Tag Archives: tablet

To Tech or Not to Tech? How ‘Bout Both?

Although we love toys that don’t have an on/off switch, there’s definitely a time and place for apps. Here are two very clever games that combine tablet and touch, a sleek tablet, and something totally low-tech.

tigglyTiggly
Recent research shows that young children are spending so much time on tablets that they their muscle tone and hand-eye coordination aren’t developing the way they should. That’s where Tiggly comes in. Tiggly develops interactive apps that incorporate object manipulation to help kids build spatial- and fine-motor skills, creativity, and reasoning. Tiggly Counts is an award-winning math-learning game for kids 18 months to 6 years old. To get the correct answers to simple math questions, kids have to physically put the right number of special Tiggly devices in the right place on the screen. Tiggly Shapes brings the same basic technology to shape- and pattern recognition. Each game comes with the appropriate devices and several additional apps. They’re colorful, entertaining, educational, and kids can play by themselves or with mom and dad. For Android and iOS (sorry Windows Phone). $30 on http://get.tiggly.com/counts.

painting luluPainting Lulu
Part coloring book, part app, Painting Lulu is a delightful blend of technology and design. It starts with an actual paper coloring book (remember those?) where kids start their drawings. Then they (or a nearby adult) scan their drawing into a tablet using the free Painting Lulu app. The art shows up on the screen, where those little artist can color, erase, retouch, and change as much as they’d like (using the included digital crayon, of course—wax and screens are not a good combination). When the masterpiece is complete, print it out and send it off to Grandma and Grandpa. For iOS and Android devices. Sells for $9.99 on http://www.paintinglulu.com.

camelio skinCamelio Table (Vivitar)
The Camelio Tablet is great for families that would like everyone to have a tablet but don’t want to spend the dough on each one; hey, those things can get pricey. Camelio features Android 4.1 and can accommodate up to five users using “Personality Packs.” Those packs allow each user to customize wallpaper, camera, widgets, lock screens, games, and, of course include a themed skin for the device. Prices vary. http://www.cameliotablet.com/

burg watchBURG Smartwatches 
There are a lot of smart watches out there, but BURG watches are among the very few stand-alone phones, meaning you can make and receive texts and calls without being connected to any other device (although you can if you want to). BURGs accept SIM cards so you can take them on the road, and you may be able to add yours to your wireless family plan. Features vary widely depending on the model. The BURG 25 has as 2.0MP camera, step- and calorie counters, and GPS. The 16A doesn’t have any of those. But both have MP3/MP4 players, Bluetooth, calendar, calculator, alarm, and can store up to 500 contacts.  Prices vary by model. Aat major retailers and www.burgwearables.com 

silly mcgillySilly McGillly
And just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, and gleefully devoid of technology, comes Silly McGilly, who’s the Irish version of the “Elf on the Shelf” or “Mensch on a Bench”—an impish little elven creature who plays tricks and creates mischief leading up to his favorite holiday. McGilly comes with a book and an adorable little leprechaun that will help you and the kids spend some quality time together between last-minute runs to the grocery store for green food coloring. The little leprechaun doesn’t have a beard and is about as huggable—and as far from scary-looking—as it’s possible to get. The set retails for $29.95 at www.sillymcgilly.com.

You Mean There Are Tablets for Grown-ups Too?

Over the past few months, we’ve reviewed a number of excellent tablets aimed at kids. However, since we all know that kids will do anything to get their hands on mom and dads “toys,” this week, we take a look at one and a half tablets (you’ll see what we mean below) that are aimed at parents but can definitely be used by anyone and everyone.

Lumia 1520
For better or worse, we’re old enough to remember when cameras on cellphones were first appearing. Back then, advertisers would go on and on about how great the phone was—call quality, fewer drops, ease of use, and so on. Then, almost as a throwaway, they’d say, “Oh, and by the way, you can take pictures with it too!”

nokia 1520Fast forward to today, where you’d be hard pressed to find a cellphone ad that actually mentions about the phone. It’s all about the apps, the web surfing, checking email, and, most importantly, the camera. Take stills, shoot video, zoom, edit, and upload direct to Facebook and YouTube. “Oh, and by the way, you can make phone calls with it too!”

All of that went through our mind when we opened up the sleek Nokia Lumia 1520

The 1520 is Nokia’s first foray into “phablets”—part phone, part tablet. At first, we were concerned that the 1520, with its 6-inch screen, would be too cumbersome to handle. No question, it’s a lot larger than an iPhone, and it won’t fit as neatly into the front pocket of your pants. But after a few days we got completely used to it.

Another thing we had to get used to was the fact that the 1520 runs on Windows (8) instead of the iOS or Android. But again, after a few days we were hooked enough to give up the iPhone.

The 1520 is a beautiful piece of technology. Its size and full HD (1080×1920) display make it possible to read and write email, magazines, books—even if you’re in bright sunlight—without going blind. Add in some terrific speakers, and watching movies, TV shows, and playing games is a lot more enjoyable than on a smaller phone. And the 20 megapixel camera, which includes image stabilization, makes taking your own pics and movies a delight.

The 1520 comes with a nice range of software and apps, including MS Office, Nokia Storyteller (for geotagging and organizing photos), and Nokia Music (for putting together artist-based playlists that you can listen to for free). Unfortunately, the Windows App Store has a long way to go to catch up with Apple’s and Android’s. But with more than 100,000 apps, chances are you can find something close to what you’re looking for.

Lumia 2520
nokia 1520 + 2520Like its littler cousin, the Lumia 2520 tablet is gorgeous, easily rivaling anything produced by Apple. The 10.1 inch, 1080×1920 display is fantastic, meaning you can actually read, write, watch, play, listen, and create anywhere and everywhere. And the ClearBlack touchscreen is sensitive enough to be used while wearing gloves.

The 2520 comes with front (6.7 megapixel) and rear cameras (2 megapixel), photo and video-editing software, and a micro SD slot which can increase the tablet’s memory by 64GB.

Like the 1520, the 2520 runs Windows (in this case, RT 8.1), with all its advantages (it comes with full versions of Office) and disadvantages (a small-but growing app store). It also lets you set up profiles for other users and there’s a built-in, password protected kids’ corner should you choose to part with your 2520.

Take a Tablet and Call Me in the Morning

Given that full-featured tablets like the iPad, Amazon Kindle Fire HDX, Samsung Galaxy, Microsoft Surface, Google Nexus, LG G Pad, Sony Xperia, and others aren’t cheap, it’s no big surprise that a lot of parents are somewhat reluctant to turn one over to a child.  We worry—understandably so—that the cute little kid in the backseat will either break it, go on line and browse inappropriate content, or buy stuff we don’t want them to have. This week we take a look at four tablets that are fun enough to keep the kids entertained, yet safe and cheap enough to keep mom and dad from pulling out too much of their hair. All are Android-based, wi-fi-enabled, 7-inch touchscreens that come with a protective sleeve to protect against drops, as well as a number of ports, which may include mini/micros USB, SD, and HDMI. These tablets also come preloaded with a selection of kid-friendly games and apps, and parental controls. But let’s talk about the differences.

Meep! (Oregon Scientific)
Meep!Meep! is a good choice for very young kids or slightly older ones (up to 4th grade) who have no experience with tablets. If they’ve played on your iPad or other adult tablet, they’ll be frustrated. What sets Meep! apart, though, are the attachable accessories (purchased separately) such as a mic and piano keyboard. One especially great feature: The Meep! Store (for purchasing or downloading additional apps) takes only Meep! Coins, which you (the adult) purchase. You can then set a budget which the kids can’t exceed. http://www.meeptablet.com

Kids Tablet PTAB750 (Polaroid)
PolaroidLike the Meep!, the Polaroid Tablet is a good choice for tablet virgins. It’s the most rugged of the tablets we reviewed, and we loved its unique look, with large, easy-to-find buttons (home, back, power, and volume) right on the front. It also comes with a stand for hands-free operation. The Polaroid has a limited selection of pre-loaded games and apps, but you can download as many as you want through the Amazon app store or the Nook Android app. While not the most robust, the parental controls took only about a minute to set up. Screen resolution and camera (.3MP) were not great, but again, acceptable for a first tablet. http://www.polaroid.com/kids-tablet  

Kurio 7s (KD iNteractive)
KurioWhile it looks similar to the other kids’ tablets, the Kurio has some very unique features, including front and rear cameras and the preloaded full (commercial-free) versions of some of the most popular apps and games (including Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja) and great educational apps from Mr. Nussbaum. Kurio also has the best parental controls we’ve seen. The Genius web filtering system does an excellent job, and you can set up as many as eight unique profiles, each with its own time limits and app/game restrictions. And besides the Kurio App Store, you have access to a variety of other Android app stores. http://kd-interactive.com/ 

ClickN KIDS Tablet (ClickNKIDS)
clicknkids2This tablet takes ClickN KIDS’ award-winning reading programs and wraps them in a tablet. The emphasis is definitely on education—the ClickN KIDS comes with more than 100 reading lessons—but there’s plenty of opportunity for entertainment too. Unlike most of the other tablets in this category, which were designed mostly for kids, the ClickN KIDS will appeal to teens and adults as well. Once you log into the password-protected Grown Ups interface, you’ve got a small, but full-featured tablet that you can use for email, Skype, Netflix, etc. At 5 hours, battery life is a little short, but the tablet charges quickly.  http://www.clicknkidstablet.com/