Best Tablets under $200: Android and Other Tablets

Prices on tablets have recently dropped quite a bit, and now you can buy a tablet for under $200 that works quite well. So if your buying price point is at or below 200 dollars, now might be just the right time to buy.

These tablets are a great way to surf the web, play games, watch videos, listen to music, and more. I've selected these tablets based on features and customer reviews. While most have 7" inch screens, if you're looking for a larger screen,

Most, although not all, of these tablets run Android. If you are a little bit flexible on the price, be sure to look at this bottom of this page, which highlights tablets that cost in the $200-$250 range.

Top Cheap Tablets

Kindle Fire HD 7 inch - Amazon's NEW Tablet (Released Sept 2012)

Probably Best Tablet for Novice Users if you Like Buying Movies, Games, Books & Magazines from Amazon!

Kindle Fire HD 7", Dolby Audio, Dual-Band Wi-Fi, 16 GB - Includes Special Offers

Amazon's new Kindle HD has a better screen, faster processor, and now you can make free Skype video calls with the front-facing HD camera!It now has an HDMI out port, so you can connect it to your TV and view your Kindle's screen on your big TV. This means you can stream movies through Amazon and view them on your TV, as well as share pictures on your TV, and more!You can also use wireless speakers, headphones, keyboards, and more, with the bluetooth connection.If you want to watch movies, TV shows, read books, read magazines, play games, and surf the web -- and do so easily -- then Amazon's new tablet may be perfect for you!It runs a highly modified version of Android and Amazon has designed the tablet to encourage users to buy books, movies, and apps from Amazon... but the good thing about this is that with an Amazon Prime membership you get unlimited streaming of over 10,000 popular movies & TV shows, plus access to Kindle Owners' Lending Library!

$199.00 Buy Now

Asus Google Nexus 7 Tablet

Quad-core Tegra 3 Processor, Android 4.1

Google Nexus 7 Tablet (16 GB)

Recommended for geeks and Google fans.


Pros:
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) - Newest OS
Long battery life - 9 hours of video playing
Quad-core Tegra 3 processor
1.2MP front-facing camera

Cons:
No HDMI out.
No micro SD card expansion slot (can't increase memory).
No Rear Facing Camera for Taking Photos
Actually costs a little more than $200

Other:
Designed for consuming content that you can buy from Google Play (Google's store for movies, music, books, magazines apps).... This could be a plus or a negative.

$220.00 Buy Now

Le Pan TC 970 9.7-Inch Tablet

You get a bigger screen here, but not the newest tech

Le Pan I TC 970 9.7-Inch Android Tablet

Pros:
9.7 inch Touch Screen (that's the largest screen for under $200!)
Front Facing Camera for Video Chat (Skype, etc)
Bluetooth 2.1
GPS
Micro SD card slot for adding up to 32GB of storage

Cons:
Android 2.2 OS Froyo (it's not the newest version)
The processor is 1 Ghz and the RAM is 512 MB (Slower than the Google Nexus)
No HDMI out
No rear facing camera
24% of the reviews gave it only 1 or 2 stars - looks like this tablet might have some quality control issues or be difficult for people with limited tech experience

$149.99 Buy Now

Blackberry Playbook 7-Inch Tablet

This is a workhorse! That's why businesses use Blackberry!

Blackberry Playbook 7-Inch Tablet (16GB)

Pros:
* HDMI out for connecting to your TV.
* Very stable operating system, very few crashes or glitches.
* 2 Cameras - both front and rare facing

Cons:
* The company that owns Blackberry, Research in Motion (RIM), isn't doing well.
* No Micro SD Card Slot for Memory Expansion

My Review
This is the tablet that I personally own. I bought it about 5 months ago. This is a fast tablet with an intuitive interface. This makes it ideal for first time tablet users.

I use it to edit word documents, read PDFs and ebooks, surf the web, check email, watch movies, and play Angry Birds.

I recently subscribed to Amazon Prime and I got an HDMI cable. I've been watching Amazon Instant shows on my TV by streaming them through this Playbook. They run flawlessly, the video and sound both transfer through the HDMI cable. I'm just so impressed by the quality!

Blackberry is made by Rim in Motion. Rim isn't doing well... Their stock has been going downhill. However, this tablet has great reviews, and when Rim manufactured it, I think they expected the selling price to be much higher. It used to be over $400... But because they're not doing well, the price for this tablet continues to be around $200. I don't know how they manage to keep it at such a low price.

The only thing that's a negative is that it's not Android. So there aren't as many apps, but that may change over time. But if you don't care about apps, but care more about web browsing and productivity, this may be the right tablet for you.

$164.99 Buy Now

Acer Iconia TAB 7-Inch Tablet (8GB)

Solid 4 Star Rating - Over 150 Reviews!

Acer Iconia TAB A100-07U08U 7-Inch Tablet (8GB)

This is a powerful Android Honeycomb tablet with GPS, Wifi, Bluetooth, memory card slot for expandable memory, micro HDMI out for viewing the screen on a TV, and more!

Key Features
7 inch HD Multi-Touch Display: (1024 x 600) resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio
NVIDIA Tegra 2 Dual Core Mobile Processor
1GB DDR2 Memory
NVIDIA GeForce GPU
8GB Internal Storage
MicroSD memory card slot up to 32GB
Dolby Mobile Technology
Dual Analog Microphone
Dual Speaker
802.11b/g/n Wireless(802.11n 2.4GHz only)
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
1- Micro USB 2.0 Port
1- USB 2.0 Port
1- Micro HDMI Out (with support for 1080p & Dual Displays)
5MP Rear Facing Camerawith Auto Focus and single LED flash
2MP Front Facing Camera
Sensors:G-Sensor, E-Compass, L-Sensor, Gyro-meter
Rechargeable Lithium-ion polymer Battery
Up to 4-hours battery life for Video Playback via Wi-Fi
Up to 4.5-hours battery life for Video Playback on system

$215.00 Buy Now

Lenovo Ideapad A1 22282EU 7-Inch Tablet

Android Tablet Running Gingerbread; WiFi, Bluetooth & GPS!

Lenovo Ideapad A1 22282EU 7-Inch Tablet (Black)

Specifications / Features
- TI ARM Cortex-A8 1.0 GHz single-core processor
- 7" LED (1024x500) capacitive multitouch display
- Less than 12mm thin, the A1 weighs in at less than a pound
- WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity
- Integrated front and rear webcams
- Micro SD card reader and a mini USB port for easy connections to other devices
- Solid as a rock: A magnesium alloy roll-cage internal frame protects your hard drive and other critical components
Adobe Flash support for vivid animation and video playback
- Lenovo SocialTouch lets you manage your social networking in one simple interface

$199.00 Buy Now

Just Over $200

If you can spend $15-$50 more....
There are more options!

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2

I have a bias - I love Samsung!

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 (7-Inch, Wi-Fi)

Now, I wish this was under $200 at the time of this writing, because I'd love to feature it first on this page. This runs Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS and has a 1GHz Dual-Core Processor

$199.99 Buy Now

HP TouchPad Wi-Fi 16 GB 9.7-Inch Tablet Computer

HP has been selling this really low as a promotional thing!

HP TouchPad Wi-Fi 16 GB 9.7-Inch Tablet Computer

This doesn't run Android, but instead HP webOS. HP has been selling this at a really low price, and it looks like you can still get it for pretty cheap!

$279.00Buy Now