I have owned iPads exclusively since they came out and loved each of them. My mom has a Kindle, which she enjoys and which I've played with quite a bit. I very much prefer the iPad. It is faster, has more apps and feels more substantial. Of course, it is pricer. Depending on what your husband wants to use the tablet for ("tablet" is the general term for all of these type of devices), will help decide which one you should buy. They almost all can do the basics - read books, surf the web, check e-mail, watch movies. The iPad has a much wider availability of apps - small programs on the machine that do various tasks, such as word processing, games, etc., and that's a big advantage to me.

If you want to use the tablet in the car or mall (anyplace that does not have wi-fi) you WILL have to buy a separate data plan, either through your cell phone carrier or separately. I don't know about other carriers, but Verizon allows you to purchase a month by month data plan for around $20 per month. You can cancel at anytime without a penalty. Alternatively, if you have a cellphone with a data plan, you may have the ability to use the cellphone as a "hot spot" and wirelessly tether the tablet to the phone and use the phone's data plan on the tablet. This can eat up data quickly on your phone plan so you want to make sure you are aware of any data caps that exist on your cellphone data plan. This can work OK unless your phone carrier doesn't permit data and voice calls at the same time, in which case your data connection would drop every time a phone call came through. So, just a few things to consider.

Try to post back with what you think your husband would primarily use the tablet to do and we can give you better feedback on what device might be best and most cost effective for you.

I have both. They run on different operating systems. IPads use IOS7 now and tablets are Android based. Both come in versions that are WiFi only or 3G/4G as well for an additional cost. I use it mainly at home or restaurants & hotels that have WiFi, so I don't need the upgraded cellular models. Since they do virtually the same things, the size is more important. You get what you pay for. You can get older tablets in the under a hundred but you will not be happy. A larger one makes it easier to surf but I find the smaller size is best for book reading in bed - so I have both. There are a lot more apps that are Apple based but Androids are catching up. I found IPads have an easier learning curve but it may be that I started with them first.

i was sort of considering buying an iPad, until I read a review of the new Kindle Fire HDX.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kindle HDX Poses Real Threat to iPad Dominance

An iPad is a tablet :) There are loads of tablets out there. Samsung, Nexus and Kindle are all getting some good reviews on C-NET (outside of an iPad). It's a site I use whenever I am spending $ an electronics. A sort of Consumer Reports for electronic software and hardware.

We just got a Nook yesterday. We've been looking. It's an "entry" type of tablet as it has a good price point, but yet it has plenty! 9-inch screen and 16GB memory. I think it cost me a total of $160 with shipping and a blue tooth keyboard/stand. It is refurbished. We have wifi at home, so one more piece of equipment doesn't matter.

It probably depends on what you want it to do and how much you might want to spend.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: CNET review of tablets

Thank you for the feedback and the link, I will take some time to review. Hubby would probably want to use this at home with games and surfing the internet. I would like to have it with us for those times when we are out and about comparison shopping, traveling etc. Some organization apps would be nice as well. He's hinted at the IPad so I think that's where I will start researching. Thank you again for your feedback.

Good replies here! As was said, you will incur extra expense if you want to use the 3G to access the internet away from any accessible wifi, like home. If you have an iphone, that already has the 3G access and you could use that while away from home. Also easier to carry when out and about.

I have an ipad and really like it. I'm sure other tablets are good as well, just different. There are couple other expenses you might want to take into consideration when you figure out the cost. A cover to protect the device, and some people like the small attachable keyboard which you can get. The popup keyboard is a "hunt and peck" sort of thing.

Sounds like your DH would love an ipad.

And the main difference is:

Do you like the Ipad or do you like the Kindle :)

I have two kindles and I love them both, I have a fire and a keyboard.

I use the KF for nite time reading (pretty much all the time reading) and my Kindle keyboard for reading outdoors.

I have apps, on my Kindle fire and I don't have any screen comparissons vs the Ipad except what I've looked at in Sams and they don't appear to be any different. Screen resolution seems the same.

Another vote for the Kindle :)

The differences between the systems don't matter for the average user. Hardware features among the better systems (excluding the models built to be just cheap) are comparable.

Some people like Apple products and Apple's approach to the user experience, some don't. An Ipad is like a big Iphone. If you like one, you'll like the other. Note that Apple products are (on average) more expensive than what competitors sell, I personally don't think they're worth the premium.

I'm much happier with Android devices, but Apple has hundreds of millions of happy repeat customers. Good for them, they produce products people love.