The Ubi Slate, a $38 ultralowcost tablet set to hit U.S. shores. (Ubi)
Think a tablet will cost you at least $100? $50? Think again. India's Datawind is bringing its dirt-cheap UbiSlate U7Ci Android tablet to American shores for just $37.99.
Less than two Andrew Jacksons will get you a 7-inch slate running the outdated Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich OS on a low-res, 800 x 480 capacitive display. Though its outdated features harken back to 2011, some users will be excited just to see a tablet being sold at this price.
In addition to its ancient OS and mediocre display, the UbiSlate 7Ci has a host of other subpar specs. You get a slow 1-GHz Cortex A8 processor with just 512MB of RAM and 4GB of storage. A microSD card slot lets you expand that storage by up to 32GB, and the tablet is Wi-Fi-capable and has a 0.3-MP front-facing camera.
MORE: Kids Tablets to Buy (or Avoid)
We haven't had a chance to test the U7Ci, but with specs this poor, you're likely to get what you pay for. If you're in the market for an affordable slate for your kids, consider the $179 Fuhu Nabi 2, which packs kid-friendly content and a speedier Tegra 3 processor into a durable chassis. The Kindle Fire HD, which is available for as low as $139, is also a better buy with its time-monitoring FreeTime mode to make it a great slate for family sharing.
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