I've no preference at the moment, but Christmas is coming up and I have two children to buy a tablet for. My oldest is ten and needs something with enough processing and graphics power to allow her to play the latest games. The youngest is four and will need something sturdy that will allow him to play learning apps. Obviously I'm hoping to find a good deal, but on devices that won't break within a few weeks. I hoping that someone can help!
Well, I purchased myself an Allwinner A13 tablet last year from Amazon. It is definitely not an adult tablet, despite the fact that I am an adult, but it was all that I could afford at the time, and I was eager to jump on the Android bandwagon and try out all of the games and other applications. It was fairly cheap too, and is described as a great first tablet for a child.
I don't have any brand recommendations but I would say try finding a third party brand, like one of those really cheap Chinese brands. Some of them are priced at $75 to $100 and they're pretty decent considering the price, the only problem you'll have is that well, you can't really expect them to last that long especially on the hands of a 10 year old. Also the brand might cause a problem if your kid is into the more mainstream brands like Apple or Samsung.
I highly recommend just going for a second hand ipad. The older models still run modern apps well and at this point the earlier ones cost very little considering that they are Apple products. I'd say you probably would just be spending just as much on a mid range android tablet. We have an ipad 2 and it still works flawlessly. We've had to bring it in for repairs a couple of times but it's mostly due to accidents that were our fault, and the damages were mostly exteriors like the screen but the internal workings have always ran great.
We are concerned that the majority of the Chinese cheap tablets will not be sturdy enough to last with either child, and worse, that we wouldn't be able to get a well fitted case to protect it. Our budget is $150 (preferably) but no more than $200 for sure. The ten year old is trustworthy. We've had no dropped or damaged devices for a few years now, as she is very careful. Thank you for the suggestion of a pre-loved iPad. We're not entirely convinced with iOS at the moment, as we have invested so much money in Android apps already.
I second the iPad idea. I haven't purchased a refurbished tablet from Apple, but I do have a refurbished laptop, and it works fantastically. I've heard nothing but good things about their refurbished tech. Fair point about the Android apps, however. Perhaps an older Samsung? Shouldn't have issues with playing the latest stuff if you go, say, one gen back, and the price shouldn't be ridiculous.
For your 4 year old I would recommend a Leap Pad explorer. You can even get ones now that have wifi capabilities. You download apps off of the Leap Pad website. All games are educational and they have them sorted according age so they always age appropriate. You can usually get the games on sale too so it's not that expensive. My 6 year old has had one for 3 years and still enjoys playing on it. I also second the iPad for your older son. There are so many good apps and they are so well made. I find the Samsung Galaxy cheap and doesn't perform as well as an iPad. It's worth the extra money to get an iPad.
I had a Samsung Galaxy Tab myself, and unfortunately I wouldn't rate it as even capable of using for viewing Facebook. Given how wonderful the Galaxy S range of phones is, it came as a massive shock. It has sat on the shelf unused because even after factory resetting it, updating the operating system and everything else, nothing will run. Apps are slow, they crash, and many won't install at all. Oddly I hadn't considered the Leap Pad range which is daft because my older child had one. It was a much older model than are available now of course, but it worked long and hard.
I couldn't vouch for older generations of Android, but I suspect that they are more susceptible to lag issues if the device is an old model. This is only speculation on my part of course since I haven't had the chance to test old android devices, but I've heard lag was an issue for lower or older models. Although, I think recently a lot of Chinese brand devices have come out that are very cheap so maybe those would be better than an old branded device?
Well, I would suggest you go for the Spidotech Sleek W1. It’s an Android tablet with great features for your daughter and educational apps for the younger one. Plus, it’s quite durable and will cost you just £35.99.
I gave my children my old Samsung Galaxy Tab after I bought my iPad mini and they have used it for a good two years. This past Christmas I decided that I was going to get an inexpensive second tablet so they did not have to take turns with the other one. I found an iRulu tablet for $42 and it came with its own case. They have downloaded games on it without problem and even play Minecraft on it. So far so good and it was a really good deal. At first, I was kind of leery of buying a brand that I am not familiar with but it was the only one I could afford. The recommendations for the iPad are spot on though as I have never had any problem with mine and it plays new games as well as the older ones. Plus, you can update the software on it as it comes out. Mine is a first generation and I am quite happy with it.
