Other budget tablets compared to amazon fire?

[NoisyDelight]

Are there any other good ones in the same price range as the fire? Just want it for reading (duh) and browsing the webs. I was looking at the galaxy tab e review from this site and it stacked up pretty well against the fire. Whats your thoughts?

[Alpha o]

If you are thinking of a Samsung - go play with one in a store that has a display. Samsung has its own way of doing things. Some love it, some hate it.

Some phone carriers might have different tablets, but most seem to be Samsung.

Watch which Fire tablet you buy. They seem to come with ads (cheaper) and no ads.
No ads does not include no Amazon ads for Prime.

If all you want to do is read, you don't need the top of the line type. Some makers discount last year's tablets which would bring them close to the Amazon. I found an Acer (android) at almost the no ad price in Best Buy. They also might have a few others.

Office Depot/Max might have Asus along with Nexus. At least you can check out the tablets and decide if you want to find one on clearance somewhere.

[Rbneader]

Cheap no-name tablets are almost never worth it. Yes, the upfront cost is low but the breaking and the aggravation is just not worth it.

One thing I've found is really key for reading is high screen resolution. Low screen resolution will cause eyestrain and headaches very quickly, even if you're fine reading on computer screens. Unfortunately, this means that cheap new tablets are often not a good idea for reading.

Also, having a microSD card slot is really vital. It means that I can keep all of my regular apps and books on my tablet instead of having to think about which books and which apps I need. People always underestimate how much space their apps will take up.

My suggestion is to get a nice used tablet, a top-notch one from 2+ years ago.

I just got a flagship Samsung tablet from 2014 for $160. It works great, runs Android 6.0, and was 1/3rd of the price of similar new tablets. The battery life isn't great, but it hasn't been a problem. I have an Anker portable battery pack for my phone, so if the tablet runs low I just plug it into that.

You could also keep an eye out for used versions of B&N Nook HD or Nook HD+. They had great screens, reasonable hardware, and should be pretty cheap by now.

[radius]

Which Fire tablet are you comparing against? (and I assume you mean the Tab E Lite 7"?)

The small Tab E has a rather low resolution screen. I have an old tablet with the same size and resolution screen and it is kind of fuzzy for long periods of reading. I would pick one of the Fire HD series over the Samsung for the screen.

But then that's for reading; I have other Android devices for apps. If you need full access to apps, you might have to skip over the Fires.

[barryem]

I agree with Rbneader that resolution is important. I have the $50 Fire tablet. I bought it on sale for $33. For the price it's not bad but the screen really isn't good enough for reading. It has a pretty grainy screen. I could read on it if it was all I had but it's a poor choice for that.

I also have a 7" Asus ME176CX which has a much sharper screen. It cost about twice as much but they quit making them and used ones are fairly cheap. You can find used ones on Amazon or Ebay in good shape for about $70. That's about $20 more than a new Fire 7" but it has a far better screen and much better speakers and a conventional version of Android instead of the custom version on the Fire. It's also a lot faster and everything just works the way you expect it to.

I wouldn't buy an off-brand tablet. I've tried those and they rarely do very well. A number of others here in the retirement home where I live also tried them as a first tablet and most gave up on using tablets, they were so troublesome. They didn't have the experience to know that a better tablet would be easier to use.

One of the things I hear a lot is "since I just want it for reading the screen doesn't matter" but the exact opposite is true. If you want to play games and watch videos the screen doesn't matter as much but for reading it really makes a big difference.

Barry

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by NoisyDelight

Are there any other good ones in the same price range as the fire? Just want it for reading (duh) and browsing the webs. I was looking at the galaxy tab e review from this site and it stacked up pretty well against the fire. Whats your thoughts?

If you are looking at the cheap Fire (the $50 model) check out the Barnes and Noble $50 Nook. It is about the same spec wise as the Fire, but it runs Android instead of Amazon's Fire OS. This means you will have a much better app store. Since you mentioned web browsing, the Nook can run Chrome and Firefox (available in the app store). The Fire doesn't allow those. No YouTube either. I have a Fire and a regular Android tablet and I've noticed I rarely touch the Fire.

I agree with Barry and Rbnreader though. You will likely find yourself wanting a better screen than either of those offer. The $50 Fire and Nook and the Tab E all have a resolution of 1024X600, which you may regret when reading.

If you can spend more, I've been very happy with my Lenovo Tab2 A10. New ones seem to go for about $185. For a budget tablet, it has a very nice screen.

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

If you are looking at the cheap Fire (the $50 model) check out the Barnes and Noble $50 Nook. It is about the same spec wise as the Fire, but it runs Android instead of Amazon's Fire OS. This means you will have a much better app store. Since you mentioned web browsing, the Nook can run Chrome and Firefox (available in the app store). The Fire doesn't allow those. No YouTube either. I have a Fire and a regular Android tablet and I've noticed I rarely touch the Fire.

It is pretty easy to put the Google Play store on the $50 tablet. I wouldn't let that bother you. The reason I bought the fire is that I am a prime member, and they will download videos for you, so you are never caught without something to watch. I have a 128GB SD card in mine.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Sydney's Mom

It is pretty easy to put the Google Play store on the $50 tablet. I wouldn't let that bother you.

I was going to say "why bother with the hassle when the Nook comes with Play outta the box?"

But then:

The reason I bought the fire is that I am a prime member, and they will download videos for you, so you are never caught without something to watch. I have a 128GB SD card in mine.

Yeah, I could see that. I'm a Prime member too, but I still don't use the Fire much. I guess because I never got into watching video on a tablet, aside from some short YouTube videos.

If you install Play on the Fire, will it install all apps (that match the underlying Android version)?

[issybird]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I was going to say "why bother with the hassle when the Nook comes with Play outta the box?"

But then:



Yeah, I could see that. I'm a Prime member too, but I still don't use the Fire much. I guess because I never got into watching video on a tablet, aside from some short YouTube videos.

If you install Play on the Fire, will it install all apps (that match the underlying Android version)?

It installs the Android app directly from the Play store.