Thanks for taking the iPads, Kindles and Nooks! Oh My! class. I hope you find this outline helpful to you as a reference to the material we covered. I have included videos and links to various things I think you may find helpful. If you have any further questions don't hestiate to contact Mike.

Gift Giving Tips

Before purchasing a gift for someone make sure to find out what other gadgets they already own. Buying a Kindle for someone that already owns a Nook would probably not be the best gift to give that person.

If you don't live with the person you may want to call someone who does to gather some information.

Online Shopping Tips

According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse it is best to use a credit card while shopping online.

Tablets

There are numerous tablets available. In this class we are going to focus on the iPad, Kindle Fire, and Nook HD.

iPads

In the fall of 2013 Apple released the following iPads:

• iPad Air
• iPad mini with Retina Display

The iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display both have higher resolution screens, better graphics, and faster processors than previous iPads.

The iPad is a general purpose tablet. With approximately a millions apps you can customize your iPad to do basically whatever you want. I have seen people in all sorts of industries (medical, real estate, construction, education, photography, marketing, sales) incorporate the iPad into their daily workflow. School districts are buying students in their schools iPads to use in the classroom. Many people are buying iPads to replace their computers.

As you can see in the chart above there are numerous choices a person must make when it comes to purchasing an iPad.

• Which device?
• What size?
• Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + Cellular?
• Color?

Having used the iPad Air since the day it came out I would have to agree with the above quote. I believe that the iPad Air is the best large tablet you can buy. I chose the iPad Air for myself because I like the additional screen size making things easier to read and I find that the keyboard is easier to use compared to the iPad mini. The iPad Air received a 9.3 out of 10 from The Verge.

The iPad mini with Retina Display is just as fast and capable as it's bigger screen sibling and is a great option for anyone that wants a very capable tablet that is a bit easier to carry around in a bag or purse.

If you are looking to purchase an iPad mini with Retina display you may want to place your order sooner than later. They are in high demand and are limited in supply at the moment making it difficult to walk into a store and purchase one. I would recommend ordering from Apple's website and having it delivered to your home.

The iPad mini with Retina display received a 9.3 out of 10 from The Verge.

Both the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display have very high marks in reviews and have been well received by people that have bought them. I don't think you can go wrong with either of them. It simply boils down to whether you want a bigger screen or a smaller screen.

Learn more about the iPad Air on Apple's website. Learn more about the iPad mini with Retina Display on Apple's website.

Most people buy the iPad that has Wi-Fi. This allows them to connect to the internet at home, at the coffee shop, at the hotel, or any other public place that offers a Wi-Fi connection. If you have this particular model of an iPad, you would be unable to connect to the internet if you were a passenger in a vehicle, in the middle of the woods, or at a hotel where the Wi-Fi signal is out.

You can pay a small premium ($130) to add a Cellular connection to your iPad. You can then pay a monthly fee to be able to connect to the internet anywhere a cell phone signal exists. The data connection can be turned on and off depending on when you want to use it and you aren't charged a cancellation fee. This is a great option for people who travel!

If you choose to get a Wi-Fi + Cellular iPad you will have to choose which carrier you plan on using:

• AT&T
• Sprint
• T-Mobile
• Verizon

iPads come with a limited amount of storage. This storage is what holds your photos, songs, movies, television shows, apps, documents, etc.

How Much Does A GB store?

• 4,473 books (200 pages or 240,000 characters)
• 341 digital pictures (with 3MB average file size)
• 256 MP3 audio files (with 4MB average file size)

How Large Are Movies & TV Shows?

• HD Movie (2.5 hours) = approximately 5-6GB
• SD Movie (2.5 hours) = approximately 2-2.5GB
• HD TV Show (43 min) = approximately 1-1.5GB
• SD TV Show (43 min) = approximately .5-.6GB

For the first four iPads that I owned I would always purchase the 16GB model. I have found over the past year that I would often find myself in a situation where I would need to delete stuff on my iPad to free up some space so I could put new stuff on my iPad. I decided to purchase the 32GB model for myself when I purchased the iPad Air and I think that for most users a 32GB model would be sufficient.

If you are planning on using the iPad as a laptop replacement I would definitely recommend a 32GB or 64GB model. If you plan on using the iPad primarily to surf the web, check email, and read books I would recommend the 16GB model.

The iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display come in two different colors. They are Space Gray (black on front) and Silver (white on front).

The iPad Mini and iPad 2 are practically idential except for the size of the screen.

The two reasons that I would recommend an older iPad for someone is if they are mostly concerned about cost or if the iPad was for a kid.

Warranties For iPads

Here is some information about the warranty coverage on the iPads from Apple's website.

You can purhcase AppleCare+ for $99.

Where To Buy

You can purchase iPads at:

• Apple Store
• Best Buy
• Target
• Wal-Mart
• Sam's Club

Kindle Fire

Amazon is now selling four major models of the Kindle Fire.

• Kindle Fire HD 7"
• Kindle Fire HDX 7"
• Kindle Fire HD 8.9"
• Kindle Fire HDX 8.9"

Within each major model is some options. These options are:

• Size (8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB)
• Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi + Cellular

The prices listed below are with special offers which are ads that will appear on the screen of the Kindle Fire. You can remove them at any point for $15.

The Kindle Fire 7 inch is similar in size to the iPad mini.

The Kindle Fire 8.9 inch is similar in size to the iPad Air.

The Kindle Fire HDX has received good reviews. The 7 inch HDX received a 7.8 from The Verge and the 8.9 inch HDX scored a 7.6. The Kindle Fire HDX would be a great tablet for someone who primarily plans on consuming contect (video, boosk, tv shows, magazines) or someone who is looking for a less expensive tablet that is still pretty good.

It is also a good option for someone who wants a tablet with parental controls or someone that may needs a bunch of help via the "Mayday" feature.

The Mayday feature and parental controls are only on the Kindle Fire HDX. If I was buying a Kindle Fire for myself I would definitely spend the extra money and get the HDX over the HD.

Warranties For Kindle Fires

Amazon offers a 1-Year Limited Warrant on all Kindle Fires. You can purchase a 2-Year Extended Warranty for $45.

You can purchase the Kindle Fire at:

• Amazon.com
• Best Buy

Prices should be about the same at both locations. You don't have to pay tax on your purchases on Amazon.com which might save you a little bit of money.

Nook HD

In 2012, Barnes & Noble released the Nook HD and HD+. The Nook HD is similar in size to an iPad mini or Kindle Fire 7 inch and the Nook HD+ is similar in size to the iPad Air or Kindle Fire 9 inch. They are a good choice for someone who primarily wants to consume media (books, magazines, comics, video, etc).

Barnes & Noble did not update the Nook HD lineup for Fall 2013 like Apple and Amazon did with their tablets. On June 25th, 2013 they announced that the company plans to significantly reduce losses in the NOOK segment by limiting risks associated with manufacturing. This means that they will no longer develop new Nook tablets.

All models are offered as Wi-Fi only.

The Nook HD & Nook HD+ recieved okay reviews in 2012 when they were released. The Nook HD+ received a 6.8 on a scale of 1 to 10 from The Verge.

The handful of my clients that own a Nook HD or Nook HD+ have seemed to be pretty happy with it.

I would only recommend that someone purchase a Nook HD if they were just looking for a cheap tablet to read books and do the occasional thing on the web. It concerns me that Barnes & Noble is exiting the tablet game.

Warranties For Nook HD

All Nook tablets come with a 1-Year Warranty. You can purchase an extended warrant for $69.

You can purchase a Nook tablet at:

• Barnes & Noble
• Target
• Wal-Mart

Prices should be approximately the same at all locations.

There are a handful of different e-reader devices available. I will be focusing on the Kindle and the Nook in this class.

E-readers are a very focused device. You read books on them and that is about it. They are designed to give the best possible reading experience and thus for someone who wants to primarily read, they are a better choice than a tablet.

Both the Kindle and Kindle Paperwhite have been met with positive reviews. The Kindle Paperwhite received a 9 on a scale of 1-10 from The Verge. The Kindle received a 7.2.

The Kindle Paperwhite introduces a front light system so you can read when the room is dark. A couple great features of the Kindle E-Readers include:

• Long battery life (measured in weeks not hours)
• Light weight and very portable

I would typically recommend someone does not purchase the Kindle Paperwhite 3G model because you can download books before you go on a trip via Wi-Fi. The 3G model seems like an ideal product for someone who is going to be going overseas for an extended period of time and not have regular access to Wi-Fi. The 3G works overseas and there is no monthly cost to use it.

Just like the Kindle Fires, the Kindle E-Readers come with Special Offers. You can pay $20 to have them removed if you would like.

I love my Kindle that is not the Paperwhite. It doesn't have the built in light and it doesn't have a touch screen, but it was inexpensive and I have enjoyed countless hours of reading on it. You really can't go wrong either way.

Warranties For Kindles

All Kindle E-Readers come with a 1-Year warranty. You can get an extendended warranty for $25.

You can purchase the Kindle E-Readers at:

• Amazon.com
• Best Buy

Prices should be approximately the same at both locations. You don't have to pay sales tax on purchases from Amazon which might save a little money.

Both the Nook Simple Touch and Nook GlowLight have met with positive reviews. A couple great features of the Nook E-Readers include:

• Long battery life (measured in weeks not hours)
• Light weight and very portable

The Nook E-Readers do not come with advertisements like the Kindle E-Readers.

Note: The Nook Simple Touch GlowLight is last year's model of the Nook GlowLight at a discounted price.

I enjoyed using a Nook SimpleTouch a couple years ago when I purchased one to test out. I ultimately returned it because I was already invested in the Kindle ecosytem but I think it is a solid choice for someone looking for an e-reader. Barnes & Noble has said that they plan on making the Nook e-reader for the forseeable future.

Warranties For Nooks

All Barnes & Noble E-Readers come with a 1-Year warranty. You can get an extendended warranty for $20.

You can purchase the Nook E-Readers at:

• Barnes & Noble
• Best Buy
• Target
• Wal-Mart

Prices should be approximately the same at all locations.

Smartphones

If you walk into any cell phone store you will be quickly overwhelmed by the many options. The best selling smart phones are either made by Apple or run Android (multiple companies). Blackberry and Windows Phone 8 have not been doing very well in the marketplace.

When purchasing a smartphone you will want to consider the network that gives you the best coverage where you primarily use the phone. Plan cost is another thing to consider.

Smartphones typically require a data plan. I use my iPhone quite a bit and I average 1.7GB of data per month. I would anticipate that most people would use less than 2GB per month.

Below you will find information about the smartphones that I would recommend.

I own an iPhone 5S and I love everything about it. It is extremely fast, takes amazing photos, and has a selection of almost one million apps. I also like the fact that the screen is a bit smaller than some of the competition. I can use the iPhone 5S with one hand.

I use to own an iPhone 4S and I loved that phone as well. At this point I would encourage a person looking for a new iPhone to go with the iPhone 5S or an iPhone 5C

The iPhones are available on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon.

There are numerous Android based smartphones on the market. Many of them aren't very good. There are some that are very good though. I would recommend the following:

• Moto X
• HTC One
• Samsung Galaxy S4

Click on the name of the phone above to read a review.

iPods

Apple has dominated the portable music player industry for the past decade. There is currently no major competitors in this category.

Apple has four major models of the iPod. They are:

• iPod Shuffle
• iPod Nano
• iPod Classic
• iPod Touch

The iPod Shuffle is a great little music player for the person that wants to workout and doesn't care what song they listen to. The iPod Shuffle does not have a screen to select songs.

The iPod Nano is a great iPod for the person who likes to workout, but wants the ability to pick what music they are listening to. The iPod Nano also features built in FM tuner, a built in pedometer, and a touch screen.

The iPod Classic is the oldest of the iPod models. It has a ton of storage for those people with massive music collections.

The iPod Touch is a great iPod for someone who wants something like a smartphone without having to pay monthly data fees to a cell phone provider. It fits in your pocket and you can check email, play games, surf the web, take photos, and do everything an iPhone can minus the phone aspect. The iPod Touch is very popular with the preteen and teen age groups.

You can purchase iPods at:

• Apple Store
• Amazon.com
• Target
• Wal-Mart

Prices will be similar across the board. Stores often offer gift cards with the purchase of an iPod these days. It is worth checking the ads to see if there are any deals to be had.

Earbuds and Headphones

If you know someone that likes to listen to music, then a pair of earbuds or headphones might make for a great gift. They wear out over time and are easy to lose.

Based on my research the best $10 Earbuds are the Monoprice 8320. They can be purchased on Amazon.

The best $100 and under Earbuds are the Sony XBA-C101P.

The best Noise Canceling Headphones are the Bose Quiet Comfort 15. They cost $299 and can be purchased on [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Bose®-QuietComfort®-Acoustic-Cancelling®-Headphones/dp/B0054JJ0QW/ref=sr12?ie=UTF8&qid=1385571498&sr=8-2&keywords=Bose+Quiet+Comfort+15. You can also purchase them for the same price at the Bose Store at the Mall of America or at your local Best Buy.

Speakers

If you know someone that likes to listen to music around their house a portable speaker might make a great gift.

A great Wireless Speaker is the SoundLink Mini by Bose. This speaker allows you to stream music from your smartphone, tablet, or computer. You can purchase the SoundLink Mini from Amazon for $199. Your local Best Buy also carries this speaker.

In the living room there are a few gift ideas that might make sense for you. The first one is a Blu-Ray player. The cost for the players and the discs have come down significantly and Blu-Ray offers a superior movie experience compared to DVDs.

The Sony BDP-S5100 is a great choice for someone looking to purchase a Blu-Ray player.

The Play Station 3 is a video game console that has a Blu-Ray player and can play various kinds of video from the internet including Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube.

The Roku 3 and Apple TV are little boxes that plug into your television and allow you to watch video from various online sources including:

• Netflix
• Hulu Plus
• YouTube
• Amazon Instant Video (Roku only)
• PBS
• AND MANY MORE

For the person in your life that is interested in improving their health one of the following products might make for a great gift.

The FitBit Force is a device tracks how many steps you take, how many flights of stairs you climb, and your sleep quality. It can be purchased from FitBit for $99.

The FitBit Zip tracks how many steps you have taken. It is available from FitBit for $59.

Both devices can transmit data wirelessly to your computer which will upload to FitBit's website so you can see graphs and charts of your health metrics.

Nest, a company founded by the inventor of the iPod is creating some very interesting gadgets for the home.

The Nest Thermostat cost $249 and the Nest Protect cost $129.

Gift Cards

Since so many people have iOS devices (iPhones, iPods, and iPads) a gift card for iTunes can be a great gift. People can an iTunes Gift Card to purchase Apps, Songs, Movies, E-Books, Audiobooks, and Television Shows.

If the person you are purchasing a gift for has a Kindle, an Amazon gift card can be a great gift. Nook owners would appreciate a Barnes & Noble gift card.

If you know the person you are buying a gift wants a more expensive item and you can't afford to buy the item itself, a gift card to the appropriate store can be a great gift.