After much research....Samsung Galaxy Tab wins 7" market
597764
This device is hands down, the best 7" device out on the market today.  I personally feel the 7" tablet is the best type of tablet to own. Portability is very important to me and I can carry this device anywhere very easily. All I need is a Wifi connection and the whole internet is open to me. The screen is phenomenal.  Movies are sharp with good sound. Screen is very reactive to my touch.  It operates Android 3.2. The google market of apps are wide open to this device. Camera is good...a little awkward to use compared to a phone or regular digital camera, however, much easier to use than larger tablets. Front facing camera is good for video chatting.  Great internal memory, but if you run out, the ability is there to add memory through use of micro sd card.  All in all, this is the best 7" tablet out there. I strongly encourage, if you are looking for a tablet this size, to seriously consider getting this tablet. You won't be disappointed.
3678043
Two days after receiving my A200 (16gb), I'm quite happy with it, and probably much more satisfied than I might have been if I hadn't read the earlier Amazon reviews warning of many specific issues.

No, it doesn't have an HDMI port, and yes, it's thicker and a little bit heavier than an iPad or Galaxy Tab.  And no, there isn't a rear camera, and the camera that faces me doesn't seem very good, but I can't really imagine using a tablet as a camera. (At a conference I attended last month, I saw people holding up their 10" tablets over their heads to capture video, and it looked absolutely ridiculous.)

The Acer Iconia Tab A200 has a regular-size USB port, and a MicroSD card slot, both of which were important to me. (I actually bought a USB keyboard/case combo for less than $20 here on Amazon, and it works fine when I want to use the tablet on a table or desk.)

I'm pretty sure that my tablet came with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) pre-installed, although the box said it wasn't.  (It's possible that it just did the upgrade really quickly when I first turned it on.)

Like every other touchscreen device I've used, this tablet's screen was quickly covered with fingerprints.  A third-party screen protector reduced this problem significantly.

I'm very price-conscious, and honestly wasn't willing to spend more than $400 on a tablet right now.  I certainly didn't think 7 inches would be enough, and when I looked at an 8" and several 7" units in stores, I definitely didn't think I'd be satsified with those smaller sizes.  I was also concerned that using a 10.1-inch screen on a tablet would be a huge "step down" from the dual 22-inch monitors on my desktop PC, but it's surprisingly comfortable to work with the 10.1-inch screen.

This product works spectacularly as an e-reader (using the Kindle android app, which was pre-loaded). I had used my old iPhone for this in the past, but the screen was just too tiny.

I've installed at least a dozen additional apps from the android store (play.google.com), but the tablet is pre-configured to not allow apps from other third-party providers. Fortunately, that notification included a link to the settings page to enable third-party apps.

Other folks have complained about the sound volume, but it sounds fine to me (though I don't agree with the fellow who thought the sound was fine when set to 50%). After I installed the Pandora app (streaming music), I did find myself turning the volume down. Perhaps the sound volume levels were changed with the ICS upgrade, or perhaps I'm just less picky.

Normally, whenever I buy any new device, I find myself swearing at it during setup or the first few hours of use. I don't think I've sworn at my A200 yet, though I have found myself cursing some App developers who seem incapable of accurately describing their products.

I'm very satisfied, so far.
1701832
If I could give this tablet a 4.5 stars I would.  The tablet market may not be perfect yet but this tablet is my number one choice for the $$$ without a doubt.  I rate myself "medium" on the techy level (I can not code or hack) and I don't have a ton of patience, but I was able to ROOT and flash the vegan tab ROM and now this thing is simple and very fast and smooth.  If you don't know what rooting or ROMing means then it is all explained in detail in the xda developers forum, just google it.  It took a little time but I was able to add a 16gb mini sd and install some custom apps like ES Explorer, a new media player, angry birds etc. and I could not be happier. It does take a little time to figure out how to do it all but the price and the fun of customization makes this tab with all its great hardware a great choice. I paid $379.
3147892
I bought this tablet a while back when Woot had it on sale for $ 279.99. The viewing angle, although not ideal, has not bothered me, nor has the stock skin.  I updated the firmware, and with that being said, my only complaints are that it is sluggish at times and I do get the occassional "hang" every once in a while. All in all though, for a 10" tablet with the Viewsonics specs, you can't go wrong at this price.  Of course the "real" reason that I bought the Viewsonic is because at that price I could venture into the wonderfull world of rooting and not have that much to lose.  I'll let you know how that turns out...smile...

If you can live with a 7" tablet, I highly recommend the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.  It is an AWESOME product right out of the box for under $ 250.00 and it is running ICS.
4442043
The Galaxy Tab S is overall a fantastic device. It has a beautiful screen, good software, and great hardware. I've only had the device slow down on me once or twice. The back of the device has a soft feel to it, and although it doesn't look as nice as aluminum, I'd say it's good enough. The tablet is also very light and thin, and overall was a great value.

I would, however, avoid buying this tablet at full retail price, or anything that isn't discounted at at least $330, as you can expect Samsung to release an improved version of this tablet this summer, for around the same retail price.

Pros
- Great screen
- Exactly what you'd expect from a high-end tablet
- Fast performance

Cons
- Lackluster build quality
- Could charge faster
4809475
i had own a galaxy tab 7.0($399)and kindle fire($199). Both are great tablets but either of it has come the the new Tab2. first tab is way to expensive with even with 16g memory. kindle fire is cheap but still too slow for ICS.

Galaxy Tab 2 has set a new margin for tablets. its only $50 more than kindle fire and with ICS system. it has 1g of ram and faster processor, which is great for some good quality games. even two camera front and back. i know sumsung could do a better job on the cameras. i really loved it.
1555912
It has all the tech specs!!  How could they sell it for $159? So I bought 2.  The seller was great, good contact and excellent response times.

I just saw that it is now $199.....  I returned mine for two reasons: the graphics leave a little to be desired. The Galaxy Tab is 1280x800(149.45 ppi).  This is 1024x600 (117 ppi), at first you would think it's that big of a deal, but it is easily observed with text and photos.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't expect Iphone or HTC resolution, but it's very noticeable.
If you have a computer, compare 800x600 to 1024x768.
 At the 159 it's still a good deal, bluetooth, dual webcams wireless N, hdmi!  But for 200, look around, you may find a better display and the goodies.

Second reason:
No covers or cases other than the pleather folios on ebay.....which again is fine, if you are ok with it.  I couldn't find anything that came close, and I tried.  So I spent $40 more on a different tablet, which has higher resolution, all the other goodies, but one camera and, most importantly a decent case if I drop it from chair level.

It seemed a well built product, and the seller was excellent, but I had to write this short review when I saw the price shot up $40!

for 159, 4.5 stars.
for $200 3.5 stars
1323399
I purchased this tablet and a 32GB microSD card from Amazon and both arrived next day with Prime shipping.  I've been an iPhone and iPad user for a few years now, but decided I wanted to go with a smaller tablet.  The Galaxy Tab 2 definitely had a much better price point than the iPad Mini, so I decided to give the Android platform a try.  The interface has been fairly intuitive even for someone like me coming from a strong iOS background.

The one disappointment (for lack of a better term) that I've had thus far is that the case covers the IR (infrared) port.  This fact results in the Peel Smart Remote app not working to control my entertainment equipment.  If I remove the tablet from the cover, it works great!  It was a snap to connect with my Sharp Aquos TV, Yahama sound bar, and DirecTV HD DVR.  I was then able to use the remote control app to switch the TV to other channels & shows using the recommended shows functionality of the app.  I was also able to successfully power all of the devices on and off with the app.  It's really unfortunate that this case is designed by Samsung specifically for this tablet only to have it block a major feature like that.

Other than that, the tablet has been great!  I love the smaller size and weight compared to the iPad.  The Galaxy Tab 2 came preloaded with the Kindle app, so I've been able to download several of my Kindle books to it.
3253398
I have had this tablet for about a week now and I have to say it is great!  I had a two year old 10 in Toshiba Thrive that I used mostly for reading, listening to music, and a few apps such as Facebook, Pinterest and Feedly and that is all I really did with my tablet.  The Thrive was bulky and heavy so I was looking to downsize to a 7 inch.  I wanted something affordable, but not a cheap no name tablet that would be questionable.  I was initially looking at the Google Nexus and the Kindle Fire HD.  I have family members that have these tablets,so I had a chance to look at those fairly closely.  I decided not to get the Kindle based on the restriction to the Amazon App store which left me with the Google.  I got a random email advertising the HP Slate 7 Extreme and after looking it over, I decided it was best for me.  It has everything the Google Nexus does with the exception of the writing ability and that is what sold me.  I am a note and list writer and I have tried to use note apps, but oh the typing (which I hate).  I would then have notepads filling up my purse and strewn across my desk at work.  It is fabulous to be able to use this tablet to write and save notes.  Another feature I like are the front facing speakers since I listen to a lot of music.  Several reviews mentioned screen resolution as a negative, but I am coming from a dinosaur tablet and the screen resolution is so improved that I have no problems with it.  The only downside I have found is finding a case.  None of the ones sold by Amazon will fit this model.  I did go to Wal-Mart and find a universal one that seems to do the trick, except the camera hole doesn't line up.  I use my phone for photos, so I don't see that being an issue for me.  Even though this is advertised as a 7" tablet, it measures 8" x 4 3/4" so take that into consideration when looking for a case.
3262262
Where do I start. Well before the system update there was I strange transperacy on the side of the screen but after the update its fine. The performance of the this tablet is quite good its pretty fast. The screen is decent . Sure its not iPad mini clarity but its also not 299.00. Love the aspect ratio just like the iPad mini same size screen. The weight is fine contrary to what Manny have said. Its also a nice looking tablet. The touch screen is quit good for the price. Also like the fact that it has GPS and an HDMI out for movies. The WiFi works well and is pretty fast. The battery life is also pretty good. I also like the 5 finger wake feature. Also it has a quad quare CPU and a nice GPU the power vx sgx540 which is also very good for games. Latest update is 4.2.2 not bad. The speaker isn't a boom box but adiquite. It  also has a front and rear camera for Skype etc. For the 149.00 with all the features it has a quad core CPU and decent GPU it destroyes the iPad mini is better than the tiny 7 inch nexus 7 and is a better value than the Samsung galaxy 3  plus it has an HDMI and a micro sd expansion slot which the nexus and iPad mini don't have. If your looking for a nice 8 inch tablet that's reasonably priced look no further . Thumbs up Acer!
4178272
I read [and re-read] the reviews on this site for Viewpad7 and all others...finally got it on Feb 19, 2011,  because wanted [NOW] an android tab with SIM unlocked [Huawei S7 is the other one out there - but don't buy a poor battery, resistive screen android 2.1 brick for 299 and tax&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/S7-Android-Tablet-WiFi-900-2100-3G-7-inch-Screen/dp/B004EJQV38/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">S7 Android Tablet (WiFi, 900/2100 3G, 7-inch Screen)</a>]. There is no 'viewing angle' issue as someone has pointed out [of course some deterioration at acute angles lower than 30 degrees], the WiFI is super stable [on a b network] and the whole Android mktplace is there for you. Downloaded TIME mag, Weather.com, Yahoo Mail/Finance, youtube apps and am up and running.  While youtube works very well this DOES NOT have a flash enabled browser. Of course Dolphin/Skyfire etc. may help there. Wife is happy she gets her Facebook, Y!mail, Goog calendar updates,Picasa all neatly integrated on a well designed notification screen - tap, tap, tap and there she goes. Kids impressed with the youtube and Voice search feature. The capacitive screen is just fine and virtual keyboard comes with Swype and works well.  Password entry is good.  Do turn on 'predictive text' - you will find it very valuable.  Ordered a 16GB card with it, haven't got to use it yet, system says 110 MB still available. As noted by community the T-Mobile SIM works just like a charm and the phone design is great [checked out a conference call - b/n my cell, wife's cell and land line - Ha!] - BUT the voice comes out on a speakerphone, so public use is limited [unless using supplied earbuds].  Form factor is sleek and sturdy and the included case is well designed. As mentioned the power-in location could have been different, but no deal breaker.  The 600MHz CPU is my problem and web surfing is obviously slower compared to my 2.33GHz laptop, so apart from short bursts of info usage I won't persist with this for surfing...but a tab is not for writing code for 6 hrs at a stretch, one should not compare aggressively. Included Documents to Go handles MS Office well.  Hey it's a real GPS, MP3, 'laptop', cell phone, dual facing camera [no flash], organizer, barcode scanner {?}...if double the bucks don't bother you [for similar sounding competition] and you recognize that this is pretty much it - for an integrated tab/phone out there then go for it [don't know much about the 10 inch iPad, but from what i hear there is no camera, no SD card slot, no USB and no SIM slot]...it is not a bogus/outdated product [like some others on sale on this site - beware of bricks/paperweights] and is a nice home/office network appliance for easy info updating. [btw, battery life is super and bluetooth works]. My 2 cents in return for the effort that 10 others before me put in, to put the info out there. Thanks and  Ciao.
3964319
I had been considering the samsung galaxy tab 10.1 for the longest time and was about to give in and buy it when I heard that there were going to be some new contenders in the android market, the sony tablet and the amazon tablet. The amazon tablet turned out to lack the features I needed (10 inch size, cameras, and memory) even with it's great price so I went with the sony tablet - and I'm glad I did.
The sony tablet is expensive, same price platform as the samsung but still expensive. Unlike the samsung and the ipad, this one does have a plasticky feel, somehow that doesn't seem to bother me, I like that it doesn't feel heavy and breakable, it seems well built and does have a nice finish to it.
What I love about this tablet is the weight distribution, I love it as an ereader. I can hold this thing in my hands for long periods of time and I do not feel the fatigue that I would with it's competitors. The screen is great, I've sat outside on the deck and read books, watched newscasts, and played games and every time I have felt that I made the right choice.
Due to the fact that this is an expensive toy, I also ended up buying a squaretrade warranty and an armorsuit screen protector, hey if you're spending $600 you may as well protect that investment.
I love the remote control option, it comes in handy when one wants to mess with their husbands head! It works on all the media in my house and is a cinch to set up. The SD card port and the USB port are invaluable (and they work!), the charger is a pain, I'm constantly afraid it's going to fall out or break and replacements are not cheap.
Overall, it's a good tablet, almost all the android tablet are running the same software with tweaks, it comes down to a matter of preference. So, I would recommend you go out and look at them all in person, I did that, I was not shocked when my tablet came in the mail, I knew what I was getting.

UPDATE: I've had this for a little over a month now, and I keep loving it even more. The apps open fast with no lag time, the screen is bright enough that I have it at about 30% percent brightness for normal viewing. I have not had to reset the device once, that may be saying something for the few apps I have but it has not had to be reset once and that, to me, is a good thing. The type of apps I'm running on my tablet are the usual array of angry birds, cut the rope, some kids learning games, cnn, calendar and business apps, pdf scanning apps etc, so maybe the load is light but it works for me.
I've video conferenced with my mother on skype while she was using her ipad, once again I had no problems. Will update more as time goes by.

BATTERY ISSUE: Mine did drain battery life very very fast, however I ended up getting a juice defender app and the battery life has steadily gotten better, I do hook mine up to the charger every night so it will be fully charged in the morning but I have noticed a difference since I added a battery saving app.

UPDATE: 5/12 - Sony has since pushed out two updates since I bought the tablet. The first one fixed the wifi issue of long connectivity times and the second one has increased battery life. I don't particularly care for the new update since it's taken away a couple of features I liked such as having the widgets, wallpapers, and apps on the same application so I could make changes to my home page without going to different places. Also viewing html emails through the email app is difficult. I'm hoping they solve these issues with another update one that doesn't take so long to arrive. Still love my sony - wouldn't trade it for the world, music streaming from the Amazaon mp3 cloud is great since I connected it through bluetooth to my wireless boombox. The black background feature on the Kindle app is great for reading at night. And I still haven't had to reset it once (touch wood).
1312382
I love the size and weight of this tablet.  It even feels lighter than its actual weight due to the rounded edges.  Very nice finish and looks good in the shiny speckled black.  The screen is 800x600, and I knew that before I bought it, so I am happy with it.  It is not as sharp and detailed as my Pandigital Novel which has the same resolution but it's only seven inches.  But the Next3 is bright and for my needs is great.  The size is what sold me.  The web, email, reading books are all a better experience on the larger screen.

It has Android 2.1 and I don't think that it will be upgradeable.  So far every app I have downloaded has worked, including Angry Birds, but don't bother with AB, it runs way too slow!

It does not come or can access the official Android market, but there are so many other sites where you can download apps that I do not miss the market.  If you get this tablet under $175, I think it is a good buy.  Just remember never to compare or wish features at this price range (under$200) with the other more expensive ones.  You just can't have both, even though we would love that, cheap and every feature we want, so enjoy it for what it is.

Just think about this, it does 98% of what the Motorola Xoom or the Samsung Galaxy Tab do at a fraction of the price, so figure that you just saved a whole bunch of money!
2586455
I picked this tablet up for my son. The free price and no activation fee was enough to sway me into diving in.

My son loves to play games on my Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and wifes iPad 2. I wanted him to have something small yet could still play his games. One of the big selling points were the quad cores. At basically $10.83 cents a month for a 4G tablet, this was a sure thing for him. Even with Otter Box cases, he still would drop larger tablets due to his size. This 7" tablet fits him perfect.

Battery life is decent for what it is. It bosts a 4000 mAh battery, but compared to the 2500 mAh in my HTC one, it lasts about 20% shorter when both are streaming a video. Standby time seems to run about 3 days before it drops to below 10% battery life. This isn't a major draw back when at home or on the go for us as I always have a charger in the home, truck or my Mophie Juice Pack with me.

The power cord is a nice power cord/USB cable in one. Its a bit short as most tablet power cords are, but keep in mind, everyone even most Apple users have a micro USB cord laying around thats longer.

Audio quality is actually really good for what it is. Has two front facing speakers on the bottom that deliver good quality when watching movies. I was more than impressed.

Screen protectors and cases are pretty limited at this point. I have found a couple at Verion and a few online, but your very limited for now. I hope this improves in the future. A screen protector is a must with this tablet. Its doesn't look to have much in the way of scratch proof glass.

The tablet has 1 GB of RAM and runs well with every app I have on it. It only comes with 8 GB of memory on board, but I found several 32 GB Sandisk cards for 20 dollars online and tossed one inside. I switched all the games and what apps I could over the SD card and its set.

Camera is, well...just that a camera. No flash low MP and not the best. But for a tablet such as this Ellipsis, your not buying it for the camera purpose.

Overall I think Verizon hit a home run with this tablet. Its still fairly new so there could always be bugs, but so far so good. The Tablet has been on back order for a couple of weeks now. I was able to grab mine before they were out. With the free price and free activation at $10.83 cents a month for a 4G tablet, your basically getting a 7" tablet at 260 dollars intrest free for 24 months compared to the 299 out right no contract price, Thats hard to beat!
3533005
Gotta say, I love this tablet. Lots of cool functions, like being able to send the HD picture to a smart tv or dvd player. Its got a great image, & plenty of space with expandable memory, has a strong battery life which recharges pretty quickly, and a pretty good camera. I've had it about 9 months and have had zero problems with the OS (pay attention Apple), no forced quits, no glitches what so ever. Connects to Blue Tooth items perfectly, & runs off of wifi with ease. It also connects to my computer (windows 7) via usb as an external hard drive for fast transfer of movies and music. I can't think of anything that would make it better, I really like the Tab 2 a lot and I can be picky! I also have a Samsung T350 for work which is nice too but for the money this Tab 2 is worth the upgrade. Keep it up Samsung!
649881
The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus suffers from only one thing -- the fact that it will be current for about ten seconds.  But that's true for any computer, TV, other hi-tek toy.  On the other hand, I'm one of those people who (when I find something I like) will use it for a very long time, way longer than its expected life.  For example, I still use my old trusty Sony Clie PDA (Palm OS) -- it's a really nice and simple address book and solitaire game machine.  It's approaching 10 years old, and still running well, but I digress...this review is about the Tab.

The 7.0 Plus is a truly amazing product, so impressive that I even bought another one for my wife, a relative technophobe.  It gets everything right, from the most important to the nit-pickiest detail.  Rather than listing all of its great features, I'll mention a few that have been a pleasant discovery:

1. The battery really does last eight plus hours of use, unless I run a lot of processor intensive programs (Angry Birds!).  Using the stock media player, I ran through a series of DivX movies, sound and brightness at mid-range levels.  No kidding, 8 hours and a little.  Will easily get me through a day of traveling.

2. The screen has just the right amount of touch sensitivity, I'm not making any serious number of errors.  Contrasted with the overly sensitive Kindle Fire (which I owned for about a week), the Tab doesn't register a press unless you are actually touching the screen.  On the Fire, it thought I was pressing things when I was still over 1/8" from the screen, not even touching it!

3. You can run about anything you can find from the various App providers, such as Google Apps.  Eat your heart out Nook and Fire owners, I can run whatever I want.  I could probably also Root this thing, but won't.

4. It's really fast and smooth -- all operations are intuitive, I like the Touch Wizard interface, and have not had any of the sudden shutdown problems that others mentioned.

Lastly, if you do get one of these, replace the browser ASAP with the Dolphin HD browser, much more better.  The biggest complaint I have with the stock browser is that it's a "mobile" browser, and many of my favorite websites don't work well with this.  With the Dolphin browser you can set it as a "desktop" browser and all the web sites look like on my PC.

See if you can find one for $350 or less, not hard.  Oh, and get the KIQ case, it's thin and light, and has *almost* all of the holes you'll need (you will have to punch a hole for the infra-red remote emitter).

Enjoy, we sure are!

Update, 2/6/2012:

Thanks to a commenter, I now know how to set the default browser to "desktop".  Was a bit tricky to find  -- as mentioned, enter "about:debug" (without the quotes) in the address line, but instead of pressing enter, be sure to click the arrow to the right of the address line.  Then select menu/settings and select the "debug" item in the left column. Then select UAString and there will be a list of words with one of them selected. By default "Android" is selected (makes some web pages give out really abbreviated info).  Select "Desktop" and the browser will now get the rendering that is more conventional.

Of course, I had made Dolphin my default browser, and had to figure out how to set it back  -- NOT trivial!  The best way I've found is to send an email to myself with a web address in the body, open the email and click on the link.  You will then be asked to select a browser.  Gotta be a better way!

9/14/2014 update: this nice old tablet has been relegated to being a dedicated Pandora player for our stereo.  It's gotten pretty long in the tooth in two years (amazing).  Even the Tab Pro I just got is already out of style.  This is one crazy world.
4713126
Having used the Galaxy Tab 10.1 for a year and a half I sold it for 3/4 of the price of a Nexus 10 and upgraded. I've been quite happy with my Nexus 10 for a month now.  4.2.1 does have random hard resets and force closes, mostly related to Chrome and Google Now (I'll be upset if this isn't updated by March).  The machine is almost as snappy as my Samsung SIII with Jelly Bean.  The back feels velvety smooth like the back of the Playbook, and the front speakers are loud and provide good sound - I rarely reach for my Jambox with this thing.  The back can be scratched, so I would recommend a Poetic Case.  When I originally moved from the Tab, I found that the colors on the Nexus 10 were inferior.  I don't notice it anymore.  Also, the battery life is reduced from the Tab.  I get about 8 hours. The only real question for me going into this tablet, was whether I would buy the Nexus 7 or 10.  If you already have a 4.8 smartphone, then the 7 is redundant.  I've used the 7 for extended periods and the 10 is a better pad.  It has a much better screen, and the build quality is fabulous.  You won't feel an ounce of remorse buying this (except for the price - shop around). The best accessory for this machine is my kindle edition,&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Android-Mandroid-Thoughts-on-Android-Smartphones-from-a-Conflicted-User/dp/B00AGYB7MK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Android Mandroid: Thoughts on Android Smartphones from a Conflicted User</a>. Trust me!