FWIW, I like 33mail.com quite a bit.

I had a weak moment. I found a cheap HP Touchpad, and I bought it.

This makes four tablets I've handled--the iPad, Galaxy Tab, Thrive, and the Touchpad. I'm startled by how much the form factor varies between the first two and the latter two, but if I'd used either of them first, I wouldn't be thinking much about it.

The Thrive especially feels like it's supposed to feel that size. But the Touchpad is finished like the Tab or the iPad, so it feels oddly thick.

However, OS oops! What's integrated with WebOS looks plenty slick. I'm not mad at the OS. But, oh, mass developer support is what it's all about. Because I can't find anything else. This stock calendar is prettier than anything I've seen on iOS or Android, but there's nothing else to run on it! Anything I'm curious about, comes at cost.

My plan is to use it as a media player, and yeah, I was probably going to dual boot CM9 anyway, but I did want to see how far I could go to that end in WebOS, and...nope. Still looking for an AVI player. I found uPNP, but I've been storing in AVI for Android this whole time. So far, I don't even think I can play the same formats on both tablets.

So maybe I'll be installing CM9 sooner than I'd thought.

Talk to me about the Kindle. I'm debating between the touch version and the base model. (I have an iPad so I don't see a need for the Fire, and I'm not a big note taker so I don't think the keyboard option is needed either - but if I'm missing something let me know.

The one advantage I see on the touch is the 3G capability. But from a use standpoint, anyone have strong opinions on the base v. the touch?

I've never used the base, but after using the Touch, I don't understand why anyone would want to push buttons to turn pages. It's so much easier to just tap/swipe the screen. Plus, the Touch has more memory.

I don't have either model, just chiming in on page turning--the button on my Nook is simpler than swiping or tapping in the Nook app on my tablet. Because I can just keep my hand there and it's a really small, regular movement.

I love my 3rd gen Kindle with buttons, but it has Wifi and 3G. Given a choice between buttons and 3G, I'd go with the ability to download books on the beach.

The Kindle Fire is really just a scaled-down iPad locked to the Amazon marketplace. If what you're looking for is primarily an e-reader for text (not graphic novels or comics), I'd go with one of the e-ink Kindles.

The Fire has some glare on the screen, doesn't play well with non-mobi formats, and the battery life is much shorter than an e-ink Kindle, as well.

For a touchpad to check your email or read the board or do some reading on, the Fire is okay except that it doesn't have 3G, so it's only good as a browser if you have wifi access.

I have a 3rd gen Kindle that has 3G. And buttons. (And ads, but, you know, a gift.) It usables fine.

I like my Touch, I've never used one with buttons, so I can't compare that. I have used the 3G part, though. I had disconnected my modem and router trying to fix a problem and then went to bed (and forgot what I did). I'd gotten a bunch of free books on Amazon and wanted to download them so it just switched to 3G and it was fairly fast.

the battery life is much shorter than an e-ink Kindle, as well.

The battery life on the base Kindle (mine is *not* 3G) is extremely long if wifi is turned off. And the e-ink/lack of glare is excellent. Although I don't like that I can't adjust the contrast of the screen, and I wish there were an option for backlighting.

That said, I don't like the buttons to turn the pages. I always think that *both* buttons on the right turn to the next page, and both buttons on the left go back a page. Which is not true. I like the Kindle app on my iPod Touch better, because poking the screen seems more intuitive.

That said, the Kindle was a gift, so I'm not slagging its existence or anything. I'm just apparently less button-intuitive than I thought.