telecaster vs stratocaster

can anybody please explain the significance of the telecaster guitars as opposed to the standard three pickup strats. what is the telecaster better for, what styles, its pros and cons etc.
i can get a squire tele for less than $300 brand new at a sale this weekend and need to know more about them.
i love the feel of the instrument as well as the wicked classic blues look but havent had a chance to try one plugged in and probably wont get one until i purchase it.
so any replys are greatly appreciated.
thank you.
wes

I would save up a bit more $$ and get a Standard over a squire. I think it's definitely a worthwhile investment.

Teles and Strats are both very versatile instruments, but they do have their differences. Teles are typically used for country but they are also used for blues, pop, rock, metal (Marilyn Manson, until a couple weeks ago), and punk (NoFX). Strats are used for the same variety of genres, but they seem to be built more for the blues and rock scene. That's not across the board, btw. Fender is a bad company to make any generalizations about.

I think you'll have to try a couple teles and strats out to see what you like and dislike about each. I personally like teles a little more (although I don't play or always like country) but I would have no reservations about buying a good strat if I had the spare $$.

If I remember right teles have their pickups typically angled 15 degrees up to the treble side and strats are typically something like 10 degrees or varying between pickups (like 5 degrees bass neck pup, 6 degrees treble middle, 12 degrees treble bridge pup). They are both constructed from similar woods (alder or ash body, maple neck, maple or rosewood fretboard).