New Kindle
Although tablets are fast replacing standalone e-readers, there are still plenty of us who simply deem a dedicated e-book reader a worthy investment. Amazon has now made it easier for bibliophiles to lay their hands on its best-selling Kindle e-reader.
The good news is that now you do not need to wait for Amazon to ship the reader to you. You can simply pop into a Carphone Warehouse store or Best Buy location and snap a Kindle for yourself. Both the store chains have already stocked up on this third generation reader. Kindle 3 features a 6 inch screen and comes sans backlight. This ensures that it does not produce any glare even in the bright light.
I may totally love my first gen iPad but it certainly does not match the performance of a dedicated e-reader, especially if you have to read for a long time or in the bright sunlight. At £111, consider me sold on Kindle reader.
Motorola Xoom
Since you have already dipped into your pocket for buying this e-reader, you might want to spring for Motorola Xoom as well. While we are still iffy about the release date of Wi-Fi only version, a Staples flyer seems to be alluding towards a March 27 launch date for the devices in the US.
Motorola Xoom was arguably the most highly anticipated tablet, but its sales figure seems to be lukewarm so far. Although, there are many factors which may be deemed responsible for its underwhelming sales number, I would be placing my bets on its high pricing being the most disappointing feature. Other factors such as the shipment of the tablet without Flash ability and 4G did not help either.
Although, it can be argued that the price of a Motorola tablet is only marginally higher than comparable iPad, but Apple has done pretty well for itself by providing lower priced entry level models. Motorola seems to have learnt this lesson and thus has priced its Wi-Fi only version at more reasonable $599.98 point. Although, you will lose out on eventual 4G connectivity, but it is a good choice for people who do not want to deal with yet another data plan. By the way, the Wi-Fi only version is likely to hit the UK market on April 9, 2011.