Finding a decent Android tablet for under $200 isn’t easy, but the Asus MeMO Pad HD 7 certainly raises the bar for budget slates. The $149.99 tablet, which received high marks for its impressive display and strong battery life in our review, is now available for preorder in the U.S.
The Asus MeMO Pad HD 7, which debuted at this year’s Computex show in Taiwan, comes with a 7-inch 720p IPS display and is powered by a 1.2-GHz quad-core MediaTek MT1825 CPU. Its battery lasted for nearly 10 hours on a single charge during the LAPTOP Battery Test, which consists of continuous Web surfing via Wi-Fi with the screen set to 40 percent brightness. This combined with its speedy benchmark test results and smooth performance during everyday use has earned it the Best Cheap Tablet title in our 2013 roundup.
The MeMO Pad HD 7 is the same price as the Hisense Sero 7 Pro, which comes with a faster processor and mini HDMI out, but you’ll get better battery life and a lighter design with Asus’ offering. At $149.99 the MeMO Pad HD 7 is $80 cheaper than Google’s new Nexus 7, which also scored a 4.5 star review for its sleek design, crisp display and strong performance.
You can preorder the MeMO Pad HD 7 starting today from vendors including Amazon, GameStop, Newegg and TigerDirect. It’s scheduled to ship between August 9 and 11 depending on which retailer you order from.
