I received an email from a listener earlier this week, looking for tablet recommendations for their child. The child is aged 8 and the listener has a budget of €200.
If you're in the same boat, you have plenty of options.
The first thing I would recommend when considering a tablet for your child is to disregard any child-specific tablets. Having looked at the options available, I have found them to be very basic and that a child would outgrow their capability before long.
Young children
If you have a toddler or young child and are looking for a tablet to keep them entertained on a long commute or whilst on holiday, I would recommend the following model.
I bought this tablet for my two-year-old niece, who is a Peppa Pig fanatic. At €65, she can now watch Peppa on long commutes and I don't have to worry about the tablet getting damaged, as it comes with heavy rubber cover.
The 7-inch screen is perfect for tiny hands and it's very easy to manage. It runs Android and has 16GB of storage built in. It's possible to increase that with a microSD card.
There is a 10-inch version of this tablet available too, which is good for anyone looking to do basic online searches or watch movies and TV.
Older children
If your child is aged 8 or older, I would recommend looking at something with slightly more power. It will allow children to play games and watch videos with ease.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7.0" €159
Samsung makes great tablet devices. I have used a Samsung Tab S for a number of years now and never had an issue. The Tab A has a 7-inch screen and has a 1.3GHz processor. There's 8GB of storage built in, but you can increase that with a microSD card. The Tab A has a 5MP camera on the back of the device. There's also a 4000mAh battery.
Alcatel is a lesser known brand but makes solid devices. This tablet has a 10-inch screen and runs Android 5.0. This is a really nice tablet to use and does not feel heavy or clunky. Again, there's a microSD slot for those looking to expand upon the 8GB of inbuilt storage.
If you're after something that's powerful but that sticks to the €200 budget, check out this tablet from Lenovo. They tablets and laptops have really impressed me over recent years.
This has a 10-inch screen and 32GB of built-in storage, as well as a microSD slot. There's 2GB of RAM, meaning users can multi-task with ease. There's a 5MP camera on the front and back of the device.
The manufacturer also claims the device has a 14-hour battery life.
