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2014-08-01 8:00 AM

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Subject: My son wants a tablet.......

He is 8 and has some money saved but not enough for an Ipad or Ipad mini.

Any recommendations?

What is it with tablets anyway? He has a DS his cousin gave him and a Wii in the basement but he always wants to play on my husbands IPad. It is annoying me. I'm ready to just let him buy his own thing, be responsible for it or not and let the cards fall where they may. If he loses it or breaks it or crashes it it will be his own problem.

 



2014-08-01 9:38 AM
in reply to: trigal38

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Alpharetta, Georgia
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Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......

Grab a used older version one from Craigslist? My Dad was selling his 1st gen iPad for $25 or something. 

2014-08-01 10:04 AM
in reply to: trigal38

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Master
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Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......

We got a NextBook(?) at Wal-mart for a reasonable price. It would probably entertain an 8 year old for a while after you've downloaded some aps on it. It would keep the more expensive equipment from being beat up.

I like the Craigslist option mentioned above.

2014-08-01 10:05 AM
in reply to: lisac957

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Champion
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Brooklyn, NY
Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......
Originally posted by lisac957

Grab a used older version one from Craigslist? My Dad was selling his 1st gen iPad for $25 or something. 




This. We unloaded our old iPad for less than $100. The only drawback is that the older models aren't compatible with the newer operating systems and are missing some of the newer upgrades (like a camera), so they're not compatible with some of the newer games and other apps, but he's only 8 and he'll survive...

2014-08-01 10:09 AM
in reply to: trigal38

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Elite
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Cleveland
Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......

There are some incredibly inexpensive tablets out there.  It all depends upon what you're looking for in a tablet.

 

Do you need cellular data service (would require a data plan with your cell provider), or is WiFi good enough?

Does he need a large screen?  Do you think he needs Bluetooth connectivity?  How much does performance matter?

 

We just bought one for my girlfriend's 6 year old at HHGregg.  The brand is ProScan.  The speed of the hardware is somewhat lacking (older single core processor, not as much RAM as you might like to see otherwise, but acceptable) and also lacks Bluetooth, but it comes in a carrying case with a usb keyboard and it was only $70.  It is WiFi only, and has a 7" screen (which I think is plenty for smaller hands), and runs the latest non-KitKat version of the Android OS (4.2 JellyBean).  Literally, the only knock on the thing is the speed of the hardware... I've actually considered getting one for myself because it's simply all you really need.

Beyond that, we looked at the 7" Samsung Tab3 .  It's about twice the cost at $140, but it has much faster hardware and includes Bluetooth connectivity (good for wireless speakers, etc).  If we hadn't been buying for a 6 year old that was likely to lose or break the thing before it's a year old, this is the route we would have gone.

 

 

2014-08-01 10:22 AM
in reply to: cgregg

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Boise, ID
Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......

 

Google Nexus 7. My wife and I bought one before a road trip, $230 for the 16gb or $270 for the 32gb. It works great, never had a problem with it.



2014-08-01 10:26 AM
in reply to: 0

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Champion
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Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......

If he's anything like my niece, he just wants to play games. I would go the ebay/craigslist route and get whatever is cheapest. If he really exhibits a need for something with more capabilities, then you know and can do the real research.   My mom gave her old Kindle Fire to my niece and she loves it.  It would be useless to me.



Edited by BikerGrrrl 2014-08-01 10:26 AM
2014-08-01 10:50 AM
in reply to: trigal38

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Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......

If you have Amazon Prime account (or are willing to spend the $80 a year to get it), then a Kindle Fire is absolutely the way to go. Along with the apps, you can watch for free all of the movies and tv shows that are prime eligible on the Kindle.  It's usually not new releases, but they have a ton of stuff for kids.  You can download a free book once per month, and they recently added a streaming music thing, sort of like an ad-free Pandora.  

2014-08-01 11:20 AM
in reply to: Bob Loblaw

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Elite
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Cleveland
Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......

Originally posted by Bob Loblaw

If you have Amazon Prime account (or are willing to spend the $80 a year to get it), then a Kindle Fire is absolutely the way to go. Along with the apps, you can watch for free all of the movies and tv shows that are prime eligible on the Kindle.  It's usually not new releases, but they have a ton of stuff for kids.  You can download a free book once per month, and they recently added a streaming music thing, sort of like an ad-free Pandora.  

 

For the record, you can do this on any tablet if you have a Prime account, you just need to install the Amazon app (free).

 

 

2014-08-01 11:26 AM
in reply to: trigal38

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Champion
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Philly 'burbs
Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......

Originally posted by trigal38

He is 8 and has some money saved but not enough for an Ipad or Ipad mini.

Any recommendations?

What is it with tablets anyway? He has a DS his cousin gave him and a Wii in the basement but he always wants to play on my husbands IPad. It is annoying me. I'm ready to just let him buy his own thing, be responsible for it or not and let the cards fall where they may. If he loses it or breaks it or crashes it it will be his own problem.

 

 

I whole heartily support the notion of letting him spend his own money and then letting him be fully accountable and responsible for it.

2014-08-01 4:17 PM
in reply to: cgregg

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Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......
Originally posted by cgregg

There are some incredibly inexpensive tablets out there.  It all depends upon what you're looking for in a tablet.

 

Do you need cellular data service (would require a data plan with your cell provider), or is WiFi good enough?

Does he need a large screen?  Do you think he needs Bluetooth connectivity?  How much does performance matter?

 

We just bought one for my girlfriend's 6 year old at HHGregg.  The brand is ProScan.  The speed of the hardware is somewhat lacking (older single core processor, not as much RAM as you might like to see otherwise, but acceptable) and also lacks Bluetooth, but it comes in a carrying case with a usb keyboard and it was only $70.  It is WiFi only, and has a 7" screen (which I think is plenty for smaller hands), and runs the latest non-KitKat version of the Android OS (4.2 JellyBean).  Literally, the only knock on the thing is the speed of the hardware... I've actually considered getting one for myself because it's simply all you really need.

Beyond that, we looked at the 7" Samsung Tab3 .  It's about twice the cost at $140, but it has much faster hardware and includes Bluetooth connectivity (good for wireless speakers, etc).  If we hadn't been buying for a 6 year old that was likely to lose or break the thing before it's a year old, this is the route we would have gone.

 

 




I picked up the Samsung Tab 3 at ATT for $50.00. Use it for work in the field an really like it.


2014-08-01 6:18 PM
in reply to: NXS

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Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......

Do they still make these?

big chief

2014-08-01 7:43 PM
in reply to: the bear

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Oklahoma
Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......
Kindle Fire
2014-08-02 6:22 PM
in reply to: trigal38

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Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......
http://www.techforless.com/cgi-bin/tech4less/hot_deal.html?mv_pc=cj...



Hisense Sero 7 Pro M470BSA Tablet PC - nVIDIA Tegra 3 1.3 GHz Processor - 1 GB RAM ...
Fire Sale Price: $69.97 + Free Shipping
2014-08-02 7:48 PM
in reply to: #5033638


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252525
Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......
My three year old inherited my ipad 1 a year ago when i got the ipad 4. I jailbroke it and locked her out of everything except her educational games. It's full of movies, but she can't get to them without an adult putting in the nine digit alphanumeric password. Im currently casually looking for another ipad 1 because i know the new born is gonna be old enough to want to play with it in the blink of an eye.

I highly recommend getting a used one from ebay or craigslist.
2014-08-02 9:29 PM
in reply to: seiken

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Bronze member
Subject: RE: My son wants a tablet.......

Thanks for the input. Craigslist was also my first thought but he refused that idea. I tried to tell him his money would go a lot farther but you know how it is with kids, sometimes they just have to figure it out. He went shopping with DH today and they found a Kindle Fire at Best Buy for $119.



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