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There are some off-brand tablets in that size and price range, but I don't know much about them. There are a lot of Coby Kyros tablets on Amazon at that price. Unless you find a good deal on a used or refurb model you're not going to get that cheap with any of the name brands. You might be able to get an older Asus or Samsung device on eBay or Craigslist for that price range, though. For what she's doing, the biggest issue is going to be the screen; nice quality screens are pricey. So maybe going for a used older device from a name brand with a nice screen is a better idea than a cheap device. Makes internet shopping hard.
I have been very satisfied with my Nook HD+, which is as cheap as you can get in the name brand tablet market. They are $179 new but you should be able to find them cheaper used, though probably not under $100. Still, it's my only hands-on recommendation that comes close to your price. The B&N OS is not vanilla Android, but it's actually not bad; much better than the Kindle Fire OS, and allows you to install Google store apps. Should work fine for her needs and has a nice big screen. It's slower than premium tablets, but functional for your needs for sure. And it even has bluetooth, so if she every upgraded to bluetooth speakers then she'd be good to go (has a headphone jack too, of course).
So disclaimer, I work at Best Buy.
Best Buy owns several brands including Insignia and they make a tablet, the Flex. The Flex 8 has an 8" screen, runs off of Android 4.2 Jellybean and has an audio jack. It's 100, not under $80 but kinda close. There's not one on display at my store right now but I've seen it and the screen display isn't bad for that price. I mean it's not as clear as a Galaxy Note or an iPad with Retina display but still it's a good screen.
I know there is a brand called Emtaic that makes tablets in the price range you are looking for, but I don't know much about them.
I just learned an awesome trick for Windows 7 and need to share. Create a folder on the desktop. Name it "GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}" Actually, the part before the period can be anything, but the stuff between the brackets must match exactly.
Now, if you click on the folder, you'll have instant access to all sorts of tweaks and tools in one handy place.
Works for Win8 too, I can report. Might even make the OS tolerable!
That is so very cool! Thanks, JonB!
If I pay for an HD download of a movie from Amazon, what format is it in? Is it DRMed, or can it be played on any device?
It is DRMed as all digital movies currently are. You can play it on lots of devices, but Amazon has never released a video app for Android other than the Kindle Fire devices, presumably to try to get you to buy those. For this reason, I now use Vudu for all digital purchasing as I have never encountered a device it can't play on. If you don't use Android, though, Amazon is on almost everything else and has a simple interface and high quality.
So you need to use a proprietary app to play Amazon downloads?
