You love the idea of getting a tablet and unleashing all the games, apps, and portability.  If only the price were lower.

A brand new Apple iPad2 starts at $499.  Using discount Best Buy gift cards, you can get an iPad for $474.05 (plus tax).  (Learn how in my January post “Shopping Cart Spotlight: Apple-iPad”.)  Would you like to get a tablet for less than $474?

Then there’s the Kindle Fire for $199.  (Which you can get for less by selling unwanted gift cards to Plastic Jungle and exchanging them for Amazon.com gift cards.  Check out my “Kindle Fire Drill” post from last fall for details.)  How about a tablet for less than $200?

While the price tag for a tablet is not quite thousands of dollars, dropping $474 or $199 for a tablet is still an investment.  But, don’t fret.  There’s a more affordable solution.  All you need are discount Barnes & Noble and Best Buy gift cards.  For 47% less than the Amazon Kindle Fire, and 79% less than the iPad, you can get your very own new Android tablet.  For just under $105, you can convert a Barnes & Noble NOOK into an Android tablet that can manage email, the Android market, Google apps, and can not only read NOOK eBooks, but Kindle e-Reader books, too!

Supply List.  First you’ll need a Barnes & Noble NOOK Simple Touch.  If you don’t already own a NOOK, use discount Barnes & Noble gift cards to get this $99 device for $88.11 (11% less).  That’s a great deal considering the best price yet for a NOOK (aside from getting a used version) was to get one for $79 on Black Friday last year.

Accessories.  To convert your NOOK into an Android tablet you’ll need: (1) a SD card with 128MB of memory or larger and (2) a SD card reader or adapter.  Both of these items can be found at a 5% discount at Best Buy with Best Buy discount gift cards or at Amazon.com (a great way to spend Amazon.com gift cards that are earned from selling unwanted gift cards to Plastic Jungle).

Give yourself a week for your Plastic Jungle discount gift cards to arrive, then purchase these materials for less and devote about 30 minutes to follow the 4 steps shared on LifeHacker earlier this month, and you’ll soon have an Android tablet at your fingertips for just over $100.

Stay up-to-speed with technology for less with Plastic Jungle.