New Hippo Techie: Choosing a cheap tablet

Every week, it seems, there’s a different 7-inch tablet on sale for under $100 at one discount store or another. Sometimes it’s a bottom-tier brand name like Coby or Pandigital; sometimes a Polaroid mixes in; and sometimes there’s no brand name anywhere — in the advertisement, on the box, or on the tablet itself.

With even an older iPad 2 starting at $399 and e-reader tablets hovering around $200, these cheapos can be tempting. In some cases you can manage a bargain, but you have to be wary. A list of good and bad tablets wouldn’t do much good in the quickly-changing marketplace, so here’s a guide for what to look for.