Walking on the beach in Provincetown last summer, I was struck by the number of boomer-aged women I saw reading on tablets, mostly Kindles. Every woman I asked raved about the ability to carry a bunch of books in a small, portable format. Back at the cottage, my iPad had come in handy for checking e-mail and making restaurant reservations. Who knew we needed these things? Is it time for you to buy a tablet? Probably. But which one? And how much are you willing to pay? Does the new Kindle Fire change the tablet game?

Like all tech decisions, the answer is, it depends. We've put together a set of links here to help you decide

First, a roundup. CNET's Donald Bell walks you through the choices and the considerations. 

Here's the most recent CNET review of the top tablets, with pros and cons of each.

Where does the tablet fit in your professional life? Gerry Purdy, principal analyst with MobileTraxLLC, offers this prediction:

It seems clear to me that tablets will become a "must have" for technology savvy individuals this year and then migrate into the enterprise market next year. By 2012, I expect tablets to be part of what I refer to as "the three mobile device world," which includes a notebook PC/Mac, SmartPhone and tablet.

You talk and review with the SmartPhone, think and reflect with a tablet, and create and explore with a notebook/Mac. 

(My iPad has made me more productive during "downtime," like my one-hour commute; way easier to do e-mail on the bigger screen than a smart phone.)

So where do you start? If you're just looking for a book reader, the choices are pretty simple: Amazon's Kindle or Barnes and Nobles' nook. (Or maybe not. The iPad2 offers some great reading options as well, and you can now get the Kindle Reader App that enables you to access Kindle formatted material on any gadget.) Here's an argument favoring the Kindle over the iPad.

The Kindle Fire  is hitting just in time for Christmas. It's cheaper, about half the price of an iPad, and got way more features than the original Kindle. But. Here's what tech guru Walt Mossberg has to say about it.  Here's a roundup of reviews from the Atlantic.

Mossberg sums up in his lede:

It’s often said that there isn’t really a tablet market, just an Apple iPad market with a bunch of other contenders fighting over the remnants. But, starting this week, that is likely to change, because Amazon is adding a multifunction color tablet to its popular Kindle line that costs less than half as much as an iPad 2.

Here's Walt's bottom line on the Kindle Fire compared to other products:

Bottom Line

At $199, and with Amazon’s content ecosystem behind it, the Fire is an attractive alternative for many people who might otherwise have bought an iPad or another Android device, especially if their principal interest is content consumption.

The Nook Tablet also is worth considering, though it lacks a music and video ecosystem.

 You can read more of Walt Mossberg's columns here. He's probably the best source out there on tech topics.

If you want to do more, like check e-mail, browse the web, share photos and documents in a readable format, read the ever-expanding number of magazines and newspapers with digital apps, and even shoot photos and Skype, then it's a tablet, and you should just bite the bullet.  (I've been using the iPad 2, and, though I'm not a nut about it, my new favorite toy is the Flipboard app, which brings in content from dozens of magazines.) 

If you're a Mac person,  you've already bought the deliciously seductive iPad 2.

If you're buying for your parent and she wants more than a reader, the Mac system is the easiest, super-intuitive system to buy for her. It takes a bit to get used to the touchpad, but hey, if the Queen has one, then your mother should have one, right? She can read books, get at Facebook and access pictures of the grandchildren without driving you crazy. (Although you may want to save yourself a little stress by sending her a Tech Care Package from Google.) 

The Chicago Sun-Times' Andy Ihnatko helps you decide which one to buy. 

If you're undecided, or thinking about changing operating systems,  read this post from GottaBeMobile, which explores the pros and cons of each.

Windowsian have some other choices, including the Galaxy Tab from Samsung and products announced from Dell (Slate) and RIM (BlackBerry PlayBook).

Here's  Gerry Purdy's take  on several products: 

The Kindle
If you only want to read a book, the Kindle will meet your needs. The latest offering includes a 6-inch black-and- white display that provides higher contrast than previous models. It includes Wi-Fi & free 3G to download books from any location in the world and costs $189. There’s a Wi-Fi only version for $139, but I recommend spending $50 more to get one with built-in 3G.

Amazon has the largest book collection, so the Kindle is a great gift for someone who’s an avid book reader and not likely to want the advanced features of a tablet. (See above updates for news on the Kindle Fire.)

The nook
The next step up is the Barnes & Noble nook, which now includes a color display. They have announced support for a number of magazines that predominantly include color diagrams and photos. This isn’t a full tablet, as it doesn’t support an OS like Apples iOS or Google’s Android, but it greatly expands the classes of content that can be displayed on a tablet device. This first version of the color nook only has Wi-Fi, but I expect you’ll see a color nook with 3G cellular wireless, since 3G is already provided in older nook models.

The iPad 2
The iPad 2 has 10-inch display, and the Apple App Store features thousands of applications designed specifically for the iPad.  

The iPad has two great ways to read books: 1) iBooks (formatting method for just the iPad that is cool - pages flip graphically) and the iBook Store (library of iPad- enhanced books like iTunes provides a library of music and videos) and 2) Amazon Kindle Reader for the iPad so you can get all of Amazon's digital books (millions of them) on your iPad. All the books I have read on the iPad came out of the Amazon/Kindle library because it has significantly more titles.

I have found the iPad to be a much different experience than I thought it would be. First, it’s much more of a ‘pass around’ kind of device that is different from either an iPhone or a notebook/Mac. It’s easy to access photos or other things and just pass it to someone.  

The music site Pandora works well with the iPad, because it has good speakers. We sometimes just play background music, since Pandora creates channels based on the music you like.

E-mail is easier on the iPad than the iPhone simply because it’s easier to see and much easier to type a reply. It doesn’t replace Outlook on the Mac/PC notebook, but still it’s easier to manage than with a phone.  

I like the Amazon book store on the iPad, as it has all the books that are available with the Kindle. I suspect you’ll find that you can get books from Amazon (download the Amazon/Kindle app for the iPad), as well as some books from the iBook store, and end up just not needing the Kindle. If you have an older Kindle and are getting a new tablet like the iPad, give the Kindle to someone else who would enjoy reading books.

Just like with the iPhone, you sync up the iPad via "Apple connector" to your notebook (Windows or Mac). You can then transfer files, photos and videos through the connector and using iTunes. All your iTunes content is immediately available on your iPad -- which is nice (and not available on the Samsung Galaxy). And, you can make phone calls with the iPad using Skype and Wi-Fi.

The iPad will display PDF documents, allowing you to view them when out with friends or business associates.  I use it with other people showing them PDF versions of presentations or documents or photos all the time. You'll be amazed that it becomes your group meeting interactive, pass-around device.

The Galaxy Tab
The Galaxy Tab has a smaller screen, at 7 inches, but it feels very comfortable holding and carrying it around. It has a camera, MicroSD slot for additional storage, and supports Adobe Flash -- thus easily displaying any web site that utilizes Flash technology.  It can also be used to set up a mobile hotspot.

The Galaxy Tab is definitely "better" (meaning, it offers more features) than the iPad, but it's just coming out.  Both have wireless with Wi-Fi built in, but I would recommend getting any tablet with 3G, as I have found you need access at times when Wi-Fi isn’t available. You can sign up for their least expensive wireless data plan, but make sure you use Wi-Fi for large downloads and apps like Pandora (streaming music), which consume a lot of bandwidth.  

The Motorola Xoom

The Xoom is coming on strong. Here's Eldergadget's review of the latest Motorola offering, which asks the question: Is it an iPad killer? 

And that's the thing. Like every other tech tool, the tablet market is always changing. So do the research, check the stores and see what feels right.

And remember the physics of buying technology:  the price goes down as soon as you've bought it. 

Read more:

PCWorld offers these reviews of tablets and technologies.

CNET offers reviews and a buying guide. 

Eldergadget keeps up with tech for boomers and their parents. 

Tech and the Baby Boomer keeps up on tech and social media.

                                                                         --B.J. Roche