Dear Lifehacker, I am looking to buy a tablet for my two year-old son. He has worked out how to use my Gnex and my Xoom with no problems, and I would like to get him his own device. Looking through the multitude of options within the 7-inch tablet space just makes my head spin. I want a quality device for around the $150 mark. Can you help with some suggestions? Thanks, Tablet Parent
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Dear TP,
$150 is a hard price point to meet; not that there aren’t Android tablets available for that kind of money, but that there aren’t that many that are that cheap and particularly good. Kogan’s a good example; while its tablets are undeniably cheap, as Gus found out when he tested it, they’re not neccessarily always particularly good. An added concern with buying a very cheap tablet is that the build quality is often shaky. There’s a couple of approaches to that; if your budget can stretch to it, the entry level Nexus 7 is reasonably robust (and good value for the money) at $249.
You could also opt for a second-hand model of something like the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7; not the world’s greatest tablet, but if you’re not fussed about it being second-hand and a version or two behind in Android terms, there are some bargains out there — check places like Gumtree, but also check the condition carefully before laying down your cash. You could also opt for a cheap ten inch tablet and wrap it up in something like the Clumsy Case, making it distinctly more toddler-proof.
Cheers
Lifehacker
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