Tablet Tips
This post was originally published in the June 14, 2016 edition of the Southwest Journal, a Southwest Minneapolis community newspaper.#####I have previously written about repurposing old smartphones and tablets for kids, and that is exactly what I had done for my youngest daughter.About a year ago, I cleaned up my wife’s old tablet (a first generation Nexus 7) and put on some games and an app locker (creates a password for apps and settings in order to restrict access). Additionally, I put on a nice big, pink rubber bumper case on it. When I was done, it was fresh and safe tablet for my daughter to use. And she loves that tablet.Unfortunately, my wife and I have noticed how much the tablet has slowed down over time. It can be very frustrating to my daughter when the tablet just hangs and won’t play her game or shows. I have done everything I can with that tablet — removing unnecessary programs, changing operating systems (Android and CyanogenMod), you name it. There was just not much we could do to improve the performance of the aging tablet.So, for $69, we bought a brand new Amazon Fire tablet (you can get them for as low as $49). I had no delusions about this being a top-of-the-line tablet at that price. But the big thing to remember is that this is a budget tablet, but it is a solid budget tablet. It is a 7-inch tablet, and the version I bought has 16 GB of internal storage as opposed to 8 GB for the less expensive model. Both models have the option for expandable storage, and I immediately put in a 32 GB SD card (around $10) for saving music, movies, photos, and apps.Amazon’s tablets run their own proprietary operating software, Fire OS, which is a modified version of Google’s Android operating system. However, because it is Amazon we are talking about, the Fire tablets have their own ecosystem and do not run the Google Play Store out of the gate. This also means they do not include common Google apps like Gmail, Google Calendar, etc. My daughter by no means needed to have access to Gmail and Google Calendar, but it was a big drawback that the Google Play Store was not accessible by default. (After all, her favorite games were all through Google Play.)But in under 20 minutes time, following some very simple steps, I was able to add the Google Play Store to the tablet without doing anything that would affect the warranty. The tablet can now run any app from the Google Play Store.For well under $100, I have put together a tablet that is quite capable for the needs of my youngest daughter. She can watch movies through Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, VuDu, and Youtube Kids. Plus she has access to any game we choose to install through the Amazon App Store and all of the games she previously had that were through the Google Play Store.I even found a new pink, rubber bumper case for her. It is definitely a different user experience having the Amazon Fire OS for Android, but it is not at all difficult to use. And my youngest daughter seamlessly made the transition, being able to open up games and movies with ease.Would you buy an Amazon Fire tablet as an entry level tablet?
Paul Burnstein is a Tech Handyman. As the founder of Gadget Guy MN, Paul helps personal and business clients optimize their use of technology. He can be found through www.gadgetguymn.com or via email at paul@gadgetguymn.com.
