[HH] [Slightly OT] Recommendations for an ultra-cheap Android tablet?

[Shankar Viswanathan]

HH folks,

I'd like to get my 2.5 year old son's sticky fingers off my wife's
shiny Nexus7 tablet, so I'm looking for a cheap (~$100) Android tablet
that I could let him use. If at all possible, I would like one that I
can root and attempt to boot into alternate OS'es (e.g. Ubuntu) for my
hacking pleasure.

Here are the "must haves":
1. 7" capacitive screen with reasonable multi-touch responsiveness
(10" screen will probably be difficult for my son to handle and push
the cost up)
2. 800x480 or better resolution (800x480 seems standard for these
cheap tablets based on what I've read so far)
3. b/g/n Wifi, don't need 3G/4G
4. Reasonable battery life: > 5 hours would be ideal
5. micro-SD card slot for storing videos that my son could watch when
not wifi connected
6. Android ICS
7. Charge via mini/micro USB as I already have chargers for home/car etc.
8. Not more than $100 - $120 shipped

These would be "nice to have", but not a deal breaker:
1. HDMI out to connect to our TV while at home
2. Access to Google Play store (I could always use the Amazon appstore
to find the apps/games my son would like)
3. Sturdy enough to withstand a minor drop: my wife or I will almost
always be around when he uses it and I might be able to velcro the
tablet case to his table to prevent him from accidentally knocking it
to the floor (other kid-proofing suggestions welcome)
4. USB OTG support
5. Front facing camera for the occasional video chat with the
grandparents  (we could always use the Nexus7 for this)
6. Ability to load custom ROMs or Ubuntu etc.

There are several "Chinese knock-offs" in the market that seem to meet
my requirements, but I thought I would ask if any of you have had
experience with any of them. Any particular one that you would
recommend?

Thanks in advance,
Shankar