A.Balaban Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 I tried to search this but didn't find anything. I have been saving up for an iPad and now DS's BD says he wants to get the Google tablet-thing. I do not want *both* in my house. Does anyone use the Google tablet? I don't know what it's called. Nexus I think? I want to use it for homeschooling. If you *do* happen to have both, what is your take? Which would be more user-friendly for younger children and more capability to grow as the kids get older? Which one has more space? Which one is more durable? Which one is better for homeschooling? Are the differences negligible? As you can see, I have a lot of questions. For comparison purposes, I was planning on buying either the 32-GB or 64-GB iPad 3 WiFi. I haven't been able to get a good "feel" for the Google Nexus the same way I have with the iPad. Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calledtobehome Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 I was just searching for this information today! And then got totally confused by all the technical stuff. Anyone could please explain in plain language? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 I don't have the Nexus, but my toddler uses the ipad just fine and has for the last five or six months. In fact, he believes it's his. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy in Ky Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 I have an iPad and my son has the Nexus. He's convinced the Nexus is better :D, but in my opinion, nothing beats the iPad. The Nexus is cute and does cool things, but I really prefer my iPad. I think the Nexus is more durable. Ds told me about some experiment where they dropped both from a great height and the Nexus fared better. I just don't plan on dropping my iPad from a great height! LOL :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleWonders Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Disclaimer: We are an Apple family. That said, we love the iPad. Ours is 64 GB and sometimes I wish they had a 132. :lol: My not-quite-two year old has had the thing mastered since she was just over a year old. We use it for homeschooling (either PDFs or apps or pulling something up in maps or the web while reading), for play, and I have decided that despite hating to read long articles on the computer, I really don't mind the eReader aspect of the iPad either (though my first choice is a physical book in hand). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyLittleWonders Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 I think the Nexus is more durable. Ds told me about some experiment where they dropped both from a great height and the Nexus fared better. I just don't plan on dropping my iPad from a great height! LOL :lol: :lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 How do you envision using it? My kids each have a Nexus 7, and I'm probably going to get (the about to be released, rumour is they're starting at $350) Nexus 10 for myself for Christmas. :D A 32 GB Nexus 7 is going to be released next week for $250, and the current 16 GB model's price will be falling, likely to $200. If you choose to go iPad, I'd steer clear of the iPad mini... it's priced far too high relative to both the full sized iPad and the competition. Its display is inferior to the Nook HDs, the Kindle Fire HDs, and the Nexus 7. FWIW, the display on the Nexus 10 has a greater resolution than the fourth generation iPad, though at the higher resolutions it makes little difference to the eye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 I have an iPad and my son has the Nexus. He's convinced the Nexus is better :D, but in my opinion, nothing beats the iPad. The Nexus is cute and does cool things, but I really prefer my iPad. I think the Nexus is more durable. Ds told me about some experiment where they dropped both from a great height and the Nexus fared better. I just don't plan on dropping my iPad from a great height! LOL :lol: I'm pretty convinced that I'd love an iPad and it would it my first choice, for sure. But I'm looking for reasons to love Nexus because of the price. Does it use the same apps as iPad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.Balaban Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 Does it use the same apps as iPad? :iagree::iagree::iagree: This is my big thing. I really want the iPad for all the great APPS! :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 How do you envision using it? My kids each have a Nexus 7, and I'm probably going to get (the about to be released, rumour is they're starting at $350) Nexus 10 for myself for Christmas. :D A 32 GB Nexus 7 is going to be released next week for $250, and the current 16 GB model's price will be falling, likely to $200. If you choose to go iPad, I'd steer clear of the iPad mini... it's priced far too high relative to both the full sized iPad and the competition. Its display is inferior to the Nook HDs, the Kindle Fire HDs, and the Nexus 7. FWIW, the display on the Nexus 10 has a greater resolution than the fourth generation iPad, though at the higher resolutions it makes little difference to the eye. I'm not the OP, but my kids really want cool educational apps that they've seen their friends use. They want geography, kanji, math, music, vocab builders and so on. Are those available for Nexus? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Does it use the same apps as iPad?Most of the big apps are available on both platforms. But each has some apps that the other doesn't. Sales of Android tablets have taken off this last year, so the delay between the iOS release of apps and the Android release is shrinking noticeably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Most of the big apps are available on both platforms. But each has some apps that the other doesn't. Sales of Android tablets have taken off this last year, so the delay between the iOS release of apps and the Android release is shrinking noticeably. Thank you. :001_smile: I'm mostly interested in educational apps for the kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.Balaban Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 Thank you. :001_smile: I'm mostly interested in educational apps for the kids. :iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 I have an iPad and my son has the Nexus. He's convinced the Nexus is better :D, but in my opinion, nothing beats the iPad. The Nexus is cute and does cool things, but I really prefer my iPad. I think the Nexus is more durable. Ds told me about some experiment where they dropped both from a great height and the Nexus fared better. I just don't plan on dropping my iPad from a great height! LOL :lol: I will confess that I have dropped my iPad several times, and it has remained unscathed. I killed my laptop by dropping it so believe me, I try to be careful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajag Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 We didn't have the Nexus 7, but we had 2 tablets made by Asus. They are by no means comparable to an iPad. We bought them for my DH and my younger daughter but they didn't measure up in terms of apps, usability, or durability. It's also harder to prevent purchases on a Google tablet. There were 3 big issues for us: Difficulty controlling purchases. Fragmentation of the Android OS. It's discouraging when apps are consistently not available for your flavor of Android...especially when you have the latest version that's being hyped. We had to wipe and reset to factory at least every month. I don't have those issues with my iPads. They just work, and the times I have needed help Apple has been stellar. I can easily require passwords for everything so there are no accidental purchases. We have 5 of varying ages in our house and use them extensively in HSing. I love being able to mirror to the Apple TV and teach straight from my iPad. We use Goodreader to organize our homeschool files, read files, and the best part is it opens where you left off. You can also annotate your files, create bookmarks, etc. We use an app called Notetaker HD to write on copies of PDFs. The options are truly endless, and you have the most variety in apps available on any system. Thy aren't kidding when they say "there's an app for that". LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.Balaban Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 We didn't have the Nexus 7, but we had 2 tablets made by Asus. They are by no means comparable to an iPad. We bought them for my DH and my younger daughter but they didn't measure up in terms of apps, usability, or durability. It's also harder to prevent purchases on a Google tablet. There were 3 big issues for us: Difficulty controlling purchases. Fragmentation of the Android OS. It's discouraging when apps are consistently not available for your flavor of Android...especially when you have the latest version that's being hyped. We had to wipe and reset to factory at least every month. I don't have those issues with my iPads. They just work, and the times I have needed help Apple has been stellar. I can easily require passwords for everything so there are no accidental purchases. We have 5 of varying ages in our house and use them extensively in HSing. I love being able to mirror to the Apple TV and teach straight from my iPad. We use Goodreader to organize our homeschool files, read files, and the best part is it opens where you left off. You can also annotate your files, create bookmarks, etc. We use an app called Notetaker HD to write on copies of PDFs. The options are truly endless, and you have the most variety in apps available on any system. Thy aren't kidding when they say "there's an app for that". LOL Oh, yes. Passwords are a MUST. Well, I'm sold. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Oh, yes. Passwords are a MUST. Well, I'm sold. :D You can set up password protection for maturity rating and both app purchases and in-app purchases in Android. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.Balaban Posted October 27, 2012 Author Share Posted October 27, 2012 You can set up password protection for maturity rating and both app purchases and in-app purchases in Android. :001_smile: Do you use your Nexus for homeschool related things? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajag Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 We did that, and our daughter managed to purchase stuff anyway. Everything was supposed to require a PIN to purchase but we were out almost $30 because of it. We took the tablet from DD6 after the second failure which cost us another $40. In iOS I just choose the "require password" and it works. I tried Android to save money on tablets for DH and my DD6. It ultimately was a mistake. I sold the tablets for 1/2 price and put the money into refurbished iPads for the girls and a new iPad 3. I wish I had never tried Android. I ended up $370 in the hole on that gamble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 Do you use your Nexus for homeschool related things?Yes, and I'm picky about the games they have access too, favouring strategy and logic games, and games that have a creative twist. My 8yo uses it for math drills and the occasional YouTube video I think she should see. And for learning sea chanteys on Pandora. :D My 10 yo: follows a number of science, geography, skeptic, and history blogs in Google Reader and also select YouTube channels; listens to educational podcasts (we use Doggcatcher); and does geography drills. She is also assign a number of readings each week, usually related to science. I've built up a number of websites for free browsing, including sites like the Museum of Hoaxes, and a number of eclectic curated sites like Brain Pickings. These are all OK to count as "free reading" in school. :001_smile: How Stuff Works and other primarily edutainment sites are for non-school free time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 We did that, and our daughter managed to purchase stuff anyway. Everything was supposed to require a PIN to purchase but we were out almost $30 because of it. We took the tablet from DD6 after the second failure which cost us another $40. In iOS I just choose the "require password" and it works. I tried Android to save money on tablets for DH and my DD6. It ultimately was a mistake. I sold the tablets for 1/2 price and put the money into refurbished iPads for the girls and a new iPad 3. I wish I had never tried Android. I ended up $370 in the hole on that gamble. I don't doubt that occurred. But the Google Play Store app has for quite a while now been working fine in this respect (and the settings are PIN protected). You can also purchase low-cost apps that limit what the child can access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 There is no contest. The Apple iOS is a thing of beauty. The Android OS, in contrast, is ungainly. Likewise the physical design of the iPad is elegant, where the Android tablets all feel like bad knock-offs. I'd agree with PP that the iPad Mini is not a good relative value to a full sized iPad. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trlt Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 We have had an Android tablet for a while and finally just got an Ipad a week ago. Honestly, I didn't want to love the Ipad...but I do. The reason I wanted an Ipad even though we already had an Android tablet was because some of the apps for kids on google play has ads that are not appropriate for kids. I was getting tired of not knowing if my dd (5) would be seeing things I really didn't want her to see! The ads change so they can have fine ads sometimes and inappropriate ads other times. Also, Ipad has a lot more great apps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooCow Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 My hubbie got me a nexus 7 for our anniv. I did. NOT.want it! I was still getting used to my Kindle touch. A few months later, I LOVE it. Awesome. My dd saved up her b-day money and got the cheapest one she loved mine so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 I'm a huge Android fan. I have three different mobile type devices: an itouch, an Android phone, and a Samsung Galaxay 10.1 tablet. I decided to go to Android because of my dissatisfaction with how the itouch worked. But there were other reasons that I was interested in the Android platform. I like that Google is committed to having apps and systems continue to work on devices even as devices age. I don't trade my phone in every two years and I don't want to be forced to because newer things are out and what I am running can't run that newer thing. As others have noted with apps it depends on the app. It is clear that some app makers are totally uninterested in being multi-platform but many are available on Apple, windows, blackberry, and Android which is nice. Also nice are the better features you get in Android because the competition in the marketplace. There are many different types of Android tablets out there. Look at several and recommendations before you select what you want. I also like that Amazon offers a free app every day that is normally charged for. Sure, some aren't what i'm looking for, but it is a great way to get apps for free that you would normally pay for. I like the open sharing feature and the willingness of Google not to censor apps available based on political, religious, etc issues. I don't want to be sheltered and I want information to be available even if it isn't politically correct. In a similar vein, you can get Android apps wherever you want not just at the Google Play store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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