Budget friendly tablets

Compact size, budget priced tablets for your picking

Jul 08, 2016 06:00 am

From Samsung to Asus to Lenovo, here are four devices with interesting specs yet priced within your reach

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB A 7.0 ($298)

Samsung's latest attempt at making a budget tablet has yielded a pretty decent compact device. It sports a MicroSIM slot alongside an expandable memory slot that allows the device to function as a portable workstation, especially with its 4G LTE capabilities.

The device might not be the thinnest, but its light weight is commendable. Due to its compact frame, it's fairly easy to grip it single-handedly.

With a midrange processor and RAM, it should easily be able to handle movies, web-browsing and basic productivity apps.

The camera, despite having a lower resolution of 5MP, is still sufficient for photos but the 2MP front camera is only useful for basic video chatting.

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One of the Tab A's strengths is its impressive battery life, which allows you to run the device for around 11 to 12 hours while surfing the Net, so it should last a full work day without any problems.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Weight: 283g
Thickness: 8.7mm
Resolution: 1280 x 800
Processor: Snapdragon 410
RAM: 1.5GB
Internal Memory: 8GB
Rear Camera: 5MP

LENOVO YOGA TAB 3 ($259)

The Yoga Tab 3 is an absolute beauty that brings you the best of both aesthetics and practicality. This impressive budget tablet, with its heavy-duty spine, built-in stand and rotatable camera, is an innovative competitor.

The spine of the Yoga Tab 3 makes gripping the device single-handedly effortless. That same spine also acts as a portable stand, to help prop the Tab 3 up in landscape mode for you, allowing you to watch videos without having to hold on to the tablet. The tablet is also armed with a camera on the spine, which makes the camera rotatable - an interesting and novel feature absent from other tablets.

With a huge battery capacity, the Tab 3 can be used to watch videos for hours on end, and it should rightly be used as a media tablet. If you love watching your favourite movies and dramas on the go, the Tab 3 is great for you.

However, the Tab 3 falls short when it comes to work performance and gaming capabilities. It lags noticeably when running demanding programs.

Nevertheless, the Yoga Tab 3 shines in terms of its design and practicality if you need a simple budget tablet for web browsing and multimedia.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Weight: 467.2 g | Thickness: 7mm
Resolution: 1280 x 800
Processor: Snapdragon 210
RAM: 1GB
Internal Memory: 16 GB
Rear Camera: 8MP

ASUS ZENPAD 8.0 ($299)

Asus has carved out a name for itself by producing value-for-money phones and tablets. The ZenPad 8.0 is no exception. This simple-looking device with a metallic rim is an all-rounder tablet that shouldn't be overlooked.

For an entry-level device, the ZenPad 8 has fairly decent performance, sporting 2GB worth of RAM that allows it to multi-task better than its competitors in this price range. Loading productivity apps for work shouldn't tax the tablet much, but running multiple programs might not be the best idea.

Although the device isn't full-HD, images still look crystal clear on its 8-inch screen. Thanks to the unique features of the ZenUI interface, your colour scheme can be adjusted manually to fit your preferences.

The ZenPad 8 is one of the most budget-friendly tablets, yet packs some serious punch. The only thing ZenPad 8 could work on would be the underpowered speaker and cameras. If these could be improved, the tablet would be an absolute powerhouse.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Weight: 350g
Thickness: 8.5mm
Resolution: 1280 x 800
Processor: Snapdragon 410
RAM: 2GB
Internal Memory: 16GB
Rear Camera: 8MP

ACER ICONIA ONE 8 ($199)

The Acer Iconia One 8 looks simple, but it is the most affordable of the lot here and it gets the job done.

It is an entry-level device that allows you to browse the web and view media. However, its performance is hindered by the limited RAM.

It doesn't come with a SIM slot so a Wi-Fi connection is a must.

This device has a great display despite a resolution short of full-HD. Colour replication is fantastic compared to oversaturated colour settings most other smartphones and tablets suffer from. Its "zero air-gap" technology eliminates all forms of parallax error when viewing, giving the user a clearer image of the screen.

Battery life is also more than satisfactory. The device can run for a full day without recharge.