My kids have been tablet fans ever since we got our first iPad2 a couple of years ago. They love apps, and -- as homeschoolers -- we do quite a bit of our learning digitally. We haven't ever had a tablet that was specifically designed for children, however, so when we were asked to take the Nabi Dreamtab for a spin for a month, I thought it would be a good opportunity to see what a "kids tablet" was all about.
The Dreamtab is a Dreamworks Studios branded tablet from Nabi that comes preloaded with wallpapers, backgrounds, videos, and apps, many of which are based off of popular DreamWorks movies like "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Kung Fu Panda." My boys love these shows, so they very much perked up to see that the starting screen for the tablet features these characters.
Each child can have their own profile on the tablet, customized by an avatar of their choosing, or their photo (which can be taken by the tablet's internal camera.)
The parent can set up time and content limits for each child, so that they don't spend too much time playing. The parent can also see how many minutes and what apps the child has used during their last play session. This feature is pretty intuitive and is great for tracking and setting up play time as rewards. Switching back and forth between child and "Mommy" modes, however, leaves a little to be desired, as you have to use a password when leaving the child mode, and -- if the child's play time happens to expire while they are logged in, the parent has to use a password to switch to Mommy mode, turn off the time limits for the child, log back into the child's session, switch to another child, then go back into Mommy mode and turn on the time limits again before switching back to the 2nd child's play time. It's obviously easier for a busy parent to keep time limits off, unless you want to be dealing with passwords quite often.
The apps themselves are very, very neat. In addition to over a dozen apps that my kids are familiar with (all free when you get the tablet), there are some design studio apps that let kids animate and make movies easily with the included stylus. These happen to be my kids' favorite apps. They are easy enough for a 4-year-old to use, but also provide hours of entertainment for a child as old as 12.
The tech specs on this device are pretty impressive. In addition to being colorful and equipped with a protective sleeve, the Dreamtab has:
- Quad Core, Intel® Atom? Processor Z3745
- 2GB DDR2 of system memory
- 8" touchscreen, 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution
- Back 5MP webcam and front 2MP webcam
- 3.5mm standard audio jack
- 16GB onboard storage memory, additional memory via microSD card slo
- 2 Dolby speakers
- GPS
- Up to 23 hours of runtime on a full charge
- Runs on Android 4.4 (KitKat)
- Software includes: Dream Pro Studio, Nabigator, Nabi Utilities, Nabi Konnect, Treasure Box, Nabi Coins
My kids were sad to see this tablet go back, but it gave me a confidence that -- when we are ready to buy another tablet for the family -- the Nabi DreamTab will be our first choic. This tablet (which is a Top 100 Gift) is available at Walmart and Walmart.com for just $199.99.
As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I've received samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 
Links to shopping sites may be referral links.
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