best low priced tablets?

[Jeff123816]

So I'm in need of a 7 to 10 in. tablet to entertain a young child during a series of upcoming road trips over the next couple of months. I don't want to spend a ton of money and am not looking for anything high-end. It would be used primarily for video playback and maybe some light kiddy games and ebooks. Any suggestions? There are $50 tablets at Fry's and Walmart but I get a feeling that they wouldn't be long lasting. I'd rather spend a little more on something that will last, rather than repeatedly buying bargain tablets that clunk out constantly. Has anyone had success with a tablet from a lesser-known manufacturer?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! For the love of all that is Android, do NOT give in to the temptation of that $50 cheapo slab of soon-to-be-paperweight. Poor performance, poor build, poor quality control, poor support.

You can find decent cheap tablets that are new for around $100-150 these days, as long as you stay with known manufacturers like Samsung, Lenovo, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, or HP. If you're willing to go for a refurbished unit, you can find higher-tier (but somewhat older) devices in that range as well. I have seen the 2013 Nexus 7 going for around $150, and this is still an excellent device.

 

[LeoRex]

Nexus 7's on eBay for like $150... You're not going to find anything near that price that's anywhere as good.

 

[B. Diddy]

This is by no means an impressive tablet, but Groupon has this refurbished Lenovo A2107 for $60. For that price, it's going to be a much better deal than any no-name device. Lenovo IdeaTab Tablet PC with 1GHz Processor, 512MB, and 8GB Storage Deal of the Day | Groupon

 

[LockOnTech]

I am sure others have good experiences with low priced tablets, I bought a low priced tablet; did not quite last very long. What was worse is the customer service for the tablet was nearly non existing. I would shop around a bit for brand name tablets that are on sale or discounted sometimes office max or staples do a promotion of some sort, that way you can have a decent tablet that would last a while, even if it is a short period of time.

 

[RumoredNow]

I'll concur with most of the above players and say a used Nexus 7 (either model year release) would be your best bet for reliable use at a great price.

Check The Marketplace - Buy, Sell & Trade - Android Forums at AndroidCentral.com or over at Swappa as well as eBay.

 

[Jeff123816]

Thanks for all the great replies. This gives me some options. The Lenovo IdeaTab seems pretty good with the exception of 512 MB of RAM. Not sure how much of an impact that would have. The 2012 Nexus seems to be the way to go but then just a little more would get the 2013 edition. I've heard that the 2013 upgrade was significant, though I'm seeing 2012 model for about $90 while the 2013 seems to average about $160 used. Is the difference worth a $60 premium?

 

[Aquila]

Thanks for all the great replies. This gives me some options. The Lenovo IdeaTab seems pretty good with the exception of 512 MB of RAM. Not sure how much of an impact that would have. The 2012 Nexus seems to be the way to go but then just a little more would get the 2013 edition. I've heard that the 2013 upgrade was significant, though I'm seeing 2012 model for about $90 while the 2013 seems to average about $160 used. Is the difference worth a $60 premium?

Yes, absolutely, every day of the week. Yes. If money is a big issue, no, but yes.

 

[radicchio]

Hisense Sero 7 Pro has been a solid tablet for me. It only has 8gb, but it does have the SD card.from which I play all my music. If you can get past the fact that it's sold by Walmart, it might be worth considering. Just make sure you get that exact tablet. They have another tablet which is just a Hisense 7 that is junk, and I think they've come out with a newer one---maybe 8"?---that is pretty unimpressive. There are still some Sero 7 Pro tablets around, and you can find them by going on Walmart's website and checking if there are any in stock in your local store(s).

 

[anon9057212]

I bought a hisense tablet at walmart. It's an amazing device it's sturdy and very good quality not like this cheap 50 dollar ones. Buy any hisense tablet (no matter the price) there amazing and HD

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[LockOnTech]

I bought a hisense tablet at walmart. It's an amazing device it's sturdy and very good quality not like this cheap 50 dollar ones. Buy any hisense tablet (no matter the price) there amazing and HD

Posted via the Android Central App

I know a person who own one, they look good; at first when I saw it it sort of looked like a nexus 7. I am pretty impressed by that.

 

[LeoRex]

. Is the difference worth a $60 premium?

It's worth it... The 2012 is by no means junk though. My wife has had one since Dec '12 and it's still a great tablet. But if the $60 premium isn't too much, the 2013 is a better unit.

Those nexus tablets are always a good choice though.

 

[neonworm]

I suggest the first Nexus 7.

 

[B. Diddy]

Check it out: new (not refurbished) 32 GB 2013 2012 N7 with LTE for $160 on Groupon!

Google 32GB Nexus 7 7" Tablet with 4G Deal of the Day | Groupon

EDIT: Sorry, I was incorrect at first--this is the 2012 N7, not the 2013.

 

[Thrutian]

Please don't go for a tablet with a random, unknown brand. Chances are it will stop working after a few hours.

 

[Matias Honorato]

Was looking for something similar...Thanks for the insights!

 

[RumoredNow]

Check it out: new (not refurbished) 32 GB 2013 N7 with LTE for $160 on Groupon!

Google 32GB Nexus 7 7" Tablet with 4G Deal of the Day | Groupon

That's a great good deal... If I hadn't just had 1 insurance replacement phone, 2 new tablets and 1 new phone purchase in a 2 person household in the past 3 months I'd be all over that like stank on me feets...

 

[radicchio]

I bought a hisense tablet at walmart. It's an amazing device it's sturdy and very good quality not like this cheap 50 dollar ones. Buy any hisense tablet (no matter the price) there amazing and HD

Posted via the Android Central App

I would be cautious about buying any Hisense---I know that the other 7" tablet, that was not the Sero 7 Pro, had very low specs and was disappointing to many. The Hisense Sero 7 Pro, however, has been great. It was a great deal for the price. Be sure to do your homework before going to Walmart, though---they had no idea which tablet was the Sero 7 Pro and tried to direct me to a completely different brand, claiming it was the Hisense (it was an ASUS), then tried to sell me the lower spec tablet. I had brought a printout from their website and finally convinced them that neither of the tablets they showed me was the correct one. I ended up ordering online, to be delivered to the store.

 

[JeffDenver]

So I'm in need of a 7 to 10 in. tablet to entertain a young child during a series of upcoming road trips over the next couple of months. I don't want to spend a ton of money and am not looking for anything high-end. It would be used primarily for video playback and maybe some light kiddy games and ebooks. Any suggestions? There are $50 tablets at Fry's and Walmart but I get a feeling that they wouldn't be long lasting. I'd rather spend a little more on something that will last, rather than repeatedly buying bargain tablets that clunk out constantly. Has anyone had success with a tablet from a lesser-known manufacturer?

Depends on your price range. If you can afford it, the Nexus 7 (2013 Version) is still the best tablet out there IMO. I would also consider the Nvidia shield (especially for games). Those will run you $200 to $300.

Nvidia Shield - $300 - NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet 16GB 940817612500000 - Best Buy
Nexus 7 - $250 - ASUS Google Nexus 7 FHD - Black ASUS-2B32 - Micro Center

Lower than that, I'd probably go with an Asus MeMo Pad. I have seen those as cheap as $99. - ASUS MeMO Pad HD 7 ME173L Tablet - Blue ME173L-8G-BL - Micro Center

I would avoid Kindle or Nook devices. I'd also resist the urge to buy a no-name Android tablet, even though they are very cheap. I'd only recommend those to experienced users as they usually require tweaking. It's not that the cheap tablets are necessarily bad, it's just that you would have to baby them to get any real performance, and most people are not going to want to do that. So I would stick to name brands in your situation.

Here are Fry's products I found:

Nexus 7 (2012 Version) - $99 - FRYS.com*|*ASUS - This is probably the best tablet you will find for $100. Nothing I'd rather have for that price. This is an older version of the nexus tablet above, but is still a great device...nice display, decent CPU, and good support for updates.

Asus Memo Pad - $150 - FRYS.com*|*ASUS - If it was me, I'd rather have that 2012 Nexus. And I think this is the same tablet Microcenter sells for $99.

Stay away from Kindle devices. They have awesome hardware but a crippled OS.

EDIT - I'd like to point out that the Nexus 7 (2012) above is a new device...it's not refurbished. 1 gig RAM, quad core CPU, HD display, and it's the 32 gig model.

 

[JeffDenver]

Thanks for all the great replies. This gives me some options. The Lenovo IdeaTab seems pretty good with the exception of 512 MB of RAM.

I agree...do not get a tablet with less than 1 gig unless you are so strapped for cash you have no choice. It's not worth it IMO.

The 2012 Nexus seems to be the way to go but then just a little more would get the 2013 edition. I've heard that the 2013 upgrade was significant, though I'm seeing 2012 model for about $90 while the 2013 seems to average about $160 used. Is the difference worth a $60 premium?

Definitely. If you can afford it, get it. There is nothing better than that for the price...not even on the horizon. I'd rather have a "used/refurbished" 2013 version with less storage than a "new" 2012 version. Display is WAY better, CPU/GPU is much faster, has stereo speakers, and it has double the RAM. Only thing better about the 2012 version is battery life.

The thing I like about the Nexus tablets is that they all have GPS and Bluetooth...that is not as common as you might think among low end tablets. They also all have wireless charging.