Tablet or smartphone?

[la79al]

DD (5.5) wants a Leappad for Christmas. I've decided against that but now am debating between a tablet or a smart phone. I have no luck getting limited deals so I probably won't be able to get a cheap tablet on black friday. Now I'm wondering whether it would be cheaper and/or easier to get a used smartphone off ebay. I'm really technologically challenged so I'm pretty clueless here. Im guessing she wants to be able to take pictures (the cheap tablets only have front cameras anyhow) and probably play games. Help?

 

[Southernmiss]

DD (5.5) wants a Leappad for Christmas. I've decided against that but now am debating between a tablet or a smart phone. I have no luck getting limited deals so I probably won't be able to get a cheap tablet on black friday. Now I'm wondering whether it would be cheaper and/or easier to get a used smartphone off ebay. I'm really technologically challenged so I'm pretty clueless here. Im guessing she wants to be able to take pictures (the cheap tablets only have front cameras anyhow) and probably play games. Help?

Wait? A smartphone for a five and a half year old??

 

[la79al]

Turned off, just used for games and camera. Can I even do that?

 

[Jajone]

Yes, we always gift our old iPhones to the kids to use as touches.

 

[Neesy228]

Turned off, just used for games and camera. Can I even do that?

Maybe get her an iPod with wifi only? That gives her games, camera and music...you will have to buy the apps.

 

[richmond282]

I'd buy a Kindle Fire personally.

 

[Kellydelly]

I just bought two of these Nextbook tablets for my almost 10 yr old twins. My husband bought himself one about a month ago to take on a business trip and he really likes it. You can take photos or video, Skype, surf the web, play games, etc. My kids really want Ipods but I am not shelling out the money for those right now.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Nextbook-7-Tablet-Dual-Core-with-8GB-memory/23711117

I am just not one of those moms who thinks young kids need expensive electronics. Tablets have come such a long way in just the last two years! I wasted $90 on one two years ago that barely does anything and these are less and do it all!

 

[carra]

I'd buy ipad.

 

[Lisa_M]

I'd get her the leappad if that is what she wants. DD has one and loves it. The games are themed and aimed right to her age and skill level and you don't have to worry about weird scantily dressed cartoon ladies in the small ads above. You could always pass it down to your younger child when when the current one gets tired of it.

In the interest of answering your question, between a tablet and smartphone, I would go with the smartphone, but if she is playing games like my little pony or littlest pet shop, those games drain the battery FAST and make the phone get pretty warm. Because of these two reasons, i have uninstalled these favorites. We don't have that prob with the games on the leappad and while the camera is not as good as what I have on my phone, my daughter loves to edit her pictures using the kid friendly options. It really is a great device and we only have the 1st version.

 

[katie111]

I'd go with the Kindle. In our house we have an Ipad, Iphones, Itouches & Kindles (3 kids). My DS6's favorites are definitely the Kindle & the Ipad. I think its just much easier for them to play on a bigger device. I also prefer the size of the Kindle because it can easily slip into my purse when we go out. It's also much better for watching shows & movies than a phone or an I-touch. My older 2 kids have had theirs for 2 years now & still use them all the time. Well worth the money.

 

[shannon104]

i think the new kindle fire is good espically for kids.
it has time settings to turn off and also to lock down apps
and i think they are on sale this friday

 

[lauradis]

Why not just buy her what she wants?

 

[Robinrs]

I'd buy ipad.

You're kidding, right?

Why not just buy her what she wants?

to Southernmiss!

 

[DawnM]

I think OP may mean an older Smartphone without an actual phone plan, unless I am not reading that right.

My son used an iphone 4 as an ipod for a while, until he decided to sell it and get an ipad mini (he is 14 though.)

OP, I agree that you should get her what she wants though.

 

[dawnhaze]

I'd go with the LeapPad, personally. It's for kids, it's what she wants, and it seems like an OK piece of electronics - but only the Ultra model has wi-fi connectivity, apparently, so that's something to keep in mind. It looks like it costs less than the game systems I wanted when I was a kid, too. If you really don't want to go that route, I'd look at the Kindle Fire, there are kid-friendly features that might be useful on it. It's also a little cheaper than the LeapPad Ultra, but not cheaper than the smaller LeapPads.

 

[powellrj]

I also would go with the leap pad, its what she wants and its made for kids that age.