While $300 for a tablet might seem insanely high after this weekend’s $100 TouchPad frenzy, it’s still a decent buy. I still find it hard to recommend existing budget Honeycomb tablets over the iPad when I’m talking to people who aren’t into tech, and this makes its case even stronger. iPad or netbook? For some people the choice is obvious, for others not so much. But at $300 neither both are good deals.
Still not sure? Let’s take a look at the other options. The new Acer Iconia A100 is only $20 more, and beats the iPad on specs, but the 7″, 16:9 screen might not be enough for people. Lenovo’s K1 doesn’t strike me as a quality tablet, and their ThinkPad Tablet (while it looks great) isn’t in the same price league. The Sony S1 and S2 will be interesting, but not for a while.
The only real competition, I’d say, is a refurb Nook Color. I never had much good to say about these things, but at $180 they’re a good deal, come with support and a community of hackers anyone could be proud of. As an e-reader, I’m not a fan of LCD stuff, but as a budget tablet, this thing ain’t half bad.
And sure, you can get a “tablet” for under a hundred bucks, but you’d be better off buying RIM stock. Oh no he didn’t
Get your $299 iPad here at the Apple Store. Yeah, you could do Craigslist, but you don’t know what they did to that thing.
[via TUAW]