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Anyone have any suggestions for good Android tablets that are under $200? I bought a Nexus 7 2013 last year for $99 on sale and it is a fantastic tablet, but those deals are long gone now. A decent CPU and 2GB or more of RAM is required. I use an LG G2 (Snapdragon 800, 2GB) for my phone and wouldn't want anything much slower in a tablet.

Something I really want to use it for is a MIDI instrument via a Roland UM-One. I have some old MIDI sound generators (MT32 and SC55) and would like to play around with making some retro-game-style music. This works great on my wife's Nexus 7 2013 and her Droid Turbo but doesn't work on my rooted G2 for some reason. An 8-10" screen would be good.

I'd love it to run Windows if Windows has suitable multitouch ready MIDI applications (would highly prefer this) but I've used some on Android and they seem okay, and I'm fairly comfortable with Android.

A real stylus\pen for art is also something I'd be interested in, since it'd actually allow me to do things I can't do on my other systems.

The Nvidia Shield K1 seems like a really nice tablet for $199 (+$30 for stylus), but I want to make sure I know all the options.

What do you guys think?

The Shield Tablet comes with a Stylus, and it's is a perfect choice. I have 2 of them.

In all honesty, you should be looking at the iPad Mini range. If you can get a hold of a recent-ish model, you can expect software updates for at least a couple years more.You also mentioned music, and iOS is miles ahead of Android in terms of handling audio and real-time input overall.

And before you post, I am most definitely not an Apple fanboy. I just give credit where credit is due.

I considered Apple, but I don't like being locked into their ecosystem unless they offer something I simply cannot do without. Plus, the price is just too high for me. An outdated iPad mini with weak specs is more expensive than some really nice Android options.

If I could get one cheaper than better android options I'd try it, but that just doesn't really happen.

Also, no stylus.

And I'm mostly interested in MIDI data, so audio latency isn't as big of a deal.

If you insist on going Android, I'd looked for a used Nexus 9 or the the most recent version of the Shield that you can find.

morphine wrote:

If you insist on going Android, I'd looked for a used Nexus 9 or the the most recent version of the Shield that you can find.

Windows would be great too, but I don't know much about the options, and I have a feeling the price is also too high for me.

Honestly, if it weren't for the Shield K1 being $199 right now, I wouldn't be considering anything but a bottom of the barrel model. It seems like the low end tablets range from $70 to $279 with little difference in performance and features.

Does it seriously not have the Stylus with it anymore?

Honestly, if you're buying based on features on paper, I think You're Doing It Wrong. It's all about the build quality, reliability, and software support.

morphine wrote:

It's all about the software support.

FTFY.
However, my original Nexus 7 is now too slow to be usable.

morphine wrote:

Honestly, if you're buying based on features on paper, I think You're Doing It Wrong. It's all about the build quality, reliability, and software support.

I buy based on what I need and my price range. I don't spend $800 on what someone else perceives as the best buy, just to have to lose sleep over how the manufacturer will take care of me and hopefully make the purchase worth it in the long run.

I do count support and quality as important things to look for. Nvidia seems to have good software support but more importantly to me, the device seems easy to unlock and install custom ROMs on later if Nvidia stops supporting it.

I bought an HP touchpad during the fire sale 5 years ago for $90 with the obvious knowledge that it would not be supported by HP for long. It is still used regularly and has been running Android 4.1 for several years now. My daughter plays Minecraft and educational games on it and it works beautifully. If it ever breaks, it has had a good life and it won't be too hard to replace now.

A fairly priced, powerful, feature rich tablet that receives glowing reviews and has promising software support, while being the only option in my price range (that is still being sold new) with the features I want seems like a good investment to me.

If Apple sold a $200 tablet that wasn't 4 years old and offered some features I'm actually looking for, I'd buy one. I almost bought a 16GB Air 2 when they went on clearance at Walmart recently, but I just plain don't like iOS or getting stuck in their exclusive overpriced ecosystem ($99 stylus for an $800 tablet). I'll probably get one eventually, once the Pro's stylus support has trickled down to something I could afford... And then that goes on clearance... but for now I'm looking at Android or Windows.

Edit: Just wanted to mention that I do appreciate the build quality of iPads and the number of quality apps (especially for music) available on iOS, I just find the limitations and lack of options highly unappealing. With no competing brands of tablets available that have access to iOS apps and Apple's control of third party software and accessory support, I just find it difficult to want to invest much into it.

I'll likely still get a good Android tablet to use for just about everything, but I'll keep my eyes peeled for someone selling a used iPad (4th gen or mini 2) for pennies ($100 or less) so I can play with the music apps. I'm not a musician... It's just a curiosity of mine.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

my original Nexus 7 is now too slow to be usable.

Sounds like it uses an Atom based CPU.

My bad. Reference to another thread.

Any thoughts about Lenovo Tab 2 A10

Philldoe wrote:

Does it seriously not have the Stylus with it anymore?

For the newer "K1", no, it is a separate purchase now and the tablet does not have the "hole" for holding the stylus in anymore.

seankay wrote:

Any thoughts about Lenovo Tab 2 A10

I like mine, but it's a bit aged and not being updated anymore.  Android 5.0.1.
There're Tab 3 devices out now that should be Android 6 based so a bit better.
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/tablets <- page doesn't seem to work in Chrome once you click through to an actual model.

LostCat wrote:

seankay wrote:

Any thoughts about Lenovo Tab 2 A10

I like mine, but it's a bit aged and not being updated anymore.  Android 5.0.1.
There're Tab 3 devices out now that should be Android 6 based so a bit better.
http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/tablets <- page doesn't seem to work in Chrome once you click through to an actual model.

Thanks for the link! I really liked Lenovo Tab 3 8 for $110. 

Me too I might pick one up later, though for now my Tab 2 A10 works so I might wait for the next gen.

+1 for the Nvidia Shield K1.

I bought one earlier this year and like it alot, though I didn't buy the stylus with it so can't comment on how well it works.
I just use it for web browsing, emails and some basic games but have found it to be very good for the price.

The cube iwork11 has a wacom digitizer (surface pro *2* device) - so except for the added depth from glass to screen, it's generally a better device for a stylus.

The chuwi hi10 plus has a synaptics digitizer (surface pro *3* device) - so glass to screen distance isn't as bad, but it's not as complex in its stylus detection. The chuwi however has good USB ports.

Both are Windows devices (for the Stylus), and I think also have Android as well.

From what I gather of the Shield, it's digitizer isn't as good as either BUT programs written for it are generally quite good (..like the "paint" program that comes with it).

CScottG wrote:

The cube iwork11 has a wacom digitizer (surface pro *2* device) - so except for the added depth from glass to screen, it's generally a better device for a stylus.

The chuwi hi10 plus has a synaptics digitizer (surface pro *3* device) - so glass to screen distance isn't as bad, but it's not as complex in its stylus detection. The chuwi however has good USB ports.

Both are Windows devices (for the Stylus), and I think also have Android as well.

From what I gather of the Shield, it's digitizer isn't as good as either BUT programs written for it are generally quite good (..like the "paint" program that comes with it).

I'm not familiar with the differences in stylus capabilities with these kinds of things. I see they don't come with a stylus, yet they apparently support one.

Do they support an active or passive stylus? How big is the difference between they two?

One thing I can see myself using a stylus for is actually text selection when typing. If there's one thing that drives me crazy about using touch screen devices it's the lack of control for making minor edits and corrections. I really miss my Xperia Play because it had a built in directional pad for moving the cursor in any direction in a text box. I'm sure it's much better on a tablet than on a phone, but I still like to have more precise control.

Managed to grab a used Shield Tablet on eBay just now for a good price. It is post-defect non-K1 so it has no battery problem but DOES have the stylus slot, nvidia charger etc. Comes with original box, magnetic cover, at least one Shield stylus (it says "extra stylus"), charger, and a 64GB microSD, with the tablet in very good condition for $148 shipped after best offer. I would have bought a stylus, case and memory card for a brand new one and not had a convenient place to store the stylus, and that would have cost me ~$260-$270. Unless this thing is totally beat and somehow it didn't show in the pictures, it seems like a good purchase to me.

Can't wait to get it. It'll be my first tablet since the HP Touchpad (which has moved on to my daughter). Everyone else in my house has 2nd Gen Nexus 7 tablets that I've helped them buy (or bought for them as gifts). Hopefully this tablet will be just as good... and it certainly didn't break the bank!

Tab 2 A10 just got an update noone can install 

stay classy, Lenovo

Based on the past couple of years, Lenovo is dead to me.

just brew it! wrote:

Based on the past couple of years, Lenovo is dead to me.

I just opened up a ThinkPad T460s at work. Looks and feels fine for now... Have to really use it to tell more. Or did you just mean Lenovo the consumer side only?

@ozzuneoj: sounds like a great deal, if the tablet itself isn't too banged up and everything works. Post some pics if you can.

Flying Fox wrote:

just brew it! wrote:

Based on the past couple of years, Lenovo is dead to me.

I just opened up a ThinkPad T460s at work. Looks and feels fine for now... Have to really use it to tell more. Or did you just mean Lenovo the consumer side only?

Mainly consumer, but we've had some issues with their business laptops at the office too.