Recommend me a Coby Tablet for an 8 year old

[Ryan31]

Considering getting my son a tablet for xmas, he likes to play around on my Droid 2 so I figure this would be a good present for him. Looking to spend upwards of $150. Need one that supports flash and as far as I know they can have Android market installed?

I plan on Purchasing this at Sears and here's what models they carry in the price range.

MID7120 - $124
MID7015 - $150
MID7012 - $112
MID7016 - $134
MID7024 - $150


Please help Santa out!

Thanks

 

[Pamster]

Hi Ryan31,

I don't think you'll be happy with any those, you want one that is capacitive for that money. I would go with Toys R Us for the MID7022 at the very least. It has a capacitive screen and I think you'll be much happier with it in the long run, or go with amazon's option on the same model, at just around the same price. It's just a little more then you're looking to spend but the resistive touch screens are not very long lived. I hear that they scratch and pop and break MUCH easier then the capacitive ones I am recommending for you to check into Ryan31. We have a a few coby specific forums here (you want to look in the second generation one for this model I am recommending) you can check out what people are saying about these models for yourself. Then you can check out youtube and see how easily you can install the android market among other applications. Good luck with it Santa! And welcome to the board! Glad you could join us.

PS, this model is newer, has two speakers and twice the battery size of the model I recommended, but it's about the same price, only found it on amazon so far:

http://www.amazon.com/Coby-7-Inch-A...1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322700164&sr=1-1

 

[bishop793]

I agree get the 7022 if u can. It runs great and plays videos flawlessly. The capacitve screen and gingerbread os makes it great for games and browsing. I sold mine only because I got the A100 at best buy for a bargain!

Sent from my A100 using Android Tablet Forum

 

[Pamster]

Found the MID7127 at sears! Hope this helps Santa out.

Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

 

[jessfred]

i don't agree that sending him a Tablet as a X-mas gift is a good idea,why not choose something else??I just think your son is too young to own a Tablet,just my personal opinion.

 

[Daphne]

i don't agree that sending him a Tablet as a X-mas gift is a good idea,why not choose something else??I just think your son is too young to own a Tablet,just my personal opinion.

why not?
I am a mom who is buying my 6 and 13 year old sons tablets for Christmas. They play fun games (angry birds, bubble blasters) and are book readers, cheaper than gameboy ds 3d (each game is around $30 plus the unit is $160and up so yup they are super expensive I know since my older son has a nintendo ds that over $500 in games over the year yikes). As long as the parent is paying attention to what the child is doing how is it bad? I am honestly wondering not being argumentative. I know screen time should be minimized, but really it can be a book reader and some can be cameras too. My kids attack my husband's phone when he walks in the door to play angry birds (they don't like it on the desktop since they are left handed and I have a right handed mouse) Honestly legos and k'nex are awesome gifts for this age too (my younger ds is getting them too), but I don't know what the problem with a tablet is.

Ryan I am in search of a good, but inexpensive tablet for my kids too. Pamster seems to be finding a lot of great info on those. I am worried about the restrictive screens breaking easily making me have to replace these soon. So not something I want to do.

 

[bishop793]

I don't think your son is too young. He probably just want to play games and watch videos. How old you gotta be to do that? Which is why he is looking for a low end tablet l

Sent from my A100 using Android Tablet Forum

 

[Teatime]

i don't agree that sending him a Tablet as a X-mas gift is a good idea,why not choose something else??I just think your son is too young to own a Tablet,just my personal opinion.

I absolutely agree with you but once these parents decide on something, they don't want to hear the negative. An 8-year-old is too young for a tablet or anything, frankly, that is small, expensive, and uses the Internet. Kids can use these things anywhere and access all sorts of things they're not ready to see. Of course, these are the same people who feign surprise and disbelief when they find out their tweens and teens were sexting and/or were in contact with pervs on the Internet. Then, there are the porn sites that are purposely using common names so kids will stumble upon them when they do simple searches on the net.

Those who think they can constantly supervise their kids on these things are deluding themselves. Kids are very, very clever and good at getting around their parents. Besides, all it takes is slipping it in their backpacks to take to school or a friend's house and the other kids will show them how to access things they shouldn't if they haven't figured it out themselves.

Tablets aren't the choice for gaming. The batteries don't last long enough and can't be replaced. These aren't toys and they weren't designed for little kids.

 

[steev]

I think the MID7024 is the best out of the ones you listed.

But if you're not set on Coby I'd suggest the Herotab C8 ($149.99 with free shipping)
Herotab C8 Samsung 1GHZ Android 2.3 Honeycomb like UI Flash 10.1 Capacitive Multitouch

Has the same CPU as the MID7024 (good for gaming) and a capacitive touchscreen. Plus it's a little cheaper than the 7022.

edit:
I'm sorry the price is up to $159.99 now. It was $149.99 the other day.

 

[mawlfe]

Ryan31,

I am not a tablet owner yet but my wife and I figured this year would be a great year to get our three son's each a tablet (ages 9-8-8). My wife and I had the same questions as you and after considerable research we ordered the Coby MID7127. Since we are purchasing three tablets the price along with quality and features was a major factor. I researched all of the tablets on your list. It is my understanding is the MID7127 is an upgraded Coby tablet to the versions you have listed. My wife and I felt for a little extra money through Amazon we are getting a newer generation tablet for our boys. Total spent is a little over $500.00 for all three with shipping. Some of the factors that sold us were two speakers a capacitive touch screen and a camera. Everywhere I checked there have been good reviews. Only negative reviews seem to be about the apps market that is pre-loaded. After reading several different opinions and threads on this forum the apps market is easy to remedy. None of the bad reviews were hardware/quality related, just app and/or software problems. It also seems to me brand names like Coby are popular so if you are in a bind and need a fix or work-around, you will be more likely to find tech. support in forums like this. Please keep in mind my goal was to be around $150 per tablet and my wife and I came pretty close to that.

 

[Pamster]

Hi mawlfe! Glad you joined us and that you've been able to get the tablets you liked best for your sons. I hope they get a lot of use from them. I know amazon has them for just about $170 so that's awesome.

 

[JerryScript]

Buy the keyboard case accessory for <$15 and you have a virtual laptop as well, my kids call them their mini transformers. There are apps that will allow them to do some of their homework on the tablet, document apps, reader apps, etc. While the list of educational apps is not huge now, it is growing, and has huge potential on a tablet form factor.

 

[Pamster]

That's what I would do too, but hubby said he doesn't WANT the USB keyboard for it. I think kids would especially enjoy having the keyboard case.

 

[Ryan31]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions everyone!

I went and ordered the MID7127 from Best Buy for $170. Based on comments about it, it seems it a modified version of the 7022. I think my son will enjoy it.

 

[Pamster]

Good call Ryan, I am sure your son will be happy with it. I think you got the going rate for it too, so I hope your son gets a lot out of it.