Best "cheap" tablet

[IndyColtsFan]

I am looking for Christmas gifts for my youngest college-age brother and was hoping someone could recommend a decent "cheap" Android tablet. Some background: He tends not to take care of things very well. Therefore, I don't want to spend a ton of money of a "nicer" tablet just to possibly see it get torn up. This is his chance to prove to me that he can take care of it and maybe I'll get him a nicer one down the road if he uses it enough.

I don't expect 10+ hours of battery life or anything like that, but I want it to be usable and have decent performance. I know asking for durability in a cheaper product is probably asking too much, but I can at least ask your opinions on that. Finally, I'm hoping it runs a recent version of Android and ideally will have an upgrade path to 4.2. Here is the kicker -- I'd like it to be under $150. I might be willing to stretch to $159 for the original Fire, but I don't want to hit $200 on this purchase.

 

[Roland00Address]

For this price range you are either doing one of two things

1) Buying a Chinese tablet
2) Buying a subsidized tablet such as Amazon Kindle Fire or Nook Color

Number 1 will be running Android 4 and it may have good hardware but who knows what support you will have if it breaks or if the Chinese designer will ever update the software.

Number 2 will not be running real android but instead a custom skin designed to only allow you to buy things from the Amazon store or the BN store. That said if you don't mind a little hacking you can root many models of number 2 and put real android on there. Number 2 has a good developer community so it is likely you can get Android 4.2 eventually if you do the hack/root/flash the device.

The only way to avoid 1 or 2 is to spend more $, and with your budget you are limited to 1 or 2

 

[IndyColtsFan]

For this price range you are either doing one of two things

1) Buying a Chinese tablet
2) Buying a subsidized tablet such as Amazon Kindle Fire or Nook Color

Number 1 will be running Android 4 and it may have good hardware but who knows what support you will have if it breaks or if the Chinese designer will ever update the software.

Number 2 will not be running real android but instead a custom skin designed to only allow you to buy things from the Amazon store or the BN store. That said if you don't mind a little hacking you can root many models of number 2 and put real android on there. Number 2 has a good developer community so it is likely you can get Android 4.2 eventually if you do the hack/root/flash the device.

The only way to avoid 1 or 2 is to spend more $, and with your budget you are limited to 1 or 2

Yeah, I was leaning towards the Chinese tablet. I was hoping people here had bought a few of them and could guide me towards an OK solution.

 

[ponyo]

If you hate your brother, buy him a cheap Chinese tablet. If not, spend the extra and get him the $199 Nexus 7. It's worth it.

I've seen some refurb 10" Tegra 2 tablets and 7" Galaxy Tab 2 for around $150. Check Slickdeals. But really Nexus 7 is worth the extra money.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

If you hate your brother, buy him a cheap Chinese tablet. If not, spend the extra and get him the $199 Nexus 7. It's worth it.

I've seen some refurb 10" Tegra 2 tablets and 7" Galaxy Tab 2 for around $150. Check Slickdeals. But really Nexus 7 is worth the extra money.

I'm thinking of buying the 32 GB Nexus 7 for myself. How is the durability and build quality of these tablets?

The most I'll do for him right now is the original Fire at $159.

 

[s44]

Refurb Tab 2 or second-hand Nexus...

Just don't consider the Chinese crap. TN = just say no

 

[papaschtroumpf]

Ainol novo Chinese tablets are decent from my experience at work with the fire/flame model. Great hw specs, OK quality, Jelly beans but no ideas about future updates.

I own an N7 and wouldn't trade it for them though despite the "lower spec" of the N7

Kindle is decent, even the original, but unless your brother is a geek, it gets limited because it's captive by amazon (no Google play store for example)

 

[bearxor]

Yeah, I think universally people here will tend to stay away from the Chineese tablets.

If the absolute most you're willing to spend is 160, then the Kindle Fire is kind of the end of the discussion. I think we'd all agree the Nexus is worth $40 more. Maybe get him a gift card for $150 and let him make up the $50 difference?

 

[murphy55d]

think I saw the BN Nook Tablet online refurb for close to $100.

 

[s44]

The most recent Ainol Novos do seem OK on the spec sheet: IPS and another original-Exynos knockoff SOC (dual A9+Mali400). But you seriously can't pay $40 more for official Google updates and the Tegra3?

The Crystal 7 seems more plausible at $125 shipped for a 10*6 IPS screen. But I dunno, I'd still pay a bit more for the Tab 2.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

The most recent Ainol Novos do seem OK on the spec sheet: IPS and another original-Exynos knockoff SOC (dual A9+Mali400). But you seriously can't pay $40 more for official Google updates and the Tegra3?

Even $160 for the Kindle Fire for him is stretching it. It isn't a matter of affording it, it is a matter of him potentially tearing it up.

Maybe I'll just go the gift card route and he can make up the difference.

 

[s44]

Even $160 for the Kindle Fire for him is stretching it. It isn't a matter of affording it, it is a matter of him potentially tearing it up.

There's a Black Friday deal on the Nabi 2 then

 

[Wingznut]

Is buying used an option?

 

[lopri]

I saw a few tablets going for $80-ish @Amazon, with impressive reviews. Most people gave great reviews, amazed at bang-for-the-buck factor. I looked at a couple of them and they indeed have impressive specs for the price. The catches seem to be (in no particular order),

- Slow CPU, and/or
- Bad screen, and/or
- Low battery life, and/or

All of them I saw come with some kind of Android (v. 3.0~4.0).

 

[brian0831]

if you really don't want to spend more, $119 for nook refurb

http://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-noo...medium=afl&utm_campaign=227502&utm_source=rvs

 

[bigrash]

I've tried a couple of Chinese tablets and wow did they suck!

 

[monkey333]

I pulled the trig on a galaxy tab 2 7 refurb'd from Walmart for 150. I will report back when I am able to give it the once over. Some reviews said the ones that they are sending out are spotless.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I pulled the trig on a galaxy tab 2 7 refurb'd from Walmart for 150. I will report back when I am able to give it the once over. Some reviews said the ones that they are sending out are spotless.

Just saw that deal on Techbargains. Thinking about it.

 

[Red Squirrel]

It's not android, and has hardly no apps, but the Blackberry Playbook is very cheap (saw it today when I was at Futureshop and they're down to like 100 and something bucks). The wifi on it SUCKS though, so if he plans to use the wifi on it, it may be meh performance. Though some people don't have the same issue I have with theirs so it seems there is maybe a bad batch or something. Got mine a year ago so I would hope that the issue has been fixed now.

It's also very durable. I've dropped this thing countless times and it's barely scratched (the body). The glass is not scratched at all even after dropping it. If it lands flat the glass does not touch the floor.

Though that Galaxy tab deal may be a better option if it's not too late.

 

[dagamer34]

A used 8GB Nexus 7. Find one on craigslist for like $160 or something. By the way, the best way to get him something he won't screw up is to get him something he won't use.

 

[monkey333]

I gave my 4 year old my 16g touchpad running ics. It works well for him, just had to turn on enter password for purchases.

 

[lothar]

Find someone who is willing to sell you an HP Touch Pad for cheap and install Android on it.
Forget about those Chinese Android tablets.

If you can pay more, get a Nexus 7.

 

[monkey333]

Samsung sale live now! Gonna return my refurb, once I get it. Peace of mind, 191 shipped..

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Find someone who is willing to sell you an HP Touch Pad for cheap and install Android on it.
Forget about those Chinese Android tablets.

If you can pay more, get a Nexus 7.

Touchpad isn't worth messing with at this stage unless you can find a new one. At this point, many of the Touchpads are starting to have issues so it is a crapshoot at this point. My own Touchpad is starting to noticeably lose battery life, for example.

Samsung sale live now! Gonna return my refurb, once I get it. Peace of mind, 191 shipped..

Amazon now has the Galaxy Tab 2 7" (new) for $179. The regular Kindle Fire is $159. Both have similar hardware specs. Is the GT2 worth it over the Fire? Reviews I've seen suggest the GT2 is a better tablet.

 

[Roland00Address]

Barnes and Noble Tablet preowned for $97+FS
http://slickdeals.net/f/5516944-16GB-Barnes-Noble-Nook-7-WiFi-Tablet-Pre-owned-97-Free-Shipping

Barnes and Noble Tablet has
Dual Core 1.0 ghz Cpu
1 GB of Ram
IPS screen (1024x600)
16gb storage+Micro SD
Is rootable/hackable (originally it has a bootloader but it has been cracked for about 9 months or so, I do not know the states of the roms though.)