I Think I Want A Tablet

Tablets seem to be all the rage these days since all the n00bs are gushing over the iPad 3. If you're reading this from an iPad right now and have no idea what a n00b is just trust that the moniker is well deserved. :)

Ok, cutting the snark seriously. Ever since I read this article about the Kindle Fire, my views on tablets have softened a bit.

Check out that Sexy Beast (and I'm not referring to the X-Men character Beast who isn't even in this shot).

 Here's the deal.  My smartphone has proved itself a gateway drug for tablets.  Don't get me wrong, I still love my mini laptop.  As a Renegade Geek on the go it's invaluable.  Problem is there are some quick things I'd like to do without having to fire it up.  For that I rely on my smartphone.  But my smartphone is showing it's age.  When the Facebook app started working at a crawling pace, I knew the browsing potential of my smartphone had jumped the shark.  My smartphone simply doesn't have stuff to keep up with this fast paced touch based market.  Plus it doesn't help that I only have room to store Words For Friends as my only game.

There's another service I'd like to be able to use on the go as well: Netflix.  My smartphone is too old to use the new Android app.  My netbook wasn't designed be Netlfix friendly (it's the screen resolution). 

There's one special feature though that really appeals to me and if you've been following my blog you know what that is.  The price!  When the Kindle Fire first hit the market, it was intentionally sold at a break even/loss price because Amazon had hopes that the content available to the device would pay for it.  Well, it has.  In spades.

Now for my dilemma.  The bug is itching me now but the tablet market is really ready to blow up right now (in a good way).  Take this report that Google is ready to enter the fray.  Even if that's down the line, ASUS working on a $250 quad-core tablet gives me some incentive to wait.

What do you guys think?  Anyone out there a Kindle Fire user?  I'll see how much longer I can contain myself until I learn a bit more.