How to choose a tablet for a 9 years old son?

[ninolimoni]

Hi,
I wish to buy an android tablet for my 9 years old son, but I really have no idea of what the market can offer. But I know very well what I want (and what I'm not interested into), so I would like to ask you some advice, hoping that your knowledge of the market will help me.

My son wants a tablet essentially for playing: he is a Plants VS Zombies fan (pc version) and he would like to play the PvsZ 2 game, so the main requirement is that the tablet should be enough powerful not to hang or get (sensibly) slower during gameplay.

Sometimes we travel by car for many hours and he could use the tablet for watching Disney cartoons: so the tablet should be able to play divx/xvid/MOV videos fluently. I'm not interested in Full HD resolution, but I don't want to spend my time converting between avi, mp4, mov,... I don't have any .mkv file. There should be also an audio lineout jack not to disturb his (perhaps sleeping) sisters in the car.

The panel should be an IPS one, so in the car he could put the device between him and his sister and they could both see the videos. Having this in mind, perhaps a 7" panel is too small, so I would like something bigger (but not too heavy, for he frequently drops things).

The tablet should support memory expansion (eg: microSD cards), should have a USB port and should not mount proprietary versions of Android (like the Kindle family): I don't want to spend my time rooting it or doing things that could damage it or make me spend even more time trying to fix it up.

I just don't care about every form of social networking, and I do not want my son surfing the web unattended, so I'm not interested in 3G connectivity: I would use only wifi, just to download apps (if I cannot do it from my PC). An urgent question: could he play games (such as Plants VS Zombies 2) offline or a connection is always required?

I am not interested in a front-face camera, but a rear one would be appreciated to take photos (I don't care if there is no led flash).

Please consider that also the budget has its importance: I don't want to spend a fortune and then cry seeing it broken on the floor (over all they are kids).

Thank you for all the help you would give to me

Nino

 

[Haalcyon]

It looks like the LG G Pad 8.3 would be a good fit.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! The Hisense Sero 7 would be a decent choice. Only $60 at 1sale.com, free shipping! It's refurbished, I think.

http://www.1sale.com/electronics/computers-tablets/hisense-sero-7-tablet-4gb/

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Rukbat]

1) ALL versions of Android, except AOSP, are proprietary. So that would limit you to the Nexus. Kindle is no more or less proprietary than Samsung or LG. And even large parts of the "non-proprietary" versions are proprietary. If you want totally open-source Android ... I want a lot of things I'll never get too.

2) You'd need a 10" Nexus - the 7" would be too small. It would probably meet most of your requirements (the only thing that is precisely what you want is what you make yourself, whether it's computers or omelets). It's large and fast enough for games and movies. As far as the formats it'll play, that depends on the app you're using to play. They'll always come out with a new format and you'll always have to download a new app to play it.

As far as playing games when not online, that depends on the game. Online games require you to be online to play, offline games don't.

Oh - as the adult of 2 kids around that age (my 11 and 14 year old great nephews) buy an extended warranty that covers broken screens. They WILL break the screen. Go for water damage coverage too, if you can get it. Soda is water. He's 9. Nuff said?

 

[ninolimoni]

Hi, thank you for your reply. The Nexus 10" would be great, except for my wallet. I began considering an Archos 80 Platinum ("ideal for kids") to quickly turn onto the Nexus 7". When I was speaking about proprietary versions of Android, I meant I did not want something tied to a market, like Amazon. I want to be able to download .apks, install apps and possibly read .epub and play avi/mov without needing to spend time converting them (sometimes with bad results).

Why do you think a 7" is too small? For watching cartoons in the car (6-8 times a year) or even for playing games? He is a little boy, will he see things bigger than us?

Haalcyon suggested to evaluate an LG G Pad 8.3: what do you think about it? Could it be a valid tradeoff between 7" and 10" displays? I read some articles claiming that this model has a too dim backlighting, resulting in having a poor movie-watching experience...

I have no tablets and I am waiting an effective need to buy one for me; so spending €300+ for my son that wish to play games sounds to me a bit awkward. As the money required rises, I feel as if the tablet could be even a bit mine, but this means I am buying a present for me and not for my child... I cannot explain it better...

Finally, where could I purchase an extended warranty? From the manufacturer or from the online shop (in this latter case I will be forced to choose a shop and not another one)?

Thank you again for all your help and advices,

Nino

 

[B. Diddy]

The G Pad gets some great reviews, but you should ask yourself if it's reasonable to pay a more premium price for something a child might end up thrashing (although I shouldn't pre-judge--does your 9 year old pamper his toys?).

Square Trade is a good place to get 3rd party warranties: Buy Extended Warranty - Extended Service Plan - New Electronics Warranty

 

[Rukbat]

Hi, thank you for your reply. The Nexus 10" would be great, except for my wallet. I began considering an Archos 80 Platinum ("ideal for kids") to quickly turn onto the Nexus 7".

Watch out for those Chinese "just like the real one but cheaper" devices. When thy work they're fine, but as soon as you need tech support you find out why they're cheaper. Having people answering phones costs money.

When I was speaking about proprietary versions of Android, I meant I did not want something tied to a market, like Amazon. I want to be able to download .apks,

Any* Android device can load and run apks (an apk is a package that includes an app and the instructions for installing it.)

and possibly read .epub and play avi/mov without needing to spend time converting them (sometimes with bad results).

That depends on the apps you install. Android is basically Android - it's the apps that read the books, play the movies, etc.

"Any" meaning "any real one that you've heard of before. "Charlie's Cheep Tapled" might not qualify.

Why do you think a 7" is too small?

For 2 kids watching the same tablet in the back seat of a car for a couple of hours? So YOU'RE the one who got the angels while the rest of us got normal kids. Even a 10" tab is asking for a tug of war with most kids. (Does "he got the bigger half" sound familiar?)

Haalcyon suggested to evaluate an LG G Pad 8.3: what do you think about it? Could it be a valid tradeoff between 7" and 10" displays?

The only recent complaints I've had with LG have been no SD card and no removable battery - and that pertains to phones, not tablets. Back in "oooh, phones have cameras in them now" days, LG had about the best camera in a cell phone. I'm not anti-LG. (My small den TV (small den, not small TV) is an LG, and it's been working fine for years.

I read some articles claiming that this model has a too dim backlighting, resulting in having a poor movie-watching experience.

No idea on that one - I've never tried one.

I have no tablets and I am waiting an effective need to buy one for me; so spending €300+ for my son that wish to play games sounds to me a bit awkward. As the money required rises, I feel as if the tablet could be even a bit mine, but this means I am buying a present for me and not for my child... I cannot explain it better...

I'm a father. You explained it very well.

Finally, where could I purchase an extended warranty? From the manufacturer or from the online shop (in this latter case I will be forced to choose a shop and not another one)?

I don't know if it works differently in the US and where you are. We can usually buy an extended warranty right from the shop when we buy any item - from a $5 SD card to a Mercedes. My cellphones came with a choice of one from the shop or one from the carrier, with slightly different terms. I opted for the one with no theft coverage (my debit card covers that - as well as the local gendarmerie) but water damage coverage, so they couldn't try to not cover it due to water damage (which they'll do if it died to getting baked in the middle of the desert).