In the market for a tablet for $200 or under

[sneakyspider]

I'm in the market for a tablet, and my budget is 200 dollars or less. My only experience in tablets is owning a Kindle Fire previously, but I kind of wanted a more Android oriented device this time around. I was hoping that other people here might have some opinions on the best tablets that are available for my price range.

[afv011]

The new Nexus 7 was offered at $199 by Staples recently, so that would have been my choice in your price bracket.

Below 200, the Asus MemoPad is a decent choice, though it doesn't have the specs of the new Nexus 7. There's also the Samsung Tab 7, but that's even a lower spec'ed tablet at a higher price than the MemoPad.

If you can stretch it to 230, then definitively the new Nexus 7 is the one to go for. Otherwise, I think it's between the MemoPad and the original Nexus 7. There should be some good discounts for the original N7 now that the replacement is out the door.

[Cdesja5]

Costco has the Galaxy Note 8 (at least that's what the price sign above said!) for $198 cad right now. It's only an 8gb tablet but has an SD slot to add memory. I've had my Galaxy Tab 10.1 for over a year and a half and still love it. I hardly use my laptop any more! Since I also have a Samsung phone on the same OS that makes everything very easy

Some reviews:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspen...laxy-note-8-0/

[sneakyspider]

Thanks for replying. I could possibly stretch my budget to 230 or 250, but not much beyond that.

I haven't read the review thoroughly yet, but from what I've seen it looks great. I think it'll definitely be among my top choices.

I should also add that I am willing to buy used, so if a particular tablet is over budget new, but can be found at my budget used, then I would still be willing to consider it as an option.

[spellbanisher]

Barnes and Noble sells their 7 inch nook for 129$ and their 9 inch for 149$. Both have excellent screens, google play, sd card slot, but no cameras.

The new asus memopad is available for preorder at amazon and other retailers. it ships august 11. it has a 1280×800 screen, microsd slot, two cameras, no hdmi, sells for $149.

The Hisense Sero pro is currently available at Walmart. same screen as the memopad, tegra 3 quad core processor, two cameras, hdmi, microsd slot, and sells for 149$. Of the tablets i'vd listed i think this one is the best.

[Byrdie]

Similar situation here, can you recommend anything sold in Canada? I tried to get a Nook HD when they were on for $149 only to discover they wouldn't ship it to me. Kinda puts me off buying any of their books too, after that. :-(

[spellbanisher]

Originally Posted by Byrdie

Similar situation here, can you recommend anything sold in Canada? I tried to get a Nook HD when they were on for $149 only to discover they wouldn't ship it to me. Kinda puts me off buying any of their books too, after that. :-(

Nexus 7 sells in Canada. If you don't mind a lower resolution and want an ereader with a microsd slot, samsung galaxy tab.

[sneakyspider]

Originally Posted by spellbanisher

Barnes and Noble sells their 7 inch nook for 129$ and their 9 inch for 149$. Both have excellent screens, google play, sd card slot, but no cameras.

The new asus memopad is available for preorder at amazon and other retailers. it ships august 11. it has a 1280×800 screen, microsd slot, two cameras, no hdmi, sells for $149.

The Hisense Sero pro is currently available at Walmart. same screen as the memopad, tegra 3 quad core processor, two cameras, hdmi, microsd slot, and sells for 149$. Of the tablets i'vd listed i think this one is the best.

I am considering the Nook (and Kindle) tablets, but I wanted to look at what else is out there so I can get the best for my money.

[afv011]

Thanks to our monkey friend, you can get 20% off tablets:

Link

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by sneakyspider

I am considering the Nook (and Kindle) tablets, but I wanted to look at what else is out there so I can get the best for my money.

I highly recommend the 2nd gen Nexus 7. If you act fast, you can get a 16GB for $184 ($230 - 20%) or a 32GB for $216 ($270 - 20%) -- YMMV. This sale expires Sat 03 Aug. See the thread afv linked below for details.

Originally Posted by afv011

Thanks to our monkey friend, you can get 20% off tablets:

Link

You beat me; and thanks

[sneakyspider]

I just purchased a Nook Color yesterday - mostly because I was able to get it at a significant discount, (less than 50, used.)

Thanks for everyone's help.

[HarryT]

I thought you said that you wanted more of an "Android Experience", rather than a customised UI like the Fire? Isn't the nook just as "customised" as the Fire?

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I thought you said that you wanted more of an "Android Experience", rather than a customised UI like the Fire? Isn't the nook just as "customised" as the Fire?

The Nook Color is even worse. We had one but we were using an n2a card and never ran the NC without it.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I thought you said that you wanted more of an "Android Experience", rather than a customised UI like the Fire? Isn't the nook just as "customised" as the Fire?

Maybe he's running a custom ROM on it. I still have my NC running CyanogenMod 10.1, but it's dog slow compared to the other tablets - single core and 512MB RAM doesn't cut it any more.

[Polyphemus]

I'm a little late to this party, but have you considered rooting your Fire and installing an alternate ROM? I did that to my Fire a year ago and it still gives my Galaxy Tab 7+ a run for its money. I'm currently using SmoothROM, which is based on Cyanogen 10.1 (Android 4.2).

The only drawback to the Fire is the limited internal storage, but I solved that with a Wi-Drive.