While you may get a camera with a cheap tablet, it likely won’t be a nice one with a flash or other extras, though it’ll probably fit the bill for taking outdoor shots in nice weather or indoor snapshots that don’t require exceptional quality. A few years ago, a cheap tablet wouldn’t have been good for much other than reading ebooks and very light Android app usage. As the Android tablet market has matured and more players have entered the tablet game, competition has intensified, turning many low-cost tablets into nice choices for many people as well as hot Christmas gifts. Here are a few choices for cheap tablets that are worth gifting.
The 7″ Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite
Bump up to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4
The Galaxy Tab 4 also offers an IR blaster for using it as a remote control and multi-user mode for sharing the tablet with other family members, plus a kids mode for a child-friendly interface. The tablet has both 3 MP rear-facing and 1.3 MP front-facing cameras for photos, selfies and video chat. The Galaxy Tab 4’s multi-window feature means you can place two apps side-by-side and drag content between the two. It also comes with three months of SiriusXM Internet Radio and 50 GB of free Dropbox space.
Verizon Wireless released their house brand tablet line late last year in time for Christmas and now sells the tablet for as low as $0.01 with two-year mobile contract
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The Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7
Amazon Kindle Fire tablets have some drawbacks, such as the lack of microSD card slots for optional added storage (something iPads also lack). You can, however, pay more for a version with 16 rather than 8 GB of memory. In addition, Fire tablets don’t work with Google Play for downloading Android apps like other Android tablets. You’re limited to Amazon’s app store, which isn’t much of an inconvenience since it has almost anything you could want for the tablet with its huge selection of both free and paid apps. The Fire HD 7 comes in an array of cute colors other than black, too.
I’ve had only positive experiences with Amazon Fire and Samsung tablets, but have had quite the opposite experience with off-brand tablets. I’m not saying they can’t work for some purposes. I used a Pandigital Novel tablet for a few months. It ran an early version of Android but was marketed as an e-reader. It did an okay job as an e-reader, but I ended up wanting more from it than it was willing to give – specifically, the ability to smoothly run other Android apps.
The Pandigital also had frequent problems with Wi-Fi connectivity. Another cheap tablet I purchased later from an unfamiliar brand ended up going back to the store because it couldn’t maintain a Wi-Fi connection at all. Whatever tablet you select, I recommend reading the reviews on Amazon.com before purchasing, so you can get a feel for what other folks like and dislike about it.
As a sub-$100 cheap tablet, the Kindle Fire HD 6 probably wins the race. However, you may want to spring for an extra $40 or $50 and get a tablet with a 7″ screen like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 or Kindle Fire HD 7.