Best budget tablet?
Is there any agreement on which, if any, of the budget (<$300) tablets are worthwhile? I mean, let's say I'm looking for a device to be primarily web browsing, but that would be able to play games and do other fiddly things like that. Obviously, a galaxy tab 10.1 or transformer would be beyond my needs, but the bargain basement 600 MHz junk you see on dealextreme simply wouldn't cut it.
I know about the nook color, but it is a Tad old at this point (almost a year now?), as well as the new archos 1.5 ghz tablets, but those are a ways off and prototype reviews are iffy so far.
So I ask: if I'm spending less than $300 (preferrably under $200), which tablet should I go for? Do those new Archos tablets hold promise? Is there some magical, unknown bargain tablet that's actually worthwhile? Is the nook Still the best option here?
Posted Jun 29, 2011, 12:05 AM UTC
I've had the Viewsonic Gtab, BN Nook Color, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7" (ATT). My favorite by far is the Samsung, its really a sleeper. The Gtab is great for its price but the screen is horrible and the stock ROM is bad. The NC is a total hack job. Its fun to hack and does a lot but ultimately its missing sensors, cameras, gps, etc and its never 100% stable. The Samsung Tab is at 2.3, has a nice screen, very solid build, all the sensors you could want, the option for 3G etc. Since its been out for a while the accessories are also super cheap. The catch is that I got the Samsung Tab on sale for $200. If you can find it for $250 I'd grab that.
There are new budget jobs coming out from companies like Archos. In the past they've not been the best (or the worst). If you goal is to get Honycomb (outside of your defined needs) w/o breaking the budget, then I would consider the 2nd tier manuf.
If you don't want the samsung tab I'd seriously consider slapping down an extra $100 for the Transformer. Its pretty solid (although there are some QC issues) and it has a nice IPS screen. At $400 tho you're just $100 away from the Samsung 10.1 or the iPad2, oh man, slippery!