An Amazon fire tablet with magazine covers on the screen is shown with bookshelves in the background
  • The Amazon Fire tablet allows you to browse the web, watch videos, and check emails.
  • The Amazon Fire Max 11 is the latest in this tablet series.
  • Fire's camera and web browser, Silk, are often cited as drawbacks.

The history of the tablet begins in the 1980s and '90s with devices like the Linus Write-Top and PalmPilot. Microsoft released a true tablet computer in 2000, and in 2010, the tablet that would be the gold standard of the product category arrived: the iPad.