I just want to playyyyyy!

December 16, 2013 8:31 AM

Requesting suggestions for very cheap, decent quality Android small tablet for a 7 year old boy.

My son is 7, and wants very much to play Plants vs. Zombies and the new Angry Birds Go! games, but none of our iDevices in the house will support iOS 6 - plus, he's getting old enough that I don't necessarily want to hand him my phone to noodle around on.

He's already getting a 3DS from Santa, so I probably shouldn't (and won't) buy him a tablet also, but I've been looking around and it's getting more and more tempting.

Can you suggest a very inexpensive (under $100 for sure) tablet that runs Android that is compatible with the Google Play store (I already have a Kindle Fire and neither game is available for that platform either)? We are an iOS house, and the Kindle is the first non iOS machine I've used at home in a long, long time, so assume that it has to be:

- sturdy and non-frustrating for a small boy
- easy for mom to update as needed
- wifi only
- would be used for a few app games and probably some YouTube. No email.
- In a perfect world it would have a camera so telepods, etc. would work with it.

This probably doesn't exist, but if it does, what would you suggest?

posted by anastasiav to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

Your question reminded me of this.
posted by jsturgill at 8:41 AM on December 16, 2013

A used Kobo Arc would be perfect for you. New, they are $140 right now, so if you find one second-hand you should be able to come in at price.
posted by JoannaC at 8:51 AM on December 16, 2013

You can pick up a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 inch at close to your price point. (Tiger Direct has a rebate/v.me discount today that would put you very close). We have two in our house and can vouch for them being solid tablets. My 8-year old son has a comparable tablet (Google Nexus 7) and he loves it to death and takes it everywhere. I would advise against getting a "kids" tablet.
posted by Otis at 9:08 AM on December 16, 2013

Response by poster: I will add that I've been looking at this ASUS MeMo pad refurbished. $100 is really the top of what I would want to spend.
posted by anastasiav at 9:16 AM on December 16, 2013

I got my two 9-year-olds each a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.0 (7-inch). With a good case, it's pretty sturdy (They're still going, 8 months on). It's within striking distance (a good coupon or sale) of $100.
posted by originalname37 at 9:28 AM on December 16, 2013

A lot of bad reviews for the MeMo pad; everywhere I look, people recommend the ones jsturgill over it.
posted by flimflam at 11:06 AM on December 16, 2013

If your 7yo isn't too brand-conscious, I got a yum-cha android 7" phablet for about $70 from aliexpress, with dual camera, with SD slot, seems quick enough for me, seems reasonably well built (I'm travelling with it now). It's the previous gen of OS, but I reckon it'd do all you've asked, and more. TBH I haven't got the phone working, but I haven't really tried and I'm not in my home country at present. If you don't want phone, then I expect you could probably find something for a bit less.

The one I got was this. Postage was two or three weeks.
posted by pompomtom at 11:32 AM on December 16, 2013

If you're techie or have a friend who is, you can get a 1G Kindle Fire, root it and install a recent Android OS on there. It will look & feel just like a Nexus 7, with the hardware limitations of course (no camera, no microUSB slot, etc.). Not hard to find a used $70 Kindle Fire on craiglist (if your city has a CL)
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 1:14 PM on December 16, 2013

Response by poster: A lot of bad reviews for the MeMo pad; everywhere I look, people recommend the ones jsturgill over it.

This might sound dumb, but my issue with the ones jsturgill recommended is that they are Wal-Mart exclusive, and we make it a point not to shop there.
posted by anastasiav at 1:43 PM on December 16, 2013