tablet questions

A few questions for you techies.

I’m thinking of retiring my very old Netbook and trying out a tablet. My only experience with a tablet is the one I have at work but really don’t need. I don’t know if it is the tablet or our IT department but I can’t check personal email on it.

My main use is online access: check email , facebook, check bank/credit cards, browse a few forums such as this one, watch an occasional youtube and maybe do some online shopping. I suppose it could replace my Kindle as well if the battery is adequate. No gaming or intensive graphics or even photography. I may also wish to keep small documents or spreadsheets on it but I can probably get by with just a simple text editor like Notepad if I have to.

I’ve been browsing the under $100 tablets and have some questions. No need to recommend a $300 tablet; out of the question.

*Can they meet my stated needs?
*Is there a brand I should avoid? I’ve seen name brands such as ASUS, Toshiba, and one well rated but unknown to me Dragon Touch ($55!) on Amazon.com.
*Will the processor or memory really matter seeing I don’t really do much?
*Battery life isn’t really important (4-5 hours should be adequate) but a simple charging cord would be nice. Nothing bulky.
*Ability to transfer photos from my camera by either USB or SD card for email or storage desired.
*I can live without a keyboard but if I can plug in a keyboard with protective case for not too much cost that would be nice.

This would only be a travel accessory. I use a desktop at home.

Any recommendations or thoughts?
Thanks

I haven't shopped for a tablet recently, so I don't know the latest developments, but I will say, for the tasks you've named, I find a mouse and keyboard far easier and quicker than a touchscreen. For that reason alone, I'd insist on a keyboard. Where a touchscreen really shines is media consumption.

My wife got a "Nextbook" for Christmas, and it's probably in your price range. It runs Windows 8, and for what you're wanting to do it would work fine.

I find it a little clunky to navigate to the apps I want, but Windows users may not. I've always used a Mac, so I'm kind of stuck on their way of doing things, but I've been messing with it and I'm getting better at it. Clicking the "Help" button did help with that

I am probably too late to answer this question. But anyways....

I have bought about 4 of the less than $50 tablets. They all use Android as the operating system. I make sure that it has an SD slot for an SD or microSD card. So far, all the ones I bought can do anything online that I want to. My kids play minecraft on it mostly, but I use it to watch youtube and browse around on the web. If your email is web based (like yahoo mail, or gmail etc) then you can check email. I can browse forums as well.
If your kindle is the white screen variety, then these tablets don't compare with battery life. But they are all similar in battery life to the Kindle Fire.