Budget Tablet for a 9 year old? Advice Please

sillygoose

Be_Nice wrote: »

Thank you for all your feedback, the Novo 7 Legend looks good and from what sillygoose says, does all the things she wants for a great price. Also the Cyclone which I had never heard of before, so will have to choose between the 2 now I guess.

Just wanted to be sure what I was getting would be capable of running the games she wanted and iPlayer, youtube Skype etc Had read things about some tablets not having Flash and this affecting what they can run?

As she is only going to be 9 and a tablet is something she really wants I do believe she will take good very good care of it, but kids are kids are accidents happen so until she is a little older would prefer a cheaper model if it is capable of doing the things she wants. We also try to limit birthdays to £100.

All really sensible approach I have to say as a parent. My 10 year old is playing Temple Run Oz on his Novo tablet right now, on the highest graphic setting and its stunning. Meanwhile his friend nearby is trying to save up £270 for an ipad mini so he can pretty much do the same thing, its going to take him quite a while! Its really sensible to have a starter tablet for kids IMHO.

System

I asked for advice re after seeing a tablet on Ideal World for £59, http://www.idealworld.tv/273792.aspx# and without waiting for a reply, I ordered it, then along comes Sillygoose with the same tip as he has given you and I am of the opinion that his is better than mine.

Anyone can say "this read good" or "this looks OK", but the proof is in the eating (so to speak) and as he has bought and used FOUR, then surely one should take his opinion seriously.

Whilst I am prepared to give mine a thorough test (when it arrives), if I have any issues with it, then it will be returned and I will go for his recommendation.

sillygoose

islandman wrote: »

I asked for advice re after seeing a tablet on Ideal World for £59, http://www.idealworld.tv/273792.aspx# and without waiting for a reply, I ordered it, then along comes Sillygoose with the same tip as he has given you and I am of the opinion that his is better than mine.

Anyone can say "this read good" or "this looks OK", but the proof is in the eating (so to speak) and as he has bought and used FOUR, then surely one should take his opinion seriously.

Whilst I am prepared to give mine a thorough test (when it arrives), if I have any issues with it, then it will be returned and I will go for his recommendation.

Thanks. No doubt someone will come along and accuse me of working for the supplier before long, it wouldn't be the first time! Simply I did a lot of homework on this recently and own various devices.

My own policy is to suggest some things, but only recommend things I have tried myself.

System

What I would like Sillygoose, is for you to measure the tablet externally please.

gonzo127

sillygoose wrote: »

How is the Jelly Bean going on these? a lot of tablets on the market with Jelly Bean seem to have niggles where the manufacturers have not quite got it suited to the hardware yet...but... when it is properly setup it seems to be quick and ideal for tablets. Do you get any lock ups or unplanned shutdowns? wifi is reliable? just curious.

well i also have the cyclone 7 inch one (hence the recommendation) anyway as to your question, Sumivision have been surprisingly good with fireware updates for a cheap tablet and are currently on v1.4b which seems to have addressed some of the problems you have mentioned that people spoke about when it was first lanched.

since i put 1.4b on it i have had no lockups or shutdowns, the wifi goes upstairs and through 2 thick walls (1950's house) and still has enough signal to stream Netflix to my TV (via the mini hdmi slot on it) and thats using a old wireless b/g router so no wireless n signal so i would expect with wireless n it would be even stronger

as to the original op i can confirm i can play iplayer with no problems, as well as skype (the camera is only 0.3 mega pixals so not the best quality) and youtube is fine, i also not yet found a game that it will not play (although i am pretty sure their will be some just due to the shear size of the play store)

sillygoose

gonzo127 wrote: »

well i also have the cyclone 7 inch one (hence the recommendation) anyway as to your question, Sumivision have been surprisingly good with fireware updates for a cheap tablet and are currently on v1.4b which seems to have addressed some of the problems you have mentioned that people spoke about when it was first lanched.

since i put 1.4b on it i have had no lockups or shutdowns, the wifi goes upstairs and through 2 thick walls (1950's house) and still has enough signal to stream Netflix to my TV (via the mini hdmi slot on it) and thats using a old wireless b/g router so no wireless n signal so i would expect with wireless n it would be even stronger

as to the original op i can confirm i can play iplayer with no problems, as well as skype (the camera is only 0.3 mega pixals so not the best quality) and youtube is fine, i also not yet found a game that it will not play (although i am pretty sure their will be some just due to the shear size of the play store)

Thanks, it does seem to me as long as a manufacturer does a decent job its a good bet (some low cost brands are just shoving any old thing on to try and up the spec.)

I have found ICS was a big leap forward from previous versions with much better memory management and power conservation. I wonder how JB improves further.

Android and the Play Store can be a bit quirky, can't remember which one but it told me one game was incompatible and refused to install it. I got the apk elsewhere and it installed and played perfectly so I don't always believe it anymore.

sillygoose

islandman wrote: »

What I would like Sillygoose, is for you to measure the tablet externally please.

182mm x 142mm x 10.5mm (according to my trusty digital caliper)

System

sillygoose wrote: »

182mm x 142mm x 10.5mm (according to my trusty digital caliper)

You do realise your mini statistics are incorrect don't you?

realise is underlined in red, suggesting a spelling error, they suggest I use a z, but that's american, how can I rectify this?

Daz2009

sillygoose wrote: »

How is the Jelly Bean going on these? a lot of tablets on the market with Jelly Bean seem to have niggles where the manufacturers have not quite got it suited to the hardware yet...but... when it is properly setup it seems to be quick and ideal for tablets. Do you get any lock ups or unplanned shutdowns? wifi is reliable? just curious.

Not a single issue so far....while my ICS phone has the occasional tantrum.
Wi-Fi signal has been 100%,took the tablet out to a mate sat in his car on the road and it was still connected,about 15 metres from the router.

The only issue I've had is trying to connect to my Ascend G300 by usb.The tablet has usb host and when I plug in a memory stick it works fine but the phone doesn't get detected but I believe the issue is with the phone or maybe the adapter cable not the tablet

Daz2009

Gonzo,you say BBC iplayer works on the Sumvision.....not on mine it doesn't,have you had to do anything in particular to make it work ?
Seems lots of people have problems getting iplayer to work on android.

Some of the things I'd look for when buying a cheap tablet......does it have UK support,does it have full Play Store compatibility,does it have a sd card slot for memory expansion,is the wi-fi stable......without these you're unlikely to be satisfied with your purchase no matter how high the specs on paper.