April 30, 2024

Gadgetwise Blog: Hands Off, Mom and Dad. This Tablet Is for Children.

Created specifically for children, Nabi is a $200 Android tablet from Fuhu that doesn’t kid around when it comes to things like the ability to plug into a HD screen, by way of a mini-HDMI port, or a multitouch screen that plays “real” apps like Cut the Rope and Fruit Ninja.

Available in time for the holidays, it starts up in Kid Mode — a password-protected gated community of sites, apps, music and videos of your choosing. Unlike an iPad, this tablet runs Flash, so your bookmarks can include sites like PBS Kids. There’s a front-facing camera that can be used to Skype with a grandparent, and accelerometers that let you steer a race car in Need for Speed Shift — one the 15 apps that were preloaded on the unit I tested. The sound is so-so; stereo headphone jacks supplement the audio.

To check your e-mail or watch a YouTube video, you can break out of the Kid Mode with a password that this turns Nabi into a standard Wi-Fi enabled 7-inch Android tablet with five hours of battery life and four gigabytes of storage, plus a micro-SD slot for additional expansion. Given the multifunction characteristics of a device like Nabi, you just might find yourself asking to borrow it from your child.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=9be2caea4c68d69f4fb5d28543cdb09b

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