Recommend a Tablet for children?

jack of all

Hi
I'm looking for some help/ guidance on choosing a tablet suitable for my two children, aged 8 and 9. I'll be getting them one each but I know nothing about tablets and I don't even have a smart phone myself so I don't want to make a poor choice! Budget is €200 to €250 max for each tablet. I know nothing about apps, games etc, I'm presuming these all cost extra? We have wifi broadband at home so would like to see the kids getting the value from using it. Thanks.

munkee

We got two Nexus 7s for our kids. They love them. Most apps are free. One tip, get a case/cover for the tablet. Ours have been dropped a lot, but the cover has kept them protected.

droidman123

Agree totally with poster above.make sure you get the 2013 version of the nexus 7. Theres tons of apps on the playstore that are free, a lot of them have in app purchases but you can set it up so the kids are not allowed to buy anything.movies look great on the nexus 7 too.there are some very reasonably priced cases on amazon,seeing that the tablets are for kids i would advise getting cases.the tablets are easy to set up and if you have any problems there is plenty of advice available on here.

jack of all

Thanks guys, just the kind of info I needed!

munkee

FWIW, for each of our kids, I set them up with a Google a/c, to which I know the password.

On the play store, I've set the maturity to 'everyone', i.e. suitable for young kids. They can't change that. They also need me to enter a password to complete any pay for apps.

Bear in mind, if you do this, that in theory they have to be above 13 for a Google account, so I just set their age accordingly.

The other option is to set up a profile for them on the tablet, which achieves much the same thing, but it's a bit harder to manage their apps if you have to re-install after a clean wipe at any point.

And yes, Nexus 7 2013 model, should be going for cheap now.

Kenny Logins

This is a great app/launcher for locking a tablet down - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xooloo.kids&hl=en (free version)

munkee

Kenny Logins wrote: »

...

Great username.

munkee

Kenny Logins wrote: »

This is a great app/launcher for locking a tablet down - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.xooloo.kids&hl=en (free version)

But...why use a launcher to do that when you can easily achieve it yourself without slowing the entire device down?

Kenny Logins

munkee wrote: »

But...why use a launcher to do that when you can easily achieve it yourself without slowing the entire device down?

It doesn't slow the device down (at least no more than Samsung's launcher for example).

It has restrictions for; time, apps, internet, system settings etc. etc.

Kenny Logins

Hudl 2 might be another good option - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=92911523

munkee

Kenny Logins wrote: »

It doesn't slow the device down (at least no more than Samsung's launcher for example).

It has restrictions for; time, apps, internet, system settings etc. etc.

I hate Samsung's launcher for that very reason. :pac:

Kenny Logins

munkee wrote: »

I hate Samsung's launcher for that very reason. :pac:

Xooloo actually improved the performance of my daughter's Galaxy tab 3.

munkee

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Xooloo actually improved the performance of my daughter's Galaxy tab 3.

That's because it was running CrapWiz, anything would be faster. :pac:

I couldn't get over how much faster my Samsung device was when I installed Cyanogenmod.

Since then, I'm pure Android all the way.

jack of all

Ok, a few questions for you, how does a Samsung Tab 4 7" compare with the Nexus you are recommending? I have Norton internet security running on my laptop, presumably I will need to download same onto the two tablet devices, anything else I need to consider, any other recommendations? Thanks.

Kenny Logins

jack of all wrote: »

Ok, a few questions for you, how does a Samsung Tab 4 7" compare with the Nexus you are recommending? I have Norton internet security running on my laptop, presumably I will need to download same onto the two tablet devices, anything else I need to consider, any other recommendations? Thanks.

I think the Nexus is a better option. The only advantage the Galaxy has over it is a Micro SD card slot, but the Nexus comes in 16 or 32gb options.

You don't need any virus protection, it's very rare that a malicious app slips through, and Google will pull it once spotted.

munkee

I'd also vote for the Nexus 7. We have 2 of them. I am a Nexus fan, but I compared all the other available devices, and for the money the N7 was the clear winner.

jack of all

Thanks for all the feedback everyone, I bit the bullet and purchased two Nexus 7 today (should that be Nexii- ala Alan Partridge!). No doubt I'll be back looking for help/ info when it comes to set up.

Kenny Logins

Did you buy covers? If not, look for one with a screen-wake magnet embedded. Very handy.

jack of all

Yes, I bought two of these:

http://www.portdesigns.com/products/phoenix-iv-universal-7-portfolio_5085.html

Only charging the devices up now but already I am very impressed, they are beautiful, wouldn't mind one myself. Thanks again for all the advice!

jack of all

Hi all, just a final update- the tablets went down an absolute storm, they have proved to be a fantastic Christmas gift for the children. Thanks again.

munkee

Great to hear.

We got our Nexus in response to getting a Leap thing from the granny. Such a piece of crap, slow, the games cost a fortune and there's hardly anything free available.

jack of all

munkee wrote: »

Great to hear.

We got our Nexus in response to getting a Leap thing from the granny. Such a piece of crap, slow, the games cost a fortune and there's hardly anything free available.

We've been there too,grandparents bought some of those early generation Leap things for the kids a few years ago- absolute waste of money, I wouldn't even send them into a charity shop now!

munkee

Forgot, they eat through batteries too. Pieces of junk.