Torn between an iPad, tablet or e-reader? Here's how to know which one is right for you

Remember the "Sesame Street" song that that went, "One of these things is not like the others?"

While Ernie and Bert weren’t comparing tech toys, they might as well have been.

At first blush, an e-book reader (“e-reader,” for short) and a tablet (such an iPad) look awfully similar.

After all, they’re both thin, rectangular-shaped slates, held in your hands, and used to consume content at home or on the go.

Blurring the lines even further is the introduction of stylus pens that can be used with popular tablets, such as Apple Pencil (from $99) for iPad (from $329), and announced last week, the Kobo Elipsa ($399), which includes a stylus and cover, and thus fusing a 10.3-inch e-reader with a digital notebook (more below).