Tablet Recommendation?

[mshanson3121]

We homeschool, and want to buy a tablet to be used for our curriculum. Basically we need it for reading .PDF, browsing the web, watching YouTube videos, running some games/apps etc... It'll be used with WiFi only.

We need to keep it to $100, so I realize outside of the Amazon Fire or RCA, I'll be looking at a used one. Any input as to brands/models, especially used? Input on the Fire?

I'm also considering a Chromebook, though I think I like the portability of the tablet better.

 

[NYCgrrl]

My current favorites for electronic device reviews and suggestions are:

wirecutter.com

and cnet.com

We have I-Pads but it might have more apps than you need. Bought 2 HP tablets via QVC as gifts once. Despite the good power specs and price, neither worked longer than 8 months thus purchases I regretted.

 

[Lynne M]

I think you're going to have trouble finding even a used iPad for $100, unless it's a really old model that may not run current apps, or you get one with a data plan from a cellular provider.

For the uses you mentioned, I'd probably go with a Fire tablet. Amazon has the latest Fire HD 10 on sale for $109 right now; that's a nice tablet for the money. Just make sure if there are any specific apps you need to use, they'll run on that model.

 

[mshanson3121]

I think you're going to have trouble finding even a used iPad for $100, unless it's a really old model that may not run current apps, or you get one with a data plan from a cellular provider.

For the uses you mentioned, I'd probably go with a Fire tablet. Amazon has the latest Fire HD 10 on sale for $109 right now; that's a nice tablet for the money. Just make sure if there are any specific apps you need to use, they'll run on that model.

Oh I wasn't thinking iPad, sorry. I planned on Android.

 

[KayaWildfire]

I don't know exactly how you're planning on using it, but our elementary kids use tablets at school and the middle and high school use chromebooks. The issue with the tablets is they don't really run like a computer so if you are planning on using them for some typing like writing essays or something along those lines it might not be great to have just a tablet, unless you want to buy a keyboard for it. I've not noticed any real differences in portability(our high school kid has a really little chromebook), it's thicker than a tablet, but not bigger or heavier. If you plan to just use apps for educational game playing and watching YouTube, a tablet is fine. I have a galaxy tab e that I purchased on black Friday 3 years ago and it's still going strong. It was a little over $100, but not much.

 

[Imzadi]

I bought a Lenovo a few years ago from Best Buy. It was advertised as FACTORY REFURBISHED by Lenovo, not by Best Buy's Geek Squad who don't always know what they are doing. It had a 6 month extended warranty from Lenovo, so I really knew they didn the refurbishing. And it was sold by Best Buy, not through a Marketplace seller there. It was great. It would have been double the price if I had gotten a brand new one instead. I thoroughly checked it out when I got it and there was nothing wrong with it.

The only thing I wish I had done differently was to buy one with a newer operating system instead of with more GBs. I could have always added on a flash drive and downloaded stuff from the cloud, when I needed it, if there wasn't enough space on the hard drive to keep it there. But, an Android's operating system can only be used for only a few years before it becomes obsolete and no new apps can be downloaded and the existing ones slow down tremendously as they are no longer supported. (And a used, older tablet will already have an older Android operating system. So the clock is ticking.)

And if you have to RE-download an old app. Good luck with that. There are very few places online one can get an older version of an app that works with an obsolete operating system. My tablet is still in excellent condition, but not much works on it anymore.

Check out Newegg. They're a reliable company. They sell a lot of refurbished computers & tablets. But buy directly from them. Not a Marketplace seller:

https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=refurbished+tablet

 

[mshanson3121]

I bought a Lenovo a few years ago from Best Buy. It was advertised as FACTORY REFURBISHED by Lenovo, not by Best Buy's Geek Squad who don't always know what they are doing. It had a 6 month extended warranty from Lenovo, so I really knew they didn the refurbishing. And it was sold by Best Buy, not through a Marketplace seller there. It was great. It would have been double the price if I had gotten a brand new one instead. I thoroughly checked it out when I got it and there was nothing wrong with it.

The only thing I wish I had done differently was to buy one with a newer operating system instead of with more GBs. I could have always added on a flash drive and downloaded stuff from the cloud, when I needed it, if there wasn't enough space on the hard drive to keep it there. But, an Android's operating system can only be used for only a few years before it becomes obsolete and no new apps can be downloaded and the existing ones slow down tremendously as they are no longer supported. (And a used, older tablet will already have an older Android operating system. So the clock is ticking.)

And if you have to RE-download an old app. Good luck with that. There are very few places online one can get an older version of an app that works with an obsolete operating system. My tablet is still in excellent condition, but not much works on it anymore.

Check out Newegg. They're a reliable company. They sell a lot of refurbished computers & tablets. But buy directly from them. Not a Marketplace seller:

https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=refurbished+tablet

Thanks! This is the issue we're having with our current tablet - a 1st Gen Mini iPad. It is so old now that most new apps aren't compatible, and it's slowed down so much that you can only do the most basic of games (coloring, mahjongg) without it constantly glitching and crashing. And web browsing is slow as death. There's no way it'll keep up to what we want it for in school. I would love to get another iPad, it's just very much not in the budget, unless I go to one that's already 4-5 years old, and then we're right back into the scenario you gave. So Android it is.

 

[MotherKnowsBest]

I bought my kids Amazon Fire 8's for Christmas and they have been perfect for their needs.

 

[Disneypro1]

I know you said android. But our daughter still uses her iPad mini 2!! For school. Works like new. Just can’t beat Apple.

 

[mshanson3121]

I know you said android. But our daughter still uses her iPad mini 2!! For school. Works like new. Just can’t beat Apple.

Our 1st Gen is getting pretty slow. I wasn't sure if I were to like a 3rd or 4th gen... Can they still get newer apps like Candy Crush, Shopkins, Disney +, etc?

 

[Disneypro1]

Our 1st Gen is getting pretty slow. I wasn't sure if I were to like a 3rd or 4th gen... Can they still get newer apps like Candy Crush, Shopkins, Disney +, etc?

If you got 4th. I think you can do any app.

 

[Imzadi]

I know you said android. But our daughter still uses her iPad mini 2!! For school. Works like new. Just can’t beat Apple.

Our 1st Gen is getting pretty slow. I wasn't sure if I were to like a 3rd or 4th gen... Can they still get newer apps like Candy Crush, Shopkins, Disney +, etc?

If a 4th gen is already out, in a year the 2nd gen would be obsolete. You'd be in the same place as you are now & in the end spend more to replace them again.

 

[NYCgrrl]

If a 4th gen is already out, in a year the 2nd gen would be obsolete. You'd be in the same place as you are now & in the end spend more to replace them again.

Apple stopped offering support for gen 4 in 2017. No announcement for gen 5 that I'm aware of right now and gen 5 came out in 2017. Keep in mind that Apple products are not in OP's $100.00 budget unless she gets a serious deal on a used/refurbished model.