what is a tablet and what can you do with it?

Okay, time to confess: I really have no idea how any computers work at all, therefore the idea of choosing a tablet is totally mystifying. Also, exploring any kind of technology review make my eyes glaze over, but I'm motivated today so I thought I'd do a little research, in case a miracle happens and I win the lottery (or a tablet).

I tried a kobo, and found it was like trying to read off a piece of sludgy newspaper. Of course an ipad would be wonderful, but it costs more that a mortgage payment, therefore I can't justify that expense to my penny-pinching self. I've heard "android" sytems but it makes me think of Data (Star Trek NG) when I hear of it, and that's a terribly positive fun image. The Blackberry playbook makes me feel patriotic, but I don't know if it's any good. My dad loves his Kindle, but he lives too far away to share it. Samsung has  a "honeycomb" tablet, which I thought had something to do with the picture resolution, but apparently it just refers to the new operating system (as if I know what that meant to begin with). Screen size between tablets is a huge difference...and to me it's like when geeks talk about TV screen sizes...I start to snore, but when I saw a picture of the difference in screen sizes my visual learner self instantly understood the importance.So, when i get the money or the air miles, now I know what I'm going to buy, thanks to this wonderful review site.

http://reviews.cnet.com/tablet-buying-guide/?tag=auxPromo