage. The Kindle Fire has 8GB of storage space, which isn't expandable. The Nook Tablet has 16GB and does offer a microSD expansion port.

Most tablets like the iPad will offer anywhere from 8GB-64GB of storage space. Remember that most video content available on the devices can be streamed, so you might not actually need much space. If you're planning on using your new gadget to hold all of your music and videos, however, your best bet is to go with the Nook Tablet or choose a larger, more capable tablet that isn't a dedicated e-reader.

Think about how you'll use your new tablet or e-reader. The bottom line is that the new e-readers are extremely capable devices, and while they might not have enough power for some tech-heads, they're more than enough for the average reader who wants a little something more.