 You don't buy a cheap tablet to replace your laptop. If you want to do that, buy an iPad, or a Surface or a Galaxy Note. But be prepared to pay handsomely for them. You buy a cheap tablet because it's great for watching Netflix, or for reading on the subway. You maybe buy it for your kid who's really not ready to handle anything that costs $500. Whatever the reason, there are a few things you want to pay attention to. Like, you want really great battery life. You want all the apps and games you need. You want solid construction, as close to totally unbreakable as possible. And most of all, you want a good screen. Without a good screen, nothing else about a tablet really matters. A few years ago, you actually couldn't get all of that and still spend less than $200. But now you can, and in a surprising number of places. I'm actually really shocked at how many good cheap tablets there are. But one definitely stands out. The Asus Memo Pad 7 is definitely the best cheap tablet you can buy. The Memo Pad 7 is near the top of the price limit here, but it's still cheap enough for almost anybody. But it doesn't feel cheap at all. It has this thin, nicely textured body that Asus modeled after a clutch bag. It has sharply rounded corners like a Lumia phone, and it both looks and feels a lot more expensive than it is. It has a brand new Intel processor, which is surprisingly fast, along with front and rear cameras that are at least as good as you'll get for this price. Although that's not very good. But the key here is the screen. The Memo Pad 7 has a 7-inch 1920x1200 display that is just leaps and bounds better than almost any other device in this price range. It has great viewing angles, and it's plenty bright. Oddly, those are both really hard to come by on a cheap tablet. It's also just really sharp, clean and crisp and easy to look at for a long time without feeling like you're watching a movie through a screen door or a dirty window. Add in the loud stereo speakers, and the Memo Pad 7 is a pretty great movie-watching machine. It's not perfect, of course. It has these huge black bezels around the screen, and Asus bundles some really ugly and unnecessary customizations to Android. But the key thing about the Memo Pad 7 is that it's the only cheap tablet that doesn't feel like you've got what you paid for. I should actually also mention the Nexus 7 here. Google's tablet, which is also made by Asus, has the same screen resolution and a slightly softer body that I like quite a bit. But it has an outdated processor at this point, and it's actually kind of hard to find. The Nexus 7 is great, but at this point the Memo Pad 7 is probably going to last you longer. The only other one really worth looking at, purely because it's the only other one with a screen this good, is Amazon's HDX 7. This is a pure consumption device, make no mistake. Amazon's app library is still also very small, but there are a few fun games and a really solid selection of things to watch and read. If you're trying to go even cheaper, the one you should buy is the Fire HD 7. You'll get a lower-res screen and a thicker and more plasticky body, but you still get access to Amazon's huge library of movies, music, and TV shows. The HD 6 is even cheaper, but it's only six inches. It's basically a cell phone. The rest of the cheap tablet landscape is full of models that are all essentially the same thing. The ASUS Memo Pad 8 has an eight-inch screen and is cheaper than the Memo Pad 7, but it's not as well made, it's lower-res, and it's not as fast. Samsung's Galaxy Tab 4 7.0, Lenovo's Android-based A8, EVGA's Tegra Note all have bad screens and cheap bodies. They all, I should mention, perform pretty well. One thing you really don't need to worry about anymore is performance, at least for the basics. Diamond-dozen processors can definitely keep up now. Be really, really wary of the absolute cheapest tablets you can find, but not because they won't work well. It's often just because they can't run all the right apps, or because they have such bad screens that you won't even want to use them. But the best thing about cheap tablets is that they don't have to be bad. I'm actually surprised at how good they can be. But if you want the best one, though, the one that no one will ever guess costs you less than $200, buy the ASUS Memo Pad 7.
 You don't buy a cheap tablet to replace your laptop.
 If you want to do that, buy an iPad, or a Surface or a Galaxy Note.
 But be prepared to pay handsomely for them.
 You buy a cheap tablet because it's great for watching Netflix, or for reading on the
 subway.
 You maybe buy it for your kid who's really not ready to handle anything that costs $500.
 Whatever the reason, there are a few things you want to pay attention to.
 Like, you want really great battery life.
 You want all the apps and games you need.
 You want solid construction, as close to totally unbreakable as possible.
 And most of all, you want a good screen.
 Without a good screen, nothing else about a tablet really matters.
 A few years ago, you actually couldn't get all of that and still spend less than $200.
 But now you can, and in a surprising number of places.
 I'm actually really shocked at how many good cheap tablets there are.
 But one definitely stands out.
 The Asus Memo Pad 7 is definitely the best cheap tablet you can buy.
 The Memo Pad 7 is near the top of the price limit here, but it's still cheap enough for
 almost anybody.
 But it doesn't feel cheap at all.
 It has this thin, nicely textured body that Asus modeled after a clutch bag.
 It has sharply rounded corners like a Lumia phone, and it both looks and feels a lot more
 expensive than it is.
 It has a brand new Intel processor, which is surprisingly fast, along with front and
 rear cameras that are at least as good as you'll get for this price.
 Although that's not very good.
 But the key here is the screen.
 The Memo Pad 7 has a 7-inch 1920x1200 display that is just leaps and bounds better than
 almost any other device in this price range.
 It has great viewing angles, and it's plenty bright.
 Oddly, those are both really hard to come by on a cheap tablet.
 It's also just really sharp, clean and crisp and easy to look at for a long time without
 feeling like you're watching a movie through a screen door or a dirty window.
 Add in the loud stereo speakers, and the Memo Pad 7 is a pretty great movie-watching machine.
 It's not perfect, of course.
 It has these huge black bezels around the screen, and Asus bundles some really ugly
 and unnecessary customizations to Android.
 But the key thing about the Memo Pad 7 is that it's the only cheap tablet that doesn't
 feel like you've got what you paid for.
 I should actually also mention the Nexus 7 here.
 Google's tablet, which is also made by Asus, has the same screen resolution and a slightly
 softer body that I like quite a bit.
 But it has an outdated processor at this point, and it's actually kind of hard to find.
 The Nexus 7 is great, but at this point the Memo Pad 7 is probably going to last you longer.
 The only other one really worth looking at, purely because it's the only other one with
 a screen this good, is Amazon's HDX 7.
 This is a pure consumption device, make no mistake.
 Amazon's app library is still also very small, but there are a few fun games and a really
 solid selection of things to watch and read.
 If you're trying to go even cheaper, the one you should buy is the Fire HD 7.
 You'll get a lower-res screen and a thicker and more plasticky body, but you still get
 access to Amazon's huge library of movies, music, and TV shows.
 The HD 6 is even cheaper, but it's only six inches.
 It's basically a cell phone.
 The rest of the cheap tablet landscape is full of models that are all essentially the
 same thing.
 The ASUS Memo Pad 8 has an eight-inch screen and is cheaper than the Memo Pad 7, but it's
 not as well made, it's lower-res, and it's not as fast.
 Samsung's Galaxy Tab 4 7.0, Lenovo's Android-based A8, EVGA's Tegra Note all have bad screens
 and cheap bodies.
 They all, I should mention, perform pretty well.
 One thing you really don't need to worry about anymore is performance, at least for the basics.
 Diamond-dozen processors can definitely keep up now.
 Be really, really wary of the absolute cheapest tablets you can find, but not because they
 won't work well.
 It's often just because they can't run all the right apps, or because they have such
 bad screens that you won't even want to use them.
 But the best thing about cheap tablets is that they don't have to be bad.
 I'm actually surprised at how good they can be.
 But if you want the best one, though, the one that no one will ever guess costs you
 less than $200, buy the ASUS Memo Pad 7.