Aww, come on. You know you all do it too. Anyone who reads on the can is eventually going to step up to a tablet. I can’t go without it now. Maybe I will get one of these for christmas:
Just want to put in a vote for the Nook HD+, but it has no camera or GPS - other than that it will do about anything any other Android tablet will do for just over $100. I picked up a refurb 32gb model for $109.
I have a camera and GPS on my phone. Never use the ones on my iPad.
We just got a HiSense Sero 7 Pro for my son and I don’t think it can be easily beat for the money (paid $80 through Newegg with discounts for a refurb that looked brand new). It’s been mostly compared as comparable to the Nexus 7 1st gen.
JellyBean OS, rumors are KitKat to come soon through updates. (Ours did a small update when first turned on.) Front and back cameras, Tegra, dual core, external SD card (great for books, music, vids) plus HDMI out, wireless G/N, GPS. Google Now works nice but not touchless like my wife’s MotoX.
Seems to have a strong dev community for a no name that should only get bigger given the value. 1 GB ram is biggest future limit, so far memory seems to run really well even as I’ve loaded up several running apps. Plex on N is GREAT! Skype loaded but haven’t used it - should run fine since the specs are better than my phone and that runs Skype just fine.
We have an iPad and Kindle. Other son has an Asus Transformer. I like the Sero small size quite well, but my wife votes with OL on larger screen. I also like the wide screen format on landscape. Haven’t tried larger fonts with it.
I think Fry’s has been selling them for something like $88. WalMart has been going 149 -> 129 -> 149 for new.
My wife bought me the Nexus 7 32 Gb (2013 2nd Generation) on Electronic Monday from Walmart for $229. Have not used it yet. Santa (wife) says I have to wait till Christmas. Bah Humbug!
Just to let you know. Radio Shack has the iPad mini for $299 with a $100 gift card, Walmart has it for 299 with a $50 gift card.
Staples has the New Nexus 7 with HD screen for $184.99
The factory reset has apparently taken care of my problem I was having with my Nexus, I think it was a bad app that was causing the problem. It is once again running like a champ. As I said before, I have both of these tablets and prefer Android over iOS. But they both are great. I prefer the size of the the Nexus 7 over the iPad mini and I prefer the ability to customize everything to my taste which Android allows, the iPad is limited because of iOS being more locked down, but each has its pros and con’s. Basically I think it comes down to personal preference. The cheaper Android tablets like the one linked above doesn’t have as good hardware and will not be supported and updated like the Nexus 7. So in my opinion it is better to spend a little more in the beginning. Good luck whatever you decide.
Sent from my Magical Nexus 7
My wife and I just purchased an iPad Air for our Christmas gift to each other. I am a long time Android fan, having owned quite a few phones, and a couple smaller tablets. But after my recent switch to the iPhone 5s, I couldn’t go back to the Android OS’s. iOS, while admittedly bland, is incredibly smooth, and stable. This iPad Air is the fastest, and most stable tablet I have ever put my hands on. This thing is just insanely fast, from apps, to browsing the internet, to playing games, not a single hitch. Stable OS - check, front and rear cameras - check, great battery life - check, massive amounts of apps and games - check, CRYSTAL clear display - check. This tablet is top notch.
In my most humblest of opinions though, its user preference. You can find what you seek in a cheaper priced Android tablet, I’m sure. PERSONALLY, I prefer the fine build quality, and incredible stability, of the Apple products.
Happy Hunting.
Are you a long time Amazon user in good standing? If so, Amazon just announced a zero interest program for their Kindle HDX. You pay quarterly. If you were going to spend that much anyway, this is a good deal.
Another vote for Sero 7 Pro
Mine works great -I’m using it now.
I would recommend the Galaxy 10 or the 8” Note Tablet.
But, There are Chinese tablets that are just as good as the latest Samsung Galaxy Tabs, and if you go with a chinese tablet, I would recomment ordering from www.topnotchtablets.com.
They are awesome with their customer service, they take the best of the best chinese tablets, and order them in bulk, they root them and put the real Play Store on them (since chinese tablets only come with the chinese play store) and give you unparelleled customer service and Quality Assurance. Basically they put back into the Chinese tablets what are lacking. I have purchased 3 tablets from them over 2 years ago, and all three are still working. They are in the US too. So it is taking the “Chinese” out of the process.
My advise though, don’t go with a 7” tablet, go with 10”. At the least, the 8.5”.
Just my 2cents.
Just don’t count on it.
My son’s Nexus phone is already not getting KitKat now that the next gen is out … software upgrades demand hardware keeps up. Even when software reaches back the hardware often is just doing too much more than it’s design allows.
If I was a fanboy it would be for Google (Google phone arrives FedEx today for the wife, her free iPad upgrade also is in the mail) … they are also great at extended betas, but everything they do seems to get re-invented while the old gets thrown out. If they don’t do that, somebody else will cut them out and they’ve proven they don’t want that.
Just don’t count on anything from either Google, Apple, or Microsoft.
IMO, far better to buy for much less and trade up when needed - this is BLF after all. 
Googles policy is to support and upgrade it’s Nexus devices for 1.5 years. Also, nexus devices have tons of developer support that will go far beyond that. The Nexus 7 HD has 2 gigs of ram and a quad core chip, it will have no hardware limitations around the corner. You would probably get tired of it before it losses support and it’s definitely a budget tablet with lots of bang for the buck. The ipad mini is suppose to be supported for 3 years so it will get the future update from apple to iOS 8 or whatever they will call it and it can be purchased for a budget price also and both devices have good resell value.
Sent from my ipad mini
I haven’t yet seen anyone mention phitobucket. What I need is a device that can bridge the gap between my digital camera and PB. For most of the past year my laptop has been unable to do this and I would like to reenable this capability.
Easiest would be an SD memory card slot or a USB port. The camera has mini USB out.
USB OTG cable and SD card reader
There’s an app from Photobucket in the Google Play Store. I just installed it and tried it. You select which pictures you want to upload. Then you can choose which folder you want to upload your picture to at Photobucket.
There’s also a auto-backup feature. All pictures on your tablet automatically get uploaded to Photobucket. You can also edit the picture.
That would work but require an additional device. Since its time to retire the laptop I need to either replace it and get a tablet or get a tablet that can replace my laptop and that means I/O ports.
I have a Motorola Xoom and my wife has the Galaxy Tab 2 both 10.1 inch. They are both WIFI only, so no phone carrier is used. Mine is nearly 3 years old and I use it every day. As you can see, I am an Android fan, for no other reason that I dont like Apple’s proprietory control although many Apps you pay for through Apple, I get for free through Android.My daughter uses an IPAD and loves it as well, so it really comes down to personal preference and she hasnt had any problems with it either. I have had no lagging, or problems with any of our tablets, so I cant really pick one over the other.
As already said, Photobucket has an Android App so it can be used, not that I have tried it yet.
10.1 inch sounds big but with a proper cover, it isnt that much more to carry around than a 7 inch model. Lets face it, you can’t comfortably put either in your pocket. So, I would suggest getting a larger size tablet, that way Web surfing (blf 
) movies, reading, typing, games are all that much better and makes for a more pleasant experience.
Sero 7 can use the free android app for photo bucket.
Plus it takes micro SD cards up to 32 GB and higher.
It also has a socket for mini USB.
And HDMI out.
Not much of an additional device, aka a cable. But I’m also looking at a Micro USB card reader as well that someone kickstarted and put to market.