Ipod for a kid?

Purple Mountain

I'm a self confessed technophobe. I only got a smartphone when even kids had them. I struggle to change printer ink.
Anyhow, my little guy aged ten, is looking for an ipod for Christmas.
Currently he hhas my old, unsophisticated smart phone with no SIM card. He uses it for Skype, Snapchat and You Tube videos.
I don't like the idea of him having a phone with a SIM and ipads seem very expensive.
So..this ipod? I always thought an ipod wad for music downloads only but he says he can still do the same functions that he currently has on this.
From my very brief ownership of an IPhone, I understand he'll need email to set up his Icloud but I refuse point blank to give over my card details for any subscriptions so I'm wondering if he just has access to our household broadband can he work away on free apps?
He says he doesn't want to download or stream music as he can use YouTube.
Am I being taken for a mug by him?!
Also..is there any Android alternative?
Help!

colm_mcm

Surely an android tablet would be better for watching videos etc.

5uspect

If you already have an iPhone you can set up family sharing and manage his usage from your device. He won’t need your card details whatsoever. However if you do buy an app he can also download it for free. If he wants to buy something you get a request that you can simply deny. All you need do it create him his *own* iCloud account and add him to your Family account.

https://www.apple.com/icloud/family-sharing/

The iPod Touch is essentially a cheap iPhone without the phone. It’s perfect for kids. It comes with apps like iMovie so he can record and edit his own short movies.

You can also use iCloud photo sharing to share photos with the family group. I’ve set this up so photos of our daughter can be shared with her grandparents. They absolutely love this.

Purple Mountain

5uspect wrote: »

If you already have an iPhone you can set up family sharing and manage his usage from your device. He won’t need your card details whatsoever. However if you do buy an app he can also download it for free. If he wants to buy something you get a request that you can simply deny. All you need do it create him his *own* iCloud account and add him to your Family account.

https://www.apple.com/icloud/family-sharing/

The iPod Touch is essentially a cheap iPhone without the phone. It’s perfect for kids. It comes with apps like iMovie so he can record and edit his own short movies.

You can also use iCloud photo sharing to share photos with the family group. I’ve set this up so photos of our daughter can be shared with her grandparents. They absolutely love this.

I had to take back two iPhones to the shop where I bought them (second hand) as they were duds. I ended up getting a Samsung Note so I don't have my IPhone anymore but I'd still have the cloud space.
I always thought ipod was for music streaming!
I'll Google the Touch.
Many thanks.

Purple Mountain

colm_mcm wrote: »

Surely an android tablet would be better for watching videos etc.

He's had two tablets and they were crocked within months! Software issues I reckon. All error messages and shutting down.

Dades

My daughter got her own iPod this year which I set up with her own iCloud account. In-app purchases etc are all turned off. Google and YouTube search is set to "safe", and she uses my Spotify a/c for music. She and I can swap iMessages but other than that there's no phone-like activity.

I bought from the Apple Refurb store which I'd recommend.

That said, you could do most of the above on any decent small tablet.

Purple Mountain

Dades wrote: »

My daughter got her own iPod this year which I set up with her own iCloud account. In-app purchases etc are all turned off. Google and YouTube search is set to "safe", and she uses my Spotify a/c for music. She and I can swap iMessages but other than that there's no phone-like activity.

I bought from the Apple Refurb store which I'd recommend.

That said, you could do most of the above on any decent small tablet.

Would he be able to do Skype and What's App on his Ipod? He had a run of bad luck with tablets so we're avoiding them.

Dades

Skype should be fine. There's an iOS app for that.

Doesn't WhatsApp require a phone number to activate? I can use it on devices other than my phone but it's always tied to my number.

Purple Mountain

Dades wrote: »

Skype should be fine. There's an iOS app for that.

Doesn't WhatsApp require a phone number to activate? I can use it on devices other than my phone but it's always tied to my number.

I think I read somewhere before that there is a way round this with a landline so I'll investigate this.

3DataModem

Just reading above thread, was thinking of getting my daughter an Apple Store refurb (£129 for 5th Generation) so she can use my Apple Music family account to play music at home. It seems it is possible to disable everything other than Music. Any issues with the 5th gen I need to know about?

5uspect

3DataModem wrote: »

Just reading above thread, was thinking of getting my daughter an Apple Store refurb (£129 for 5th Generation) so she can use my Apple Music family account to play music at home. It seems it is possible to disable everything other than Music. Any issues with the 5th gen I need to know about?

Just make sure it supports the latest version of iOS.