Best low priced tablet to buy?

[the artist]

I am looking to get my 12yr old a tablet for Christmas any suggestions on a decent priced tablet? I just need basic functions, youtube, facebook, internet.
Please, if you are going to give a idiot answer, make sure to spell check!

[Ken]

Consider the Kindle Fire. It's the first tablet under $249 worth buying. It's a better tablet than the Nook Color, and it's 25% less expensive.

Advantages of Kindle Fire:
1. Its unique cloud-accelerated "split browser" is optimized for web browsing and multi-media, which are the best functions of tablets.
2. 7-inch display is very easy to handle and is highly portable.
3. Its $200 price is very low relative to other tablets.

Disadvantages of Kindle Fire:
1. No cameras; no SD cards.
2. 7-inch display shows smaller views of documents and movies than 10-inch displays do.
3. It's not running the latest version of Android.

It looks good overall, but it's up to you to weigh the relative importance of those factors.

Reasons to order it now:
1. You'll be in line ahead of others should supply not meet demand.
2. You know you want it for sure and don't want to think about the decision any more.

Reasons to order it after release:
1. Problems could manifest in the design or manufacturing of the Kindle Fire once they start shipping.
2. Another product might be released which you'd like more.

All things considered, given Amazon's excellent track record with Kindles, I don't think there's much risk in going ahead and pre-ordering one of the new Kindles now. At the very least, however, make sure you compare the new models thoroughly and choose wisely between them.