Cheap Android Tablets: September 2012

Last updated: September 24, 2012.

This is info I posted originally on Facebook and Google+ as recommendations of sub-$100 Android tablets for friends. If you’re a tablet manufacturer or online vendor and would like me to review a product, contact tech@mrbill.net.

For those of you asking about the cheap Android tablets; I bought mine through AliExpress directly from a seller in China, but communication was limited and it took almost a month to arrive. So that you don’t have to deal with the same situation, I’ll be posting links to PandaWill, a well-known and established online vendor. They’re slightly more expensive, but worth it. I have no connection to any of the vendors linked here other than as a satisfied customer, and I don’t get any referral fees or kickbacks.

You want something with an Allwinner A10 or A13 CPU (although there are some nice RockChip-based units coming along) and at least 512M of RAM.

Keep in mind that you’re *not* going to get something the quality of a Nexus 7, Kindle Fire, or an iPad – but these are great alternatives if you don’t want to spend a lot of money, are worried about kid damage, etc.

You want a *capacitive* screen (NOT resistive). Resistive is the “old-style” touch screen like on GPS units and so forth.

I would also not buy anything at this point that has a version of Android older than 4.0 loaded on it; upgrades for these may never be available.

Here’s some examples:

YeahPad A13 Tablet PC 7 Inch Ultra Thin Android 4.0 4GB Camera Black

YeahPad A13 Tablet PC 7 Inch Ultra Thin Android 4.0 4GB Camera White

Q7 Android 4.0.4 Tablet PC 7 Inch 4GB 1080P Camera White

ICOO D50 Lite A13 Version Android 4.0 Tablet PC 7 Inch 4GB Camera White

ICOO D50 Lite A13 Version Android 4.0 Tablet PC 7 Inch 4GB Camera Black

Build Excellent Q8 Android 4.0.3 Tablet PC 7 Inch 4GB HDMI White

One step up in quality and resolution (but still not quite as nice as a Nexus 7), for $120:
Ainol Novo 7 Crystal 8GB Android 4.1 Tablet PC MVA HD Screen 7 Inch 1GB RAM Camera White

I have also bought phones and tablets from Merimobiles.

I personally prefer them over Pandawill but they don’t have as varied a selection and the prices are higher.

Avoid the Ainol Paladin; it’s MIPS-based and not a lot of apps will run on it. The ARM-based Ainols are good though (I have an Elf II).

Here’s the $53 tablet on AliExpress for those of you who asked:
NEW 7 inch android 4.0 Capacitive Screen 512M 4GB Camera WIFI allwinner a13 tablet pc

I bought a Matrix One tablet a couple of months ago when they were $90 (now $59), but the $53 tablet directly above is better quality.

Other places I have bought phones (MTK65xx-based) from, but not tablets:

Android-Sale
FastCardTech

For those of you looking for a slightly higher price bracket, try:

Ainol Novo 7 “Flame”, $156
Google Nexus 7, $199 (my personal favorite, I own two)
Amazon Kindle Fire 7″ HD, $199 (I own one of these as well, and it’s a GREAT upgrade from the original Kindle Fire)