WWYD: ipod touch or kindle fire for Teenage girl?

[richmond282]

Here's the deal. I would like to buy an ipod touch or a kindle fire for my DNeice16 for Christmas. Without going into a big long story, whatever gift we give her is going to be the best thing she gets for Christmas. She does not have all the gadgets other kids have. She is home-schooled and lives a very sheltered life. Neither parent works (don't get me started...) Would you go with an ipod or a kindle?

I think she would like the ipod better as prob most of her friends have one. I AM concerned about having to go through the itunes store for everything. (This is why I dont have my touch anymore.) I can only afford an 8gb if it matters.

I would think the kindle fire would be better for use with school work though. I know she'll need an amazon account for it and prob a credit card on file. So that's a concern too.

I'm really torn on what to do. HELP!

 

[Pixiedust34]

Does she have a camera? If not, she may enjoy the camera feature on the touch. I'm not sure if the Fire has a camera.

The Fire would be more practical for school. I homeschool two teens, and it's nice when our literature books are available on Kindle. The touch has a Kindle app, but the screen is too small if you're reading a long book IMHO.

Both devices have fun apps and games. I think she'd be thrilled with either one! A lot of apps are free, but perhaps you could add an iTunes or Amazon gift card with your purchase.

 

[richmond282]

She does have a camera. We gave her one last year or the year before. She has actually asked for art supplies specifically charcoals. Is there a feature on either devide that she can use for drawing??

 

[lizzytizzy]

You don't need to buy any songs from iTunes. You can download cds on to iTunes. Local libraries lend out cds. She can borrow cds from the library and download it on to iTunes. It saves ALOT of money!

 

[richmond282]

You don't need to buy any songs from iTunes. You can download cds on to iTunes. Local libraries lend out cds. She can borrow cds from the library and download it on to iTunes. It saves ALOT of money!

Thanks! good to know.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

I would definitely get the iTouch. My almost 13 yr old dd has an iTouch, a kindle and an Acer tablet. By far, the iPod gets the most use. Her school doesn't even allow kindles or tablets in class because the kids say that they're reading when they're really playing games. She actually prefers the size of the iTouch to her tablet.

 

[ORDisneyfans]

Ipod touch! They are coming out with a new one in a few weeks. It is going to be more expensive and similiar in new features as the new Iphone5. The good news is, the older one will be less expensive!

I just bought my DD 9 one (because she steals my Iphone all the time to text, face time etc.) for $159 at Fred Meyer after sales and coupons. This was the 8g, most recent model. I highly recommend the insurance if you can swing it! Freddy's is $29.95 for 2 years of coverage! Covers all accidents, just not lost or stolen. Also a good case!

If she has access to Wifi it will do everything an Iphone will do except call with no service plan! She can watch movies, play the radio, read books (their eyes are way better than ours!) facebook, face time, send and receive text messages, make videos, take pictures and lots more.

We also have a Fire which I thougjt DD would love! She would if it had a camera feature w/o the camera it is not appealling! I use it to read books late at night and surf the web on the couch! HTH!

 

[Hannathy]

I have a DS 14 and he uses the Ipod constantly. Mostly he uses it for internet access. Currently he has been reading the Onion and the news with the election. He has paid to put very little on in. I will say it is the most used "object" he has every had in his life. He has spent thousands of hours with it.

 

[daraddg]

I have a kindle fire and bought my 11 yr old an ipod touch for her bday, they both have similar apps,you can play video and music but kindle is better for reading where as the ipod touch can take pictures,video chat and take videos,and is much more portable, the kindle does not have a camera or mic to do any of that, so depends what you are looking for

 

[Diabolicdesire]

I would say get the IPod touch, one of the few things I've purchased for DD that gets consistent use. She is actually on her second one as her first one quit working properly and did not have the camera.

If you give her a small iTunes gift card to go with it she can set up her iTunes account with that instead of a credit card. Yes, you can load your own CDs on it but it still has to go through iTunes. There are tons of free apps and games for her too.

 

[Mirax]

I don't know about the fire but the nook has to have a credit card to activate. I know lot's of people who got an unexpected credit card bill for lots of really good books.

 

[RitaE]

The new Kindle Fire HD does have a camera. The older Kindle Fire does not.

Both the Kindle Fire and the iPOD touch can play media from sources other than Amazon or iTunes. The both can actually do very similar things, the Fire is slightly nicer for internet browsing because it has a larger screen. The touch is better for carrying around and listening to music because it is more portable.

To be honest I'm not sure I'd get either for a teen girl with parents who won't be able to provide a credit card/account to make purchases from -- especially if she has asked for something else such as art supplies as her gift.

 

[DawnM]

Are her parents ok with you giving this gift? Have you asked her what SHE would like to get if her parents are ok with it?

Apple is coming out with a new Kindle Fire sized ipad in a few weeks. I don't know the cost of it, but that might be a good alternative to the ipod touch as it will be larger and allow it to double as a reader.

 

[luvmy3]

The new Kindle Fire HD does have a camera. The older Kindle Fire does not.

Both the Kindle Fire and the iPOD touch can play media from sources other than Amazon or iTunes. The both can actually do very similar things, the Fire is slightly nicer for internet browsing because it has a larger screen. The touch is better for carrying around and listening to music because it is more portable.

To be honest I'm not sure I'd get either for a teen girl with parents who won't be able to provide a credit card/account to make purchases from -- especially if she has asked for something else such as art supplies as her gift.

My dd has an Ipod touch and a Kindle touch and she does not have a CC on either account. I did set up her Kindle with a CC, but deleted it and she fund s her Amazon acct with GCs now. We have never had a CC tied to any of our Itunes acct due to the fact they are always getting hacked.

OP, I would get her the ipod touch because of the portability aspect. My dd likes her Kindle for reading (its not a Fire) but she takes her touch everywhere, and she is using that more than the desktop PC (even for homework). Its a pretty small screen and I could never do stuff on it, but she doesn't seem to mind.

 

[LJSquishy]

Definitely go for the iPod Touch or the new iPad Mini coming out soon. The Kindles are nice for reading but that is about it.

 

[sh00tfire]

I would say the iPod touch also. Its really the best device for music IMHO. The kindle fire is very nice but you almost need some of the other Amazon services to make it worth while such as Amazon prime. At $80 a year, its a bit expensive.

 

[dja14]

My teen is more artistic and homeschooled. He does have a mp3 player but when we offered to get a newer type thing he refused (and he uses it a lot) He is more interested in art supplies and books. His Christmas list is 1 video game (that I think his younger brother talked him into asking for), clothes, books and art supplies. And that is what he wants. He gets on the computer but he spends a lot of time on reading and art just because he likes to do it. And good art supplies are not cheap.

I would try and find out if she even wants a fire or touch, maybe she really wants charcoals.

 

[Bell30012]

iPad Mini! It is so much more than an iPod Touch. It is so much more than a Kindle. And it has a camera built in.

 

[melancholywings]

Are you going to buy the newest gen or last gen? For a teen I would do an iPad2 over the kindle or touch, and then try to get as high of memory as you can afford. There are several free drawing apps in the app store and the larger screen will makes it a better experience to watch movies, draw and browse the web. Depending on her age it might be something that is useful for college.
DD has a touch and loves it (and is on it too much), but when we spend family time together or watch movies; we always do it on the pad.

 

[Darcy03231]

I have teens and they would prefer the Itouch.