Best Tablets Under $300 for Holiday Gifts

With the holidays right around the corner, TabletPCReview put together a list of tablets that are sure to please without breaking the bank.

Read this guide:

http://www.tabletpcreview.com/feature/best-tablets-under-300/

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I wouldn't count the 200 dollar nVidia Shield out either though.

http://shield.nvidia.com/store/tablet/k1

 

Those all seem a rather bad value for the money if one looks at Chinese tablets that are putting out amazing hardware well below the $300 price point. For example, you can get something like the Teclast X98 Pro, which comes with an Atom processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage plus a micro SD slot, the same 2048 x 1536 screen as the iPad Air, Android 5.1 and Windows 10 dual boot, and 3G.

 

We don't recommend tablets we haven't reviewed. I wish we could have reviewed the Nvidia Shield K1 but we were unable to get a loaner unit from its maker. But this is where recommendations from readers come in handy.

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Were you able to get an original Shield? Its the same device but nVidia slashed the price and pulled everything but the tablet from the packaging (who doesn't have a MicroUSB wall charger these days though really?)

I'm considering picking one up to replace my ancient Nexus 7. The K1 is a pretty beastly chip.

 

I thought Nvidia had a recall for a battery overheating? You couldn't get the Shield for quite sometime.

 

They did. They changed the battery and launched the tablet K1

 

That is exactly what I have been looking for! Merry Christmas to me.

 

A lot of apps don't work on the Atom chips last I heard. Although dual boot android and Windows is an interesting prospect

Ehhhh... Doesn't review well... And 84C in a tablet is really way too much.

http://www.bestchinatablets.com/teclast-x98-pro-windows-10-and-cherry-trail/

 

That review is looking at Windows 10 in a device that is definitely low end for full desktop Windows machines. For Android, it is high end hardware.

I don't have that tablet, but another Teclast Atom tablet, the X89, which I bought in June. They are all very similar though. The only Android app that I have encountered that doesn't work is Microsoft Office, although I don't play any demanding 3D games in Android. Games work fine in Windows though. The temperature is hot because there is almost nothing to cool the processor, although if it gets too hot it only reduces screen brightness, not CPU speed. This has only happened in Android. It is easy to crack open the tablet to put in a copper shim to bridge the CPU and the aluminum case. I did that last week and no more display dimming when running demanding applications in Android. It doesn't offer the smoothest Android performance out there, but to get anything better you will need to get a current top of the line phone. Just install a different launcher (I prefer Nova) and it will be lightning quick. The speakers are kind of lame, but with headphones or HDMI out, that doesn't matter. For the price, there is nothing that comes even close to offering similar levels of performance. And the amount of features it packs is unrivaled but any other device. The X98 Pro has the same screen resolution as my X89, with double the RAM and the next generation Atom processor also running 40% faster. I can't imagine that it would have sluggish performance.

 

One reseller appears to have mispriced the new Xiaomi MiPad 2, charging just $193 for the 64GB model after a discount. I placed a pre-order just now.

EDIT: They updated their listing, rightfully removing the "Dual OS" tag, instead adding a pure Windows 10 option that will ship at the end of December.

 

Don't blame the OP for missing this as it wasn't advertised in advance, but from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, Google is selling the Nexus 9 for $199 ($279 for the 32 gb model). It never made sense as a $400+ tablet, but in this price range and with Nexus software support going forward, that's a whole different ball game.

Check my signature

 

I just ordered the Nvidia Shield Tablet K1 (2015 revision). The chassis got redesigned to remove the Nvidia Direct Stylus 2 and has no charger, but now starts at 199. Amazon had a combo deal with a controller AND the tablet for 199, so I ordered that to replace my fiance's Tegra Note 7.

 

I was about to get the Shield K1 until I saw the $200-off sale on the Nexus 9. Absent sales on other devices, I think the Shield K1 is easily the best deal on a $200 Android tablet out there right now, especially given Nvidia's better-than-average reputation for software updates (at a price point where you often don't get any at all).

 

I didn't see the Nexus 9 sale until the next day. :\

Though she did want the controller for gaming, and Amazon basically had 60 off the bundle, so that was a compelling reason enough (making the tablet like 150 dollars). Nvidia does have timely updates, though I will say the 5.1 Lollipop update made the Tegra Note 7 (with Tegra 4) pretty unusable, very noticeable lag. But nonetheless they do stand behind their products and that gave me enough reason to buy another Nvidia product.

Yeah I'm still awaiting 5.0 update for my Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition (it was promised by Samsung). It's not a huge deal, 4.4.2 runs smooth with the Exynos 5420 with 3 GB of RAM. And my Z3V is still waiting for Android 5.0 or 5.1 (Sony promised both, but Verizon is basically stonewalling the update).

 

I have a z3v as well. I am running the. 509 lollipop leak. Running great. Advanced calling makes me a happy camper. So well in fact I purchased a Verizon branded z2 tablet to replace my nexus 7 2013. I think that is one of the best 10 inch tablets for $250. Has official lollipop to boot.

 

I guess I'll take a look. My battery on my Z3V has been getting slowly worse, barely lasting 2 days now with my usage. Overall I'm happy with the Shield K1 tablet, minus no pen integration into the chassis now..