What kind of hand-held device would entertain a child who is used to playing with an iPhone?
August 29, 2010 4:30 PM Subscribe
My three-year-old daughter loves to play with dad's iPhone, but he's starting to miss it. Is there some kind of hand-held device that has games and such that might entertain her? I hate to sound like such a noob/dork, but I don't know what's out there, so I don't know how to search. What would you get a three-year-old if you were trying to duplicate the experience of an iPhone without buying her an iPhone?
Well, the best analog would be an iPod touch - might be more money than you're looking to spend, though. Other than that, I'm not sure what's out there.
posted by alaijmw at 4:37 PM on August 29, 2010
posted by alaijmw at 4:37 PM on August 29, 2010
You can get an Apple-refurb iPod Touch for $149. She'll be able to play all of the same games she plays on the iPhone. Apple refurbished products are well regarded and they come with a new battery, new shell and a 1-year warranty from Apple. Shipping is free.
posted by kate blank at 4:44 PM on August 29, 2010
posted by kate blank at 4:44 PM on August 29, 2010
Yep, an iPod touch. It's an iPhone without the phone part. And the camera.
Check around with any acquaintances who recently bought a mac for college and got a free iPod with the purchase. They may be willing to sell it or an old one they have for cheap.
posted by Mcable at 4:47 PM on August 29, 2010
Check around with any acquaintances who recently bought a mac for college and got a free iPod with the purchase. They may be willing to sell it or an old one they have for cheap.
posted by Mcable at 4:47 PM on August 29, 2010
Depends on what and why she likes playing.
If it's just pressing buttons or something similar like that you could get any number of stand alone hand held games. The ones that are a single game, that's it. No changing to something else.
A DS would be fun, but you'd probably want to take away the stylus. I don't have one so I don't know if that would make games unplayable or if that would matter since, well, she's 3.
If that won't work for whatever reason there's also the option of going with an older model of GameBoy. I got my wife's here and haven't had any problems with it at all. It helped that it was a local store for me so I could go in and play with it before I got it though. Game selection is pretty large, especially as you move up to a color or advance since they can play the games that were made for earlier versions.
An iPod touch would work well too of course. But honestly, I can't wrap my brain around buying one for a 3 year old. I guess that makes me an old mad of a 23 year old human.
posted by theichibun at 4:53 PM on August 29, 2010
If it's just pressing buttons or something similar like that you could get any number of stand alone hand held games. The ones that are a single game, that's it. No changing to something else.
A DS would be fun, but you'd probably want to take away the stylus. I don't have one so I don't know if that would make games unplayable or if that would matter since, well, she's 3.
If that won't work for whatever reason there's also the option of going with an older model of GameBoy. I got my wife's here and haven't had any problems with it at all. It helped that it was a local store for me so I could go in and play with it before I got it though. Game selection is pretty large, especially as you move up to a color or advance since they can play the games that were made for earlier versions.
An iPod touch would work well too of course. But honestly, I can't wrap my brain around buying one for a 3 year old. I guess that makes me an old mad of a 23 year old human.
posted by theichibun at 4:53 PM on August 29, 2010
I gave my three-year-old my first-generation iPhone. Perhaps you could get one of these cheap. It works fine minus the phone part.
posted by chookibing at 5:11 PM on August 29, 2010
posted by chookibing at 5:11 PM on August 29, 2010
If it's an old iPhone, you can always get a new one and give her the old one. iPhones are like crack for kids (we have actually hid our old ones away from our now 6 year old). I don't think anything else comes close, especially when considering the range of free apps.
posted by mollweide at 5:15 PM on August 29, 2010
posted by mollweide at 5:15 PM on August 29, 2010
I hope someone will come up with more suggestions, though (the GameBoy is a start) because iPod Touches are just as fragile, the screens as easy to break, and just as easy to drool in and bust. This isn't a great quality with a kid around. There must be something that's not too tacky but robust enough to handle the stresses and strains of a wild child.
(I've got a 10 month old who loves iPhones and iPads, so I'm a little more concerned of damage ;-))
posted by wackybrit at 5:45 PM on August 29, 2010
(I've got a 10 month old who loves iPhones and iPads, so I'm a little more concerned of damage ;-))
posted by wackybrit at 5:45 PM on August 29, 2010
The thing about GameBoy and/or DS is that they're designed to be toys, for kids. Something like an iPod (or worse, an iPad) isn't really designed with 3-year-old users in mind, and I think they'd be really easy to break. (I figure a half-life of about two weeks.)
And since GameBoy and DS are game machines, the question of whether games might be available for them is answered.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:49 PM on August 29, 2010
And since GameBoy and DS are game machines, the question of whether games might be available for them is answered.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 5:49 PM on August 29, 2010
My 6 and 3yo loves ipad. They have no problems using it themselves, everything from math-games, normal games, short-stories to watching videos. In the 4 months we've had it, it has not been dropped, yet. There are some rules to use it, and seems to have taught them to respect it..
The wife, she misses her ipad though :)
posted by lundman at 6:03 PM on August 29, 2010
The wife, she misses her ipad though :)
posted by lundman at 6:03 PM on August 29, 2010
My three year old has been using my 2nd gen iPod touch since she was 18 months or so. Not all the time and I do supervise her and try to make sure that she doesn't throw it or something.
The toddler games are just so good, I don't know of anything else that is comparable. But that being said, I wouldn't buy her an iPod just for her. She can use mine. I mean, jeez, she's three. I had to wait until I was 30 to get an iPod. That only played music.
I've looked into handheld games for little kids. Most of them are crap. (Yeah, I'm not the intended audience) She does like the leapfrog-type of games that she plays at her cousins' house. You might want to go that route. They are kind of pricey for how crappy they look/sound.
I'd say look for an older iPod on craigslist/ebay/whatever. Apple just had a promotion where they were giving away an iPod with a computer purchase, so maybe there will be an excess of college students looking to sell theirs.
posted by notcreative at 6:06 PM on August 29, 2010
The toddler games are just so good, I don't know of anything else that is comparable. But that being said, I wouldn't buy her an iPod just for her. She can use mine. I mean, jeez, she's three. I had to wait until I was 30 to get an iPod. That only played music.
I've looked into handheld games for little kids. Most of them are crap. (Yeah, I'm not the intended audience) She does like the leapfrog-type of games that she plays at her cousins' house. You might want to go that route. They are kind of pricey for how crappy they look/sound.
I'd say look for an older iPod on craigslist/ebay/whatever. Apple just had a promotion where they were giving away an iPod with a computer purchase, so maybe there will be an excess of college students looking to sell theirs.
posted by notcreative at 6:06 PM on August 29, 2010
Seconding notcreative and contradicting Chocolate Pickle, the iPod Touch which my four-year-old has been using for years is very robust and despite being dropped a few times on both carpeted and lino floors, is just fine. Make sure you get a case for it, of course -- we buy cheap rubbery ones from a market stall and they've been perfectly fine.
And the range of free games which suit kids is amazing. It's a real sweet spot, because just at the point where an adult would probably want to upgrade to the full version, your kid will probably be bored anyway. Pretty much the only games we've paid for are Rolando and Angry Birds, plus a minature golf game he really liked. Everything else (fifty or more games) is the free version.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 6:16 PM on August 29, 2010
And the range of free games which suit kids is amazing. It's a real sweet spot, because just at the point where an adult would probably want to upgrade to the full version, your kid will probably be bored anyway. Pretty much the only games we've paid for are Rolando and Angry Birds, plus a minature golf game he really liked. Everything else (fifty or more games) is the free version.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 6:16 PM on August 29, 2010
try a leapster - we got one for our then three year old. there are lost of games/activities.
posted by the noob at 6:42 PM on August 29, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by the noob at 6:42 PM on August 29, 2010 [2 favorites]
My kids (2,6,10) when not playing with their lego or art supplies, love the ipad, itouch and iphone. They have access to leappad and ds as well as our computer games and PS console but the iStuff wins hands down.
All of my devices have been dropped multiple time (including on concrete) with no resulting problems. The huge number of free games means i can swap out games and books for variety really easily.
posted by saucysault at 7:27 PM on August 29, 2010
All of my devices have been dropped multiple time (including on concrete) with no resulting problems. The huge number of free games means i can swap out games and books for variety really easily.
posted by saucysault at 7:27 PM on August 29, 2010
Seconding the leapster. It's solid, made for repeated dropping and banging and hitting siblings. You can let the child play with minimal supervision, something I wouldn't do with a fragile iPhone or iPod. The games are a little more expensive than they should be, but you can often get them second-hand from Craigslist and eBay.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 8:00 PM on August 29, 2010
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 8:00 PM on August 29, 2010
iPod touch - definitely. I think it's possible a new model (maybe with a camera?) will be announced soon (Sept. 1), so check around before you pull the trigger. Aside from the games, the ability to play movies (plane trip, car trip, etc) easily makes the iPod touch win hands down over the competition.
I don't recommend leapster - it's useful for about 2 months max for most of the kids I know - and a 3 year old may have already passed that stage. The games are expensive (when compared to iphone apps) and aren't really very good. Although I'm sure others may have had a different experience, most parents I know bought it, but found it was not really used much...
If your daughter has already played a game on the iPhone, she probably will not enjoy leapster....
posted by NoDef at 8:40 PM on August 29, 2010
I don't recommend leapster - it's useful for about 2 months max for most of the kids I know - and a 3 year old may have already passed that stage. The games are expensive (when compared to iphone apps) and aren't really very good. Although I'm sure others may have had a different experience, most parents I know bought it, but found it was not really used much...
If your daughter has already played a game on the iPhone, she probably will not enjoy leapster....
posted by NoDef at 8:40 PM on August 29, 2010
Old iPod Touches are on craigslist and eBay for around $50. FYI, The first generation didn't include a speaker which is pretty important for games.
posted by yaemes at 9:28 PM on August 29, 2010
posted by yaemes at 9:28 PM on August 29, 2010
3rding the Leapster.
It's much like a Gameboy with a touch screen, except it's vastly more durable and games are educational. (Though very high quality though, you'd never even know you're learning stuff! Really :) There are a lot of games for it, and while 3 is a little young for most of the games, at around 4 she'll get a lot of use out of it.
posted by Ookseer at 11:45 PM on August 29, 2010
It's much like a Gameboy with a touch screen, except it's vastly more durable and games are educational. (Though very high quality though, you'd never even know you're learning stuff! Really :) There are a lot of games for it, and while 3 is a little young for most of the games, at around 4 she'll get a lot of use out of it.
posted by Ookseer at 11:45 PM on August 29, 2010
IF you think the ipod touch is too fragile try the Nintendo ds . Nintendo is known for making durable products.
posted by majortom1981 at 4:37 AM on August 30, 2010
posted by majortom1981 at 4:37 AM on August 30, 2010
n+1ing Leapster - it will be cheaper than an ipod or ds and has a great library of educational software for younger kids.
posted by mattholomew at 5:10 AM on August 30, 2010
posted by mattholomew at 5:10 AM on August 30, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jrockway at 4:37 PM on August 29, 2010