Best Cheap Tablet for Grandma?

[whitemerlot]

My mom is not computer savvy at all. She has had several small lap tops and uses the internet for email, Etsy, Facebook and ordering stuff online. She doesn't have a working computer and is interested in a tablet.

Is my best bet the Kindle Fire? My sister told her about a Polaroid tablet for $40 at Toys R Us, so now she has that in her mind. Her budget is very limited, but I want something that will last a couple years.

[niq]

My totally technophobe mother has a kindle fire HD and loves it. I set up a few apps for her -Pandora, TuneIn, flickr so she can see family photos, etc.

[pumpkin]

I'm posting here so I can track the answers. Have been considering a cheap tablet for myself to see if I'll actually use it.

And just so you know, Kindles are $20 off for Black Friday on Amazon

[badgergrl]

Im going to do an older generation ipad mini for my mom. I think the interface is much more intuitive on the apples and there are some good deals right now.

[Deleted]

We were in the same situation with DH's 94yo grandmother. We bought her a Kindle Fire, it's worked out great.

[Deleted]

We got my mom a kindle fire. It's worked great for her. She can FB and play Candy Crush. That's about all she wanted.

[Deleted]

I would get her the cheapest version of whatever you use yourself. If your mom is anything like mine, you'll be fielding lots of "how do I do/change/fix this" type questions and it helps to answer if you are familiar with the tablet.

[pumpkin]

Follow-up question about the Kindle Fire. Am I reading the specs correctly in that the lower price point Fires only have wifi and no xG capabilities?

[niq]

Nov 27, 2014 15:20:45 GMT -5 pumpkin said:

Follow-up question about the Kindle Fire. Am I reading the specs correctly in that the lower price point Fires only have wifi and no xG capabilities?

Yes. And there's no GPS. So, if grandma needs/wants something that she can use on the go or for directions/maps, an iPad might be better.

On the other hand, having no 3G/4G means grandma can't run up her cell phone bill by accident.

[mainelyfoolish]

My parents are not at all tech savvy and they do well with their iPads. They just have the wifi versions. There are some good Black Friday deals on the older versions of the iPad and the iPad mini.

We also have iPads and my parents love to use FaceTime to talk to the grandkids. 

[VillainV]

I vote for a cheaper or older version of whatever you use. It's easier for you to help if you're familiar with the interface. We got my MIL an inexpensive iPad mini a few years ago (wifi only, lower memory option) and it's nice that we know how to use apple stuff.

All else being equal, I'd say kindle fire or cheaper/older iPad mini.

[Norticprincess]

I haven't seen it in person, B&N is advertising the new Nook is a full functioning Samsung tablet. Or the google nexus.

[pumpkin]

Nov 27, 2014 16:20:20 GMT -5 niq said:

Nov 27, 2014 15:20:45 GMT -5 pumpkin said:

Follow-up question about the Kindle Fire. Am I reading the specs correctly in that the lower price point Fires only have wifi and no xG capabilities?

Yes. And there's no GPS. So, if grandma needs/wants something that she can use on the go or for directions/maps, an iPad might be better.

On the other hand, having no 3G/4G means grandma can't run up her cell phone bill by accident.

Thanks for confirming what I was afraid of, lol. But good point about grandma and the cell phone bill.  I was actually thinking of getting one myself for cheap for a couple of things, only without 3G/4G it wouldn't fit my needs.  Oh well, its probably better MMwise if I don't.

[illgetthere]

The kindle fire is a great cheap tablet. We have got $40-50 tablets in stores and returned them because they don't compare. The touch is off, huge delay, just overall not working. The new 6 inch is on sale for 79 right now.

[imojoebunny]

I just bought the 6" 16 gb for my 5.5 year old yesterday for $99. He has had one since he was 2.5 years old. It finally died, but it lasted very well considering how often and by whom it was used.

We have 3 of them. I really like them for kids and olds (we cave one to my grandfather when he was 93. He died when he was 95, but enjoyed reading and buying books on it, since he couldn't get to a bookstore and lived in a nursing home with no book storage the last year of his life. He could also check email and shop for other things easily on Amazon for birthday gifts and personal things he needed.

If you want the cell service version, it is more expensive. I have an iPad with cellular service, but it was far and away more expensive. Like 6-8 times what you'll pay for the kindle.