The Amazon tablet could provide access to new types of multimedia books and graphic novelsfrom the Amazon store, which is something that appealed to student Joanna Price. She already owns a Kindle e-reader but does not yet have a tablet.

"I use my Kindle for reference and cookbooks, and I'd use an Amazon tabletfor the sort of new [multimedia] books ... as well as movies and games," Price said. "An Amazon tablet can do more with e-books than a Kindle can, and will provide a generally better treatment of fiction, particularly."

Price is studying in a master of library and information science program in Michigan. As a budding librarian, having access to a device like an Amazon tablet is important for her career, as she adapts to communicating with an increasingly tech-savvy user base.

"It is absolutely necessary to my future career as a public librarian to have enough confidence with technology to use it and talk about it with people who are growing up with this technology, for whom these skills are as natural as those of reading or arithmetic," Price said.

She's set a budget of $200 to $300, but may hold out for a second version of the tablet so that any kinks can be ironed out.