Ah. To Be Young, Poor, and Interested in Technology...

OK, I'm not really poor, but I feel safe saying that I cannot justify the purchase of an iPad. It's not the price so much as the price plus the fact it is not a necessity. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I wonder how much I would actually use it after the initial excitement wore off. Especially if it was Wi-fi only and not 3G (because 3G costs another $100+ for just the tablet, and then there's the data plan). So I began to explore options of cheaper tablets.

With all the hoopla surrounding the Kindle Fire, I really got to looking into it. I was getting really interested in it... but then I heard about Barnes and Noble's new Nook Color tablet coming out, and I looked into it. I researched and researched and fell into the following pattern:
I really want a Fire.
I want a Nook.
I want a Fire.
I might want a Nook.
I just want a freaking iPad!
Oh, Dell Inspiron Duo! (the marriage of a netbook and a tablet)

Yeah, those last two things came in after I stopped caring about the dollar amount and thought about what I wanted. But again, is the iPad actually worth $250 more than the Nook (for the usage I would actually get out of it)? (The answer is no) Would I really carry around a tablet that weighs 3 pounds? (The answer is no)

But now I'm thinking Nook again, and here's why:
- It has more physical storage on it than Fire. Fire technically has a ton of storage thanks to it backing everything up on the Cloud, which is cool, but what if I am somewhere without Internet (like in the car) and I want to watch a movie? Fine if it's actually on my Fire, but not if it's just on the Cloud.
- Amazon Prime is a much better deal than Netflix + Hulu Plus (apps than B&N boast come preloaded on Nook). But guess what? I won't use Prime or Net-Hulu enough to justify paying for them. And I don't have to pay for them just because they're available. This leveled the playing field when it came to the money issue when I decided I did not need these subscription services.
- I can go to the physical Barnes and Noble for Nook support. I know Amazon would take care of me if I had a problem, but this would be easier.
- Nerd alert: It has preloaded Sudoku on there as a game (at least old Nook Color does, so I'm hoping the new one does). I have a Sudoku app on my iPod I hate, so I thought this would be more simple than having to find the perfect Sudoku app (assuming it is actually decent, but I would imagine it would be). This ought to motivate me to play again.

Ultimately, this is what I want in a tablet:
- The ability to watch video without Wi-Fi connection.
- The ability to get on the Internet with a Wi-Fi connection (would prefer 3G, but I'm hoping in a year I'll finally jump on the smart phone bandwagon).
- The ability to load and read my Word documents without Wi-Fi connection (pretty sure Nook has that capability but I am going to double check).
- Enjoy a few games (I know they have Sudoku and that I can get the Scrabble app, so that's a good start).
- Super easy to carry around with me.
- And hopefully, the inspiration to read more. Even though I adore paper books, I imagine it is easier to just download a book and read it on a device that is smaller than a paperback. I will still buy actual copies of anything I just love, but this may motivate me to branch out a little in my reading choices (especially if the price is right or I can borrow it through the lending option).

I may change my mind tomorrow, but I do feel like I am thinking clearer now after some distractions and confusion. Anybody else considered any of these options and have thoughts?