Kids tablet with content

[slackerinabox]

So my toddler really loves our iPad... I was tired of cleaning peanut butter off of the screens (we have an ipad 2 and 3) so I picked up a cheapy android tablet for her a few months ago. She liked the novelty of it for a bit but then tired of the pretty lame content available for kids in the play store - most everything was low-end indie developer stuff of questionable educational value vs. the high quality, brand name stuff available on IOS (I'm talking sesame workshop, disney, and nick jr apps - all wonderful on the ipad). So now she's back to our ipads..

My mom's in the hospital rehabbing a bad knee so I have a dilemma - my parents are on a limited income so they live a pretty low frills life. I'd like to give her the iPad 2 and replace my toddler's with a lower cost tab, but what are the options? I'm ok with one of the navi/ leapfrog branded tablets but where's the content best these days? Has android gotten better? A used nexus 7 would do, but do the apps for toddlers still kinda suck? My budget is less than $200.

 

[bearxor]

I bought a Nabi 2 for a two-year-old. She liked it but has only started using it really this year, after she was three.

With the Nabi, I was able to sideload Amazon's App Store pretty easy and get all the apps I wanted. She's learned how to find the videos she wants through YouTube and she'll carry it around and watch Sesamee Street clips. With the interface, I was able to put any app I wanted on the "kid friendly" launcher so that she doesn't have access to system settings or other applications I might not want her to have.

And I believe the Nabi got an update last year to access the Play Store by default. So now you can basically load everything. And if the kid launcher still works the same way (mine's not updated, sorry) then you should still be able to limit access.

The Nabi 2 is a bit outdated, hardware-wise. Think it's a Tegra 3 with 1GB of RAM. But it does it's job well. It might seem expensive at $180, but it's also built pretty sturdy. She even stepped on it a couple of times and no cracks or anything.

Hope that helps.

 

[teejee]

try "kids place" to get a restricted environment for the kid. works great.
Then you can use any tablet.

 

[bearxor]

Nabi 2 is Cowboom's deal of the day today, $60.
http://www.cowboom.com/deal-of-the-day.cfm?sdtid=7050976

 

[Geekbabe]

Get on craigslist and see if you can score a deal on a used iPad mini - original, non retina. Your child likes iOS apps. get her something that will run them. You could probably even snag another ipad 2 for $200 on the list as people begin to sell in preparation for the next ipad release.

 

[shortylickens]

Well, the Amazon kindle is made more for absorbing content than showing off fancy hardware.
They have loads of free stuff and a lot of cheap stuff as well. But they also bug you a lot to keep buying more crap.

 

[Kaido]

I have a Galaxy Tab for Kids:

http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/mobile-devices/tablets/tab/SM-T2105GYABTU

It's held up to 7 months of toddler (ab)use without fail. I'm not sure if they sell it anymore, plus I think it's kinda sluggish. What I would recommend now is a heavy-duty case (like an Otterbox) on a modern tablet:

http://www.otterbox.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-otterbox_us-Site/default/Search-Show?q=tablet

And a copy of SureLock ($50):

http://www.42gears.com/surelock/surelockandroid.html

SureLock basically locks EVERYTHING down on the tablet (all menus, pull-downs, apps, etc.) and lets you load the homescreen with ONLY the apps you want. This way you get physical protection through a case & virtual protection through the Kiosk software. Basically as kid-proof as you can make it. Zillions of kid's stuff available for Android, and far more ability to lock things out than the iPad. Plus you can get a smaller one if you want - a $99 Moto G phone if you just want a palm-sized device, or an 8" tablet, or a 10" tablet, or whatever.

 

[Eug]

Guided access is built into iOS for free. Turn it on in the Accessibility Settings and triple-click the home button to activate. Once activated you can choose which areas of the screen to ignore. To deactivate, triple click again and enter pass code.

Or you can buy third party lock down software if you want.

 

[OSULugan]

If you go the Kindle Fire route, you can get Kindle Freetime Unlimited. It's not too expensive, and even better if you're already a Prime subscriber. It includes all sorts of paid apps and books specifically for kids, and also restricts ads and in-app purchasing. There are Disney apps, Sesame Street books/apps, lots of PBS apps and games all in there.

There are a few Disney apps that aren't available either for the Kindle or for Android itself, but it's not enough to make me want to shell out the extra for an iPad.