Young kids and tablets?

[DustyDisks]

Looks like the nexus 7 is going to be it.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by DustyDisks

The Ipad mini is cheaper but the screen resolution puts me off. But it is a Ipad and that would match.

I doubt she would care about the lower resolution on the iPad Mini.

I don't know how much your friend's budget is but consider the fact that not all the same apps available on iOS will be available on Android. If you recommend the Nexus 7, the daughter might be disappointed because some game she played on her friend's iPad can't be downloaded to her Nexus 7.

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by DustyDisks

Looks like the nexus 7 is going to be it.

Because so many people in this thread recommended that????

You aren't buying a tablet for yourself, you are buying (or helping to buy) one for a little girl whose friend is using an iPad. She's going to want to copy her friend and run all the same apps, which might not be possible if you go for another ecosystem.

Since neither you or her mother are techies, her friend's dad might be willing to help with the setup and troubleshooting of her tablet if you go for an iPad. That alone is worth a few extra bucks up front on the purchase. As others have said, look for a used iPad 2 or even a refurbished one from Apple, if the cost of new is prohibitive.

If cost is the most important factor, then consider what others here have recommended and check out the cheapest Amazon Fire.

[DustyDisks]

LoL

In reality the jury is still out, the mom is working now and will see this thread later in the day. She owns and runs her own business and right now has a wad of irons in the fire. So I am doing some of the ground work for her. I think she will in time go with the ipad, ether sooner (now) or later.

The ideal of having the friends daughters dad help setup things sounds good. And both kids can have the same stuff is also good.

Just doing a bunch of head scratching and brain (?) storming right now.

I liked the more open nexus and have one heading my way. I think there is a place here for both my firehd and nexus.

Right now the mom is carrying a very large load, and she really does not have the time between keeping her business and the recent demise of her sister and services. And dealing with learning something new.

All recommendations are very welcome. The one thing that the mom is trying to avoid that I think will be almost impossible to avoid is learning a new system, as she already wants to drop kick her windows system into orbit sometimes. She is very not a tech person.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by DustyDisks

I liked the more open nexus and have one heading my way. I think there is a place here for both my firehd and nexus.

Right now the mom is carrying a very large load, and she really does not have the time between keeping her business and the recent demise of her sister and services. And dealing with learning something new.

All recommendations are very welcome. The one thing that the mom is trying to avoid that I think will be almost impossible to avoid is learning a new system, as she already wants to drop kick her windows system into orbit sometimes. She is very not a tech person.

I have a Nexus 7, Transformer TF700T and several other Android devices which I love. However, one thing they are not is non-techie friendly. Android smartphones have gotten there but the Android tablet sphere is still new. While I may consider getting a Nexus 10 for myself, when thinking about a tablet to get my 86-year old, non-techie grandmother, it'll be an iPad.

As for learning a new system, most likely, the daughter already knows how to operate an iOS device and if she doesn't, she can quickly learn from her friend.

One thing, though, I wouldn't recommend the 1st gen iPad. The hardware is just too limited. While the processor and RAM may work fine on a phone, it just doesn't provide good performance for a tablet. I'd go iPad 2 minimum (which you should still be able to find under $300 used).

[ashan]

Oh dear God, how about some books? some palpable toys? some board games...I usually read the deals forums and to my surprise I find a lot of parents buying high tech gadgets to their 5-9 years old kids...that is just too much in my opinion, call me whatever you like but at the age of 7 I was extremely happy if I had a book or a simple car toy, but I wasn't sad either, just playing outside with other kids.

Now to come back and be on topic and away from my opinion:
- Leapad, Innotab are rugged tablets for kids - good if the parents afford to pay extra for apps, quite pricy
- cheap 7" android tabs - would cost from 40$ to 100$
- raspbery PI - learn to code and be a hacker, definitely better than listening to bieber and watching youtube
- low end computer/netbook

NO ipod (would not recommend)
NO Kindle Fire (these products weren't designed for kids anyway)