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

[Jerry Feldman]

Possibly the Kindle Fire. I still think you are talking $200. Walmart
has a few for under $100 as does Target. I'm a bit concerned about some
of these off-brand tablets though, but for hacking purposes you might be
in luck.

On 08/19/2012 02:12 PM, Shankar Viswanathan wrote:
> 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
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>


-- 
Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
Boston Linux and Unix
PGP key id:3BC1EB90 
PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66  C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1 EB90


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