Child's version of iPad? Toys R Us unveils $150 Android tablet made just for kids
Photographer: Getty Images
Copyright Getty Images
Posted: 09/10/2012
NEW YORK - If the idea of handing a child your expensive iPad makes you nervous, Toys R Us is now selling a tablet that's built just for kids.
The Tabeo, which features a 7-inch screen and a Wi-Fi connection, will be available at Toys R Us stores starting October 21. The $149.99 tablet is also available for online pre-order starting Monday.
You can check it out on ToysRUs.com.
The tablet comes pre-loaded with 50 child-friendly apps, and an additional 7,000 free apps are available to download. It runs on Google's Android operating system.
The device is wrapped in a soft "bumper" to protect the hardware if it falls out of a child's slippery fingers. It also includes extra controls in the device's built-in browser. For example, parents can set different Internet safety controls for up to eight users, either by blocking certain categories of content or disallowing access to specific sites. The Tabeo can also be set to allow Internet access only on certain days or during certain hours.
If a sneakier child accesses the Internet through a browser other than the Tabeo's built-in one, parents can choose to receive an email alert.
The Tabeo joins a handful of other tablets aimed at children, including VTech's InnoTab, Meep from Oregon Scientific, the Nabi and LeapFrog's LeapPad.
It's also the latest in a new crop of 7-inch tablets. Amazon announced two different 7-inch versions of its Kindle Fire tablet last week, and Google began shipping its Nexus 7 earlier this summer. Apple is expected to unveil its own 7-inch iPad Mini in October.
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
PRINT
Did You Hear?
-
Did 90's rapper fake his own death?
An arrest warrant has been issued for supposedly-dead rapper Tim Dog, who is accused of faking his death to avoid paying a woman $19,000.
-
McDonald's gives Ramsey FREE food
Charles Ramsey, who helped rescue the three Cleveland women held captive by Ariel Castro, will get free McDonald's from his local fast food favorite for the next year, a McDonald's spokeswoman said.
-
'Hate map' tracks derogatory tweets
A group of researchers has developed a map that shows how discriminatory a given county is based on the number of insulting tweets sent from that area.
-
More National
-
PHOTOS: WA I-5 bridge crumbles
Crews survey the scene of a bridge collapse on Interstate 5 on May 23, 2013 near Mt. Vernon, Washington. I-5 connects Seattle, Washington to Vancouver B.C., Canada.
-
The new buzz? Smoking alcohol
-
VIDEO: WA State bridge collapse
-
5.7-magnitude quake rocks N. California
-
PD: Large truck caused bridge collapse
-
IRS replaces official in targeting case
