Meanwhile, the Nook Tablet costs $50 more than the Kindle Fire and doesn't offer in-house video and music services, but has its own charms as a reading-focused device with a dollop of multimedia.

Just show the video conversation to anybody with loved ones in distant places. You will see the surprise and amazement that makes it seem like magic.

The game's simplicity and appeal has made it the archetypal videogame: referenced in popular culture, studied by scientists and still wildly popular.