A $45 knock off tablet, bought in China miles from the manufacturer doesn't equate to a $45 price tag in the USA. Put a brand name on it (and some quality control), put in the 8 or 16gb the market requires (this tablet was 4gb) and shipping and import fees, and you're easily up to the $200 we're paying today.
My current tablet is a NATPC M009S (also sold under about dozen other names) 7" Android 4 tablet with a 1.2GHz Allwinner A10 CPU, Mali GPU, 1GB RAM and 16GB internal storage (expandable to 48GB via microSD). It is available for 100,- GBP ($138) on Amazon in the UK. The 8GB model is available for $130. A newer model with 1024x600 screen is available for ca. $160. Forgo HDMI output (and get a slightly cheaper feel case) and it's down to $100.
Not quite $45, but also well below $200, even in the UK. These are highly usable, even the cheapest one mentioned, though of course not comparable to a high end tablet. And they've been eating their way steadily down-market over the last 6 months. Give it another 6-12 months, and they'll likely reach the price point on the low end, and start getting specs "good enough" for most casual users on the "high end" ($150).
Same time last year, the "high end" for these tablets were 256MB or 512MB RAM, 4GB storage or so, Android 2.1 and resistive touch screens, in the $150-$200 range.
And this is a non-post. First, hardware is typically more expensive here in China (components make up much of the cost, which are imported into export-only zones, VAT is high), so if they are selling them for $45 in China retail, I'd expect them to eventually be the same price or cheaper in the states. Second, its not a knock off tablet if it doesn't claim to be something it isn't (like an iPad). The branding is very white label.
More like $75-100 in the US. Search for Allwinner on Amazon, filter to fufilled by Amazon/Prime items, and there are a few offers for 7" tablets and mini PC's. I just got an mini PC that I'm going to play with tonight (assuming it actually works ;) )
This is a non-story.