When Amazon unveiled its new Android tablet, the Kindle Fire last month, analysts said that its price could well make it a viable competitor to the wildly successful iPad. Indeed, while the iPad has ignited great interest in tablet computing, particularly in schools, that interest has really just been interest in iPads. The Kindle Fire's price ($199) is a lot cheaper than the iPad (which starts $499). But the price tag of the Amazon tablet still makes it a luxury item (albeit a less expensive one) and still puts it out of reach for many students.

Two new tablet alternatives were announced last week that make those prices seem absolutely exorbitant.

You can read the rest of the story on MindShift...