Tablet for Dad for Christmas.

[Boyiee]

Heard my Dad mention a tablet to my mom in passing a while ago, and I'm not sure if I'll get him one, but I'm going to play with the idea.

He does real estate and fire stuff, has a lot of downtime at the fire thing but could use a device for more productivity with real estate.

I was toying with the Fire HD7, HD6, and HDX. The new Fire HDX 8.9 is too costly, and I think $200 is about my limit. I currently have a Nexus 7 2013 and I don't really use it much since I just use my phone (LG G3), and I don't know how it compares to the Fires. They seem pretty popular.

As for what its going to be used for, I don't know how it can add to his productivity when doing real estate but I've seen a few of those dudes with iPads. He'll never spend that much or want something that costs that much, he hates getting expensive gifts. So the Fire seems liked a good choice.

Anyone have any input on these things?

[The Stig]

Do not get Amazon tablets due to its inability to access Google Play unless you hack it, but then you'll become the primary tech support.

However, if he's not aware of Google Play in the first instance, then it's worth a shot, but then pray he doesn't find something he might like that's not accessible on the Amazon app land. The Fires are popular if the user doesn't know any better.

Due to country differences I'm unable to recommend or look for deals, but assuming the market is the same the LG G Pad 7.0 and 8.0 has been making good rounds in the UK if you can get a deal for them.

[orinthia]

If you have amazon prime or have a lot of stuff with amazon, their devices are pretty nice though a little more limited unless you root them. Amazon has android apps for most of their stuff (apps for amazon's store, kindle ebooks, app store, etc), so a generic android tablet will do mostly the same things with those apps.

There's been a slew of cheap tablets since black friday, including full x86 windows 8.1 ones for around $100-$150 (don't expect anything amazing with stuff that cheap mind you, but it's modern hardware). Just be weary of some sites advertising $50 android tablets, as those are very old and will likely not be receiving any support or updates (most are stuck with android 4.2 forever). Check sites like techbargains or slickdeals for more stuff.

Something that came to iOS recently as apps were microsoft's word, excel, powerpoint, and onenote (all free), and those all work pretty well. So there's that if you can find a cheap, used ipad.

[notorious bum]

My brother in China has been trying to hunt for a tablet to buy me for xmas, but he's leaning towards the Chinese brands that offer high-end 10inch displays (CubeX9 iirc) for $200. I did my own research for tablets online and have found the Dell Venue 7 for $130 to be the best rated, plus you get arguably the best customer service with their warranty.

Dell Venue 8inch with Windows 8.1 can be had at around $150 refurbished. ASUS has their own equivalents with similar offerings, but they sound like they have a higher failure rate and terrible customer support. I've also read that Kindles are notoriously short-lived in the battery components.

[Jamison]

What was said above is very true. Fire tables are great within the Amazon ecosystem, but have limited [apps] to no [google everything] support outside of that. The N7 (2013) is probably still one of the best low-mid range Android tablets out there. I see it frequently for $180 and as low as $150 on occasion.

[orinthia]

Was looking around for other stuff and saw these things:
Lenovo - S8-50 Tablet for $150: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-s...ci_sku=8731458
Apple iPad mini 2 for $250: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-ip...ci_sku=7008561
Some general tablets under $200 (some android, some windows): http://www.techbargains.com/tablet-deals-under-200

The windows tablets tend to have small ssds, needing an SD card to actually have more space for stuff. You'd probably get one anyway for any tablet that supports it since they're pretty cheap now, but it's a near requirement for the cheap windows tablets. I nearly impulse-bought a $60 windows tablet I saw during black friday/monday/etc sales... so much regret on not-bought tech crap

[Astylla]

We debated a long time on a tablet for us and eventually decided on the ipad air 2, and we hate apple products. However this is my new favorite item. Battery life is awesome and love how it runs. I'd recommend the ipad mini 2 given my experience.