A tablet? An ereader?

I watched my parents open their new Kindles this past Christmas with such glee that it pushed my own desire to have a tablet/ereader up ahead of schedule. Initially I was interested in Apple's much-lauded ipad. It could do all the things I would want from such a device: ereader software (Kindle, Nook, Overdrive, you name it), web browsing (for personal pleasure and also as a lightweight, portable way to showcase my portfolio website) and play movies (after the airport debacle I now owe a small portion of my calm and sanity to netflix.) Also, a huge bonus, I could buy it through work.

But that Kindle. It's so light-weight, sleek, simple. I found that very attractive, too. Not to mention reading on the beach. (Although, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I would not be likely to bring an expensive electronic device to the beach for pleasure reading: sand, moisture, theft... no, thanks.)

I learned about Barnes and Noble's Nook Color and started thinking it might be the next best thing. Something between the ipad and the Kindle. Color and with internet capabilities. Smaller and lighter than the ipad. And then there was the price. $250 with expandable memory (Nook) v. $499 to start (ipad).

I spent a day going back and forth between Best Buy and B&N and the last time I left Best Buy I was convinced. I was going to get the ipad. It's so shiny, so pretty, can do a million things and I can pay for it through work. I walked into B&N to erase the last doubts and instead found myself shelling out for the nook. When it comes right down to it, I don't want to hold something as big as the ipad to read a book while riding the bus. B&N has a SDK out for app development and that was enough to give me hope for netflix down the road.

So far, it's very pretty. I've loaded up on free books and started learning the ropes for borrowing ebooks from the library, too. The screen resolution is very good. It's comfortable to hold. My website looks awesome. B&N has a million titles and for wickedly  cheaper than paying for hard copies. So, I win.