The holiday season is in full effect. For many, that means it is time to consider gifts for friends/family or even for ourselves. One of the more popular electronic gifts this year will be tablets. I’ve not talked much about them mainly because I haven’t had an overwhelming reason to get one for myself. With any product, we have to weigh the cost vs. the benefits to determine if it is a good fit. In my case, I just can’t think of many benefits of a tablet.

I have spent some time with friend’s tablets and that has given me a chance to find a few benefits, but I still find only a few things that I want from a tablet. From a tablet standpoint, I’ve only played with an iPad extensively. The one thing I know is that I will not buy an iPad because I don’t want to be locked into Apple for content. I do have an Android phone and really enjoy what it provides. It is certainly portable, but I would want a larger screen for many things and that is where a tablet comes into play.

As I considered jumping into the tablet game, Amazon’s Kindle Fire has caught my eye. Of course the price is significantly lower than other mainstream tablets at only $199. It is Android-based, though it is Amazon’s customized version of Android and that concerns me a bit. Would it be able to run all of the apps I desire or would my choices be limited by Amazon? It has a 7 inch screen and the iPad is 9.7 inches. I’m not sure I would be happy with the smaller screen.

Even with those limitations, the price may just sway me to the Kindle Fire. It would give me a chance to experiment with a tablet at a lower cost of entry and I could then move to something else down the road if I decide there is a need for a tablet in my life. Is the Kindle Fire right for you or someone on your gift list? Is there another tablet (besides the iPad) that has caught your eye? There is at least one more I’m considering and I’ll talk about it in a future post. I’d love to hear your ideas so feel free to comment on this post or add your thoughts on the Graphics Unleashed Facebook page.