Which Tablet Should I Buy My Kids? iPad vs Kindle Fire

By Digital Mom on December 20, 2011@http://www.twitter.com/digitalmomblog

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Are you looking to buy your child a tablet? Or are you considering buying yourself a tablet and letting your kids use it?

When looking for a tablet for your kids, 2 immediate contenders may come to mind: the Apple iPad and the Amazon Kindle Fire. After researching both, here are the pros and the cons of each when considering purchasing for a child – or for kid use.

Apple iPad

The Apple iPad is the end-all-be-all to tablets. With the simple design and intuitive user interface, your children will be able to easily figure out how to work their way around the iPads OS.

Pros:

Thousands upon thousands of applications for both fun and education
Easy to use interface
Several iPad cases for kids available to protect your device

Cons:

Price – even if you were to buy a refurbished 1st generation iPad, you will be spending over $300
Size – the iPads are quite large, which could be a disadvantage to small hands carrying around

Final Thoughts:

While I LOVE my Apple iPad, if I were buying for my child, I would consider another device due to price.

Amazon Kindle Fire

The Amazon Kindle Fire is selling more than a million devices a week (December 2012). How kid friendly is the Amazon Fire?

Pros:

The price is right at $199
Apps are available via the Amazon app store
The Kindle Fire’s size fits perfectly in the hands of kiddos.
Easy access to Amazon – great for streaming movies

Cons:

The Kindle Fire does not have near the quality of apps that is available to the Apple iPad
Not as many cases or covers that can protect the fire like there are for the Apple iPad
No 3G access (there is wifi – but you have to provide your own connection)

Final Thoughts:

The Amazon Kindle Fire provides a fabulous alternative to the iPad if you don’t need all the bells and whistles.

Tablets and Kids

Check out Michael Sheehan’s post over on Babble: Tablets Can Help You Kids Develop a Passion for Reading

Would You Consider Buying Your Kids a Tablet?

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One comment on “Which Tablet Should I Buy My Kids? iPad vs Kindle Fire”

Brandy on December 23, 2011 at 8:23 pm said:

I have considered buying a tablet “for” my daughter but it being shared if I go to a conference or other business trip. She is 9 yrs old and very into the techy sort of things now. So yes, I would consider buying a tablet for my kids with the fact that I would monitor use & be able to take it with me when I travel.

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