Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Can't snag a $99 HP TouchPad? Here are 5 alternatives

If you missed out on HP's close-out on the discontinued TouchPad tablet, check out low-cost slates from competing vendors.

If you've missed out on Hewlett-Packard's close-out deals on the discontinued TouchPad tablet -- $99 for the 16GB model, and $149 for 32GB -- you might want to check out low-cost slates from competing vendors.

Sub-$500 tablets from Acer, Barnes & Noble, Samsung, Vizio -- and, yes, even Apple -- cost at least $150 more than the fire-sale 16GB TouchPad. But if you buy one, you won't be stuck with an orphan product that's slouching toward the tech graveyard.

Here are five slate options. All prices are rounded up.

1) Nook Color ($250)

On the surface, Barnes & Noble's Nook Color is an e-reader of the Amazon Kindle variety. But it's secretly a 7-inch Android tablet that adventurous users can hack to run the Android Honeycomb OS, thereby increasing the slate's capabilities. In its native (unhacked) state, the Nook Color runs a variety of Nook Apps, including Angry Birds and Pandora Internet radio.

2) Vizio Tablet ($290 at Amazon)

Best known for its bargain HDTVs, Vizio has gotten into the slate game with an 8-inch Wi-Fi tablet that runs Android. Model VTAB1008 (catchy name) has a front-facing camera for video chat, and it functions as a universal remote for home theater devices. Vizio's slate has only 4GB of internal storage -- and only 2GB of that is user accessible -- but the integrated MicroSD slot holds a memory card up to 32GB in size.

3) Acer 7-inch tablet ($330)

Acer recently started shipping the Iconia Tab A100, a 7-inch tablet the company says is first to run Android 3.2, which is optimized for smaller tablets. The A100 has a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera, and a front-facing 2-megapixel camera. Its HDMI port is handy for displaying images on an HDTV.

4) Samsung Galaxy Tab 7-inch ($350)

The Wi-Fi-only version of Samsung's 7-inch color tablet is ripe for an upgrade -- it's still running Android 2.2 -- but this lightweight slate has a lot going for it. For starters, it's easy to hold with one hand. For e-bookworms, that's a big advantage, as larger, iPad-sized slates are often tiring to hold for extended periods of time. The 7-inch Galaxy Tab has both a front (1.3-megapixel) and rear (3-megapixel) camera.

5) Refurbished original iPad ($400)

If you frequent Apple's online store, you'll find specials on refurbished iPads, such as a Wi-Fi 32GB model for $399 -- that's $100 off list price. MacRumors reports that it found a refurbished 16GB original iPad for $299, but model wasn't available when I checked. So if you want an iPad on the cheap -- and you're OK with last year's model -- Apple's bargain basement is worth a visit.

Contact Jeff Bertolucci via Twitter (@jbertolucci) or at jbertolucci.blogspot.com.

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: AB, Acer, Amazon, Apple, barnesandnoble.com, Galaxy, Google, Hewlett-Packard, HP, Noble, Samsung, Vizio
References show all

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: Acer, Apple, Barnes & Noble, hardware systems, hewlett-packard, Pandora, tablets, Vizio
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Best Practices for Secure Enterprise Content Mobility
    To secure mobile devices while enabling employees to share data securely, organisations need a comprehensive and flexible solution for secure enterprise content mobility. A secure enterprise content mobility solution complements Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions and enables mobile workers to easily share data with other authorised users, while ensuring that data is always secure and IT operations are always compliant. Read this whitepaper to learn: How the popularity of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is creating new security challenges; Why MDM is useful, but not sufficient; How enterprise content mobility provides an essential layer of security and control for organisations with mobile users.
    Learn more »
  • Oracle Exadata - Extreme performance, lowest cost.
    As organizations contend with escalating demands for greater quantities of information, more sophisticated data analysis, and a burgeoning user population, Oracle Exadata makes database workloads faster, easier to manage, and less expensive. Oracle Exadata is the world’s first database machine to provide extreme performance for both data warehousing and online transaction processing (OLTP) applications. Read this whitepaper.
    Learn more »
  • Think print, Think security - Plugging the printer security gap
    The widespread use of networked printers and multifunction peripherals (MFPs) which scan, print, fax, copy and email has increased productivity in the production of all types of business output. However, the growing sophistication of these devices has also increased security risks associated with printing. Network connectivity, along with hard disk and memory storage, means that MFPs are now susceptible to many of the same security risks as PCs and servers alongside the traditional risk of sensitive printed output getting into the wrong hands. However, all too often the security of the print environment is overlooked and little is done to mitigate these threats. Read more.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments