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Surface tablet from Microsoft and deals on four more iPad alternatives

Surface tablet from Microsoft is a good tablet option for people looking to replace their laptops. Read on for rock-bottom prices on the Microsoft Surface tablet, plus competitive deals on others. 

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Shannon Stapleton/Reuters/File
A member of the media tries out a Surface tablet during the launch of the Microsoft Surface 2 tablets in New York in September.
  • By Marcy Bonebright Guest blogger

Lenovo Yoga 8 32GB 8" Tablet
Store: Lenovo
Price: $199 via coupon code "USPYT861116" with free shipping
Lowest By: $100
Is It Worth It?: The Yoga 8 is a perfect choice for users looking for a compact touchscreen experience. The Yoga 8 is a better choice than its larger sibling, the Yoga 10, according to PCMag. "Both use the same design, same display resolution, and same processor ... but the [Yoga 8's] display is sharper and its design is even more comfortable in the smaller form factor." Coupon code "USPYT861116" drops it to$199, shaving off $100 and making this the cheapest Yoga 8 32GB tablet we've seen.
Features include a built-in kickstand, an MTK MT8125 1.2GHz quad-core processor, a 8" 1280x800 IPS touchscreen LCD, 1GB of RAM, 32GB of flash storage, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth, rear and front-facing cameras, and Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean).

Refurbished Kindle Fire HD 16GB 7" WiFi Android Tablet
Store: Direct Source Liquidations via eBay
Price: $89.99 with free shipping
Lowest By: $49
Is It Worth It?: If your old tablet can't keep up with your media consumption, step up to this refurbished Kindle Fire HD. A full $49 under the price of new unit, $90 is the best price we've seen for this Kindle Fire model. Prime members will get the best experience from this tablet, having access to Prime Instant Video and the Kindle Lending Library.
The Kindle Fire HD also features a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, a 7" 1280x800 IPS LCD, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, 802.11a/n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, Dolby Digital Plus audio, and Fire OS 3.0 (Mojito). No warranty information is included.

iRulu 7" 4GB Android Tablet
Store: Campus111 via eBay
Price: $54.99 with free shipping
Lowest By: $3
Expires: January 28
Is It Worth It?: Whether it's your cat, your kids, or your parents, if someone's spending all day on your tablet, your best bet is to buy them their own. At $55, this entry-level 7" Android tablet by iRulu is an awesomely cheap option for someone who just, say, wants to smack fishies all day.
It sports a 7" 800x480 touchscreen LCD, an Allwinner A13 1.2GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of flash storage, microSD, USB, 802.11g wireless, front-facing and rear cameras, and Android 4.0 OS (Ice Cream Sandwich).

Microsoft Surface Pro 10.6" 128GB Windows 8 Tablet

Store: Microsoft Store
Price: $599 with free shipping
Lowest By: $44
Is It Worth It?: Should you be looking to replace your laptop rather than another tablet, Microsoft Store still offers the Surface Pro at the rock-bottom price of$599. Weighing in at 1.5 lbs., the Surface Pro is more ultrabook than tablet, boasting an Intel Core i5-3317U 1.7GHz dual-core processor, a 10.6" 1920x1080 (1080p) multi-touch LCD, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, front-facing and rear 720p HD cameras, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, and Windows 8 Pro.

Microsoft Surface 10.6" 64GB Windows RT Tablet bundled with Webroot Secure Anywhere Internet Security 3-Device for Windows
Store: Best Buy
Price: $299.99 in-cart with free shipping
Lowest By: $79
Is It Worth It?: Although it's not as satisfying a laptop replacement as aforementioned Surface Pro, the Surface RT offers a number of Microsoft's best features in a significantly cheaper package. While noting the Surface RT's limitations as a purely media-driven tablet, Engadget called it "an impeccably engineered tablet upon which you can do some serious work, a device that doesn't look, feel or act like a toy." Tied as the lowest price we've ever seen at $300, the Surface RT features an NVIDIA Tegra 3 T30 1.4GHz quad-core processor, a 10.6" 1366x768 multitouch LCD, 2GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, and front-facing and rear 720p cameras.

Marcy Bonebright is a features writer for Dealnews.com, where this article first appeared: http://dealnews.com/features/Cat-Stole-Your-iPad-Here-Are-5-Editors-Choice-Tablets-to-Replace-It/963792.html

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