Tablets

[Irish Insanity]

I have limited knowledge at best on anything to do with these. My girlfriend has an iPad and loves it. However We have a soon to be 10 and 11 year old son and daughter. Most of these tablets play movies, games, social networking, video and picture functions, ability to load/purchase books to read, and a huge market of apps. We are thinking of getting one for each child for Christmas or their birthday. I'm partial to Android. I've never had an I-anything and I love my Android phone. My girlfriend has and iPhone and iPad and loves them both. Any input on why Ipad or Android tablet is prefered over the other would be great. Parental control settings? Ease of use? More suitable for a young person? Any input would he great

 

[IrishSteelhead]

I believe it was the HP Touchpad that was discontinued, and you can order them now for like $100. It has all the capacities of the other tablets, just a better price tag. Since the kids are young, they won't know the difference. I'd check them out if you wanna save a few bucks.

 

[A Pac]

I find them all incredibly pointless and unneded. They cost as much as a cheap laptop and can't do nearly as much.

 

[Irish Insanity]

I believe it was the HP Touchpad that was discontinued, and you can order them now for like $100. It has all the capacities of the other tablets, just a better price tag. Since the kids are young, they won't know the difference. I'd check them out if you wanna save a few bucks.

I will definitely look into that one. Thanks.

I find them all incredibly pointless and unneded. They cost as much as a cheap laptop and can't do nearly as much.

They are much more compact and have the book reader options and a large market of apps which most laptops don't. It makes it easier for travel, movie watching in the vehicle, and easier for the children to use.

 

[micks60]

Ok...Android does not play movies. Like digital copies. It will play from netflix. The HP is.so cheap because it was discontinued. Not good at all. I am not an apple guy but did get an Ipad. It is very user friendly for kids and adults and the apps are much better. Android has issues with apps not working correctly on all devices. Issues is that all run differntly due to softwqre and manufacturer so app makers always seem behind. Ipad has one system and one system and one producer so apps work much better.

Just my opinion.

 

[The Polish Irishman]

Ipad. It rocks.

 

[dales5050]

The biggest difference for 90% of people is going to be the number of apps you have access to. This goes for tablets and smart phones.

For example, I have the iPhone and love it. However, Google Maps for Android is way better that the iPhone. It offers voice over directions, where the iPhone does not.

Outside of this, you have to look at the screen size. 7in is kinda small. Which is what a lot of the cheaper tablets are. The iPad has a resolution of 1024 by 768, which is safe to display most correctly designed websites without a mobile version.

For kids, they just want Angry Birds and to press buttons like their parents. With this being said...I would look into the Amazon Fire. It is only $199 and is a new product that is not discontinued. It has the kindle built in..which is great for getting the kids to read more. It has limited memory and apps but should be fine for kids.

 

[PigtownIrish]

I'm thinking about the Kindle Fire myself. It comes out Nov. 15 and will run on a modified Droid OS. For $199 it's a lot cheaper than the iPad, and even though less apps will be available you still have access to the wide world of Amazon content.

I'm waiting to see the first batch of reviews before I start to drop hints about holiday shopping.

 

[enrico514]

I hardly ever use my iPad since I got my MacBook Air. For what it's worth... most of my friend's that have kids (even really really young ones) have introduced the iPad to them and I'm amazed when I see them play/use the device... it seems so natural to them. I may be biased (Apple fanboy since the Mac SE) but I can't remember the last time I saw an Android based tablet in the wild.

Don't forget about the refurbished products on the apple online store and the educational discount that you should have access 2 for your kids.

 

[ulukinatme]

Call me old fashioned, even if I'm 29, but I hate touch pads of any kind. I just don't find them as responsive as a keyboard and mouse. I'm usually up on new technology and have to have the best/biggest of everything: 82" TV, 15" subs in the car, newest gaming consoles, gaming computer, etc...but I do not own a smart phone and will not buy any touch pad device. My gaming laptop is more than sufficient for what I need. In fact, after 6 years I finally got a new phone in June and it has a touch screen. I absolutely hate it...damn thing takes two or three attempts to shut off it's alarm every morning. One of these days it's going to get tossed across the room!

 

[JadeBrecks]

I would also look into how well the ipad works with other things. I have had trouble with previous I things playing with stuff that isn't apple. Don't know much about the pads so you will need to check it out but android is open source so it tends to play easily with stuff that isn't "droid".

 

[PJWhitfield]

For reading books, the Kindle is a lot lighter than the iPad. The weight of the iPad can become annoying after you read awhile, particularly since electronic devices seem to concentrate the weight more than a traditional book does.