Best tablets: five great deals on previous-generation models
While we wait for this year's crop of tablets to come to market, many previous-generation models are seeing their lowest prices ever. With that in mind, today we're highlighting five聽Editors' Choice. Read on to see Amazon's best Kindle Fire sale yet, an all-time price low on Lenovo's Yoga 8, and $50 off the Dell Venue 8 Pro Windows tablet.
Store:听础尘补锄辞苍
Price:聽$189聽with聽free shipping
Lowest By:听$51
Is It Worth It?:聽The 8.9" Kindle Fire HD may lack the HDX's better-than-1080p display and quad-core CPU, but this previous-gen tablet is still an excellent choice for those looking for a media-centered experience 鈥� and it's available at a fraction of the HDX's cost. Prime members will reap the most benefits from this tablet, having access to features like Prime Instant Video and the Kindle Lending Library.
The Kindle Fire HD also features a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, an 8.9" 1920x1200 (1080p) IPS LCD, 16GB of internal storage, 802.11a/n wireless, Bluetooth, Dolby Digital Plus audio, and Fire OS 3.0 (Mojito).
If you'd rather get your hands on a current-gen Kindle tablet, there's never been a better time. Amazon is taking聽$30 to $40 off聽a selection of聽, including the 7" and 8.9" HDX models. Better yet, all items receive free shipping. With prices starting at $189, we've never seen a better sale on these tablets from Amazon.
Store:听尝别苍辞惫辞
Price:聽$199聽via coupon code "USPYT848126" with聽free shipping
Lowest By:听$100
Is It Worth It?:聽Although the Yoga 8 was only released in November, Lenovo downplayed this uniquely shaped tablet during CES 2014, opting to instead promote its聽, the Miix 2 and Yoga 2. Don't be fooled by this lack of hype! The Yoga 8 is still a great tablet,聽, according to PCMag. "Both use the same design, same display resolution, and same processor ... but the [Yoga 8's] display is sharper and its design is even more comfortable in the smaller form factor." Coupon code "USPYT848126" drops it to聽$199, shaving off $100 and making this tied as the cheapest Yoga 8 32GB tablet we've seen.
The Yoga 8 sports a built-in kickstand, an MTK MT8125 1.2GHz quad-core processor, an 8" 1280x800 IPS touchscreen LCD, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of flash storage, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth, rear and front cameras, and Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).
Store:听厂辫谤颈苍迟
Price:聽$49.99聽with聽free shipping
Lowest By:听$216
Is It Worth It?:聽While the prices for the new聽聽tablets haven't yet been confirmed, rumors are circulating that Samsung's latest generation of tablets could start at nearly $400. If that's too rich for your blood, consider opting for the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 from Sprint instead. Available for just $50 when you sign up for a 2-year contract, this tablet offers 4G LTE connectivity for $216 less than you'd pay without a contract 鈥� making it the cheapest 16GB 7" Samsung Galaxy Tab we've ever seen.
The Galaxy Tab 3 features a 1.7GHz dual-core processor, a 7" 1024x600 touchscreen LCD, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of internal memory, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, a 3-megapixel rear camera, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth, and Android 4.2 OS (Jelly Bean).
Store:聽Micro Center
Price:聽$199.99聽with聽in-store pickup
Lowest By:听$50
Is It Worth It?:聽Given the fact that聽Windows 8 rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way, consumers looking for a Windows tablet could be forgiven for wanting a tablet running on the very latest version of the OS, Windows 8.1. A $50 price low at $200, the Dell Venue 8 Pro is easily one of the cheapest Windows 8.1 devices we've seen. The Dell Venue 8 Pro "is rather similar to what you would expect with any traditional Windows computer," according to SlashGear. "All the Windows goodies can be expected and聽those living in the Windows world will likely be right聽at home with the setup."
The Venue 8 Pro boasts an Intel Atom Z3740D 1.8GHz quad-core processor, an 8" 1280x800 IPS touchscreen LCD, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 1.2-megapixel front camera, 5-megapixel rear camera, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth, and Windows 8.1 32-bit.
Store:聽Best Buy
Price:聽$49.99聽with聽free shipping
Lowest By:听$56
Is It Worth It?:聽Shopping for a kids' tablet means carefully balancing your child's desires against your concerns about online safety. The Oregon Scientific MEEP! 7" tablet offers the sort of parental controls you'd expect, but contained within the familiar Android architecture. Better yet, it's a $56 price low at $50.聽Wired's GeekMom reviewer noted that the MEEP! is a hit with kids who aren't used to playing on their parent's more powerful tablets: "If your child has never been exposed to tablet technology, and you are looking for a tablet to give your child that you don鈥檛 need to use yourself, the聽."
This 1.9-lb. tablet comes with a silicone sleeve and features a 7" 800x480 touchscreen display, an ARM Cortex A8 1GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of built-in memory, 802.11n wireless, and Android 4.0 OS (Ice Cream Sandwich).
Marcy Bonebright is a features writer for Dealnews.com, where this article first appeared:聽
