Cheap and Reliable Tablets on a Budget

Samuel J Tan Personal Technology, Tablets, Technology 0

Supermarkets, retailers and online retailers are joining the tablet race with heavily discounted tablets. The latest being the cheap yet respectable Hudl2 which can be yours for under a hundred with ClubCard Boost i.e. exchanging your loyalty card points for money off.

Table of Contents

Top 12 Low Cost Tablets on a Budget

Prices are competitive, and certain retailers offer heavy discounts and promotional offers. The latest being Tesco Hudl2 if purchased with ClubCard Boost.

Acer Iconia One 7-inch 16GB
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 Tablet 8GB
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 Tablet 8GB
Archos 70 Xenon 7-inch 3G Tablet 4GB
Archos 97 Cobalt 9.7-inch Tablet 8GB [BIGGEST SCREEN]
Asus MeMO Pad HD ME173x 7-inch
Bush MyTablet 7
Bush MyTablet 8
LG G Pad 7-inch Tablet
Nook HD 16GB 7-inch
Tesco Hudl 7-inch Tablet
Tesco Hudl2 8.3-inch Tablet

NOTE: Some prices include retailers’ promotional offers and are time limited or while stocks last. All prices are correct at time of writing.

Slightly more expensive but still worth a mention here in our list are cheap and low cost tablets form Asus, Samsung and Lenovo:

Asus MeMO Pad Me176CX 7-inch
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7-inch
LENOVO A8-50 8-inch 3G Tablet 16 GB
ASUS FonePad ME175CG 7-inch 3G Tablet 8 GB [PHONE FUNCTION]

Let’s take a look at the top 12 tablets with a spec-by-spec comparison between the tablets:

Processor

The fastest processor belongs to the new Tesco Hudl2 with the Quad-Core 1.83GHz processor. Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6, HD 7 and Tesco Hudl1 all share the second spot with Quad-core 1.5GHz processor as far as clock speed and processor core goes. The second runner up in CPU performance is shared by Asus MeMO Pad and LG G Pad 7-inch. Most tablets here will take anything you throw at it. We would obviously recommend going for the highest clock speed possible and choosing a quad-core processor over a dual core.

Acer Iconia One: Intel Atom Z2560 1.6GHz Dual Core Processor
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6: Quad-core up to 1.5GHz Processor
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7: Quad-core up to 1.5GHz Processor
Archos 70 Xenon: Mediatek MT8312 Dual-core A7 @ 1.2GHz Processor
Archos 97 Cobalt: Rockchip RK 3066 Dual-core @ 1.6GHz Processor
Asus MeMO Pad HD ME173x: Quad-core 1.2GHz Processor
Bush MyTablet 7: Dual-core Cortex A9 Processor
Bush MyTablet 8: Quad-core Cortex A9 1.4GHz Processor
LG G Pad 7-inch Tablet: Qualcomm MSM8226 Snapdragon 400 Quad-core Cortex A7 1.2GHz Processor
Nook HD 16GB 7-inch: Dual Core Ti OMAP 4470 @ 1.3GHz Processor
Tesco Hudl 7-inch: Rockchip RK 3188 Quad-Core processor 1.5GHz Processor
Tesco Hudl2 8.3-inch: Intel Atom Z3735D Quad-core 1.83GHz Processor

Screen

The biggest while not the highest resolution screen belongs to Archos 97 at 9.7-inch followed by Teso Hudl2 at 8.3-inch. However, the highest definition, sharpest and crispiest screens belong to Nook HD, Hudl1 and 2 and Kindle Fire HD 6, all managed to pack 243 or more pixels per inch into their screens. When considering a budget tablet, you are pretty much limited to tablets with 7-inch screens or less (with the exception of Archos 97 and Hudl2)

Acer Iconia One: 7-inch HD display 1280 x 800 pixels with IPS Technol0gy
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6: 6-inch HD display 1280 x 800 pixesl (252 ppi)
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7: 7-inch HD display 1280 x 800 pixels (216 ppi)
Archos 70 Xenon: 7-inch display 1024 x 600 pixels with IPS Technology
Archos 97 Cobalt: 9.7-inch display 1024 x 768
Asus MeMO Pad HD ME173x: 7-inch HD display 1280 x 800 pixels with IPS Technology
Bush MyTablet 7: 7-inch display 1024 x 600 pixels
Bush MyTablet 8: 7.85-inch display 1024 x 600 pixels
LG G Pad 7-inch Tablet: 7-inch HD display 1280 x 800 pixels with IPS Technology
Nook HD 16GB 7-inch: 7-inch HD display 1440 x 900 pixels (243 ppi) [HIGHER RES.]
Tesco Hudl 7-inch: 7-inch HD display 1440 x 800 pixels (243 ppi) with IPS Technology [HIGHER RES.]
Tesco Hudl2 8.3-inch: 8.3-inch Full HD display 1920 x 1200 pixels (273 ppi) with IPS Technology [HIGHEST RES.]

Memory and Storage

1GB RAM memory is quite standard among the line-up with the exception of the new Tesco Hudl2 that comes with double that memory at 2GB. Storage wise, 16GB is the norm but some manufacturer may decide to half that for cost reasons and offer 8GB or less instead. Except for Amazon Kindles, all tablets accept microSD cards that lets you increase the storage on the device.

Acer Iconia One: 1GB RAM, 16GB Storage expandable with microSD up to 32GB.
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6: 8 or 16GB Storage
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7: 8 or 16GB Storage
Archos 70 Xenon: 512MB RAM, 4GB Storage expandable with microSD up to 64GB
Archos 97 Cobalt: 1GB RAM, 8GB Storage expandable with microSD up to 32GB
Asus MeMO Pad HD ME173x: 1GB RAM, 16GB Storage expandable with microSD up to 32GB
Bush MyTablet 7: 16G Storage expandable with microSD up to 32GB
Bush MyTablet 8: 1GB RAM, 16GB Storage expandable with microSD up to 32GB
LG G Pad 7-inch Tablet: 1GB RAM, 8GB Storage expandable with microSD up to 64GB
Nook HD 16GB 7-inch: 1GB RAM, 8GB or 16GB Storage expandable with microSD up to 64GB
Tesco Hudl 7-inch: 1GB RAM, 16GB Storage expandable with microSD up to 32GB
Tesco Hudl2 8.3-inch: 2GB RAM, 16GB Storage expandable with microSD up to 32GB [DOUBLE MEMORY]

Camera(s)

Don’t expect to take great shots with these tablets but you would be surprise that some of them come with 3MP or more rear facing cameras. Both Asus MeMO Pad HD and Tesco Hudl2 comes with 5MP rear facing cameras. For a small tablet, a front facing camera is essential for video calls and if it also comes with a rear facing camera, then it’s a bonus.

Acer Iconia One: front 0.3MP camera
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6: front VGA and rear 2MP cameras
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7: front VGA and rear 2MP cameras
Archos 70 Xenon: front VGA and rear 2MP cameras
Archos 97 Cobalt: front 2MP and rear 2MP cameras
Asus MeMO Pad HD ME173x: front 1.2MP and rear 5MP cameras
Bush MyTablet 7: front facing camera
Bush MyTablet 8: front facing camera
LG G Pad 7-inch Tablet: front VGA and rear 3.15MP cameras
Nook HD 16GB 7-inch: no camera
Tesco Hudl 7-inch: front 2MP and rear 3MP cameras
Tesco Hudl2 8.3-inch: front 1.2MP and rear 5MP cameras [BEST REAR FACING CAMERA]

Connectivity

While not everyone can take advantage of dual band WiFi; wireless network that operates at 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, especially when their home network only supports single band, the Hudls supports this if you do. Other tablets only come with single band radio support. The only tablet that offers 3G connectivity is the Archos 70 Xenon.

Acer Iconia One: WiFi, Bluetooth, speaker, 3.5mm stereo jack, microphone, micro USB
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6: WiFi (single band), Bluetooth, mono speaker, 3.5mm stereo jack, microphone, micro USB
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7: WiFi (single band), Bluetooth, dual stereo speakers, 3.5mm stereo jack, microphone, micro USB
Archos 70 Xenon: 3G (mini SIM), WiFi, Bluetooth, speaker, 3.5mm stereo jack, microphone, micro USB, GPS, Phone function [PHONE FUNCTION]
Archos 97 Cobalt: WiFi, Bluetooth, dual speaker, 3.5mm stereo jack, microphone, micro USB, mini HDMI output
Asus MeMO Pad HD ME173x: WiFi, Bluetooth, speaker, 3.5mm stereo jack, microphone, micro USB
Bush MyTablet 7: WiFi, Bluetooth, speaker, 3.5mm stereo jack, microphone, micro USB
Bush MyTablet 8: WiFi, Bluetooth, speaker, 3.5mm stereo jack, microphone, micro USB
LG G Pad 7-inch Tablet: WiFi, Bluetooth, speaker, 3.5mm stereo jack, microphone, micro USB
Nook HD 16GB 7-inch: WiFi, Bluetooth, speaker, 3.5mm stereo jack, microphone, proprietary USB
Tesco Hudl 7-inch: WiFi (Dual band), Bluetooth, speaker, 3.5mm stereo jack, microphone, micro USB, micro HDMI, GPS [DUAL BAND WIFI]
Tesco Hudl2 8.3-inch:WiFi (Dual band), Bluetooth, speaker, 3.5mm stereo jack, microphone, micro USB, micro HDMI, GPS [DUAL BAND WIFI]

Battery Life

LG G Pad offers the best usable hours between charge, up to 12 hours, while most tablets hover around the 9-10 hours mark. These days, anything less than 7 hours is simply unacceptable.

Acer Iconia One: up to 7.5 hours
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6: 8 hours (10 hours reading)
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7: 8 hours (9 hours reading)
Archos 70 Xenon: 3200 mAh
Archos 97 Cobalt: 8000 mAh
Asus MeMO Pad HD ME173x: 10 hours
Bush MyTablet 7: 4 hours
Bush MyTablet 8: 4.5 hours
LG G Pad 7-inch Tablet: 12 hours 4000mAh [BEST BATTERY LIFE]
Nook HD 16GB 7-inch: 10 hours
Tesco Hudl 7-inch: 9 hours
Tesco Hudl2 8.3-inch: 8 hours

Dimensions & Weight

Acer Iconia One: 198 x 119 x 10mm, 320 grams
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6: 169 x 103 x 10.7 mm, 290 grams
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7: 191 x 128 x 10.6 mm, 337 grams
Archos 70 Xenon: 192 x 110 x 10.2 mm, 295 grams
Archos 97 Cobalt: 243.2 x 190 x 10.5 mm, 690 grams
Asus MeMO Pad HD ME173x: 197 X 120 x 10.8mm, 302 grams
Bush MyTablet 7: 190 x 110 x 9.3mm, 280 grams [LIGHTEST]
Bush MyTablet 8: 208 x 138 x 10.6mm, 370 grams
LG G Pad 7-inch Tablet: 189.3 x 113.8 x 10.1 mm, 293 grams
Nook HD 16GB 7-inch: 194.4 x 127.1 x 11.0 mm, 300 grams
Tesco Hudl 7-inch: 128 x 193 x 10 mm, 370 grams
Tesco Hudl2 8.3-inch: 224 x 128 x 9mm, 419 grams [THINNEST]

Operating System

With the latest Android Operating system being the android 4.4 KitKat, you would want to consider a device with this. However, it is not to say that other versions are rubbish.

There have been many improvements in Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and it is definitely worth considering given most tablets in our list come with at least the 4.2 Jelly Bean with the exception of the Kindle Fires.

Amazon uses a custom version of Android called Fire OS currently version 4, a very user friendly platform that lets you access Amazon’s ecosystem to enjoy movies, TV shows, songs, books, Android apps and games including getting free onscreen support with MayDay.

Acer Iconia One: Android OS 4.2 Jelly Bean
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6: Fire OS 4 ‘Sangria’
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7: Fire OS 4 ‘Sangria’
Archos 70 Xenon: Android OS 4.2 Jelly Bean
Archos 97 Cobalt: Android OS 4.1 Jelly Bean
Asus MeMO Pad HD ME173x: Android OS 4.2 Jelly Bean
Bush MyTablet 7: Android OS 4.4 KitKat
Bush MyTablet 8: Android OS 4.4 KitKat
LG G Pad 7-inch Tablet: Android OS 4.4.2 KitKat
Nook HD 16GB 7-inch: Android OS 4.04 Ice Cream Sandwich
Tesco Hudl 7-inch: Android OS 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Tesco Hudl2 8.3-inch: Android OS 4.4 KitKat

Our Line-up

Here is a quick look at our line-up again. For the most up to date prices, please click on the links below:

Acer Iconia One 7-inch 16GB
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 6 Tablet 8GB
Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 Tablet 8GB Argos
Archos 70 Xenon 7-inch 3G Tablet 4GB
Archos 97 Cobalt 9.7-inch Tablet 8GB
Asus MeMO Pad HD ME173x 7-inch Argos
Bush MyTablet 7 Argos
Bush MyTablet 8 Argos
LG G Pad 7-inch Tablet Amazon
Nook HD 16GB 7-inch Argos
Tesco Hudl 7-inch Tablet Tesco
Tesco Hudl2 8.3-inch Tablet with ClubCard Boost from Tesco

NOTE: Some prices include retailers’ promotional offers and are time limited or while stocks last.

Slightly more expensive but still worth a mention here in our list are cheap and low cost tablets form Asus, Samsung and Lenovo:

Asus MeMO Pad Me176CX 7-inch
Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7-inch
LENOVO A8-50 8-inch 3G Tablet 16 GB
ASUS FonePad ME175CG 7-inch 3G Tablet 8 GB [PHONE FUNCTION]

Final Thoughts

If you just want hassle free tablet computing with ease of use and stability in mind, then either the Amazon Kindle Tablets or tablet from well known names like Asus and LG. If you are like me and prefer to see as many pixels on the screen as possible then your options are the Nook HD, Tesco Hudl1 and Tesco Hudl2.