Which tablet under $200 for a teenager?

Click_It on 14/01/2013 - 15:25

I've been looking at the Ainol Hero 1,2 and many other Chinese brands at http://www.buyincoins.com who currently have a 7% off deal running but have gotten a little confused and thought I'd tap into the wisdom that is the OB community! :)

I'd like something around the Hero 1/2 spec, Dualcore should be fine, Mali400 GPU or less is okay. 10" preferred but 7" acceptable if it crams in more bang for the buck. Dual cameras preferred. 1280x800 res would be ideal…

One thing that's confusing me is the chinese brands all seem to state "Supports 3G dongle", are there any with internal 3G support? I'm just thinking the less external protrusions the better for this kid (less chance of damaging as he doesn't have a good track record of looking after things)

Any help is greatly appreciated, if buying from O/S we'll need to order within the next few days to arrive in time for this 14th birthday. Cheers.

Computing

Comments

  • mskeggs on 14/01/2013 - 16:23

    Are you intending to provide a 3g SIM for him, with associated costs? Does he already have a phone he can tether it to?
    I was looking for an internal 3g before xmas and only found models that were a generation behind, and at not very good prices. I ended up with a Nexus 7, and have been quite pleased, and tether it to my phone if I am using it away from wifi. (and of course, the games and media all work without a network connection).
    Ainol are the default recommendation around here, and Cobalt seem ok too.

  • Brick50 on 14/01/2013 - 17:23
    +3

    Being a teenager myself, I wouldn't want to show my friends my new tablet if it said Ainol on it,

    As mskeggs said, If he has an Android phone or a jailbroken iphone he could add data to his phone plan and tether it,

    You might be able to find a Motorola Xoom for that price,

    • bich.light on 17/01/2013 - 00:29
      +1

      Yeah I agree with MattWilko.

      You might be able to find a second hand Xoom like the one this guy sold me for around $200 now :P

      P.S: I resold the Xoom to my friend for same price haha

      • Brick50 on 17/01/2013 - 15:42
        +1

        Haha, great tablet for a week til your bored with it ;)

  • machej on 14/01/2013 - 18:20

    Have a look at the new Kogan Agora Tab coming out. Also lol @ Ainol. :P
    A lot of the Android tablets are very good.

    • scrimshaw on 14/01/2013 - 18:34
      +1

      Kogan = cheap chinese product that has been rebadged to Kogan's name.

      Don't get lured into buying Kogan tablets or phones, just because they have an Australian brand name. They're still manufactured by Shenzhen companies and are no different to the ones you see floating around on BuyInCoins, FocalPrice, TinyDeal etc.

  • fchis on 14/01/2013 - 21:41

    http://www.buyincoins.com/new_en/details/8-cube-u23gt-cold-i…

    I would go with this one. Cube has good build quality.

  • RockyRaccoon on 14/01/2013 - 21:43

    Has your son said anything about what he might like? eg 7in 10in nothing more disappointing in getting something unexpected which you dont like.

    What do his friends have. That might give you a clue.

  • Click_It on 14/01/2013 - 22:20
    +1

    Bulk reply to questions above, he is my step son but lives full time with his father not us. We got his sister (who lives with us) a Nexus 7 16GB (non-3G) and you can imagine the rest. He likes the features but wants 3G + and says expandable memory is a must.

    As for 3G SIM/data plans, that's up to his father to provide (thankfully). Yes tethering is the fallback option for him.

    Lol at Mattwilko's Ainol comment, the name didn't escape me especially after reading the many Ainol deals on OB, I was simply using the Ainol as a basis point, I'm happy to actually get another brand so he can show his tablet in public :)

    UPDATE 1: I'm actually thinking the 7-8" tablets make better sense now and can rule out 10" options.
    UPDATE 2: I'm ruling out the need for internal 3G, dongle is fine because for all I know his father may not agree to get the additional SIM anyway leaving tethering his only option. These 2 decisions make choosing one a lot easier.

    • exc3113nce on 15/01/2013 - 13:54

      If you can convince him that 32GB is enough then you can look at the Nexus 7.

  • Click_It on 14/01/2013 - 22:59

    The Cube U23GT looks good but lacks Bluetooth which could be a deal breaker. I know about WiFi tethering but it's quite aggressive on the battery life. Or can you still get Bluetooth via an adapter?

  • debo on 14/01/2013 - 23:05
    +1

    2 options I can add

    7" Huawei MediaPad from Coles $149 with 3G mifi - works well I bought one as could not resist the deal - see the OzBargain thread - better than reviews make out BUT this price runs out tomorrow! then goes up to $199

    2 $298 Xoom 2 10" from EB Games (32GB 3G) decent tab - have one of these too! (his and hers tabs at our place…)

    both Oz supplied/warrantied

  • ethereal88 on 20/01/2013 - 16:04
    -2

    A pen and paper. Yes, amazing isn't it? See, you put to the pen to the paper and you oh my goooooddddd write with it. Right?

    Kids these days, tablet this, iphone that. The power goes out and they don't have a clue what to do.

    • bich.light on 22/01/2013 - 21:39

      One flaw? Tablets and mobile devices these days have their own independent batteries :P
      Nice try.

  • porsche26c on 24/01/2013 - 10:55

    just spend a little extra coin and get the nexus 7. alot better than the chinese no brand names out there…thus less headache.

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