3-On Your Side: Tablet Wars
By Jim Donovan
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Tablets are one of the hottest selling items this holiday season. But if you can't afford the Apple iPad, there are some that are significantly cheaper.
3-On Your Side's Jim Donovan takes a look at two new devices that are heating up the tablet wars.
It's seems everyone wants a tablet this year. The question is which one to buy?
Apple's highly respected iPad gets top ratings but many can't afford it.
That's exactly why some may turn to the new souped-up
E-readers, the Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet and the Amazon Kindle Fire.
RELATED LINK: CNET Review
They're half the price. But experts at CNET say they don't have the capability of an iPad.
"You're looking at products that have really chopped away a lot of features to hit a price point," said Donald Bell with CNET.
Amazon's kindle fire is $199 dollars. Barnes and Noble's latest Nook, the Nook Tablet is $249.
Both have 7-inch screens and only use wifi for web surfing and don't have cameras.
However, the experts at CNET say there are some differences.
The Nook Tablet offers more than twice the storage of the Kindle Fire.
"You're getting 16 gigabytes of storage if you really want to get a lot of videos and photos on there," said Bell.
And the Nook Tablet responded better to touch.
"They actually put in a dual core processor, we have the new vivid view screen which is unparalleled," said Andrew Widmann with Barnes and Noble.
You can get music on both, but CNET says it's easier on the Amazon Kindle Fire.
"They have their own mp3 store that's very popular, great selection of tracks. They also have a cloud service that lets you upload your entire music library," said Bell.
You can also download videos you buy at Amazon.
With the Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet, you can only stream rental videos with Netflix or Hulu.
As far as customer service is concerned, with Amazon you call or go online. Where Barnes and Noble Nook owners can stop into a store.
"We'll sit down with you and get you where you need to be," said Widmann.
But ultimately the choice will likely come down to one thing, what you can afford.
In the end, CNET gave the Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet a slightly higher rating, but says both offer a lot for the price.
