Children's Tablet Computers

[Bewster]

I leaning toward the Binatone Kidzstar and the Galaxy Tablet 2

[jonny72]

Should I be looking at a Windows laptop, a Samsung 7' or 10' Tablet (sor something like that) and iPad or a MacBook ? 

Do not get them a MacBook, they'll trash it.

Get a cheap Windows laptop (my niece and nephew always get second hand Thinkpads, more than powerful enough, cheap and built like a tank). Maybe have a look at a tablet as well, the 7" Galaxy Tab at £120 is a bargain - might even get one myself.

Still think a tablet is a no brainer for kids, especially for the educational uses.

[Bewster]

Bought the Galaxy Tab 2 for £150 plus £30 cash back and SD Card from the Car Phone Whorehouse.

More than I wanted to spend but probably a better buy in the long run.

[Nomoreheroes]

Decided upon a laptop for all the homework and stuff, but think I'll also go for a tablet.

The next 4D-like questions are:

1. I want the kids to get access to technology and the concept of apps. Are there as many apps fro the Samsungs as for the ipad?

2. I've seen people using ipads to do video coaching of swimming and cricket. Is it only the ipad that you can do this for or are the Samsungs etc just as good?

3. How do ipads and tablets work with 3G? Would I have to take SIM cards out of the kids contract phones to use them?

4. The kids both have Android phones and we don't own any Apple products except for old ipods. Does that mean we should be leaning towards a tablet vice ipad?

And the ultimate question:

Should I go for a ipad 4 or an ipad alternative?

[Samdy Gray]

1. Think I read/heard somewhere the other day that the Android Play Store is now on a par with iTunes for the number of apps.

2. Any (decent) tab will play videos.

3. You need a sim card in them. Either a dedicated one, or take it out of your mobile.

4. Tablet vice iPad?

Sounds like you've made your mind up and want an iPad.

[Nomoreheroes]

1. Think I read/heard somewhere the other day that the Android Play Store is now on a par with iTunes for the number of apps.

2. Any (decent) tab will play videos.

3. You need a sim card in them. Either a dedicated one, or take it out of your mobile.

4. Tablet vice iPad?

Sounds like you've made your mind up and want an iPad.

I've just heard of an ipad and seen them. So the leaning is possibly due to ignorance. I haven't seen the other tablets.

Its difficult, because, just like mp3 players a few years ago, people refer to them as ipods even if they were made by manufacturers that weren't Apple!

I don't know whether a tablet is comparable or better than an ipad. I also dont know how much apps cost and whether if you download an app to your Android phone you can transfer it for free to your tablet? If the best apps are expensive, I guess I wouldn't want to buy an Android version for the phone and then an Apple version for the ipad.

So, I'm torn to be honest. Hence the request for advice.

[Samdy Gray]

In my experience, for apps that you would pay for on iTunes you can usually find an equally priced or even free version on the Android Play store.

And yes, if you buy an app on your Android phone and you're signed into the tab with the same Google account then you can download the app to the tab too.

The only way you're really going to find out for yourself which you prefer is to try them out. Most electrical shops like Currys only seem to have iPads on display, but I know that Carphone Warehouse and John Lewis usually have Android tabs out for you to tinker with too.

[pauld]

Samdy's right, you need to try them out, also to see which size would suit your kids best, iPads are around 9" I think, tabs come in 7", 10" and (more rarely) 8" variants. Get down to Greenbridge, PC World, Currys and Maplins all have both iPads and tabs on display (although Maplins ones aren't always ready to play with, but they'll get one out for you if you ask).

Apple fanbois will tell you that iPads are a lot smoother and better designed than Android Tablets and if you like hanging around in coffee shops in polonecks and are prepared to pay a 2-300 quid mark-up for the privilege, they're right iPads are "cooler" as the judge said, but unless there's a specific Apple/iPad only function you absolutely must have (and for Apple fanbois "cool" is a function), then Android tablets do the job well and are significantly cheaper. Although once you get much below 80-100 quid, you're very much in the "cheap and cheerful and don't necessarily expect it to last that long" end of the market.

Maplins seem to sell a lot of older/cheaper tablets so while the price may look attractive it's sometimes actually quite dear for what is effectively last year's range. But the main thing is be careful that what you're buying does what you need. Don't buy immediately after you try, go home, research the model you looked at online, make sure it does what you want and then if you want to go retail (while it's expensive than buying online, it can give a bit more peace of mind to have a shop to be able to physically go to, stand there and shout at them until they fix it if it goes wrong and there's some right shonky ones online) then go back and buy it.

[pauld]

One thing to look out for on cheaper models is the battery life. Can be very poor on some of the greyer Chinese jobs, some only last a couple of hours before they need recharging, best bet if you're unsure is find a written statement of expected battery life and buy it from somewhere you will be able to return it to. Again, though reading reviews online (ignoring anything that starts "A++++++" or "A******" as that's written by astoturfers) will give you an idea of whether there's an issue with real-world battery life.

[jonny72]

Samdy's right, you need to try them out, also to see which size would suit your kids best, iPads are around 9" I think, tabs come in 7", 10" and (more rarely) 8" variants. Get down to Greenbridge, PC World, Currys and Maplins all have both iPads and tabs on display (although Maplins ones aren't always ready to play with, but they'll get one out for you if you ask).

Apple and Samsung tablets have different aspect ratios. So Apple screens are larger at the same quoted screen sizes.

[pumbaa]

I must be weird, because I actually dont own (save a couple of ipod mini's theat are now >5 years old) and Apple products. I'm clearly the epitome of uncool. And I'm going to buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 from Carphone Whorehouse. For £148, with £30 cashback, that is an absolute steal!

Yes, its slightly smaller than the iPad mini (which has a 7.9" screen btw), but with the cashback its less than half the price. The downside is that you can't get some apps which appear to be exclusive to Apple (for example, Good Food Magazine do an iPad app, but not an Android app, if that sort of thing is your bag - it most certainly is for my wife, but I'm not prepared to pay the extra for the privilege).

But go play and make your own mind up. Pros and cons with each IMO.

[jayohaitchenn]

I fucking hate Apple with a passion. I will never own any of their products, and I'm cool as fuck.

[Bogus Dave]

I'm not overly cool, But i too own no Apple products or software. Fuck their system

[Barry Scott]

Anyone know if modern Andriod tablets, off the shelf, still support Flash (I read Flash is being dropped soon)? I'm thinking about a Samsung like Pumbaa above, because using something bigger than my phone on the bog would be nice.

I never used to own a single Apple product and fucking hated them. Suddenly, mainly as a result of being sick of Windows, I was the epitome of everything I hate in a gadget geek and owned several Apple fashion accessories. You'll only hear me sing the praises of OSX and Macs though, the rest of it is not something I care for or have any real interest in.

[Samdy Gray]

Up to Android 4.0 still supports Flash. It's dropped from 4.2 (Jellybean).

There are workarounds to get it back, but it's not really worth the effort.