The short version: I ended up buying an Acer Iconia Tab A100. The long version:
With the release of the ASUS Google Nexus 7, a lot of the technically inferior but still very nice Android tablets and devices got price drops in the last little while.
At first I was looking at a more portable Android toy, with Play Store access
(an important feature as I planned to download a lot of games from it
). So I was really excited to see the Galaxy Player 5.0 and Sony Walkman Z both going for $200 with change.
The former was basically a Galaxy S with a 5 inch screen and no phone... which proved to be too slow for today's web: it couldn't play flash videos smoothly. I loved the size and shape of it, and the features were good, so it was a shame the Hummingbird processor and 512mb of RAM just didn't cut it anymore.
So I bought the Walkman, which has a dual-core Tegra 2 with 1GB, but a smaller 4.3 inch screen. I had a 14-day return period, and I had a lot of fun for the next 10 days or so... It was slightly smaller than I'd like, but otherwise it was great for my purposes... except the 800x480 was a bit limiting for web browsing. I don't know why, because I had no problem with that resolution on my WP7 and IE, but with Android's dozens of browser options I couldn't find a match to the experience I had with my phone. The walkman was also stuck with Gingerbread, with no Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade in sight.
Then one day I saw the Acer Iconia Tab A100 in store, also at $200. This was the first 7-inch tablet with Honeycomb, powered by Tegra 2 and 1GB
(same as the Walkman
). The higher resolution 1024x600 solved my problem with the Walkman, although the larger size and more weight makes it much less portable
(about twice as big and heavy
). Also the screen has narrow viewing angles vertically
(in landscape
).
However, Acer has released Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade to this model, and after trying it in store, I just cannot go back to the Walkman. The faster speed and memory management makes a world of difference. It was hard to believe it has the same hardware spec as the Walkman that ran Gingerbread, and even harder to believe it's the exact same machine that ran Honeycomb. I bought it and 2 days later returned the Walkman.
I also compared it to other tablets. The 2 obvious ones are the Nexus 7 and the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 - both are offered with more internal storage and better performance, but both are more expensive, at $260 and $250
(all prices in Canadian dollars
). Considering this is a toy for me, almost exclusively for playing games and web browsing, I wanted to spend the least I can.
Now I have been playing with this Android tablet for over a month. My preferred browser is Opera Mobile, and my favourite games are Super Stickman Golf and Bad Piggies. I think I have been playing with it way too much. Fortunately the gf likes to play with it too
(a scrabble clone
) or I would be in trouble as with my other
addictions hobbies.
I must also justify not getting a Windows RT tablet instead, which I was really excited about and wanted since announcement: the WinRT tablet will likely be 10-inch or larger, and cost twice as much in the near future.
At last, I might have a Samsung Nexio S160 I am finally ready to part with...
I've had those cheapie MID tablets...they were okay, but made me realize I want a capacitive touch screen, not resistant. Wife had a Kindle Fire till she broke the screen accidently...sold that at a major loss. Even then I was unhappy with the way it responded to touch and the other quirky things about it. 
