CNET has a 3-minute video that bills itself as a “Buyer’s Guide” for tablets and e-readers, though it primarily focuses on tablets, and mostly the more expensive tablets—the iPad, the Galaxy S, and Sony’s Android tablet (which I hadn’t heard of before). It paints this trio of $499 tablets as the main attraction for buyers this holiday season, then spends a little time discussing the Amazon Kindle and Kindle Fire as alternatives.

In the video, CNET’s Donald Bell refers to the Kindle Fire as a “good enough product”—essentially a device that will work well as an e-reader and media viewer for people who can’t afford an iPad, though not something you would want to “take to work and use as a laptop replacement.” The video points to CNET’s holiday gift guide for a more in-depth look at the various contenders.

The video is a bit shallow, but it’s interesting to see all the tablets held and used in the hands of the reviewers. It gives more of a feel for their size than just seeing them in pictures alone. It’s pretty obvious that e-readers and tablets will be an even hotter item this Christmas than last Christmas, and it will be interesting to see what the e-publishing landscape looks like next year after everyone who got them for Christmas starts using them.

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