Hey Morton!
I'll be heading down the tablet road myself eventually. I'm loving the Samsung Galaxy phones and I've had a play on one of the tablets and it was excellent. Turns out you can get the latest 10" Tab 3 for under $500...
http://www.kogan.com/au/buy/samsung-...b-wi-fi-white/
Name brands without the Apple logo are still cheap.
Let me know which way you go!
Rob