We bought a Lenova tablet for my Mum but thank you for your advice. It helps to narrow down choices by having this conversation. It's the same tablet as my sister's so that in theory she would be able to phone her for the technical advice. In practice she has phoned us all and had her various grandchildren calling in as well to help.
She ABSOLUTELY LOVES IT!
She emails us all (since one of her granddaughters worked out why everything was disappearing into draft). She browses the net, a little bit at the moment but she is fearless when it comes to pressing buttons and just keeps trying until she cracks it...or phones us.
She needed something to do with her very active mind. I must sort out BBC iplayer for her so that she can catch up with the programmes she falls asleep in. She hates missing Question Time for goodness sake. Can't believe she's my mother sometimes.