Okay, so you've only got 6 more days until Christmas and you've got to make up your mind about what you are buying for presents. You'll be interested to know that half of the parents will be buying their child a tablet. Two tablets specifically designed for children are the Nabi 2 and the Galaxy Tab 3 Kids. The distinct strengths of these tablets are the padded protection, parental controls, pre-loaded games and apps, and the ability to support multiple profiles so different members of the family can all load their preferences to the tablet.
Now let's take a look at some details of the most popular new devices being sold this season.
Kindle Paperwhite
This is the most popular tablet this year.
Pros:
1. Delivers the best reading experience because it was designed exclusively for this function. It has a matte surface and a very white background with very dark letters for high contrast.
2. Tons of storage at 2GB, 1,000 books and free cloud backup
3. Lightweight at 7.3 oz
4. Battery lasts 8 weeks
5. Has Kindle Free Time for kids
6. Has Pageflip which lets you skim through pages faster
7. Has many book titles, movies, and magazines available through Kindle
8. Low price starts at $119 from Amazon
Cons:
1. Hard to download audio books
2. Has ads that cost $20 to remove (from the cheapest models)
3. If you borrow books through Overdrive, they'll send you 3 annoying e-mails asking if you want to purchase the book.
Kobo Arc
Notice its an anagram for books. This is an Android 2.3 based tablet.
Pros:
1. Very versatile
2. Storage of 8GB and 8,000 books
3. SD expansion slot up to 32 GB
4. Open platform
5. Has a social reading focus so you can make comments about books and talk to other people about books they are reading
6. High resolution 1280x800 HD, 215 ppi
7. Supports Overdrive MP3 audio books and e-pub books
8. Inexpensive at $139.99
Cons:
1. It is thick and chunky to hold
2. Heavy at 14.2 oz
3. Not as fast or bright as the Kindle Paperwhite
Ipad mini
A very, very popular tablet - gotta love the Mac
Pros:
1. Very versatile and can be used for reading, movies, games and could double as a surrogate laptop.
2. Comes loaded with free excel, word, and more
3. Has a camera and many apps
4. Has 3G and wifi available for free
5. Largest size at 7.9" diagonal and .29" deep
6. Highest resolution at 2048x1536 and 326 ppi
7. Storage starts at 16 GB
Cons:
1. Not designed specifically for e-reading so it has a glossy surface and you get a glare
2. Battery lasts 10 hours
3. Pricey at $399
4. Heavy at 11.68 oz
Nook Glo-light
Pros:
1. Designed specifically for the reading experience
2. It is an e-ink reader - backlit and resists glare - easy to read in sunlight
3. Has tons of storage at 4 GB, 2,000 books
4. Touch screen
5. High resolution 758x1024
6. Lightweight 6.2 oz
7. Inexpensive $119
8. Easy to purchase books from Barnes & Noble
Cons:
1. No support for audio books
2. No 3G
3. No web browser
4. Waning in popularity - will Barnes and Noble make it?
Which one is right for you?
Susan
No comments:
Post a Comment