iDeaPLAY Kid Safe Tablet, Approved by This Mom

By Jamie Wiersma

My kids love playing on our family tablet (an iPad 2). With a family of 5, it seems like most times our tablet is being used by someone – whether it be the adults checking email, Facebook, etc., the kids doing homework or just playing a game. Many times we have to put a time limit on the kids so that there is no fighting and so that they don’t become consumed by the machine.

The iDeaPLAY kid safe tablet is a great tool to give parents back control. It is built especially for kids and also designed to give parents peace of mind. AND, parents can take back THEIR tablet!

The iDeaPLAY kid safe tablet comes in a bright orange safety casing which immediately appeals to every kid. (Other fun colors are also available for purchase.) When you turn it on, the colors will catch your child’s attention but it still functions and looks like an adult tablet. (All kids like the real thing – can I say car keys vs. play keys?) When you turn it on for the first time it will talk you through some of the basic features as well as get you set up for the ages of your child/children.

When you are not in the Famigo app, which is the app that gives you parental controls, it is loaded with all of the regular apps that an adult would use – email, Facebook, web browser, etc. So, if the parent needs to use the tablet, it has all of the same capabilities as other Android tablets.

Key Features:

1. Parental Controls and Kids Mode
2. COPPA compliant – tablet is pre-programmed to abide by the U.S. Government’s Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act ensuring the safety and privacy of kids under the age of 13
3. Durable – comes with a safety casing and is sturdy enough to survive rough use from children (my youngest dropped it on our wood floor and we had no issues!)
4. Apps – comes pre-loaded with many age appropriate apps and parents can safely download hundreds of additional free and premium apps
5. Videos – with the use of the premium version of the Famigo app, kids can watch full length, age appropriate TV shows
6. Android based with access to the apps that Famigo recommends as well as capability to download apps from your regular Android Play store

What Makes this a “Kid Safe” Tablet?

The iDeaPLAY is a kid safe tablet because it comes loaded with the Famigo app which is the key feature in giving parents a peace of mind. You can set the tablet up to automatically open up in the “Play” mode of the Famigo app. What this means is that the only apps that your child can access are the ones that have been pres-screened by Famigo as being age appropriate for your child or apps that you as the parent have loaded.

Many of the apps that are pre-loaded are not web based so your child has plenty of games to choose from even when you are not near WiFi. There are tons of educational games that focus on letters, math, matching, etc. as well as options to color pictures and just play silly games. You are also able to load all of your kids’ favorite apps like Temple Run and one of their current favorites, the game Phase 10.

Parents can set a time limit on how long the tablet is used.

This is the parents unlock screen, where you use your finger in a pattern you created to open up parental controls.

Once the time has been used, the parent has to go back into “Manage” mode to load more time before the child can play on the tablet in “Play” mode, ensuring the iDeaPLAY is a kid safe tablet.

The management side of the Famigo app is fantastic. The parent needs to input a code in order to go from “Play” mode to “Manage” mode. Adding apps and time, accessing the web, email and other forms of social media can only be done if the code is inputted by the parent to leave “Play” mode. This gives me, as a mom, the peace of mind of knowing that my child is not going to accidentally go to a website that is not appropriate, download an app that he shouldn’t, or send someone a random email. I am in complete control.

If your child sees an app that Famigo recommends, they can add it to their wish list. The parent can  approve and download the app for their child. Want to add an app that Famigo has not reviewed or recommended yet? It is simple to go into the settings and add it. Famigo will even notify you that the app that you are about to move into “Play” mode has not been reviewed by them. Then you, as the parent, can decide if you still want to put the app in your child’s “Play” mode.

It is important to note that the tablet is loaded with the basic Famigo app. They also have a premium app that is available for a monthly fee. Famigo provided me with the premium app so that I could compare the two. If the only thing that is important to you is parental control, the basic app will do what you need.

The key feature (at least for my 3 year-old) was the Famigo TV option that the premium app comes with. One of my little one’s favorite things to do on our iPad is watching videos on the PBS Kids app. As I began researching and comparing tablets, I realized that there are not a whole lot of free kid video options on the Android platform like I have found on the iPad.

Therefore, he likes to hog the iPad so that he can watch his shows. Famigo TV offers full length videos that are age appropriate to him like “The Wiggles”, “Cat in the Hat”, and “Dino Dan”. While they are not the same choices as he has with PBS Kids, he enjoys watching them. The other thing that the premium version of Famigo offers is free premium apps that you would have to pay for if you only had the basic version.

I had the pleasure of talking with the people at Famigo about their product. They have great customer service, are constantly looking for ways to improve their app and are very proactive when it comes to working with their customers if they have concerns. The Famigo app is available for download on any device. If you are looking for a good parental control app, I would highly recommend the Famigo app.

Tablet Features:

1. Display: 7” 800 x 480 multi-touch screen
2. Dual Core A20 1.2 GHz
3. Weight: .57 lb
4. Camera: .3 MP (Front)
5. Internal Storage: 4GB (Expandable to 32 GB via MicroSD Card)
6. What’s included: Tablet, Micro USB Cable, Power Adapter, USB Dongle, protective tablet cover, earbuds

Pros:

1. Great price point
2. Comes with plenty of  apps pre-loaded on the tablet – many that don’t need WiFi
3. The safety casing is sturdy, water-resistant and fun to look at
4. Expandable memory is always good
5. Fully equipped with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean
6. Sound is quite good – even when playing music
7. Built-in parental controls
8. Light weight – perfect for a mom’s purse

Cons:

1. I noticed that the corners of the tablet are not quite as responsive to touch as the rest of the tablet.
2. The camera is only a front camera which makes taking pictures difficult. It only has .3 MP which does not give you a great picture.
3. Battery time is only 4 hours.
4. I found that when charging the tablet, I needed to remove a corner of the case in order for the cord to stay in better.
5. The display and processor are not quite as good as the Kobo Arc that I reviewed a few months ago. For a child, picture is probably not a priority but there were times when there was more of a lag time than I would prefer.

MSRP is listed as $129.99 but I found it on Amazon.com on sale for $99 with free shipping for Prime Customers.

A Mom’s Perspective

For a family of five, it has been wonderful to have a kid safe tablet that the kids can call their own. But more importantly, I don’t have to worry that they are somewhere that they should not on the Internet be because of the great parental controls. I also love that I have the ability to control how much time they spend on the tablet. And, with the safety case, I don’t have to worry about drops or accidents. The Famigo app gets high praises from me. The fact that the basic version comes free with the tablet is a bonus.

The iDeaPLAY tablet is a great secondary kid safe tablet for a busy family. I like that it is a good size and weight and that it is easy to carry around when you are out and about and need something to keep your little one quiet and busy. And, the price point is great.

Well-Connected Mom recently reviewed the Nabi Jr. which is also a kid safe tablet geared towards children. You can read about the Nabi Jr. here. Some of the key differences include:

1. Smaller display for the Nabi Jr. (5”)
2. Only 1 GHz processor for Nabi Jr.
3. Camera on the Nabi Jr. is 2 MP which is significantly more than iDeaPLAY and the camera and video are rotatable on the Nabi Jr. (If the camera is important to your child this is a key feature to pay attention to.)
4. Nabi Jr. has bluetooth
5. Other features and cost are very comparable.

* I was given an iDeaPLAY tablet as well as a free subscription to the premium version of the Famigo app in exchange for my honest opinions, all of which are my own.