We are going to buy our kids a tablet each for Christmas, (they will be 8 and 4). They currently use my wife's i-pad when she allows them.
Which one(s) should I buy..and why?
I don't want to spend i-pad money, but also subscribe to the 'you get what you pay for' philosophy. Unfortunately I am a complete technophobe and don't have a scooby do (I won't use the i-pad, I don't find it intuitive and it irritates me, i'd rather use a fixed computer).
So what is it to be? I'm sure the soon to be 8 year old will be able to get over any initial difficulties if it's a different set up to Apple....and 'yes' there will be plenty of rules re their usage. It is going to be mainly games, esp for the younger one, but eventually internet usage as well with the home wi-fi. Definitely don't want a phone capability.
I have looked at Amazon, e-bay and a Google product search, but to be honest it just baffles me. Thank you in advance.
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Don't know what size you are aiming at, in the 8 inch options I have a Google Nexus and am well pleased with it
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Grandson, aged 12 has nexus which is OK.,but a bit long in the tooth.
I have a hudl, which is fine for me.
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Just my two penneth, I bought my daughter a Windows Linx 7" for her to tap around on, watch videos and use the paint app. Was just before her 3rd birthday, now aged 3 and a half - she can navigate around Windows 8.1 without much intervention.
Its not the most popular tablet but it doubles up as a full Windows PC, if plugging in the external screen/input devices. I think its great and at £80, cheap as chips.
Linx are available (or was) in 7", 8" and 10".
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>> We are going to buy our kids a tablet each for Christmas, (they will be
>> 8 and 4). They currently use my wife's i-pad when she allows them.
>>
>> Which one(s) should I buy..and why?
HUDl2's
Why? Its a good specced android tablet, works well, robust (tho a little heavy) you can get a very good protective cover that should be fairly kiddie proof, and it has a family filter on it to keep them on-line safe.
There will probably be a Hudl3 out that will be lollipop (android 5.1) based by then, so the hudl2's should be dirt cheap.
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>> HUDl2's
Agree with Zero. I've got a Hudl 1 and while it won't do everything my kids (self purchased) I-Pads it's got far more bangs per buck.
For kids that age they're a toy so will live a hard life. Better to keep costs to insurance co of Mum and Dad as low as possible.
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>> There will probably be a Hudl3 out that will be lollipop (android 5.1) based by
>> then, so the hudl2's should be dirt cheap.
>
Just found out that a Lollipop (Android 5.1) update will be delivered to users existing Hudl2's sometime this month, so that makes the imminent arrival of a hudl3 less likely .
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>>
>> >> There will probably be a Hudl3 out that will be lollipop (android 5.1) based
>> by
>> >> then, so the hudl2's should be dirt cheap.
>> >
>>
>> Just found out that a Lollipop (Android 5.1) update will be delivered to users existing
>> Hudl2's sometime this month, so that makes the imminent arrival of a hudl3 less likely
>> .
And mine is currently upgrading to 5.1 now.
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>> And mine is currently upgrading to 5.1 now.
>>
Mine will, too, once the battery is charged to over 50%, according to the update notice.
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>>
>> >> And mine is currently upgrading to 5.1 now.
>> >>
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>> Mine will, too, once the battery is charged to over 50%, according to the update
>> notice.
>>
All done, but it took two "updates" to do it.
One seemed to take quite a short time and I could see no real difference, so I dived into settings and checked for updates, whereupon it downloaded a biggish file, which took a good while to instal.
Now I have Lollipop. Not sure I like the new keyboard and I get annoying messages about site security on one place I visit.
The other changes will no doubt come to be familiar in time!
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>> All done, but it took two "updates" to do it.
>> One seemed to take quite a short time and I could see no real difference,
That was the preparation update to allow 5.1 to download and install.
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Definitely takes longer to boot now it's Lollipopped.
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>> Definitely takes longer to boot now it's Lollipopped.
Same happened with my Samsung S4. Ages.
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>> Definitely takes longer to boot now it's Lollipopped.
I don't often boot mine so its not a problem.
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Internet usage is as nothing, it is the games usage which taxes a tablet.
Especially for the 8 year old you have to be aware of which games a low power / low price tablet will not play. Many of the fashionable games are quite hard on tablets. Often because they're not written very well.
We bought 4x Samsung Tablets for my two girls and their 2 cousins and have been very pleased with robustness, reliability and the fact that they will play just about anything the kids want.
The Tab 4s are about £150 I think. There are certainly cheaper, but I think for price, reliability, ease of use and length of service that is what I would go for.
I presume you have WiFi, which is essential for a tablet.
I do not particularly subscribe to parental controls. I think its better to teach the kids, not prevent them - but there are quite a lot available if you wish.
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Thanks for all the comments so far
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>>The Tab 4s are about £150 I think.
Actually I see that they are on offer here for about £100, I cannot imagine that they would be more expensive in the UK.
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Just come across this on Amazon - 10", Android 5.1.1, 2 cameras, 'Great British brand', good reviews, for £70. No GPS, but perhaps not too much of a problem if mainly being used in one place.
Too good to be true?
www.amazon.co.uk/10-1-Android-Lollipop-Octa-Tablet/dp/B00WIII29S/
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>> Too good to be true?
Never heard of them - few will. The screen is particularly low resolution for a 10.1" display. The new Fire 7" tablet might get away with such a low resolution but on a 10.1" tablet you will see how low the pixel density is. The screen on our Samsung tablet is low resolution in my opinion but better than this.
Like most implementations of ARM Octa-core CPU's it used big.LITTLE so will either have the four lower powered ARM processors in use or the other four higher powered cores. Technically big.LITTLE and Android could have all 8 cores running but few implementations use that.
The CPU in this particular tablet uses ARM A7 for all cores - you'd have thought the big cores would be the faster ARM A15. That's what ARM's big.LITTLE ethos would suggest you use. This A7 is a 32-bit only core.
Also, for this tablet, you'd have to remember to take the charger wherever you go since it does not charge using a USB cable.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Thu 17 Sep 15 at 17:59
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Always check the screen resolution.
Amazon cheapie: 600k
Hudl 2: 2.4m
iPad Mini Retina (what I'm writing this on): 3.0m
The cheapie might do as an entertainment controller - Mrs Beest now has a shiny Samsung, so I plan to repurpose her Kindle Fire as a Sonos controller for the living room - but that display will severely limit its usefulness for casual video watching and precisely what most people want a tablet for.
Conversely, the right screen makes a small tablet just as useable as a full-size one, without the bulk and weight. I've never found myself wishing I'd held on for a bigger iPad.
But for children I'd probably go for a Hudl 2 for the same reason as the others. It's not a thing of beauty but it doesn't have to impress anyone. The screen is plenty good enough, especially for young eyes. And it's very good value. Beestling Minor is delighted with his.
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I held out for years buying a new monitor. I wanted higher resolution and good DPI. And I didn't want to pay too much. Then Dell brought out the U2515H. It's 'only' 2560x1440 but very good and a good price - approx £250. I did't need 4K screen and anything bigger than 25" was too big in my opinion.
The Macbook Pro 13" Retina it's currently connected to* has a slightly higher native resolution but you need good eyes to use it as a 2560x1600 display! Hence the default retina settings making it behave like a very sharp screen of lower resolution.
* Technically and actually, it's plugged into the Macbook Pro, iMac, work laptop and my old PC/Hackintosh all at the same time via HMDI, Displayport or Mini Displayport. Easy to switch to any of those and the keyboard/mouse is plugged into a USB switch.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Thu 17 Sep 15 at 18:42
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>> Always check the screen resolution.
Knew I'd forgotten something :)
Actually 1024 x 600 isn't too far off the 1024 x 768 a lot of us used to use on our 15" CRT monitors, so on a smaller 10" display you'd think it might not look too bad. But yes, put it alongside something with a 2m or 3m pixel display and the difference would be obvious.
Last edited by: Focusless on Fri 18 Sep 15 at 09:26
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Wp>>We are going to buy our kids a tablet each for Christmas, (they will be 8 and 4).
rtj70>>The screen is particularly low resolution for a 10.1" display.
It's imperative for a 4-year-old child that the screen display is high resolution, let alone an 8-year-old child. Glad you've got your priorities right.
If it is, then buy one of these for £100
www.banggood.com/ONDA-V919-3G-Air-MTK8382-Quad-Core-9_7-Inch-IPS-Android-4_2-Tablet-p-959734.html
It has an iPad retina screen. I've got one of them. It's great. Even I've managed to get rid of almost all the extraneous Chinese characters.
The four-year-old will need the dual boot Windows/Android version which is another £30.
Or more seriously, Amazon today announced tablets at £50 each, buy five get one free. Or they've a kid-proof version (I've no idea why baby goats need a tablet, but hey) for £99.
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Fri 18 Sep 15 at 10:09
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>>'ve no idea why baby goats need a tablet...>>
For the same reason I would expect that Griffin produce special iPad etc cases - I have friends with autistic youngsters who use the tablets for communication apps and other invaluable purposes, but they can damage the tablets over time unless the devices are protected.
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No idea what autistic children have to do with baby goats. ::Bemused::
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>> No idea what autistic children have to do with baby goats. ::Bemused::>>
Kids (you made the reference)..:-)
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Judging by the comments on here I might be in a minority here, but here goes ...
Isn't 4 years a bit young to be using tablets? There was a report in the news just yesterday about how kids' vision is being harmed by too much screen time and not enough outdoors-long-distance-vision-playtime. I know there is peer-pressure to conform to what all their friends have, etc. but can't they be persuaded to read a book rather than a screen, or play old-fashioned board/card games? Our kids really got into playing Monopoly Deal with their mates over the summer precisely because we limited their screen time. Last Sunday evening we were eating in Pizza Express and on an adjacent table there were kids (aged 4-ish) half-watching cartoons on their screens rather than participating in family chat - very depressing!
None of my business, I know. But this is a forum ...
In answer to the question, get the cheapest possible tablets because they will either get broken or become out-dated before you know it. (Our kids were 10 before they got screens).
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>> There was a report in
>> the news just yesterday about how kids' vision is being harmed by too much screen
>> time and not enough outdoors-long-distance-vision-playtime. I know there is peer-pressure to conform to what all
>> their friends have, etc. but can't they be persuaded to read a book rather than
>> a screen, or play old-fashioned board/card games?
I played outside a lot, I read a lot, my eyesight is crap.
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The Amazon tablet aimed at kids is more expensive because (1) it's got some protection but (2) they will replace it if it gets broken no questions asked. The websites accessible are also controlled by Amazon.
The new ones aren't out in the UK yet. Expect deals on the outgoing models.
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>> I played outside a lot, I read a lot, my eyesight is crap.
>>
Perhaps what you were reading had an effect on your eyesight.
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>> >> I played outside a lot, I read a lot, my eyesight is crap.
>> >>
>>
>> Perhaps what you were reading had an effect on your eyesight.
Biggles is bad for your eyes?
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Is THAT what you used to call it?
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Update.
Thanks for all the advice... however the idea is now on 'hold', for some time.
We went on holiday and the 7 year old wasn't willing to focus on anything much beyond the next go he'd be allowed on the i-pad (Minecraft).
So we banned it.
We'd had the odd tantrum before, which we kidded ourselves we were managing, but the holiday brought it home.
He's now allowed i-pad access for 2 hours every Sunday as long as his home work has been done... and he can gain a small amount of extra time with good behaviour in the week..... it's been a remarkably pain free process to be honest.
So no tablets yet.
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Which tablet? - commerdriver
