Any good? What made you get one over just a normal android tablet? Im in two minds weather to get one of these or just a tablet that i can also use. It will be mainly the little guys if i get a tablet but i just want which is the best for him and value for money

The makers are very coy about what is inside, I suspect it is a cheap Chinese tablet with a few custom games and wrapped in a rubberised case. From similar products I have seen, dont expect to be able to add much to what is already installed from new.

 

Value for money is difficult to tell, at 16 months, my daughter was fine playing with a bog standard Acer B1 tablet.

we bought our son a Nabi 2, basically the same processor as a google nexus, same quad core. Totally locked down in "nabi mode" but there is also a daddy mode where you have full control. We bought it for him when he was 5, you can set time limits for usage, incentivise good behaviour by allowing them to earn rewards for good behavior/ doing chores etc.

 

The only down side was that as he got older and started playing big apps like minecraft the memory was a bit tight. He eventually broke it last weekend when the on off switch gave up the ghost. It's had nearly three years of heavy use and other than the switch is going strong. 

 

Very highly recommended but we have now moved on to a "proper" tablet as he's nearly 8. We've bought an Asus Memopad  and installed kids place and screen time which is pretty much the same level as control as we had on the nabi but it only cost us £99 and it has no memory restrictions

My son has a Nabi 2, does what he wants it to do but agree with the above that it is now reaching his age limit (nearly 10) and really wants to move to the next stage up.

 

This tablet suits younger kids but I am not so sure on their accessories support.

I wouldnt bother.. 

 

Buy your standard cheap tablet and lock it down. I have heard you pay a fortune for games for the leapfrog...

 

If you get the standard one just install the free games  but be sure to lock it down then all you really end up paying for is the tablet.

+1 for the Asus Memopad, although the Acer had better GPS.

My daughter will be 3 in October, she will play happily with our Nexus 7 tablet ("mummy's tlabit" as she calls it) for hours if we let her.

She mostly watches pepper pig and button moon on there but also likes playing games like talking tom an the free cbeebies app.

She's been using it since she was 18 months old.

Agree, there are plenty of free games; from simple "bash" games to sophisticated RPGs available.

 

Another issue, the company is US, so everything on the tablet is going to be in Yank-speak, everything from "aluminum", through "color" and "caribian," to "zeeebra".

I wouldnt bother.. 

 

Buy your standard cheap tablet and lock it down. I have heard you pay a fortune for games for the leapfrog...

 

If you get the standard one just install the free games  but be sure to lock it down then all you really end up paying for is the tablet.

 

 

+1 Our boy could work a Nexus 7 at 3yr. Can't read but knows the icons to get to Youtube. He was doing things in the app that I didn't know you could do.

 

I think amazon is about to release a bunch of new tabs one of which will be a ruggedised kids version. Depends how happy you are to be tied to that vendor.

 

[edit] US only for now - http://www.pcworld.com/article/2685452/amazons-new-fire-tablets-have-more-features-at-lower-prices.html

 

I'd suggest a used Nexus 2012 model and buy a rugged case for it.

Edited 22 September, 201411 yr by Aspman

Our youngest had a leappad and loved it. I liked the fact that it was rugged, and designed for kids to learn. He learned all his alphabet and could write letters on the screen with the stylus well before he started school. Yes the games are a little more expensive, but they are specifically targeted educational games. I'd recommend one.

The rubber bumper on the Nabi2 is great but the Tesco HUB has just the same.

and you can buy the ruggedized cases on amazon for £14 

 

for a 3 year old if you can find a nabi 2 they are miles ahead of the leappad but they are now a bit pricey compared with the rest