[briankeith513]

Hey guys

I'm asked a lot about mobile devices from friends and families, because I've worked in the mobile industry for many years now, in various capacities. However, I'm stumped over one thing; The Nexus 7 vs Kindle Fire for kids.

Now I know that the Nexus 7 is a better value, in that it is superior in just about every way than the Fire. The thing is, is the Kindle Fire easier to use for an elementary school-aged child? She uses my ipad 2, and loves it, but her mom wants her to have her own tablet, no more than $200. What do you think?

[afranko22]

It depends on how well she takes care of things and how advanced she is with electronics. I work at a large retailer and we recently started selling the Nabi2. It looks like a really nice, kid safe tablet that still runs ICS. We have our demo I have been playing with and sold our first one a couple days ago. It looks really solid for the price and comes preloaded with several apps and learning activities such as books and music player. Best part, it was only $199 instead of a $500 iPad.

Sent from my Verizon Droid Razr Maxx

[chrisdiaz73]

My son uses both my iPad and Nexus 7. He is only 2 and surprisingly gentle with the devices. At his pre-school, they use android tablets to teach kids certain things, so I think while the iPad is more kid friendly, he is getting educated on an android in school. As for the Fire, I think it is worth it only if you are utilizing the video aspect of it, otherwise, there is nothing you can do on it that you can't on a nexus 7. If you place icons for the kids commonly used apps on e home screen, they won't have a problem navigating. If iPad comes in a 7" flavor, I will definitely be buying one for him.

[Phil Nickinson]

I'd say Nexus 7 (or any other traditional Android tablet) for this reason:

You can set up the homescreens yourself. My kids know exactly where their apps are.

[Roger_H]

My question/concern is can you install an app that acts as a parental control? I don't want them shopping on my credit card that is on the account or having wide open access to the web.

[jasoraso]

I feel like there are lots of parental controls that can be set on the nexus.

Make sure you set a pin in the market, so they can't purchase apps. Also, set the content filter to a conservative setting.

I also use the app set dns to set the dns on the device to opendns family safe settings.

i believe you can also set the Google search settings to a safe setting.

Another alternative is to download the k9 browser for kids to use instead of chrome.

If you use nova or apex launcher, you can set the home screen up with the icons you want then delete the app drawer button. You can add it back when you need to hey to the app drawer.

Or you can download one of the kid safe apps that basically becomes a launcher for kids programs until you exit out of it, and it isn't super easy to exit if the child doesn't read yet.

Some roms for the nexus are even implementing the multiple user feature in jelly bean, so you can have one "desktop" for the child, and another for you although it didn't work very well for me yet, still kind of beta.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[still1]

My question/concern is can you install an app that acts as a parental control? I don't want them shopping on my credit card that is on the account or having wide open access to the web.

Yes, there are option to use pin to make paid app purchase in play store stetting.

if you dont want your kids to use certain app use "Perfect app protector" or any app locker software..

[jbc28]

We have 2 girls (5 and 6) that use both of our N7's. I installed the Kids Place launcher on both and put their games and apps on it. When the kids want to use them we just turn the launcher on. They can't exit out of it without a pin, which they do not know.

[dextorboot]

I wouldn't worry too much about how easy or difficult you think it is to navigate. Kids figure it out pretty quickly. My kids have no problem going between my wifes iPhone, my SGSII with TouchWiz and the JB Nexus. Before I got the phone I had a Pre and it didn't take them long to understand my current phone enough to navigate it. I put a bunch of kid friendly apps on one of the screens but they quickly figured out where to find all the apps.

I use Zoodle as a launcher for kid apps. It's great because it has links to kid friendly youtube videos (shorts, sesame street songs etc) that play in the app so you don't need to worry about them watching the "bad" Dora the Explorer. There's also exclusive flash based games that are built into the app (need an internet connection each time you play them and now need to sideload Flash). The content is constantly changing but the app recognizes what your kids are using most and keeps it. You can set up different profiles for each kid and allow access to apps on the device at your choosing. And if you're really into it Zoodle can email you weekly updates of what they're doing in the app. Unfortunately my oldest figured out how to get out of the app a long time ago and then showed the younger one how to do it. They basically play the same games and only go into the app now when they want to watch the videos or play those games.

I don't see how anyone could recommend the Fire over the Nexus, unless of course they already bought a lot of video content from Amazon. Amazon's app store also has some kids apps that aren't in the Play store but that's not an issue with the Nexus. Honestly, I think it comes down to how much the parent wants to pay to protect the device rather than which device. I thought about getting them their own kid friendly tablet but most of them are so limited in what they can do and what you can load that I couldn't justify the cost.

[markyoung04]

I got the Samsung 2.7 for my 8 year old - one main reason I liked it over the N7 FOR HIM (not me, love my baby) was the expansion for movies. His tablet has over 20 movies stored on the SD card.

I use the PIN on PlayStore to prevent unauthorized purchases and review it every night. Also I setup a dummy email address and attached his to that so he can not access my gmail account (I can still push apps to his tablet via Google Play).

All in all he loves it and so do I.

[dsuppa]

N7 all the way, unless you root the Fire you wont have access to full Play Store,plus the front camera is good for skype with grandparents/family for kids. Also unless youre a prime member at Amazon you wont have access to all of the perks of a kindle (amazon movies, prime lender library, etc...)

[still1]

Nexus 7... If you kid can use ipad... they can use Nexus 7..
kids are smart these days....

[djnshores]

I'd say Nexus 7 (or any other traditional Android tablet) for this reason:

You can set up the homescreens yourself. My kids know exactly where their apps are.

Good point, Phil. I traded my Kindle Fire for a Nexus 7. The ability to customize the home screen for adults or kids is a good selling point for the N7.

The Kindle Fire carousel has limited customization. The Kindle Fire 2 may change that, but for now, the N7 is the winner.

[silvilas]

I would recommend the N7 as well. My 5 and 3 yr olds use all 3 devices, the iPad (1 &2), Kfire and N7. They like the iPads for:

Bigger screen
More movies and tv shows for long trips

They LOVE the N7 for the Live Wallpapers, Kid Mode (Zoodles) works better on Android (more options in-app), Netflix experience is better and as my 5 yr old tells me, "It's just the right size for me".

At their age, I see them picking up the iPads more because we have more kid apps on IOS versus Android and I tend to hog my N7 alot at home. In the car or out and about, they both prefer the N7 for the portability. For the price, you can't beat the Nexus 7.

[Inishatr]

Yes, if I were buying a tablet now and you really want something that offers a lot of the bells and whistles you expect from a tablet, I'd go with the Nexus 7. It's quad-core processor and HD screen really are a huge improvement over the Kindle Fire. Plus the Nexus 7 is thinner and lighter than the Kindle Fire.

[tedkitch]

I find it hard to believe that no one has mentioned the Nabi tablet. This thing rocks.

It comes with lots of preloaded apps, can be configured so that kids can't do anything you don't want them to and it compares to my 7" Samsung in every way. It sells on Amazon for $199.

[dvdmon]

I would second (or third?) the recommendation for the Nabi 2. It's geared specifically for kids, so if that's who the tablet is going to be for... It also has very good specs, not quite as good as the Nexus 7 or the new Kindle Fire, but close, comes with a protective bumper, and from a company that specializes in kids software and online services. This is actually their second gen kids tablet, so they are really at the forefront of this market segment. And yes, it does run stock ICS 4.0 which you can get access to (in "Mommy Mode" or "Daddy Mode"), and people have rooted it already. It comes with an Nvidea Tegra 3 processor, so is very fast. Most of their support is handled through their Facebook page () which is very active and has lots of parents helping other parents in getting up to speed, etc. There's also a great blog that walks you through setting up lots of additional functionality for the tablet:

[tbonezx11]

I would think the N7 is better for kids...going to stay more up to date software wise. I have a 6yr old & got a nice bumper case for it for when she plays. I also downloaded "Kids Mode" from the AppStore...which is awesome for keeping her out of my things or accidentally buying an app she wants, etc.

There is the NABI ... which is almost identical to the N7 ... made by ASUS & it's designed for kids. It even has the bonus over the N7 of having an MicroSD slot.

My $0.02 from someone that lets his kiddo play with the tablet (when i'm not at least!)

[hoosiermama2799]

My 3 year old grandson has a Fire, which I got for him after I got mine. I have it pretty locked down and it has Go Launcher on it. I have shortcuts to his games on the main screen. He loves it. Had the Nexus been available at the time, I may have ordered that, but the Fire is good enough for him.

His is in a rubberized case, so if he drops it, it's pretty safe (knock on wood, it's been dropped a few times).

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[howardknoah]

My 7 year old son loves using my Nexus 7. We are getting him is own for Christmas. He loves all things related to Android. The great thing for him is that he not only plays games on it, but is constantly on the lookout for his own type of apps.

I do also need to add that he is autistic and has always been fascinated with technology. He was happy to learn that the Nexus 7 came with JB. He absolutely loves the N7 and has never shown any interest in the Kindle Fire when he has been around it.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

[ChromeJob]

AS POSTED ON THE ARTICLE

This is actually going to continue being a hot topic. I definitely want to get my 10 year old daughter the N7, due to the price, value, utility, flexibility.

But issues like whether to register it to my account, or create one for her,... how to lock it down (parental controls),... how to "sandbox" apps like Netflix (sorry, Netflix currently doesn't even offer the "kids' mode" on Android, boooooo Netfailix), Wallet, etc.... All are of concern to me as she lives with her mother and when I let her go back home after Christmas, that'll be it, that tablet will be out of reach. Perhaps we should do a more in-depth article on turning an N7 into a child's 24/7 "my tablet" with proper safety and security.

.... Perhaps we can have a sticky thread about making a Nexus 7 into a kids' tablet through Android settings and third party tools.... What say ye?

I got the Samsung 2.7 for my 8 year old - one main reason I liked it over the N7 FOR HIM (not me, love my baby) was the expansion for movies. His tablet has over 20 movies stored on the SD card.

I use the PIN on PlayStore to prevent unauthorized purchases and review it every night. Also I setup a dummy email address and attached his to that so he can not access my gmail account (I can still push apps to his tablet via Google Play).

All in all he loves it and so do I.

Would love to hear more about this. I'm thinking of getting my girl the N7-8 before 9/30 to get her a $25 credit in the Play store, but would have to activate it initially with her "kid's dummy account" with Wallet configured with a credit card, then remove it.... Not sure how to do this without putting the credit on MY account. I.e., when i activated my second N7 (took the first one back to the store to upgrade to 16GB), I activated it on my 2nd Google Hosted apps account, it added the credit to that account's Play store "redeemable credit," but Play shows apps bought from the Gmail account. If I delete my Gmail account ... I'm presuming that Play app will lose the connection to those apps. (I'd like to install the puzzle apps that I have and she likes e.g. Osmos HD, Spirits, Zen Bound 2.)

See how complicated this gets...?

// Posted from my Nexus 7 with the Android Central app :-) //

[retsaw]

My preferred method of parental control is keeping an eye on what they are doing and physically controlling access to the device. If your daughter's mother is the one that is going to be doing most of the parenting, I think you should discuss this with the mother before buying it. Although there are plenty of apps to lock down Android devices, if that is what you want. And on that subject I'd be curious to know if there are any that will restrict apps by time of day, so it could be used as an ebook reader at bedtime, but games can only be played before bedtime.

For setting the device up, give her her own account, sharing your account will probably cause trouble in the long run, you can temporarily add one of your credit cards to it to get the credit then delete the card afterward. If you are averse to paying for apps twice, then you could copy the apks from your device to your daughters' device (your device will need to be rooted to do this).

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

[mjwalsh]

My recommendation would be Kindle Fire, there are too many reports on these forums about N7s screens being broken from accidental drops (I have an N7 which i love but treat it very carefully). My friend has the original Kindle Fire and she has 3 young kids who drop, kick and whack the fire and it shows no signs of damage (the only thing they haven't done is actually set fire to the fire!). Agree though about having a kids home screen being a plus for the N7. I thought Kindle was coming out with separate user logons soon?!?

[tabletnovice]

I use the PIN on PlayStore to prevent unauthorized purchases and review it every night. Also I setup a dummy email address and attached his to that so he can not access my gmail account (I can still push apps to his tablet via Google Play).

I get the basic concept but, as a newbie, it's over my head. This is exactly what I'd like to do. I've asked about it in another thread but was told I had to delete my entire Google account(s). Can you please give me more information about this. I'm just about a total newbie. Thank you!

[vzwty]

Id recommend the Kindle also. Especially the new one with the parental controls. Love my Nexus but the Kindle is more family friendly.