Amazon spent years selling cheap plastic tablets that locked you into a limited app store and showed ads on the lock screen. The Alexa Tablet 12 Pro marks a clear break from that pattern. It ships as a full Android device with access to the Google Play Store, an aluminum body, and a 12-inch screen that reviewers have called one of the strongest reasons to consider it over more expensive options.
OQO, a small San Francisco startup, spent years downsizing the specifications of a complete Windows PC before releasing the Model 01 in October 2004, a feat of miniaturization measuring 4.9 by 3.4 by 0.9 inches and weighing only 14 oz. Behind the scenes, founders Jory Bell and Jonathan Betts-LaCroix had left larger companies to pursue a radical vision for an ultra-personal computer capable of delivering the full Windows software experience without the need for a special operating system or stripped-down software. Reviewers it the smallest full Windows XP computer on the market, and that claim was valid because nothing else at the time could fit a sliding keyboard, a color screen, and the full desktop version of Windows into a package that was scarcely larger than a regular PDA.
Shoppers looking for tablet value often end up comparing options that put practical strengths ahead of the thinnest possible chassis. Lenovo’s Tab Plus Gen 2, priced at $269.99 (was $400), takes that approach seriously by building a 12.1-inch device around a JBL nine-unit speaker system that includes four tweeters, three woofers, and two passive radiators. Tuned with Dolby Atmos, the array produces clear dialogue, solid midrange, and enough bass to fill a room during movies or music, something reviewers have called one of the stronger tablet audio experiences in recent years. A Bluetooth speaker mode lets another phone stream audio through the tablet when the screen is not in use, turning the rear circular housing into a functional extra speaker.
Amazon refreshed the eight-inch Fire HD 8 for the 12th-generation model, priced at $79.99 (was $130), while keeping the same compact body that has defined the line for years. Measuring 7.94 by 5.40 by 0.37 inches and weighing 11.88 ounces, the tablet stays easy to hold in one hand or slip into a bag for travel. Four gigabytes of RAM pair with 64 gigabytes of storage in this configuration, a clear step up from the 2-gigabyte memory found on earlier base models. A dedicated microSD slot accepts cards up to 1 terabyte, so libraries of books, music, or video can grow without forcing a higher internal capacity from the start.
Amazon spent years selling Fire tablets as cheap doorways into Prime Video and Kindle. Yesterday, the company set that approach aside and introduced three devices that carry the Alexa name instead: an 8.7-inch model from $229.99, an 11-inch model from $329.99, and a 12-inch Pro from $499.99. Orders opened the same day. Shipments in the United States, Mexico, and Canada start October 14, with the United Kingdom and several European countries following on October 19.
Amazon still sells an 8-inch tablet you can toss in a backpack or a carry-on and not treat like jewelry. Fire HD 8 in its 12th-generation line, priced at $84.99 (was $130), updated again in 2024, keeps the same 7.94 by 5.40 by 0.37-inch polycarbonate body and 11.88-ounce weight that made earlier versions easy to forget until you needed a screen. Black, Emerald, and Hibiscus covers have a light texture that hides smudges. USB-C sits on the edge next to a 3.5mm headphone jack that most newer tablets have already abandoned, plus a microSD slot that accepts cards up to 1TB, while dual speakers fire from the bottom in landscape.
Students and casual users looking for a basic Android tablet are usually forced to choose between bare-bones devices that seem limiting and more expensive models filled with capabilities they may never use. Lenovo’s Idea Tab, priced at $149.99 (was $218), sits squarely in the middle of that range, offering a useful combination of screen quality, battery life, and accessories that make it functional right out of the box.
Johnzoid, the YouTube collector who spends his time hunting down the strangest electronics you can find, recently scored something that used to require a prison sentence. He ordered a JPay JP Mini 5 tablet on eBay, the same small device handed out free to inmates in multiple state systems. When the package arrived, it still carried the full institutional paperwork and a device ID that looks an awful lot like an inmate number.
