New Delhi, Oct. 14 -- Anyone who mostly reads and watches on a tablet now has an Amazon option worth weighing against an iPad, provided they are willing to strip some of Amazon out of it first. The Alexa Tablet 12 Pro began shipping in the United States, Mexico and Canada on October 14, according to Amazon's launch announcement, and The Verge's review published the same day gave it a Verge Score of 6. The reviewer praised the screen and the move to full Android, and faulted the advertising, the assistant and the battery.

Pricing needs a careful read. Amazon lists the 12 Pro at $499.99 with 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage, and $549.99 for the Nanomatte display version. The review was written about the $549.99 Nanomatte unit. Reviewer D...