Which new Android Kids Tablet is best? Nabi 2 or Meep! ?

[aleaks77]

Hi dvdmon,
Thank you for the helpful comparison info you have provided thus far on the Nabi 2 I am new to the Android world and have seriously been researching to find the best tablet for my 5 year old kindergartner who simply loves all technology at this point. She started off with the leapfrog explorer when she was about 3 and mastered it very quickly. I was debating b/w a leappad 2 (which has been called the ipad for kids) or an android tablet. She is focused on reading at this point, do you know if the Nabi 2 provides for good reading apps for kids?

 

[dvdmon]

Hi dvdmon,
Thank you for the helpful comparison info you have provided thus far on the Nabi 2 I am new to the Android world and have seriously been researching to find the best tablet for my 5 year old kindergartner who simply loves all technology at this point. She started off with the leapfrog explorer when she was about 3 and mastered it very quickly. I was debating b/w a leappad 2 (which has been called the ipad for kids) or an android tablet. She is focused on reading at this point, do you know if the Nabi 2 provides for good reading apps for kids?

It comes with an app called MeeGenius - which is also available for other Android devices, so if you have one you can check it out. It comes with around 30 books for MeGenius, but to be honest we don't use it much, mainly because my daughter really mainly likes to read paper. I guess she's old fashioned But in addition to that app, you can easily install the Kindle app and we have - I've used it to buy a bunch of books which I have read to her at bedtime and it works well on the tablet. In addition, you can get an app called Overdrive which syncs with many library systems around the country and lets you "borrow" eBooks for free. I haven't tried this yet, but I know others have...

 

[aleaks77]

Thank you very much for the quick response! I will definitely look into these app options.

 

[ALDIII]

There is several xda threads on the Nabi 2, been running since early Dec 2012. Great work around for Play and rooting. Backup original Rom too and a stripped Rom minus the kids mode. A lot of folks have Nabi 2 for themselves or share with their little 1s, just under a Nexus 7. I have 1 and my 2 grandsons have them, also have a Nexus 7 so could compare. Only drawback at all on the Nabi 2 is the internal storage.

 

[Amal Saeed]

Re: Which new Android Kids Tablet

please tell me about the best tablet android for kids i want buy it for my daughter she is 2 years old but i ask you about tabeo tablet or kurio tablet or child pad which is the best????

i know nabi 2 is better than other tablets but it price 200$ , i want at range 150$
thanks

 

[Gale Karlin]

Hi am looking to buy either the Nabi or the Nabi JR for my grandaughter and can decide which one to buy she is 4, I can't really see the difference between the two tablets.

 

[dvdmon]

Hi am looking to buy either the Nabi or the Nabi JR for my grandaughter and can decide which one to buy she is 4, I can't really see the difference between the two tablets.

Gale, there are many differences, but probably the biggest ones are screen size (Jr. has a 5-inch screen and the Nabi 2 has a 7" screen) as well as the targeted age range. The Nabi Jr. is targeted at kids who are between 1 and 4, whereas the Nabi 2 is more for 4 or 5 through 10 or 11. So given your granddaughter's age, my suggestion would be a Nabi 2 because she would probably outgrow the Jr. fairly quickly. The Nabi 2 is more expensive of course, so that's another big factor, but overall it is a better device, with a faster processor, more memory, larger screen, etc.

 

[TanyaM]

In DESPERATE NEED OF HELP. I have been reading your post and felt that with your experience you are probably the last hope to make this process easier for my husband and I. We have been researching every tablet I could find for my 2 yr old. We need something that he can access ABC Mouse online, play games (fruit ninga, angry birds, etc,) with additional options he can choose from. It also needs to be able to access PBS kids.com, Nick jr.com. As well as ebooks that can read to him or we can read to him with books that are age appropriate for a preschooler. (Also offering addtional downloads) A front and back camera and educational activities. He loves music & I was excited to hear that the Meep can be plugged into the television and has a mic that can be attached to it. Then we thought the Tabeo sounded good. Then the kurio and last was the Nabi/Nabi2@/Nabi Jr. Now can you see why this is such a confusing process. I'm sure the Nabi would be best but I love the extra things that come with the Meep. It seems that there are so many pros & cons for all of them and people have lots of opinions either way One of the biggest problems is the charger port. Can you help us understand a bit more? That do you think?

 

[dvdmon]

In DESPERATE NEED OF HELP. I have been reading your post and felt that with your experience you are probably the last hope to make this process easier for my husband and I. We have been researching every tablet I could find for my 2 yr old. We need something that he can access ABC Mouse online, play games (fruit ninga, angry birds, etc,) with additional options he can choose from. It also needs to be able to access PBS kids.com, Nick jr.com. As well as ebooks that can read to him or we can read to him with books that are age appropriate for a preschooler. (Also offering addtional downloads) A front and back camera and educational activities. He loves music & I was excited to hear that the Meep can be plugged into the television and has a mic that can be attached to it. Then we thought the Tabeo sounded good. Then the kurio and last was the Nabi/Nabi2@/Nabi Jr. Now can you see why this is such a confusing process. I'm sure the Nabi would be best but I love the extra things that come with the Meep. It seems that there are so many pros & cons for all of them and people have lots of opinions either way One of the biggest problems is the charger port. Can you help us understand a bit more? That do you think?

I know that ABCMouse.com is a Flash site and maybe PFSKids.com is as well. Any Android tablet should be able to play Flash, the problem is that it depends on how it was implemented - if it requires keyboard input you're out of luck, but I think that most of these sites should (hopefully) be transitioning to another technology, be they actual apps or html5, since Adobe (and Android) is phasing Flash out, especially for mobile devices.

Fuhu (makers of the Nabi) was the first company to come out with a kid's tablet over a year ago, and are generally recognizes as the biggest fish (outside of Amazon, Samsung, Apple, and Google) in terms of kid's tablets. The Nabi 2 uses the same processor as the Nexus 7 and is an excellent tablet, but it does not have a read camera, only a front one. The Jr. has a camera that swivels, so can be both. However the Jr. is 5" instead of 7" and has less memory and a slower processor. It is, however, geared more towards your child's age group, with educational material and games for younger kids. I would not touch the Meep or Tabeo as these are made by companies who don't specialize in tablets in the same way as Fuhu does now. They are underpowered compared to the Nabi 2 at least. As far as Nick Jr., Fuhu has actually partnered with that company and will be adding lots of Nick Jr. stuff to the Nabi Jr. soon, but not sure exactly when. People who have already bought one will get a software update with Nick Jr. apps and such when it's ready (hopefully in the next month or so, but you never know).

As far as plugging into the TV, the Nabi 2 has HDMI but the Jr. does not, so you'd have to do it via the headphone jack, so it would be audio only. Lots of "ebooks" come with the Nabi 2 which also read aloud, and for both devices you can install the Amazon App Store, the Kindle App for eBooks and the Overdrive App to borrow eBooks from your local library.

My suggestion is if you need further information to check out the Nabitablet Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/nabitablet?fref=ts) and post your questions there, as there are a lot of very helpful people answering specific questions about all the devices.

 

[TanyaM]

Your a life saver. It may cost more but seems very well worth it. I really appreciate your help.

 

[Meep Tablet]

Tanya, if you have any questions about Meep, I'd be happy to answer them. I'm not actually sure what you wanted to know about the charger port? The Meep may not be as old as the Nabi, but it's continually being improved even and is itself a solid product (and so is the Kurio for that matter, all three truly have much in common) especially since our last major update to operating system version 2.0.
Some of the main features of the Meep that appeal to many people are the parental controls- ours are the strongest because they are cloud-based. We have both our own 'Meep Store' as well as a full interface with Google Play so anything that exists on Google Play can be put onto the Meep (by the parent). There are indeed also the accessories like the microphone, steering wheel, piano, etc. and also eBooks (our eReader works will all ePub books). We have a Communicator that lets children (siblings, friends, etc) talk 'Meep to Meep'.
For flash, as was said above, Adobe started moving away from Flash for Android last fall. Some websites are slow to catch up with this change, but we do have a workaround to allow websites with Flash to be played on the Meep. The Meep's parental controls can allow either unlimited web browsing and YouTube use, or it can be restricted to allow only 'suggested sites' as set up in the parent portal account.
Our parent portal allows for the purchase of "Meep Coins" and the ability (or not, as the parent chooses) to use them in the store and on GooglePlay. We have smartphone apps for iOS and Android to control the portal account which then controls the Meep itself. The parental control setup is ideal if you don't want your child browsing without your input, as you are actively in the drivers seat, even without the Meep in hand.
Meep has an active Facebook community who would also be happy to answer any questions or talk about anything Meep, just look for us as 'Meep Tablet US'.
-Jill

 

[Meep Tablet]

Nicole, I am very glad to hear that you considered your options and choice what seemed best for you! I'm somewhat discouraged by another posted above you who refers repeatedly to Nabi rivals as 'inferior', but seems to have only experience with the Nabi and not the others at all. The Nabi is a fine tablet, as is Kurio and others- but then so is Meep, it is not 'junk'. It all comes down to your own family needs and desires- I blame no one if they prefer a Kindle Fire is that is what works for them. We have many happy Meep users who like the parental controls, the chat functions, the Meep Store, and the ability to use GooglePlay.

 

[zmann]

Kurio has been a beast for my 9 year old. Safety features are great and you can use the regular android launcher if you want to.

Note 2,,ITS TRUE, SIZE IS EVERYTHING.

 

[mummybear]

Does the Nabi have a tracking device or something I can download to watch my child if needed? As far as I've researched, there's no anti theft or tracking devices available. Hard to believe I can't DL something.

TIA!