Nook color, ipod touch or full tablet for 8 year old? My son is turning 8 soon and he has been begging for a tablet or ipod touch. He is mainly interested in playing angry bird and similar games (that he plays in my android tablet and my ipod touch). He has a Nintendo DS but I am beginning to think that giving him a tablet could be a better deal in the long run as the games are way cheaper and the additional functionality. THe nook color, with it's reduced price and hackability seems like a good choice, but I wonder if I am better off paying a bit more for a 7 inch full tablet (like acer iconia) or an ipod touch. My main concern is the nook hardware and how well it handles the games. Thank you!Diana Nook color, ipod touch or full tablet for 8 year old? My son is turning 8 soon and he has been begging for a tablet or ipod touch. He is mainly interested in playing angry bird and similar games... » Read More Nook color, ipod touch or full tablet for 8 year old? My son is turning 8 soon and he has been begging for a tablet or ipod touch. He is mainly interested in playing angry bird and similar games (that he plays in my android tablet and my ipod touch). He has a Nintendo DS but I am beginning to think that giving him a tablet could be a better deal in the long run as the games are way cheaper and the additional functionality. THe nook color, with it's reduced price and hackability seems like a good choice, but I wonder if I am better off paying a bit more for a 7 inch full tablet (like acer iconia) or an ipod touch. My main concern is the nook hardware and how well it handles the games. Thank you!Diana « Show Less
1126389
Give him a used or refurb'ed iPod Touch 4th gen. Its about $100 on eBay these days, and can run the latest iOS stuff. Easy to handle, smaller, and plays all those good games he always wanted. I did this exact same thing for you 8 year-old as well, he couldn't be happier.
261249
To be honest, my son is very young and cant fully use it. I figured when he does start using it more, he would be up to date. I would say for the price difference, the 2 prob. Would be smarter. Leap frog has such great products, I am sure the 2 is packed with great stuff and a lot less $.
50809
iPod Touch 8GB 4th Generation is my favorite. But since you had a nano, maybe you might not like it since it has a touch screen,etc. I like it because watching videos on the retina display is AWESOME!!!!!! Plus music too. I don't really use it for much else besides Playing Music/Watching Videos/Pandora. I don't use apps, use the internet sparingly, etc. You should probably wait until September because a new nano will be coming out then.
2099127
I bought both the Explorer and LeapPad for my 3 and 5 year olds for Christmas. I bought a couple of game cartridges as well as app cards. How do you install the apps in both? I was told at TRU that you could only install an app on one device. Good to know that he was wrong.
1057768
My children are older, but we have downloaded several games from the google play store. I checked and there are some games there for toddlers that are free. I would advise going there first and see if there are any games you feel would be appropriate for your child before purchasing the ValuePad. If so, then I would recommend this unit. As your child grows, so will the options available and the price is not so much that you would have to worry about a young child handling it.
1351480
I think a smart 8-year old is very close to being on the outer edge of a kid who could appreciate this. I, too, have a smart 8-year old and she can be entertained by it from time to time, but not for long and really has outgrown it. Sorry, but not sure what a better, similar item would be. Hope that helps.
1778290
You might check your local game stop and look at a refurbished unit. The last time I was in there they had some units in there for 79.99. I bought a ds lite for my son when he was 6 and he is still using at 8 we just got a nerf case to increase the durablity for it. My niece got hers at 7 and is still using it and she will be 12 christmas eve. It is definatley a investment but she will not grow out of this toy for some time to come. There are very few toys that I buy for the kids that I can say they're still use on a weekly basis 5 years later, but this is one of them.
30646
You'd be amazed at what kids can do. Give them the tablet and they just take off like a rocket learning. With a few guided lessons and with just the right apps your child will certainly enjoy using and growing with the Leapfrog LeapPad Tablet. we've had ours since my son was 3 1/2 but my God daughter turned 3 this September and she sits down with it and taps away and watches videos, takes photos and tries playing games. great part is they don't grow out of it for a while when they are that long and its so durable that even if a child has the dropsy's its still safe to use. My son has thrown ours several times and it just amazes me that it still works I can't say the same for his other gaming counsel. You'd be amazed at what kids can do. Give them the tablet and they just take off like a rocket learning. With a few guided lessons and with just the right apps your child will certainly enjoy using and growing with the Leapfrog LeapPad Tablet. we've had ours since my son was 3 1/2 but my God daughter turned 3 this September and she sits down with it and taps away and watches videos, takes photos and tries playing games. great part is they don't grow out of it for a while when they are that long and its so durable that even if a child has the dropsy's its still safe to use. My son has thrown... » Read More You'd be amazed at what kids can do. Give them the tablet and they just take off like a rocket learning. With a few guided lessons and with just the right apps your child will certainly enjoy using and growing with the Leapfrog LeapPad Tablet. we've had ours since my son was 3 1/2 but my God daughter turned 3 this September and she sits down with it and taps away and watches videos, takes photos and tries playing games. great part is they don't grow out of it for a while when they are that long and its so durable that even if a child has the dropsy's its still safe to use. My son has thrown ours several times and it just amazes me that it still works I can't say the same for his other gaming counsel. « Show Less
1530061
I had this same question earlier this week. I decided to go to Walmart and purchase the Nabi 2 for my 8 year old in case it didn't live up to our expectations, we could have a hassle free return. It's been a week and he loves it!!! I have installed amazon kindle, storia and amazon app store on it so that we can have more options for entertainment. I plan to add movies and music to an sd card so that he can have the space to download as many apps as he likes. I chose this tablet simply for the parental controls, making it safer, the durability and the fact that we can keep it on mommy mode when he gets older. I do admit that the spinlets tv and music seem preschool-ish but like I said there are many alternatives such as Amazon since this is a "real" android tablet.
1280972
OKAY! Thanks. We're due to receive it on Wednesday so I'll know in a couple days. I just need to get my kid off my phone, wanting to play apps all the time. So, I hope it'll at least be good for that. It would be cheaper than the leappad systems/tablets if so!
1280971
i'm thinking of getting this. can u run facebook and words with friends on it? i really want it more to read my books... i have a b&w; nook now... but i wanted something with a touch screen and color. any input would be greatly appreciated. thanks.
1013932
Just checking, the Leapad does NOT play videos or music? We were about to buy it for my 5 years old nephew, but I we want something that can play movies and music, so we don't have carry his portable dvd player along anymore, or use our phones for him to watch videos or listen to music. I had not even considered the Innotab, but being able to play videos and music on the tablet is hands down better than having a built in camera, imo. Could somebody confirm this, thank you.
1992710
I guess it depends on the level of the child. My three year old grandson is quite happy with the original one. But then, we haven't actually tried the Innotab2. The games that can be purchased for the original Innotab are for all different levels. There are some games that he wanted that are for older kids, so we are waiting to get those later. Sorry, no idea on the memory capacity.
68616
I had problems from day one the tablet is very cheaply made. I got my son a nook hd, because i can set up his own profile,and you can download google playstore and get alot of the apps from amazon, yopu can also add memory. Downside no camera but can leave with that. I have a nook hd+ for me and really enjoy it i get the best of both worlds without the price.
1155854
My daughter got her DS when she was barely 6. Her barely 3 year old brother used many of the games, some of them just didn't interest him or were too hard to play. I am buying him a Leapster 2 for his 4th birthday coming up. We had the original leapster we bought my daughter when she was tiny and it has since broke. While some DS games are fine for the little ones, I think the Leapster is a better choice for them at this age. And, like someone else said, in a few years there will be a new system out the older kids will want anyway.
416078
you'd be best with going with a Android based system like Samsung. BN is a good little tablet, just lives in its own petri dish like Apple... I only bought this so my kid could have angry birds and game apps and such. I bought a N2A chip (nook to android) and turned this into a android tablet that bypasses the B&N software. Hope that helps
1778292
my son got his 1st ds at 6 and still loves it. I think a ds lite is fine i dont think you need a dsi. It did break at the hinge (his fault) so we bought him a second hand refurb one for 70.00 aud.i can tell you he takes very good care of the hinge now after being without it for a while. Rather than buying mario etc games that can be expensive buy some non trademark games or pre owned games. my son is a tech head and loves his play station 2 and wii but i think he would say he loves his ds best. having said all that i agree also with the itouch or ipad as most of the apps are free and there are loads of educational apps available on the net. my son got his 1st ds at 6 and still loves it. I think a ds lite is fine i dont think you need a dsi. It did break at the hinge (his fault) so we bought him a second hand refurb one for 70.00 aud.i can tell you he takes very good care of the hinge now after being without it for a while. Rather than buying mario etc games that can be expensive buy some non trademark games or pre owned games. my son is a tech head and loves his play station 2 and wii but i think he would say he loves his ds best. having said all that i agree also with the itouch or ipad as most of the apps are free and there... » Read More my son got his 1st ds at 6 and still loves it. I think a ds lite is fine i dont think you need a dsi. It did break at the hinge (his fault) so we bought him a second hand refurb one for 70.00 aud.i can tell you he takes very good care of the hinge now after being without it for a while. Rather than buying mario etc games that can be expensive buy some non trademark games or pre owned games. my son is a tech head and loves his play station 2 and wii but i think he would say he loves his ds best. having said all that i agree also with the itouch or ipad as most of the apps are free and there are loads of educational apps available on the net. « Show Less