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Black Friday 2011 Tablet Deals: ASUS, Apple, Samsung, Lenovo and More

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Black Friday is at the end of the week, looming there, tempting you with deals on tablets. However, as a smart consumer you should always be cautious of Black Friday deals.

There are Black Friday Tablet deals to be had, but many more duds. It’s worth noting that there aren’t many Black Friday iPad deals for 2011 yet, and we don’t expect many.

Some deals are actually not deals at all, or are discounts you can find online right now. Some of the tablets on offer are so crappy that they’re not a deal at any price. Other deals are okay, but not worth going through Black Friday madness to obtain.

I’ve scoured the available Black Friday information and sorted the tablet deals into three categories:

  • Good Deal: The discount is significant enough to warrant getting out of bed or leaving the Thanksgiving table to go shopping. However, even with these you should do a search to see if someone is selling the tablet for that price, or close to it, online already.
  • Not 3am Worthy: If it were a normal day and a normal sale, I’d say go for it. But there’s no need to drag yourself out of bed for these.
  • Run Away!: Don’t even bother. Most of the tablets in this category are just crap. Otherwise the “deal” isn’t one.

Good Black Friday Tablet Deals

Asus Eee Pad Transformer

Acer Iconia Tab [10.1-inch, Honeycomb, 16GB] $299 @ Staples

This is a nice tablet, especially at this price.

Acer Iconia Tab A100 [7-inch, Honeycomb, 8GB] $189 @ Best Buy

Less than the Nook Tablet and the Kindle Fire, and it’s a full Android tablet with all the trimmings? Yes, please.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer (1st gen) [10.1-inch, Honeycomb, 16GB] $299 @ HHGregg; $249 @ Best Buy

Definitely scoop this one up if you can get it at this price. Along with the keyboard dock it’s one of the better Honeycomb tablets out there right now. Yes, the new prime is coming out soon, but if you’re deal hunting, you can’t do much better than this.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Dock $99 @ Best Buy

HP Touchpad [32GB] $149 @ Office Depot

This one comes with a condition: you have to buy an HP computer, you can’t just buy the tablet. If you intended to pick up an HP computer, anyway, then go for it. The TouchPad is a decent tablet, especially for this price.

Lenovo IdeaPad K1 [10.1-inch, Honeycomb, 32GB] $299 @ Staples

This is one of my favorite consumer tablets partly because it comes with so many pre-loaded apps. Definite good deal.

Not 3am Worthy

Toshiba Thrive Tablet

Apple iPad [16GB, 32GB] $25 off @ MCX

Are you seriously going to roll out of bed to save $25 on an iPad on Black Friday?

Archos 101 [10.1-inch, Froyo, 8GB] $199 @ Shopko and Hastings; $219 @ Kmart

The 101 is an okay tablet, but not something I would particularly recommend. If you’re really looking to hit that $199 price point and want something larger than the Kindle Fire, then check it out. But don’t rush.

Archos Arnova 10 G2 [10.1-inch, Gingerbread, 8GB] $149 @ HHGregg

Same deal as above.

BlackBerry Playbook [16GB, 32GB, 64GB] $199 – $399 @ Staples

The PlayBook is pretty meh, but at this price it’s worth strolling into the nearest Staples to see if they have it later in the day.

Toshiba Thirve [10.1-inch, Honeycomb, 16GB] $279 @ Best Buy; $349 @ Staples

While the Thrive is a decent tablet, it’s not so great that you should run out to Best Buy and fight over it. And considering that the Staples price is only $50 you definitely shouldn’t wake up early to nab it.

Run Away!

coby kyros

Coby Kyros [7-inch, Gingerbread, 4GB] $99 @ HHGregg, Fred’s and Shopko; $139 @ FredMeyer

Coby is known for one thing: making cheap versions of popular electronics. A tablet is not something you want to cheap out on. The expensive ones are hard enough to deal with.

Leader i7 [7-inch, Froyo, 4GB] $99 @ Kmart

Have you ever heard of this tablet or this brand? Neither have I. A good rule of thumb: if you haven’t heard of the brand, then it’s not a good tablet buy, no matter how little it costs.

Nextbook Tablet [8.4-inch, Android 2.1, ?GB] $119 @ Kmart $149 @ Hastings

This particular Netbook isn’t a very good tablet, though later models are better. Spend your money elsewhere.

Pandigital 9 Tablet [9-inch, Android 2.1, 2GB] $79 @ Kmart

Pandigital keeps trying, but this 9-inch tablet definitely deserves the craplet moniker.

Polaroid 7 Tablet [7-inch, Froyo, ?GB] $99 @ Kohl’s; $79 @ Menards

No one seems to know anything about this tablet. We saw an ealry version at CES, but nothing since then. The fact that it appears to have debuted in Black Friday ads is a bad sign.

Samsung Galaxy Tab [10.1-Inch, Honeycomb, 16GB] $499 @ Toys R Us, HHGregg, Sears

Why is this marked as a “Run Away!”? The Tab 10.1 is a sweet tablet, right? The reason is because this is not a deal. This tablet costs $499 normally. If someone is selling you the 16GB one for more than $499 they’re charging too much. The only reason to maybe pick up the one from HHGregg is that it comes with a keyboard and case, which is a decent deal.

Sony S Tablet [9.4-inch, Honeycomb, 16GB] $449 @ MCX

You can [amazon_link id=”B005FXYJZY” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]get this for less on Amazon[/amazon_link] right now.

Sylvania 10 Tablet [10.1-inch, Android 2.1, 2GB] $129 @ Shopko

Sylvania is another brand name that indicates nothing good, at least in the computer/tablet world. They may make fine electronics otherwise, but you really don’t need their tablet.

Sylvania 7 Tablet [7-inch, Froyo, 2GB] $74 @ Toys R Us; $79 @ Shopko and Sears; $99 @ Hastings $94 @ CVS — Seriously — Don’t buy the Sylvania tablet.

Sylvania 8.4 Tablet [8.4-inch, Froyo, 2GB] $179 @ AAFES Run Away!

Velocity Cruz [7-inch, Froyo, 2GB] @69 @ Kmart; $89 @ Sears; $49 @ RadioShack

I might almost say this was worth it for the RadioShack price except it’s just not a good tablet, thus it’s not worth any price. Save your $49 and put it toward something nicer.

Check out our other Black Friday 2011 coverage for other deals, and peruse our Gift Guides for great presents for every budget.

9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. Sheryl Katz

    11/21/2011 at 1:32 pm

    Re the IdeaPad K1:  It is $319 everyday at Amazon.  Considering no tax, no California recycling fee, it is cheaper at $319 than Staples at $299.  And, you don’t have to get out of bed early.

  2. Amy4freedom

    11/22/2011 at 6:56 pm

    what time exactly can i get the asus online for 299 or 249? need to get it online! help

    • Jason Beatteay

      11/23/2011 at 5:09 pm

      From the research that I have done… It looks like the Asus Transformer will be a in-store only door buster at Best Buy. You can find more info on their website by previewing their Black Friday deals. I never go out on Black Friday but this deal might be too good to pass up…. Even with the 2nd gen coming out so soon.

      • All_hayes

        11/23/2011 at 10:09 pm

        Would you really recommended the archos arnova for 149. Or go for a smaller 7 inch tablet for around that price? Also what’s the best online deal for under 200? Don’t wanna get out on black Friday.

  3. All_hayes

    11/23/2011 at 10:16 pm

    Also take note that its for a 17 year old…don’t need all the bells and Wis but want a good tablet that will surf web .stream movies. And lots of apps ..will the archos arnova 10 g2 for 149 work for him?

    • K. T. Bradford

      11/24/2011 at 11:18 am

      I’d go for a Kindle Fire before that Archos, and it’s $199 every day.

  4. JRUGOTA

    11/25/2011 at 5:26 am

    I’m looking for something for my 6 year old…she .just needs to be able to go to some internet site to play games and do a program for school.  Anyone have any reasonable price suggestions? I would appreciate your time…thanks!

    • Jrugota

      11/25/2011 at 5:27 am

      oops i forgot to say it can be laptop or notebook or tablet….whichever you recommend considering its for a six year old….

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