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Get HP's new 7 Plus Android tablet for $84.99

That's $15 off the already rock-bottom price for this quad-core tablet, which HP just added to its lineup.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
2 min read

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HP

Just two days ago, I read with great interest the report that HP had introduced a $100 tablet. That's quite the bargain for a name-brand slate, especially one with fairly solid specs.

So imagine my surprise upon discovering this: You can get the HP 7 Plus tablet for $84.99 shipped when you apply coupon code SLICK15HP at checkout. (Sales tax may apply in some states.) What-whaaat?

I've seen plenty of no-brand tablets in that price range, and the occasional early-gen Kindle Fire, but never something like this. If you're shopping for a dad/grad gift, boom! Done.

Though entry-level in some respects, the 7 Plus has a couple admirable amenities going for it. First, it's not boring black like most of its ilk. It's white, with a silver rear finish. Second, it sports a quad-core ARM Cortex A7 processor, which should run all your favorite apps at a solid clip. For comparison's sake, Amazon's $139 Kindle Fire chugs along on a dual-core chip.

Next, although it has just 8GB of internal storage, the 7 Plus includes a microSD slot for easy, inexpensive, and virtually endless expansion. Kindles, not so much. HP also gives you 25GB of Box cloud storage, free, for life. Nice!

The tablet runs Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean). I'm not sure if HP skins it or adds any bloatware, but ultimately it's much closer to a "pure" Android experience than you get from Amazon's heavily modded version of the OS.

So what's the catch? Like most sub-$100 tablets, the 7 Plus has a fairly low-resolution screen: 1,024x600. (Point of interest, though: the first-gen iPad Mini runs at 1,024x768.) That's not ideal for reading small text, but I think it's sufficient for the majority of tablet tasks. And it's an IPS display, so it should offer pretty solid viewing angles.

This was already a sweet deal at $99.99. At $84.99, it's a steal. I have no idea how long the coupon code will be active, though, so if you want in, click fast!

Bonus deal: Game time! While "supplies" (i.e., license keys) last, Bundle Stars is offering the popular indie adventure game Pid (PC/Mac) absolutely free. Regular price: $9.99. All you have to do is "like" Bundle Stars on Facebook and supply your email address (thereby subscribing to their newsletter) in order to receive a coupon code for the game, which you'll redeem on Steam.