OT: iPad-like toy for 2- or 3-year-old?

[Elleshoodat]

DS is about to turn 2, and he loves playing with our iPhones and my Kindle Fire. Usually DH and I are OK with it, but sometimes we want to "play" on our smartphones, too.

His birthday is coming up, and we'd love to be able to get him something that

A) comes with learning apps/has learning apps available;
B) he can watch videos on; and
C) hooks up to the Internet (less important).

Is there anything out there like that? I know LeapFrog has some handheld devices, but I'm not sure what they are capable of...

Thanks in advance!

 

[Marsheliz]

We have a Mobi-Go for our 4 year old. He has had it since he was 2.5. It is more of a learning device that has a touch screen and you put games (cartridges) in it. They have several to choose from. Cars, Mickey Mouse, Madagascar, etc. It doesnt have internet. We have defintely got our moneys worth out of it.

He is now wanting a DS. :/

 

[Elleshoodat]

We have a Mobi-Go for our 4 year old. He has had it since he was 2.5. It is more of a learning device that has a touch screen and you put games (cartridges) in it. They have several to choose from. Cars, Mickey Mouse, Madagascar, etc. It doesnt have internet. We have defintely got our moneys worth out of it.

He is now wanting a DS. :/

Thanks!

Yeah, now I am reading the reviews on the LeapPad Explorer, and a lot of people are saying "I should've just gotten a DS."

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

What about the new LeapPad2? It is designed very much like the new ipad.

 

[blueferral]

My boys love their LeapPad. They are now 4 and 6. We got it for them last year. The apps are a tad expensive compared to apple store. Yet, the pad is way cheap compared to Ipad or Ipod.

 

[ktlm]

Toys R Us is putting out something called the TABEO in a few weeks and is taking pre-orders now. It runs $150. It is pre-loaded with 50 apps including things like Angry Birds and Cut the Rope and supposedly has over 7,000 "free" apps available. It also has wi-fi and internet capability with parental controls built in to use. I don't know about a 2 or 3 year old, but I can tell you that I know a 6 year old who is already begging for one for Christmas. We have the LeapPad from last Christmas. DD likes it and enjoys the games on it; and the camera app, and video app, but it isn't going to have the capabilities you are looking for. She still uses it, even 9 months after Christmas, but it doesn't in any way stop her from trying to get her hands on my Iphone or DH's IPAD. The leap pad does have some good educational games, and you can add apps to it from the leap pad website, but with the unit about $80 and the games running around $20-$25 dollars apiece, and the apps on the website costing too, it will get up to the Tabeo price pretty fast. The only downside I can see to the Tabeo, is that DD loves the camera/video camera on the Leappad (poor quality, but it keeps her amused), and I don't believe the Tabeo has that.

 

[ccgirl]

We got my son the Vtech Innotab and he loves it! They are coming out with a new version this year and I saw last years version for $40 at Target. That is what we have and he absolutely loves it and it is durable. He has dropped it a few times and nothing has happened. Unlike my friend that let her DD4 play with her Ipad and it was dropped and the screen shattered. I would highly recommend it. He also has the Leappad Explorer but I think the Innotab better. They also have books that can be read and the word lights up etc.

 

[Marsheliz]

Thanks for the advice about the new thing!! Do you think it would be okay for a four year old?

He loves to play on my I-phone and knows how to work everything!

 

[kellygirl2]

We bought our 2 year old twins NABI tablets and they are great. They are an android based tablet that is kidproofed. There are all kinds of parental controls so I can control what they have access to on the web and apps. There is a bunch of educational programs on it. You can also stream netflix, download movies, tv from Google play or put your own movie (dvd's) onto an sd card. In "mommy mode" I can use it just like a regular android tablet.

I highly recommend it - they retail for $199 and come preloaded with a lot of apps and educational content. You can then add apps through the amazon app store. No extra cartriges to buy.

You can google Nabi Tablet for their website. They also have a facebook page. They are available at best buy, walmart and amzaon.

Kelly

 

[ktlm]

We bought our 2 year old twins NABI tablets and they are great. They are an android based tablet that is kidproofed. There are all kinds of parental controls so I can control what they have access to on the web and apps. There is a bunch of educational programs on it. You can also stream netflix, download movies, tv from Google play or put your own movie (dvd's) onto an sd card. In "mommy mode" I can use it just like a regular android tablet.

I highly recommend it - they retail for $199 and come preloaded with a lot of apps and educational content. You can then add apps through the amazon app store. No extra cartriges to buy.

You can google Nabi Tablet for their website. They also have a facebook page. They are available at best buy, walmart and amzaon.

Kelly

I think that is basically what the Tabeo is, but the Tabeo is cheaper and is exclusive to Toys R US. . The Tabeo is Android based. I don't know if it has any limitations from what a Nabi can do. I'm glad to see your good review on that type of system.

Marsheliz, if you are talking about the TABEO, I don't know why it wouldn't be okay if he is already good on the iphone. It isn't out on the shelves for a few more weeks, so I haven't actually seen one in person. It has a rubber bumper around it to try to protect it. I'm going to get it for DD, because it has the apps she likes to play on my IPHONE so hopefully she will leave the phone alone! If they had it last year when she was 5, I probably would have bought it for her then.

 

[Habbott]

I would recommend the NABI or the new one mentioned above (which is also a Droid, I believe).

We would be going that route for our 2 year old if we didn't already have 2 iPads. I really love the iPad apps we have though. There are some really good ones for 2 year olds.

My son is mostly careful with the iPad. The one he uses the most is a heavier first generation one, so I am considering buying an otterbox for it. I recommend a good case anyways.

 

[Elleshoodat]

Thanks for the recommendations, everyone! I've never heard most of those, but I'll definitely be looking into them.

 

[ccgirl]

Thanks for the advice about the new thing!! Do you think it would be okay for a four year old?

He loves to play on my I-phone and knows how to work everything!

Thanks for the recommendations, everyone! I've never heard most of those, but I'll definitely be looking into them.

Here is a link to the Innotab:
http://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=innotab&category=0|All|matchallpartial|all+categories

It also shows some games/book combinations. The "new" version is currently retailing for $79 which is less than I paid for the "old" version when it first came out. It is recommended for ages 3 and up. Personally, I think it would be good for ages 2 - 7. Their games have age recommendations and there are plenty of them. As I said, we just love it.

 

[Elleshoodat]

Here is a link to the Innotab:
http://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=innotab&category=0|All|matchallpartial|all+categories

It also shows some games/book combinations. The "new" version is currently retailing for $79 which is less than I paid for the "old" version when it first came out. It is recommended for ages 3 and up. Personally, I think it would be good for ages 2 - 7. Their games have age recommendations and there are plenty of them. As I said, we just love it.

Thanks for the link!

 

[Habbott]

I've had some more time to think about this, and I think there are a few things to consider to help you choose the right one for your kid.

First, battery life. Is it rechargeable? You don't want to be replacing batteries constantly.

Second, games or app cost. I prefer the iPad or an android model mostly because there are tons of free educational apps. I've purchased one or two pricey apps, but the majority have been free or $1.99 or less. There's a Facebook page I follow called Good free apps for kids.

Good luck choosing!

 

[ccgirl]

Thanks for the link!

You are welcome.

I've had some more time to think about this, and I think there are a few things to consider to help you choose the right one for your kid.

First, battery life. Is it rechargeable? You don't want to be replacing batteries constantly.

Second, games or app cost. I prefer the iPad or an android model mostly because there are tons of free educational apps. I've purchased one or two pricey apps, but the majority have been free or $1.99 or less. There's a Facebook page I follow called Good free apps for kids.

Good luck choosing!

Good points. I can speak to the Innotab. It uses batteries. We were going through them very quickly and switched to rechargable batteries and it's much better now. Good point about the game cost as well. Not sure how much the iPad cost (thinking around $300). The gamesbooks for the Innotab are an average of $17 not on sale. I purchase them when they go on sale for $9.99 which seems to be a lot. Using those price points, I would have to purchase 22 games to make the price "comparable". My son has 5 and that is all he cares to have.

I think age is a good thing to keep in mind along with how many games you think they would want.

I went back and forth between LeapPad and Innotab and, in the end, I went with the less expensive Innotab as I know these electronics seems to be becoming "obsolete" so quickly!

Good luck with your decision, OP. You can try out both the Innotab and LeapPad at Target.

 

[jillianjigs7]

When our DD turned 2 we got her, her own ipad. We do a lot of traveling so it made sense to spend the money on that with some great educational games, shows, etc. She loves it and it lets us have our iphones to ourselves!

 

[mobesfamily]

We started with the Mobigo when our twins were 2 1/2. They learned all their letters and where they are on a keyboard before they were 3. Last Christmas, just before they turned 4, we got them the Leapster Explorers which you can get recharging docks for so no batteries to change.
Hubby & I got ourselves IPads this past summer and the girls love to play on them but still play with the Explorers. We are probably going to get them the Leap Pad this Christmas which uses the same games as the Explorer.

 

[scrapquitler]

DS is about to turn 2, and he loves playing with our iPhones and my Kindle Fire. Usually DH and I are OK with it, but sometimes we want to "play" on our smartphones, too.

His birthday is coming up, and we'd love to be able to get him something that

A) comes with learning apps/has learning apps available;
B) he can watch videos on; and
C) hooks up to the Internet (less important).

Is there anything out there like that? I know LeapFrog has some handheld devices, but I'm not sure what they are capable of...

Thanks in advance!

Sounds like you've gotten a lot of good suggestions already. You might want to just consider getting him an iTouch, or waiting until one of you upgrade to a new iphone (next week? ) and let him just use your older version iphone. Pros: he already knows how to use it, and you already own the apps. It's just another option to consider...we've always given our kids our old devices when we upgrade. We get a new one and they get the old one and are thrilled to have one of their own.

 

[momof3ds]

I would just get an iPod touch or an iPad (with a warranty and a good case)!

Apple sells refurbs on their website from time to time.