Best cheap tablet for document review?

September 30, 2024 8:26 AM

I need a cheap tablet (so I won't miss it too much if it gets stolen) that I can bring to work so I can quickly search within, annotate, and highlight PDFs and EPUBS of textbooks. Any suggestions?

- Ideally could install some kind of reference/bibliography management tool as well.
- Something <$100 would be great. Used is fine.
- Comes with a fold-out keyboard would be cool.
- I use MacOS, iOS, and Google Office, so something that integrates with those would also be helpful.

posted by miltthetank to Technology (5 answers total)

Amazon Fire tablets are very inexpensive, so can be a good option for this, as long as you're willing to spend half an hour to install Google Play store so you can break it out of the Amazon sandbox. They sell a 10" option with a stylus around $100 with frequent sales (probably coming up Oct 8-9).
posted by ssg at 10:04 AM on September 30

Walmart has lots of new and refurbished Chromebooks under $100.
posted by credulous at 10:51 AM on September 30

(but it really depends on your workflow, if there are any specific apps you need installed locally, and where your files are stored, e.g. only Apple products will work with documents in iCloud)
posted by credulous at 11:13 AM on September 30

The Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 might fit some of your needs. You might have to use a cheap bluetooth keyboard that doesn't fold out.
posted by mecran01 at 12:20 PM on September 30

Since you seem to be Apple-centric, Mac Of All Trades has lots of used iPads in or around your $100 range, and they'll tie into your existing Mac / iOS workflow pretty seamlessly. Probably won't come with the keyboard cover, but if you really want one, they're available.

I have bought a used Mac Pro, iMac, a MacBook Pro, and an iPad from them, and it's always been a painless experience. These are used products, and will have some wear and tear, but every time the condition of the product I received was better than I was expecting. It seems like they're a little conservative on their condition estimates, leaning on the side of under-promising rather than presenting a scratched and dented Mac as "like new".
posted by xedrik at 12:44 PM on September 30