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The kids (girls 7 & 9) have said that they would like I pads for christmas, and that unfortunately won't happen as my pockets aren't that deep. However i am aware that other tablets exist at much cheaper prices, Tesco Hudl and Amazon Kindle for two.
What i need to know about these is do you need some sort of mobile contract with these, if not how do you pay for apps and stuff? Can you access the google play app store on them and get access to the internet via our home wifi?
Essentially i know bugger all about these things and need a beginners guide. Thanks.
Cheaper options are out there as you say.
No, you can get tablets with just wifi, no need to get a mobile contract.
Google app store is there and viewable best through home wireless connection.
Argos do a cheaper than Tesco one but it hasn't had good reviews.
Android is better (which I think the hudl is) as there are lots more free apps on android, no mobile contract required. People get stung if they put their credit card details into their Google account (which is what you need to run the google app store) and then the kids go mental ...
Just make sure you set the app store so you cannot purchase anything without your password and you will be fine, and make sure it fdoes not allow further purchases within say 15 mins of password use as the nefarious apps are designed to capitalize on this. eg "Dad can I have this game its only 69p?", you put your password in and buy, hand the device back tot he kid and minutes later is asking them to buy more jewels/lives/etc and they merrily press yes and spend quids!
In my opinion, the main specs to consider are;
- Screen size (Most cheapies are 7", depends how portable you want it to be)
- Screen resolution (in-laws have a 10" tablet with an 800x600 resolution - images, icons, etc look terrible. My 4.2" phone has the same resolution which it's fine for and my 9" tablet has a fairly high res of 1920 x 1280)
- CPU speed (Hard to give a baseline, but mine has a 1.5Ghz dual core and copes well with everything I've tried although it's considered mid-to-low end these days.)
- Battery life
I have a Hudl.
Works over Wifi only (I downloaded 3GB in the first week!)
In Android you can set up a separate profile - linked to an email address I set up just for the boys. Any app downloads require me to enter a password, while in-app purchases require the handing over of pocket money before I enter my card details. I have set their profile not to remember this.
Youtube has the settings set as "safe content". (not convinced by this)
I'm still having problems with my youngest (age 5) clicking links in games - which then launches the Chrome browser, but he's yet to go any further than this.
My own profile is a lot more relaxed, but is protected by a swipe code and the threat of a slapped backside.
There's also an app that will lock down activity further but I've not felt the need to spend 99p/mo (yet).
I just got a hudl for £60 woth of clubcard vouchers and so far i'm impressed and the reviews seem good.
I'll be even more impressed when I work our how to transfer films to it for watching offline.
Works on wifi only and plenty of free apps in the play store.
The kids can have their own accounts, that you as the supreme admin of the tablet microverse can set the limits to. You can buy the Google Play Prepaid vouchers if they want to buy apps or app upgrades.
All sounds good, looks as though i'm off to browse Tesco's website. Thanks all.
I've been told that you can get Samsung Tab 2 for 99 quid.