I have a 10" Samsung tablet and the newest iPad. I use them for reading books, newspapers, and magazines. If I only read books, I would probably get a Kindle Paperwhite or Kindle Fire for that purpose, but it makes a big difference to have the larger screen for magazines and newspapers. I also do routine Internet things like email and Skype (and of course you can Skype with anyone who also has Skype, regardless of what device they have it on). I find a tablet is essential for traveling as I can have access to more magazines than I could ever read on vacation, and the tablet is all I'm hauling around. We also use one of the tablets in the living room for email and looking things up, as well as bringing it into the kitchen to use while cooking. I don't carry them with me around town, but rely on my smartphone instead. We use a regular computer for long emails or for long posts on GardenWeb, but if I'm doing onscreen typing the bigger screen on the tablet means that the typing is easier than with a 7" device. If I have to do a lot of typing and I only have access to my tablet, I have a compact wireless keyboard ($20) that I can type on faster than using the onscreen keyboard.

anyone interested Tiger direct has posted their cyber monday deals and they will have an ASUS RB-TFT101-B1 Eee Pad Transformer Tablet NOW: 239.99 Plus Free Shipping** here is all the info ASUS Eee Pad Transformer 10.1" Android Honeycomb Tablet (Refurbished) ******************************************* With a slim, lightweight design and a 10.1" IPS capacitive display made from durable and scratch-resistant glass that is viewable at angles up to 178�, the versatile ASUS RB-TFT101-B1 Eee Pad Transformer Tablet is the perfect tablet for anyone who wants to enjoy multimedia on the move, and wants to have easy access to the web, email, and other productivity applications. A custom user interface provides easy access to the many features of the Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) operating system, while the NVIDIA� Tegra(TM) 2 chipset provides full support for Adobe(R) Flash(R) 10.2, smooth HD video conferencing and playback, a lightning fast web experience, and incredible mobile gaming performance. NOW: 239.99 Plus Free Shipping** TF101A1 Eee Pad Transformer this is not the one I got the one I got is the latest version the TF300, but it is still a good price. this price apparently does NOT include the keyboard dock that would have to be a separate purchase. They have it listed as $74.99. Big Lots flyer lists the Vizio Vtab like mine is on for $149.99 till 12-1-12 here is their info from the flier 4GB internal storage (32GB with microSD card, sold separately), capacitive multi-touch screen, VIZIO Internet Apps Plus(TM), 1024 x 768, front facing camera, WiFi, play video & music on your TV, pre-loaded apps include Google Market/Play Store, Netflix, Hulu, Nook and more, 90 day free trial at HULU Plus, 30 day free trial of Netflix * 8" screen. that vizio has honeycomb not ice cream sandwich.

I know my suggestion isn't per the parameters you said you wanted, but I just wanted to say that my niece and nephew, who are about that age, have the 7" Kindle Fire tablets and love them. I know they aren't as trendy or fancy as the 10" Apple ones, but they love them. You can buy a new HDX 7" for under $200 and the 8.9 inch is under $400. My experience with tablets is limited to the Nexus 7, but I got it for free, so I have no idea how much it costs. I do think it's good and has handled anything I've thrown at it. I've treated it as a laptop, so it's had a dozen or more internet tabs up, taken pictures, and had a couple of games up, all at the same time and have had no issues with lag time or other problems. Not that this really makes a difference, but when I was deciding between getting a Fire and Paperwhite from amazon, I bought both to play with. I opted for the paperwhite, because of my needs and dealing with amazon was so easy. They even said I could keep the charger I ordered for the Fire, but gave me my money back for it.

Did some more research and found that the Ipad Air 2 has an 8 megapixel camera, so that might be my choice.